Her Fill-In Fiancé

Her Fill-In Fiancé
Stacy Connelly

“Can’t sleep?”

Her heart picked up its pace as Jake stood and crossed the small kitchen to stand in front of her. The single bulb that had seemed bright before now shone like a spotlight, emphasizing his tousled dark blond hair, the rough stubble emphasizing his jaw, the naked chest only inches away, and Sophia couldn’t look away.

“Sophia.” His voice held a hint of warning, and her gaze instantly rose to meet his. The desire she saw there only amplified the longing spinning through her in ever-tightening circles, spiraling down into a pinpoint focus. She wanted him to kiss her. To let the heat and urgency of his mouth against hers wipe away the past weeks. To turn back time to those few, short days when Jake Cameron was a man she could trust, a man she could count on …

Instead of a man who lied.

Dear Reader,

Are you the oldest? The middle? How about the youngest? Research says birth order can affect personality. Firstborns can be demanding, always wanting their way. Second children can be easygoing and seek to avoid confrontation. (OK, I admit, that’s me!) Then you have the last born. The baby left to follow in her siblings’ footsteps or break out on her own.

Sophia Pirelli is the last born and the only girl. Her attempt to break away and find her own place hasn’t worked out. Now she’s returned home to celebrate her parents’ anniversary … and tell her family about her unplanned pregnancy.

When Jake Cameron meets pregnant Sophia, he’s certain he isn’t the man for her. Experience has taught him he’s not a forever guy. But he’ll step in as her fiancé until he can convince Sophia her home town is the perfect place for her and her baby. Only the more time they spend together, the more Sophia sees Jake in a permanent role—as her husband!

I hope you enjoy Sophia and Jake’s journey to finding their own place in the family they create together.

Stacy Connelly

About the Author

STACY CONNELLY has dreamed of publishing books since she was a kid, writing stories about a girl and her horse. Eventually, boys made it onto the page as she discovered a love of romance and the promise of happily ever after.

When she is not lost in the land of make-believe, Stacy lives in Arizona with her two spoiled dogs. She loves to hear from readers and can be contacted at stacyconnelly@cox.net or www.stacyconnelly.com

Her Fill-In Fiancé

Stacy Connelly

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

To Christine—

Thanks for sharing your hometown with me.

Chapter One

Pulling into a circa-1950 gas station thirty miles from her hometown, Sophia Pirelli drove to the first of two pumps and dropped her head back against the seat. Tall pines lined the roadside and dotted distant hills. A slight breeze carried their scent, as well as a hint of salt and sand and sea. So close to home, yet she was tempted to gas up and floor it back to St. Louis, where she’d been staying with her cousin, or … or anywhere other than here.

As much as she loved her family, another trip home filled with worried looks and sympathetic, sorrowful “Oh, Sophias” from her parents might be more than she could take. Add in the “I told you so” times three from her older brothers, and she didn’t know how she’d make it through the visit. She could hear Sam, Drew and Nick already.

I told you you wouldn’t like Chicago.

I knew you’d hate being a live-in maid, surrounded by strangers.

If only you’d listened when we told you to stay home.

If only she’d listened …

Her life’s list of if onlys ran the length of her arm, down to the ring she wore as a constant reminder of regret and past mistakes. Sophia twirled the silver band with her thumb as she climbed from the car. She’d known she couldn’t stay away forever, but the nerves tearing her up inside reminded her the old saying was true.

“You can’t go home again,” she murmured as she swiped her credit card.

And as if this first visit home in two years wasn’t going to be hard enough, she had an unplanned pregnancy to confess. Despite the three over-the-counter tests, the doctor’s confirmation and her undeniable morning sickness, Sophia still had a hard time believing she was pregnant. She was alternately thrilled and terrified with both emotions sometimes overwhelming her at once.

But if the idea that she would soon be a mother felt like something out of a dream, then the two months since discovering her pregnancy were straight from a nightmare. She could only imagine the explanation she’d have to give her family.

Yeah, you guys were right. Chicago never did feel like home. I hated living in the Dunworthy mansion surrounded by people who treated me like I was miles beneath them. So, I guess it’s just as well that I got fired for “seducing” Todd, the family’s youngest son, who just so happens to be the father of the child I’m carrying.

That was all a bit much, even for her. Still, she would have to tell them, but not until after her parents’ anniversary party. Their thirty-fifth anniversary …

Vince and Vanessa Pirelli had a great deal to show for those thirty-five years—a strong, love-filled marriage, three handsome, successful sons who lived and worked in their hometown. Nick, the oldest, was the town’s vet. Drew owned his own construction company. Sam was a top mechanic. And then there was Sophia, the baby and black sheep of the family.

She refused to cast a pall over this celebration. She’d done enough of that as a teenager.

“Well, well, if it isn’t little Sophia Pirelli.”

The mocking comment carried across ten feet of asphalt from the small glass-front shop stocked with beer, cigarettes and travel-sized necessities. Sophia didn’t recognize the voice, but it hardly mattered. She turned to face the uniformed attendant, who obviously recognized her. She sneaked a glance at the ragged name tag tacked to the gray, button-down shirt as the man swaggered toward her and wracked her brain for a memory of the brawny, dirty blond-haired man named Bob.

Drawing a blank, she forced a smile and said, “That’s right. You were in my brother’s class at Clearville High, weren’t you?”

Her three older brothers’ combined high school careers spanned nine years. It was a good guess that this man had been a classmate to one if not two of them, but not enough to cover her lack of recognition.

The man gave a scoffing laugh. “You always did think you were too good for the rest of us,” he almost spat.

Heat climbed to Sophia’s cheeks. Any number of denials rose to her throat, but they would have all been lies. Truth was, she had thought she was too good for her small hometown, certain bigger and better things existed in the world outside its close-knit confines, and in high school, she’d made little secret of how she’d felt.

“You and Amy Leary were the Clearville queens, treating the rest of us like your pawns. You didn’t care who got hurt.”

And that was the worst of it, Sophia thought, memories crowding around her until she felt trapped, suffocated. People had gotten hurt.

“Look, Bob—”

“My name is Jeff,” he ground out.

She closed her eyes briefly. “Of course it is,” she murmured beneath her breath, knowing nothing she said would change this man’s opinion of her. An opinion too many people in town shared.

“But you’re not so high and mighty now, are you? I heard you’re nothing but a maid, scrubbing rich people’s gold-trimmed toilets.”

The implied insult stung. Being a maid had never been her dream job, but it was a job that, until Todd came along, she’d done quietly, anonymously, blending into the background, unnoticed by those around her. Almost as if the uniform had the power to make her invisible, which had been fine with Sophia.

After everything that happened in the months before she left Clearville, she’d wanted little more than to disappear.

Reminding herself she’d faced far harsher criticism than anything Bob/Jeff could dole out, she lifted her chin and said, “Actually, I’m not a maid anymore.” A hollow victory since she was unemployed instead, but he didn’t need to know that.

Looking disappointed that his gold-trimmed toilets comment had gone to waste, Jeff demanded, “So what are you doing?”