Page 33 of Kissed By Her Fake Fiancé

It seemed like only yesterday she herself had been just a kid, begging her parents to let her go hang out at her best friend Bethany’s house. Now she wished she’d spent more time around her family. At some point, her world had shifted to her friends, especially once she got to middle school. But those times with her parents and sisters were some of her best memories.

“Here he comes,” J.J. whispered as the roar of the garage door opening made its way to the kitchen.

Faith smiled as she set the fancy glass full of sweet tea next to the plate of food they’d made for Holden. Plates for all three of them, actually. Fried pork chops, baked potatoes, and green beans—his favorite meal, according to his daughter.

“What’s all this?” Holden asked as soon as he stepped into the room.

He wore a button-down shirt and dress pants for his second meeting with the investors in Knoxville. It must have gone well because he’d been there the better part of the afternoon.

“Your favorite dinner,” J.J. said.

Holden set his laptop case in its usual spot and turned to face them, eyeing his daughter skeptically. “What are you up to? You want something, don’t you?”

J.J. giggled, giving away that indeed she did. So much for waiting until he had his belly full of his favorite foods to ask her question.

“Sit.” Faith gestured toward the seat. “It’s dinnertime.”

She and J.J. took their usual seats, figuring he’d follow. They’d both dressed up. Faith wore a buffalo plaid sweater and black pants she’d grabbed from storage at her parents’ house. J.J. wore a brown velvety dress with a silky ribbon around the waist. Faith had helped fix her hair, braiding it and adding ribbons. Her goal was to look as sweet as possible so her dad said yes.

“We should do this more often,” Holden said as he slid onto his seat.

“Have pork chops for dinner?” Faith asked.

As far as she could see, sitting down to dinner with his daughter wasn’t all that unusual. He’d said it was his favorite time of the day. They sat down without any TVs and caught up on things.

“Get dressed up for dinner,” he said. “You both look beautiful tonight.”

“And you look very handsome.” J.J. tossed him her sweetest smile.

Holden narrowed his eyes as he picked up his fork, tilting his head slightly. “You’re definitely up to something, but I’m going to let it slide for right now. I have something more pressing to attend to. This delicious dinner.”

J.J. exchanged a look with Faith. Even though they’d met only a few days ago, Faith could read that look. She was weighing whether to push or to wait. Faith lowered her gaze to J.J.’s plate to communicate that she should eat now, talk later.

“This is amazing,” Holden said after swallowing the first bite. “The gravy makes it.”

“Dad never makes gravy with his pork chops,” J.J. said. “She’s a better cook than you are. I think we should keep her.”

Faith froze at those words. They were said with a big smile and a lighthearted tone, but Faith wasn’t sure how they’d hit Holden.

“Hey!” He frowned at his daughter. “I’m sitting right here.”

“You’re a great cook,” J.J. said. “But Miss Faith is very,verygood.”

She gave an even bigger smile to Faith than she’d been sharing with her dad. Exactly who she was trying to butter up?

“I was the oldest, growing up,” Faith said as she cut into her own pork chop and dragged it through the gravy. “Mom taught me how to cook so I could help out. I was only twelve years old when she first left me alone at the stove.”

“Wow.” J.J. looked at her dad. “Can I learn to cook?”

“I think that’s exactly what you’re doing with Miss Faith.” Holden looked over at Faith. “You’re teaching J.J., like your mom taught you.”

Faith struggled to define the emotions that washed over her. Happiness mixed with sadness, maybe? She had to hold it together. Getting all teary-eyed would definitely ruin this dinner—and J.J.’s plans.

“My sister called today,” Faith blurted. Anything to change the topic. “She said you ran into Nic.”

His expression changed. Had she said something wrong? She was supposed to be keeping him in a good mood.

“When I was getting coffee,” he said. “I guess I forgot to mention it.”

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