Page 9 of Boss's Baby: A Fake Fiance Romance

Josh’s eyebrows flicked up. “‘Not a grand story?’ You went to one of the best colleges in the country, moved to one of the toughest cities in the world, then got to the top of a career that most people can’t handle. Pretty grand to me.”

Hearing him speak like that was surprising. I was so used to teasing from him, and now this?

“Oh. Thanks.” My voice was tinged with hesitation. Totally didn’t know what to say.

“What firm are you at? Out of curiosity.”

“Oh, MacLand-Glass. Only place I’ve worked.”

A strange expression flickered across his face. It was almost as if hearing the name reminded him of something.

“But enough about me. Tell me what you’ve been up to since graduation?”

“If that’s what you want to hear,” he said. “We’re going to need more drinks.”

Another smile. Me and Josh Taylor, hanging out like old friends. Too freaking weird. But I was down. And it didn’t hurt that he was even better-looking than he was back in the day.

So, we did it. Josh ordered a couple more drinks, and we got to talking. He told me all about his life in the military, college, working for his dad. And how he’d tried to get his act together after high school, less screwing around, more seriousness. At first I didn’t want to believe him. But the more he talked, the more it felt like he was being real about it. He was all the good things about Josh but none of the bad.

I liked it.

And about halfway into our second round, my head swimming with the perfect amount of buzz, I couldn’t help but let it slip.

“You know,” I said. “I kind of had a little bit of a crush on you in high school.”

That smile again. “Yeah, I know. Or, knew.”

“Wait, what?” I asked. “You knew? How?”

“I get vibes. And definitely got one from you.”

“You’re kidding. Now I feel a little embarrassed.”

“You shouldn’t. Because I had a little one on you too.”

I was so shocked, I nearly knocked my damn drink over. “You’re serious?”

“Serious. Always had a little thing for the Two Scoops girl.”

I had no idea what to say. But I knew I needed to say something. “Must’ve been a little one, then. If you didn’t bother to say anything.”

“No, it wasn’t like that.”

“Then what was it like?”

He glanced away, as if trying to figure out where to start. “It’s complicated. When you’re in one social group, and I’m in another…”

“You mean when I’m poor, and you’re rich. I get it.”

He nodded, conceding the point. “OK, maybe more immature than ‘complicated.’ But that’s part of the reason I wanted to get myself straightened out.”

“Yeah?”

“The whole thing. Being a jackass, breaking hearts, screwing around in school, not taking anything seriously.”

“And it looks like you’ve done it. You’ve really made a responsible, really attractive man out of yourself.” My eyes went wide at the last part of that. Totally slipped out. I wasn’t sure what kind of reaction to expect from Josh, but the slight narrowing of his eyes gave me some clue.

At this point I noticed his eyes latch onto my ring. They lingered for a moment, long enough for me to realize that as far as he knew, I was still married. Before I could say anything, however, he spoke up.

“You know, I never asked who the lucky guy was.”

I went hot with embarrassment. No getting around it—time to fess up. I nervously twisted the ring a full circle around my finger.

“Thing about that—I’m not really engaged.”

“You’re what?”

“Not really engaged. There is no ‘lucky guy.’ At least, not yet.”

“Then what’s the story with the ring?”

“It’s kind of a stupid story.”

He smiled and leaned in. “I love kind of stupid stories.”

I went into it, telling him why I’d put it on, how I’d forgotten. Going by his facial expressions, he was amused more than anything, which was a relief.

“So, you wanted to see what it felt like to be a taken woman. Maybe even show off to some former classmates in the process?”

“No, not like that at all. I totally forgot I had it on.”

He grinned. “I’m sure.”

“Please. You think I care what any of these people think of me? They’re so far in the past, they barely exist.”

“Whatever makes you feel better.”

“Oh, come on. You don’t really think I did this to impress people from high school.”

“I’ve heard stranger things. But whatever happened, I’m more interested in the fact that you’re single.”

“And why is that?” I felt my cheeks flush. My words suggested I didn’t know what he meant, but my body told a different story.

“I think I’ve had enough booze for tonight. Want me to walk you to your car?” This was followed by a firm pressure on my leg under the table. I didn’t need to look down to know it was his hand.

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