The Fake Fiancée

The Fake Fiancée
Megan Kelly

From Single Mother… Joe Riley is desperate. His well-meaning mother will stop at nothing to marry him off! With no time to date, let alone find a wife, Joe does the next best thing. He hires single mom Lisa Meyer to pose as his fiancée. To Standby Bride? When Lisa says yes to Joe, the hardworking caterer sees their arrangement strictly as a business deal. She pretends to be engaged to him he accepts her bid to cater his year-end company party. It's a win-win.Until their feelings start getting in the way. Feelings that have nothing to do with business. Can the town's most eligible bachelor convince his "fiancée" to take a chance on him and take that fateful walk down the aisle–together?

Lisa advanced on Joe. “I only hope you can fake it.”

“Now, wait a minute. I don’t have to fake anything. If you had any doubts about my character, you wouldn’t have begged me for this contract.”

“If I had another choice,” she corrected, “I wouldn’t have agreed to help you out. I’m taking a chance on you.”

The calculation in Joe’s smile sent shivers of warning across her skin. He stepped toward her. “But I’m taking a chance on you, as well. I have to trust you to behave as though you love me.”

“You can trust me.”

“How do I know?”

“I can fake it.”

Dear Reader,

This is one of my favorites of the books I’ve written, because it celebrates the love of a mother for her children. Every once in a while it’s nice to remember the sacrifices moms make, which we sometimes don’t even know about. The heroine in this story gives her all for her kids. Of course, her efforts lead her to the man she’ll come to love, but even moms deserve a treat!

Joe Riley needs to tread carefully with his matchmaking mom until he’s reassured of her recovery from a heart attack. Caterer Lisa Meyer agrees to pretend to be his fiancée in order to earn money for a special program for her son. Joe discovers parenting is nothing like heading up a company—it’s way more work! So it’ll stay strictly business for Joe and Lisa, unless love can find a way.

I hope you enjoy their journey through the intricacies of family relations. I’d love to hear from you. You can contact me through my Web site, www.MeganKellyBooks.com.

Sincerely,

Megan Kelly

The Fake Fiancée

Megan Kelly

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Fate led Megan Kelly to write romances—fate and her grandmother, that is. While riding a crosstown bus, teenage Megan and her grandma happened on a Harlequin Romance novel. The older woman scanned the first page to determine the book’s content and declared it to be about lions, then she gave it to Megan to pass the time on the next day’s journey home, five hours away. (The first page did mention lions, but they were statues at the gates of the hero’s family estate.) Megan became an avid reader and discovered her dream job—writing those exciting and moving stories she loved. She lives in the Midwest with her husband and two children and is well-known at her local bookstore and library.

For my critique partner, Carol Carson, who

nudged me along every inch of this book’s journey

(sometimes with a cattle prod);

For my kids, who have made their own sacrifices

by having a mom who writes;

and, as always, for my husband.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter One

He didn’t have time to look for a wife.

Joe Riley stifled his exasperation when his mother cut him off midsentence. She meant well, but her manipulation drove him nuts. He didn’t have time for this phone conversation, either. A glance at the in-box on his desk confirmed that. “Mom, I can find my own dates. Stop interfering.”

In the heavy silence that followed, the memory of his mother in CCU came into his mind, tubes and machines keeping her alive. He swallowed, pushing away the thought. Trying to be cautious regarding her health, he’d become so indulgent the situation had gotten out of hand—or, rather, out of his hands and into his mother’s.

“Ever since I had that heart attack, I’ve been—”

Joe tuned out her emotional blackmail. He didn’t need a reminder of the scare that had made him move to his parents’ town just north of Kansas City, Missouri. He did need a plan to stop his mother without upsetting her and endangering her health, and he needed it soon. Last week would have been good.

“And,” she continued, “I’m concerned you’re heading down the same path as your dad. You work even more than he did. You don’t go out and enjoy life.”

“You don’t have to worry about me.” He unlocked his jaw to speak. “I date all the time.”

“That’s what worries me. You’re always dating, never courting.”

He laughed. “Courting?”

“You know perfectly well what I mean. You need to settle down. Stop wrapping your work around you at night and get a wife to keep you warm.”

“I’m plenty warm, believe me.”