The Unintended Fiancé (Captured by Love Book 4) Read online

  How could such a wonderful, sweet, caring, protective guy not want to be in a serious relationship? Could she do something to change his mind?

  No. She’d seen the look of panic on his face when she’d given him the rose. It was only when she’d insisted it was a mere thank-you gift that he’d relaxed.

  Lexie was saying goodbye, and Erin forced herself to pay full attention to her friend. But when she hung up, the question pushed itself back into her consciousness.

  Was it within her power to make Brad fall for her to the extent that he’d want a lasting relationship?

  She had no idea. She could only try, and only time would tell.

  *****

  Erin closed the oven door harder than she’d intended. “I still don’t see why I shouldn’t go to your company’s Christmas party,” she said, taking off the oven mitt and chucking it on the kitchen bench.

  “I already said why,” Brad said patiently. “Let’s take advantage of this new rumour that our relationship is on the rocks because you’re shocked that I’ve done something completely unethical. Let’s make people believe that.”

  “There are several different rumours going around Brad. I think what we should do is ignore them. Besides, no way am I gonna make anyone believe that of you.”

  “And I’m not gonna make anyone think that you’re some chick who’s scared that her fiancé would leave her, so she does something tantamount to professional suicide so she can please him. That’s the other rumour going around.”

  “Those are what Warren wants people to believe, not necessarily what they would believe. Besides, if we break up, that’s tantamount to Warren winning,” she quipped.

  “Hey, remember that Gavin said we should be careful about jumping to conclusions about Warren being responsible. We might miss the real culprit if we focus too much on him.”

  “Right. Anyway, I honestly think that showing everyone we’re still strong together is the way to go,” she said, hands on hips.

  Brad walked towards her and cupped her face. “At some point, we’d have to end our engagement anyway, right? I think this is an opportunity to start that particular ball rolling. Whoever’s responsible for the sabotage attempts only wants to hurt me. You not being connected to me anymore will hopefully free you from being dragged further into this mess.”

  She turned to the sink, pretending to wash a cup. Gosh, that hit her hard in the chest. She was nowhere near ready to end this yet. “I don’t think this is the time to split up, Brad,” she said, keeping the emotion out of her voice. “We’ve already discussed why we don’t want to pile up more negative stories about you at this time.”

  “Erin, we might as well get you out of the picture now rather than later.”

  “No,” she said with determination, splashing water all over the sink with her frustrated gestures. “That wasn’t the plan. We’re sticking with the plan. Ending our engagement now could be a disaster for you.”

  Brad sighed, putting his arms around her waist. “Why are you being so stubborn?”

  Because I love you. Is that so hard for you to see?

  She turned around to face him. “Because I believe that me being at your party will help quieten down some of the negative rumours about you. Your reputation is being hammered out there, Brad. Let’s not make it worse.”

  “But you helping me puts you at risk—”

  She grabbed his face and kissed him to shut him up.

  “Erin,” Brad murmured against her lips.

  “Listen to me,” she ordered, curling her arms around his neck and pressing herself against him. “We’ll stick with the status quo until Gavin finds the bastard who’s sabotaging you. Then we can disengage,” she said lightly, even as her heart constricted.

  Brad chuckled reluctantly. “Disengage, I like that term.”

  Well, he might very well like it, but she didn’t. And it was difficult to accept that even after two and a half months of practically living together as an engaged couple, Brad still saw this as a fake relationship that needed to end.

  But she didn’t want to give up on him yet. She was still living in the hope that, one day, he’d wake up and realise that what they had together was something so special that it was worth giving up some of his freedom for.

  Brad nuzzled her neck and squeezed her bum cheeks. “Your roast won’t be ready for a while,” he murmured.

  She smiled, angling her face so she could capture his mouth. The sex was still incredible. As long as Brad hadn’t tired of her yet, she had reason to remain optimistic.

  Please, God, let his heart catch up with his body soon.

  *****

  Erin smiled widely as the VIP guests of Mead Commercial and Corporate Designs’ Christmas party entered the festively decorated hotel function room. Zach, Jeff and Greg Carmichael had arrived, along with their gorgeous wives Rebecca, Sarah and Gemma. Rick and Lexie walked in with them.

  This was a huge coup for Brad. With some sections in the industry still disturbed by the unfavourable rumours about him, having the CEO, COO and CFO of the Carmichael Corporation turn up to this event went a long way to mend Brad’s reputation. Those brothers were well known for picking nothing but the best professionals for their world-class developments. Anyone they favoured was considered excellent in their field, having been thoroughly vetted. Thank God for Rick, who’d been tireless in persuading his cousins to see for themselves that Brad was every bit the upstanding and brilliant person that he was.

  Even though Brad’s company still didn’t have a contract with the Carmichael Corporation, it was currently on a shortlist for their next major project. Apparently, the Carmichaels had more business than their existing design partner could cope with, so they were keen to add another business partner to the mix. Mead Commercial and Corporate Designs was among the top contenders.

  The other guests—Brad’s current and potential clients—were already clearly impressed, engaging in whispered conversations with their companions while glancing at the VIPs. Hopefully, those who’d been quietly believing the negative talk would be swayed by this show of confidence by the powerful and influential Carmichaels.

  She walked towards the group, just as Brad approached them from the other side of the room.

  “Hey, darl!” Lexie said, meeting her halfway and giving her a hug.

  “Hi. Thanks so much for coming. This means a lot to Brad.”

  Lexie let out a low giggle. “Spoken like a true fiancée. Of course I’m here to support my brother.”

  “Of course,” she said, blushing.

  Lexie sighed, shaking her head almost imperceptibly. “We need to have a serious talk later,” she whispered. “But for now, say hello to the other guys.”

  Erin put on a smile as she and Lexie walked to the newcomers, whom Brad was already busy welcoming. She’d met the Carmichaels twice before, during Jade and Lucas’s wedding, and Lexie and Rick’s engagement party. It had always struck her how down-to-earth and lovely they all were.

  “And here’s Erin,” Brad said, smiling at her as she approached.

  “Hey, Erin, good to see you again,” said Zach, the oldest of the brothers, who gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Congratulations on your engagement, by the way.”

  “Thank you,” she said, and proceeded to greet the others, expressing her gratitude for their attendance.

  As the minutes ticked by, she found herself huddled in a group with Lexie, Rebecca, Sarah and Gemma.

  “We’ve heard a bit about what’s going on, Erin,” Gemma, Greg’s wife, said with sympathy in her voice. “How are you holding up?”

  “Not bad, thank you,” she said with a smile. “It’s not easy to hear all the bad things being said about Brad, especially when they’re not true.”

  “But you have help in trying to figure out who’s responsible, right?” Rebecca, Zach’s wife asked.

  She nodded.

  “If you need anything, we’re here for you,” Rebecca offered.

  “Yes,” Sara
h, Jeff’s wife said. “We’ve been through our fair share of false gossip just so the magazines could sell tons of copies. We try to ignore most of them, but in some cases, we have to let our lawyers step in. If you need advice or contacts, just let us know.”

  “Thank you, I will,” she said sincerely.

  These Carmichael ladies had gone through worse public attention. With their husbands being a favourite of the gossip rags because of their good looks, power and wealth, they’d had their fair share of unwanted publicity. She was touched by their empathy, but she also felt guilty that they didn’t know that her engagement to Brad was fake.

  Her only consolation was that their lie didn’t hurt anyone, apart from whoever had started the rumour that Brad was after James Coyte’s wife. It also wouldn’t hurt anyone else when they finally broke up—apart from her.

  Ugh. Did she have to think of that right now?

  “Is that James Coyte?” Lexie asked under her breath.

  She followed her friend’s line of sight. “Yes,” she answered, hiding a smirk.

  James was exuberantly greeting the Carmichael brothers, and completely ignoring Valerie, who was touching Brad’s arm as she simpered and batted her eyelashes.

  She narrowed her eyes at James’s wife. Seriously, with all the rumours going around, Valerie would flirt with Brad in front of everyone else? She better save her man.

  She excused herself from the others and walked towards Brad.

  “Hi,” she said with a bright smile, linking her arm with his and pressing close.

  “Hey, babe,” Brad said with a grin. He put an arm around her waist and kissed her temple.

  The smile on Valerie’s face remained, although her eyes had hardened. Ha! What the hell did this woman want with Brad when she already had a husband? But Erin still had her manners. “Hello, Valerie,” she said in a friendly tone, although she dared match the ice in Valerie’s gaze. “It’s good to see you again.”

  “Likewise,” the other woman answered. “I was just indulging in a little bit of gossip and telling Brad how a mutual acquaintance of ours got divorced. She realised she picked the wrong man and got back with her ex.”

  “I see,” she murmured, wondering if Valerie had a hidden meaning behind her words.

  “And I was saying to Brad that’s what happens when you fall into a relationship too quickly. You make unwise decisions that you regret,” Valerie said, sending James a quick side-eye.

  Erin lifted an eyebrow. Was this woman for real? Did she really want to discuss this topic when her own husband was only a few paces away? Fortunately, James was too busy trying to impress the Carmichael brothers to overhear his wife’s seemingly pointed comments. In any case, this wasn’t the time and place for Valerie to air out any grievances towards James. This was Brad’s night, damn it.

  “Honey,” she said to Brad. “Rebecca over there wants to ask you something.”

  “Oh, okay. Excuse us, please, Valerie,” Brad replied, leading her away without waiting for Valerie’s response.

  “That was just an excuse,” she whispered to Brad as they walked away. “Rebecca isn’t looking for you.”

  Brad chuckled, hugging her close. “I gathered. Thank you.”

  “I can’t believe Valerie had the hide to make those innuendos when her husband was almost next to her.” A thought hit her. “Do you think she’s part of the sabotage team?”

  “Hm. That never occurred to me. To be honest, I think that’s just Valerie being Valerie. She doesn’t care much about what people think or the repercussions of her actions. She’s too self-centred for that.”

  “Looks like she wants to ditch her husband for you,” she said dryly.

  “Well, she can want me till the cows come home. I’m taken,” Brad said, kissing her forehead.

  She glanced up at him sharply, her heart pounding. What did he mean by that?

  “Hey, Brad,” Lexie called out. “I thought you weren’t going to say hi to me.”

  Erin let out a sigh as Brad turned his attention to his sister. Oh, he was such a tease. Did he mean he was in-a-true-relationship taken or just pretending to be taken?

  Now she couldn’t wait to get home to grill him about this.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Brad came back from the gents’ and re-entered the function room. He stood back to observe the crowd, grateful that this event was going better than he’d expected. The presence of the Carmichaels certainly erased some of the question marks that had hung over his head. But it wasn’t only the brothers’ endorsement that was helping him tonight. One woman’s grace and charm was doing a great deal to soothe the concerns some people had about him.

  He looked for Erin and spotted her chatting animatedly with two of his clients. She was the perfect co-host, ensuring she spoke with as many people in the room as possible. He had no idea what she’d said to some of the guests, but more than a few had expressed their delight at his fiancée, and how they were very pleased for him that he was getting married to her.

  His fiancée. How used to that had he become?

  He’d surprised himself with how comfortable he’d been with being “engaged”. It had even started to feel... real. Even when alone, they were more comfortable staying as a couple than reverting to being friends. And for weeks now, Erin hadn’t been using her bedroom except to get dressed there. She’d been sleeping with him in his bed, even during the occasional nights when they didn’t have sex.

  And, frankly, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

  So what did this mean?

  A big part of him wanted to sit Erin down and tell her he wanted to have a go at a real relationship. But he was hesitating. What if he was not cut out for it? He didn’t want to end up hurting Erin and give her the impression that he’d only used her to further his career. That would bring untold damage to their friendship.

  “Oy,” a voice said behind him.

  He turned around to face a grinning Rick.

  “Are you just gonna stand there and ogle your fiancée, or are you gonna entertain your guests?”

  His face heated up.

  “Wow,” Rick said, his eyes rounding. “I’ve never seen you blush before.”

  He snickered, embarrassed.

  “Hahhh,” Rick said theatrically. “The joys of romance, huh?”

  “What do you mean?” he asked innocently.

  “C’mon, dude. You haven’t taken your eyes off Erin all night. I must admit I hadn’t paid much attention until Lexie told me to, and now I see that some enlightenment has dawned on you.”

  “Enlightenment?” he said with a snort. “That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?”

  “Well, I happen to think that you falling in love is some sort of enlightenment.”

  His heart jumped. In love? Whoa.

  “Admit it,” Rick challenged.

  “I don’t know, bro,” he said with a sigh. “I mean, sure, I care about Erin and I’ve done so for years. But, in love? How can I tell?”

  “I take it you haven’t given this much thought?”

  “Well, I’ve been considering dating her for real, but that’s about it.”

  Rick shrugged, then stayed silent, seemingly content to just stand there with him and check out the goings-on.

  “But how do I know?” he heard himself ask after a long pause.

  “How do you know what?” Rick asked nonchalantly.

  “If what I feel is love?”

  Rick chuckled and dragged him to a quieter corner. “You’re such a virgin with this commitment stuff. All you have to do is imagine Erin being with someone else and not you. How would you feel about that?”

  Of course he wouldn’t want Erin to be with someone else. He wasn’t a violent person, but he’d want to deck the man who’d dare steal her away from him.

  “Or to be more precise,” Rick said, “what if you saw Erin kiss a guy she chose over you?”

  His heart squeezed. No. He didn’t even want to imagine that. That would be... terri
ble.

  “But what if I’m just being extra grateful to her for what she’s doing for me?” he voiced out. “What if, when my problems are sorted, I go back to not wanting to be tied down by a woman? I’d really hate to lead Erin on, then just disappoint her.”

  Rick gazed at him scrutinisingly. “You’re right. It could just be gratitude.”

  Yeah. That was probably all it was. He went back to watching the crowd.

  “But what if it isn’t?” he pressed, facing Rick again.

  Rick smirked. “Then test yourself. Tell you what. You guys planned to stop this pretence just after New Year’s, right?”

  He nodded, the thought constricting his chest further.

  “That means you wouldn’t be together anymore during my wedding to your sister. There will be a number of single guys there, so I’ll set Erin up with one of them—”

  “Don’t. You. Dare.”

  “Just so you can figure out how you feel when you actually see her flirt with other men,” Rick said innocently.

  “There’s no need to go that far,” he growled, glaring at his future brother-in-law, who he’d quickly disown as a relative if he went ahead with such an asinine plan.

  Rick laughed. “Hit a nerve, did I? Let me know when you’ve said the L word to Erin. I’ll be holding my breath.” Then Rick walked away.

  Brad filled his lungs and slowly exhaled.

  Erin’s laughter caught his attention. She was alone with Mallory, the playboy owner of a chain of coffee shops, who appeared to be telling her some amusing story. Mallory was touching her arm. And grinning at her charmingly. And cocking his head in a flirtatious manner.

  He glared, wanting to interrupt the bastard by kissing Erin in front of everyone. Then they’d all be reminded that she was his.

  He smirked at himself.

  Of course he was in love. Why continue to deny it?

  But he was scared of telling Erin.

  He already knew she had feelings for him, and it thrilled him more than anything ever had. But he was also sure that if he confessed his love for her, she’d let herself get even more entangled with his problems. Right now, the only way he knew to protect her integrity from further questioning was for them to break up.