Page 1 of How To Fake A Fiancé

Chapter One

Thursday, September 1

Dallas, TX

Ian

“Are you sure you don’t need me?” I ask my brother through the speaker phone of my car as I slog through traffic.

“We’ve got it covered here,” he assures. “C’mon, man. This is your night off. Your first in a while. You should be more excited.”

My younger brother, Matt, has been encouraging me to get on with my life since our mom’s cancer went into remission a few months back. I want to. I’m trying. But after a decade and Dad’s sudden passing five years back, I’m having a hard time believing all the years of turmoil my family and I went through are over.

In the last five years of Mom’s decade-long cancer journey, I’ve taken her to countless doctor appointments and chemotherapy treatments. I’ve held her hand during the needles, machines, and vomiting. And watching her cry the day her hair started falling out nearly killed me.

But she’s in remission now, and my well-meaning brother has been pushing me to stop waiting for the other shoe to drop and to live a little. I’m doing that starting tonight. Not going to lie, I’m lonely. Then again, I thought I’d be married with a couple of kids by thirty-five. But my ex-girlfriend, the one I’d planned to make Mrs. Brown, was too impatient to wait for my mom’s health to stabilize. Katy is married to an accountant now. They moved to Delaware.

I’m still alone.

“You act like I’ve gone without all this time.”

“Can you remember the last time you had sex?” he challenges.

Not exactly. Every so often I walk into a bar, set my sights on a nameless Miss Right-Now, and release all my pent-up energy. Not the best sex I’ve ever had, but it beats having blue balls. Sure, I’d sometimes wonder if Miss Right-Now could end up being Miss Right, but with all my family’s struggles and after Katy, I never stuck around to find out.

I roll my eyes. “Bite me, bro.”

After tonight, I’m going to do my best to live life to the fullest. And if I find that special someone, I’m determined to make that shit last for the rest of my life.

“Hey, I’m only saying that it’s time to get back out there,” Matt says as I speed down the freeway. “Start making connections, man…temporary or otherwise.”

He’s not wrong. “Yeah.”

“You need to live foryou.”

And I’m doing my best. The other night, I took out my phone, downloaded a dating app, filled out a profile, and started scrolling. I only swiped to the left a few times before a picture of the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen came across my screen. Her curly hair, sultry smile, and gorgeous body had my cock standing at full staff immediately.

Shortly after swiping right, the app told me we matched, and we started talking. Not long after, we agreed to meet at a hotel in the city. All I know about her is that she lives in the Dallas area and loves Mexican food. To be honest, that’s all I really want to know. At least for now. If our chemistry is good and this turns into more, great. If not, there are plenty of fish in the sea.

I laugh to myself. “I think I’m too old for this shit.”

“You’re in your thirties, not ancient. And chicks dig older guys.”

I turn the car into a space near the hotel. “I just parked. Is Mom still okay? Are you sure everything is covered at the bar?”

As the manager and owner of the Brick, not being behind the bar feels strange.

“The cousins and I have everything under control, so go enjoy your night. Lord knows you deserve it. Mom says she loves you and good luck.”

You know you’ve hit rock bottom when your mom cheers you on to get laid.

I cringe. “Tell her I love her, too. Talk to you later.”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t enjoy,” my kid brother encourages before I end the call.

After locking my car, I walk into the swanky hotel lobby. The marble floors gleam, and the dark mahogany walls shine. It’s a nice place.

I pass the check-in desks and make my way to the hotel bar across the lobby, scanning the area for the stacked blonde with soft curls. At first, I don’t see her. Am I late? Did I get the time right? Damn it, maybe she’s a no-show.

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