Pretend for Me (15 page)

She watched him lift his gaze from her lips to her
eyes.

“This is more than a quick fuck to me.”

Sara gasped. She knew enough about Andy to know he
didn’t voice his emotions—not even with her.

Cupping his cheek she stared into his eyes. The look
of desperation in his depths made her gasp.

“
This
is
more than a quick fuck, Andy. You mean the world to me.” She couldn’t tell him
that she loved him. Her feelings right now would be too much, and a part of her
knew he would find a reason to run away. Their physical relationship was all
new territory for the pair of them.

“I want you to know I won’t be giving you up without a
fight.”

Sara smiled. His words were enough for now.

Chapter Thirteen

Several days
later

Andy stared down at the notice in his hand. The notice
in his hand was for an inspection to see if the club was up to a standard so he
could serve to the public. He needed to close the club down for several days
while they inspected the place. His hands shook as he thought about what it
would do for his business. No complaints had ever been made about his clubs
before. Cube in particular was doing really well. The live band and the expanse
of dance floor made it his most popular venture yet.

He knew Sara’s family had something to do with his
current problems. Before he met her parents he’d been doing great. Now he was
being handed problems at the bank with regards to his loan along with constant
inspection notices. Sara asked him how things were going at his clubs. He kept
things light and avoided the problem at hand.

When Sara wasn’t with him she spent most of her time
at her computer. Her publisher loved the sound of the new book she’d been
writing. He had sat with her once, waiting for her to finish, and had seen the
way her fingers buzzed over the keys. She should hold the world record for the
number of words typed in a minute.

Andy didn’t tell her about the problems he was having
at the club. He knew he should talk to her about it seeing as it was either
Dylan Cross or her family who were causing the problems. Their relationship was
already strained enough without adding to the pressures from his work. His
feelings for Sara had deepened in the last few days. When they’d started
sleeping together he’d thought he could compartmentalize their relationship. On
the one hand, he slept with her, and on the other they were best friends. When
he was with her, he wanted both parts to meld together like some kind of sticky
glue. His friends advised him to try out a relationship with Sara. They were
convinced he and Sara would be a brilliant match. Gazing down at the notice in
his hands he was no longer sure. Never would he have the kind of power to cause
trouble.

They were making things difficult for him, but he
couldn’t let Sara go. He wanted to be with her. In his head and his heart he
knew he loved her. Saying the words had finality to it and a sort of depressing
end that they didn’t need in their lives. Sara hadn’t demanded any more from
him. She seemed content to spend time with him.

He thought about her book and wondered how things were
progressing with her. After finding out about her pen name he’d gone and bought
an e-reader. Most of her books were in e-book format. He’d not told her about
his obsession with her work. All of her works in paperback were hidden in a box
under his bed. The e-reader he’d purchased was stashed away in a drawer under a
light box of condoms.

Should he tell her about the notice?
 

He pushed his doubts aside and made his way up to his
floor. The notice, he folded and placed in his back pocket. She didn’t need to
know the problems he was having. The last thing he wanted for her to do was to
run to her parents and tell them off on his behalf. He would handle his
business in his own way.
 

Champion was barking as he entered the apartment. Sara
stood behind the hot stove stirring a sauce. He scented onions and garlic and
knew it would be good. Andy closed the door and simply admired the view.
Champion sat with his tail wagging looking over the counter at Sara. She stood
with her hand on her hip smiling.

“Hi, honey, I’m home.” He heard her laugh and made his
way over to where she stood.

“Long day at the
office, sweet-pea?”
She put her hands together,
batted her eyelashes before going back to stirring her sauce.

Long day, long week, and I may not have much left of my life if your
family is determined to get rid of me.

“A productive day.”
He kissed her head then made his way to the fridge to grab a beer. “How
did the writing go today?”

“Excellent. This is the fastest book I’ve got done
from start to finish. I couldn’t stop. The words came easily to me. I’ve got to
go through it several times and then send it to my publisher. I should have
everything done before we have to go back for my brother’s wedding. Speaking of
a wedding, do you have your tux?”

He handed her a soda and nodded. “I rented one if
that’s all right?”

“I don’t care as long as you fit in. The last thing I
want to deal with is how hysterical Bethany would become if someone dared to go
to her wedding not looking perfect.” She flicked her hair in mockery of her
sister-in-law.

Andy chuckled. “Can I help?”

She pointed to the back pot. “You can drain the
spaghetti while I finish the sauce and then toast the pine nuts.”

They worked around each other fixing dinner. He
spooned the pasta onto the plates then waited for Sara to spoon the sauce onto
the waiting plates.

He sprinkled the pine nuts, and she grated over the
parmesan. Dinner was served. They sat in front of the television watching a
movie and eating.

“I got a call from Dylan today. He asked about you,
which I found odd.”

Andy tensed. “What did he want to know?”

“He asked if we were still together and if you were
going to the wedding with me.”
 

“Dylan wants you back.”

“He’s not getting me back. Oh, Travis called and asked
if you were still on for the game Saturday. They want to crash here, and
they’re going to bring some beer. I said that was fine and that I’d cook for
you guys if you want.”

Nodding his head, he twirled some pasta onto his fork.
His friends would ask questions about his closed club. “I’ll give them a ring
or meet them for lunch tomorrow. What do you have planned?” he asked.

She wrinkled her nose. “I’ve got to get back in my
writing cave. I’ve got to go over the story to see if they’re any holes or
words I’ve missed. I’m, like,
the
worst editor in the world. I wonder how I managed to get a publisher to
actually publish me.”

He laughed. “You’ve got the stories up there in that
mind. They have other people for editing. You keep that locked up there, and
you’ll do well.”

“Thanks, Dad,” she said, chuckling.

“None of my thoughts about you are parental, Sara.”

Andy loved hearing her laugh. “I bet they’re not.”

They finished their food in silence. Champion lay
sated at their feet. Andy placed his arm around the back of her. She locked her
fingers with his and curled in against him. Her heady scent invaded his senses.
All of his troubles melted away. He had Sara in his arms, and that was all that
mattered to him.

“I’ve got to go and finish up a few points. Can I
bring my laptop up here over the next couple of days?” she asked.

“You never need to ask. I’ll see you soon.” He watched
her leave his apartment. Andy sat back staring at his dog. “I can’t tell her. I
don’t want her standing up for me. It’s up to me to fight for her, and I will.”

He let out a sigh then grabbed his cell phone from his
pocket. Champion jumped up onto the sofa next to him. Andy stroked his dog’s
ears while dialing Travis’s number. The rest of the guys would be with Travis
for poker night. The guys had a gaming schedule. When he’d met Sara and his
feelings for her grew he’d taken himself off the schedule. His apartment became
out of bounds for the men. Now they had all met her and he’d claimed her as his
woman, so his friends were invited back around.

“I was wondering when you were going to get in touch
with me,” Travis said.

He heard the noise of the others in the background.
“Sara gave me the message, but I wanted her away before I made this call.”

“Does this have to do with Cube being closed?” Lenny
asked.

Closing his eyes, Andy rubbed at his temple.

“Yeah, it has everything to do with it. I don’t want
Sara to find out. It’s either her ex or her family. I don’t know which one, but
I want you guys to keep it to yourself.”

There was silence on the other end of the line. He
heard a beep and knew the call had been put on speaker phone.

“Sara doesn’t know that Cube is closed for inspection,
along with your other clubs?”

He let the sigh he’d been holding back escape.

“No, she doesn’t, and I want to keep her out of it.
You can come this Saturday by all means, but don’t bring up the club. I don’t
want her worrying.”

“She needs to know, Andy,” Austin spoke up. “If you’re
serious about her then she needs to get your back as much as you’ve got hers.”

“It is serious,” he said.

“Then you need to tell her,” Travis said.

“Look, her family has pushed men away doing this. This
is my battle to prove to myself and to Sara that I can take care of her. I
don’t need Sara fighting my battles for me. Will you do this for me or not?”

His friends all agreed they wouldn’t talk about the
clubs. He spoke for a few minutes more before ringing off.

Sara came back into the apartment several minutes
later carrying her bag with her. He helped set everything up then left her to
take a shower. The hot water ran down his body, and he tried to let it soothe
him. Andy heard Sara walking outside, but his thoughts kept going to the notice
in his trouser pocket. He pressed his hands against the tiled wall.

Closing his eyes he forced the tears back. He wouldn’t
cry. Crying was a weakness that he refused to give in to.

“Andy, are you all right?” Sara called through the
door. Her voice was muffled by the wood.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, rubbing at his eyes to
wipe every trace of pain out of him.

“I wanted to make sure you’re all right. You’ve been
in the shower for over thirty minutes.”

He rested his head against the tile. The guilt at
hiding something from her swamped him. He’d never kept anything from her, and
it felt wrong doing it now.

“I’ll be right out,” he said.

Andy waited for her to leave and then finished
showering. By the time he made it out of the shower with a towel wrapped around
his hips Sara lay in his bed waiting. She wore the pink negligee he’d bought
her, and she looked stunning.

He dropped the towel and climbed into bed beside her.
She rolled over to face him. Andy stroked her cheek loving the feel of her soft
flesh against his palm.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he said without hesitation.

“You’ve been quiet and distant the past couple of
days.”

“There is nothing for you to worry about, baby. I’m
dealing with work and all the chaos it brings. You’re the best part of my day,”
he said, leaning down to kiss her head.

“You’d tell me if there was something bothering you?”

He nodded.

She lay on his chest. Her fingers swirled in a pattern
around his nipple. He closed his eyes feeling the guilt eat away at him. Andy
knew he’d fix things before they got too bad.

****

One week before
the wedding

Sara spent a great deal of time before the wedding
finishing off the book she’d started. She’d gone through her first finished
draft and discovered too many mistakes. Several rewrites were in order, along
with some serious editing. Her publisher loved the idea she’d sent to them
about the friends that fall in love. The concept was clichéd, but she had put
her own spin on the details. The words flowed onto the computer screen, and
she’d written the book in no time at all. The rewrites were taking up all her
extra time. She lay in bed as Andy wrapped one arm around her waist. Two weeks
had passed since she’d been asleep in her own bed. She hated the coldness of
her bed when she could be wrapped around Andy.

If she wasn’t around his apartment by seven he went
and fetched her. When he wasn’t around during the day she went back to her
place to work. They hadn’t moved in together. She wasn’t ready to take that
leap.

Andy kissed her outer thigh, and his fingers stroked
her other thigh. His kisses made her pause in her typing. When he stopped she
carried on.