Her Fill-In Fiancé

“Buying gas,” she said as she reached past him and grabbed the pump, “so I can go home to visit my family.”

Maybe it was the reminder of her family, of her brothers, but the man gave her a last disgruntled look before lumbering around to the back of the small shop. For Sophia, though, the damage was already done. Her hand shook so badly it took three tries to get the pump into the tank, and the knots tightening her stomach made morning sickness seem no worse than a hiccup.

Knowing she needed a break before climbing back behind the wheel for the final leg of her journey, Sophia hesitantly approached the shop. She half expected Jeff to jump out from the side of the building and bar her way, but she slipped inside unnoticed. The young girl behind the register didn’t look up from her phone, her fingers flying across the tiny keyboard, as Sophia ducked down the first aisle and into the restroom with a relieved sigh.

Was this what her whole trip would be like? Hiding out and doing her best to dodge her past?

The trill of her cell phone offered a welcome distraction, and she reached inside for her purse. When she saw her cousin’s number, Sophia winced. Thanks to spotty reception and Theresa’s work schedule, they’d been playing phone tag most of the trip. She flipped open the phone, already knowing she was going to get an earful.

“Where are you?” Theresa demanded in place of a normal greeting.

“I’m less than an hour from home,” Sophia said as she tucked the phone against her shoulder and turned on the faucet to wash her hands.

“What’s happened? What went wrong?”

“Nothing went wrong, but thanks for expecting the worst,” Sophia said.

“I didn’t say you did something wrong. But you should have been home by now. We plotted out your route before you left and figured how long it would take.”

Theresa had plotted; Sophia had tossed the detailed directions into the back seat where they’d remained. “You also told me to take it easy. No need to hurry, remember?”

“I remember. But at no time did I say to drag your feet the whole way or to delay the inevitable for as long as possible.”

Sophia wanted to argue, but her cousin knew her too well.

She glanced at her reflection over the utilitarian sink, seeing her short, dark hair, her brown eyes, the slight upward tilt to her nose. She looked a little pale, a little tired, but nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing hinting at the news she had to share. Still, it was almost like looking into a two-way mirror with Theresa on the other side, seeing all her doubts, her insecurities, her reluctance …

“You have to tell your family the truth.”

“I know, Theresa,” Sophia said, squelching a touch of irritation. Easy for Theresa to say. She wasn’t the one with the big secrets. No, Theresa was the one with the college degree and the good job. But she was also the one who’d welcomed Sophia into her home in St. Louis when she’d been fired by the Dunworthys.

Irritation fading away, Sophia said, “And I would have had to tell them a month ago if you hadn’t let me stay with you. If I haven’t thanked you for that, I should have. I really appreciate you taking me in for the second time.”

Five years ago, when she first left Clearville, she’d gone to live with Theresa in Chicago, where her cousin had been going to college. The move was supposed to be a chance to start over, to wipe the slate clean. For a while, Sophia supposed she’d succeeded, only to mess the whole thing up again, prompting yet another flight to her cousin, who was now living and working in St. Louis.

“You already thanked me, and you know my door is always open. But you can’t keep hiding.”

“I’m not. I’m going to tell my parents everything.” Eventually … Turning away from her reflection, Sophia left the restroom as Theresa pleaded, “Well, at least tell them the truth about Jake Cameron. Every time I talk to my mother, she raves about how handsome and charming he is.” Sarcasm coated her words as she affected her mother’s husky voice. “She can’t stop gloating that she got to be the first one in the family to meet him.”

Her cousin’s tone softened as she added, “I know how hard it’s going to be to tell them all that’s happened. And the news about the baby shouldn’t be done over the phone. But this stuff with Jake …”

This stuff with Jake … Sophia’s heart spasmed at the very mention of his name, and her hand tightened on the phone. She wished she could dismiss Jake Cameron as easily as Theresa had, but Sophia didn’t know how she was supposed to do that. Every thought, every memory, every reminder of the time they spent together made it hard to breathe, and yet she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

Maybe it was an unforeseen drawback of the years she’d spent as a maid; maybe it was a reaction to the way Todd Dunworthy had treated her and the news of the baby she carried—like dirty secrets to be swept under the carpet. Sophia wasn’t sure. All she knew was that the first time Jake smiled at her, the first time he looked at her with those gorgeous, almost golden eyes, she’d felt he could see the real Sophia.

Not the Pirellis’ little girl. Not the screwup kid sister.

In Jake’s eyes, she saw a strong, confident woman reflected back at her. She saw—or she thought she saw—an interest and a desire that made her feel noticed for the first time in a long time.

She’d done her best to downplay her feelings for Jake after he left. But what else could she do? Sophia thought. She didn’t have any idea how to explain to Theresa her bone-deep certainty that Jake Cameron was a man she could count on, one she could trust, one who would never hurt her. She had yet to figure it out for herself … especially since it turned out none of those things were true.

Once again, she’d trusted the wrong person, only to be let down in the worst possible way.

As for why she hadn’t told her family about him, well, that one was a lot easier to understand, Sophia thought as she left the store. Her aunt Donna had met Jake when she was visiting from Palm Springs. And Donna had been as charmed as Theresa said. She’d immediately called Clearville, armed with stories about Sophia finally meeting a “nice man.”

In truth, Jake Cameron was nothing more than a liar and a fraud, but Aunt Donna didn’t know that. She thought he was charming, smart, handsome …

“I just don’t get it.” Her cousin sucked in a quick breath, then hesitated as if debating what she wanted to say next. “You’re not hoping that he’ll, I don’t know, have some crazy explanation and that you guys can pick up where you left off—”

“No! Of course not. Nothing he could say would make a bit of difference,” she insisted. She hit the button on her keychain remote, the beep of the alarm sounding the exclamation point on her statement.

“Okay. Good.” Theresa gave a sigh of relief. “Because that’s pretty much what I told him when he called.”

“He called?” Sophia demanded, hating the way her heartbeat quickened at the thought. “When?” She slid into the driver’s seat, her legs suddenly weak.

After he left St. Louis, Jake had left a few messages. Sophia ignored the calls and they quickly stopped, convincing her she’d done the right thing in refusing to hear out his vague promise of an explanation.

“Yesterday … and maybe a couple of times before that.”

“What do you mean, a couple of times?” Sophia asked suspiciously.

“You said you didn’t want to talk to him.”

“So you didn’t bother telling me he called?”

“Would you have called him back?”

“No. Maybe. I don’t know. But you didn’t have the right to make that decision for me, Theresa.”

“I was trying to look out for you. If you didn’t want to talk to him—”

“Not the point,” Sophia argued. “And by the way, you’re really starting to sound like my brothers.”

“That’s not fair.”

Probably not, but this close to home, she was already on the defensive. Despite her poor choices in the present and the past, she needed to prove that she could take care of herself … and the baby she carried.

Taking a breath, she said, “I’m sorry. But if he calls again, let me know, okay? Even if I have no intention of returning his call,” she added quickly, then wondered which of them she was trying to convince.

She had no reason to call Jake back. Everything about their relationship had been a lie. So why did she still miss him so much? Why did she still long to hear the sound of his voice?

Because she was an even bigger fool than she wanted to admit, that was why! Big enough of a fool that she’d daydreamed about how her trip home would be easier with Jake by her side. How his thoughtfulness and charm would impress her mother…. How his wry sense of humor would win over her father…. How his confidence and strength could withstand whatever her sometimes obnoxious, oftentimes macho brothers might throw at him….

“I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have a big family,” he’d told her after listening to one of her childhood memories.

“I’d be happy to share mine,” she’d answered, her words not entirely a joke because she’d fooled herself into believing there’d been a yearning hidden in his eyes that might make the impossible possible.

Her cheeks burned with the memory, but anger served its purpose, withering the unwanted seeds of hope that blossomed inside her simply because he’d called a few times.