A Wedding to Remember: Switched at Marriage Part 1 Page 3

  The supposed Justin was still staring out the window as if his alleged divorce proceedings weren't going on in the room around him. His shoulders were square. In fact, he was so still, he radiated with quiet anger. In my experience, that's the worst kind.

  "If this really isn't a prank, I'm not the Kayla Lucas you're looking for. You've got the wrong Kayla." I clutched my tote tightly against me and turned to leave. "I've had enough. I'm out of here."

  Harry wouldn't let it go. "Maybe you don't remember?"

  I stopped in my tracks and turned around. "Don't remember? How do you not remember getting married?"

  "Kayla, please. Let's stop the innocent act. We know you were in Reno last weekend staying at the same hotel as Justin." Harry pulled some papers from a stack on the table and held them out to me. "Your marriage license. Dated last Friday night." He tapped one of the papers. "That's your signature."

  "What?" I snatched the paper away and gasped. The paper was an authentic-looking marriage license. The signature looked enough like mine to make me sweat.

  Just then the guy in the chair swiveled around and faced me. "I don't. Remember getting married." His voice was deep and sexy, the kind of voice that belonged on the radio. When his eyes met mine, his brow furrowed.

  The guy in the chair had a bushy beard and mustache. It was more than just Seattle style. It was like he thought he was a hipster or something. He was stockier than I remembered Justin being, more filled out, taller and better built. But his eyes were Justin's. Sensitive. Innocent in an endearing way. But shining with hurt he was obviously trying to control.

  "Justin?" I was tentative and unsure, still not one hundred percent confident I wasn't being pranked by an imposter. "Is that really you?"

  Beneath the baggy sports coat, he was wearing a band T-shirt. The shirt looked suspiciously like an oversize one he'd had in college. Only he filled this one out much better than he used to. I knew for certain now—he was Justin Green.

  I frowned, completely puzzled. "What is this all about, Justin? Did Dex put you up to this? Tell Harry I didn't marry you."

  Harry turned to Justin for confirmation.

  Justin shook his head almost imperceptibly. "I can't, Kay. I really don't remember. That license says we did."

  * * *

  Justin

  The sight of Kayla made my breath catch. Just like it had at the hotel in Reno when I'd caught a glimpse of her. She was even hotter than my smoking adolescent college memories of her. I fought the old feelings of gawky insecurity and inferiority. Being near her again made my palms sweat. Crap, even my heart sweat.

  This was Kayla, the Kayla I remembered. Natural blond hair. Sparkling lilac eyes. And genuine surprise and delight at seeing me. Right then, I would have done anything to stop her from walking out that door. Ever. I knew I'd made the right decision.

  Kayla's frown deepened. "Don't remember?"

  She was gorgeous when she was puzzled. She paled. "I was in Reno last weekend. But I didn't even see you. Let alone marry you. I had no idea you were there, too." Her eyes begged me to explain. "I spent most of my time in my hotel room, puking."

  Her words were flippant and self-deprecating, amused. Anyone else would have been embarrassed. Not Kayla. She was always incredibly plucky.

  If I imagined hard enough, she was even a little flirty. But that was just her being her, too. "Ah-hah, Kay. See? Drunk? Weren't we both?"

  As she shook her head, her hair swung gently. She brushed a curl out of her face. "Not drunk. A horrific case of food poisoning. A bad piece of fish at lunch, I think. Enough to make me very sick."

  "You disappoint me," I said.

  She laughed again, nervously now, studying me like I was nearly a complete stranger. Like she didn't really believe it was me. Like the marriage stuff was complete crap. "You're not joking? You really think we got married?"

  I prompted her. "I was in Reno for business. While I was checking in, I spotted you in the hotel lobby. I waved, but you didn't see me. I took a chance you hadn't changed your number since college, texted you, and asked you out for a drink Friday night." I tried to keep my tone neutral and not let my foolish crush on her show. I pulled my phone from my pocket, brought up her texts, and handed it to Harry to hand to her to see. "Here's our conversation. We met for drinks—"

  "No!" She shook her head as she took it from me. "I never got a text from you. I'm positive. And by Friday night, I was so sick, I had to cancel my flight home and hang around another day. My boss was furious at having to foot the bill. I didn't leave my hotel room until early Saturday morning. I didn't have the energy."

  She frowned prettily as she looked at the texts she'd sent me.

  Then suddenly, she paled again. "Oh, crap." She took a deep breath and swayed on her feet. "This is crazy. Someone stole my purse and phone Friday. I got them back later from the hotel. Someone had ditched them in a planter. A hotel employee found them and returned them to me. You don't think…"

  I stared at her, waiting for her to finish.

  Always the hero, Harry caught her elbow and pulled a chair out for her before I could move. She plopped into it, looking seriously stunned.

  The best I could do was push a bottle of water toward her in a feeble, late-breaking attempt at gallantry. "Drink this. You look pale."

  She stared at the water bottle as if it were a foreign object, and handed my phone back. "It's totally farfetched, but someone charged a boatload of clothes and junk on my credit card. You don't think someone was more than stealing my identity? That they were pretending to be me? Could someone have fooled you into thinking she was me?"

  "No!" I uncapped the bottle for her and held it out to her. "No one could fool me. I would recognize you anywhere, any time."

  She had to understand. I meant it. She was the one girl who was permanently etched in my mind. It was key. I couldn't lose her now.

  "I got hammered when you didn't show up." Damn, how had that slipped out? "But even drunk, I would have known you." I frowned.

  Kayla looked away quickly, as if I'd embarrassed her. She grabbed her bag and rummaged through it. "You can't even remember the wedding. Where's my phone?"

  Harry took a seat and took charge. "We have the piece of paper to prove two people using your names and signatures got married. I don't like this, Justin." He paused. "And a witness of questionable credibility from the twenty-four-hour wedding chapel. He claims two people matching your descriptions got married Saturday night. He showed me a copy of the official license they filed with the state of Nevada."

  I barely heard Harry as I watched Kayla carefully.

  "Ah! Here it is." Kayla pulled her phone from her tote and looked through her texts. She gasped. "You're right! You did text, Jus, but I never got them. And someone texted you back, but it wasn't me." She turned the phone around for Harry and me to see, still looking stunned and like she was trying to process the situation. "That's so random and bizarre. This really isn't a prank?"

  I shook my head, fighting my anger. "Not by me. Someone is screwing with us."

  Embarrassed? Humiliated? There wasn't a word strong enough to describe how I felt just then. It was like running through a room naked. With a boner, because I was incredibly turned on by her. My inner fantasies, my inner self, had just been exposed. Mix that with rage and I was about to explode. What if this was a ploy by one of our competitors to discredit me? Or somehow steal our company-proprietary algorithms? I clenched my fist and took a deep breath.

  Yeah, Kayla had to know I'd had a crush on her as a dumb seventeen-year-old who felt like a misfit at college. Now I'd just tipped my hand that it had been more than a crush. I'd fallen in love with Kayla in a desperate, first-love way I couldn't shake. She had to see now that I'd never gotten over her.

  "I called the credit card company," she said in a stunned voice. "Canceled the card and reported the charges as false. I never dreamed…" She looked to Harry for help.

  Of course she looked to Harry. All the girls did.
Handsome, hot, frat-boy Harry. Just what all the former sorority babes like Kayla wanted.

  "This is crazy. What do we do now?" Her eyes were wide, and flashed with anger. "We can't let her get away with it. She somehow engineered this fake marriage using our names and identities. What's her game? What does she want?"

  Shit, I never wanted Kayla more than I did at that moment. I wanted her eyes to flash with outrage on my behalf now and forever.

  Harry looked to me for direction. "Justin? We need a word."

  I shook my head. "This doesn't change anything. We proceed with the original plan. It's even more important now."

  Kayla jumped in. "We have to stop her! What if she comes back at Justin and tries to blackmail him out of more? What if she demands a huge alimony settlement or something?" Even when she frowned she was gorgeous. When she turned her lilac eyes on me, I went to mush.

  "The bitch." Her gaze slid down me, measuring the changes. "I don't get why she ran out on you."

  For a second, my heart jumped and my hopes soared. She likes what she sees!

  All that time at the gym each day with a personal trainer was paying off.

  Until she continued, with a pretty furrow in her brow, "Maybe she didn't realize the opportunity she had. Maybe she didn't know who you are and what she could have gotten out of you."

  If Kayla was faking her innocence, she was doing a damned good job. I crashed back to reality. "Yeah, maybe. Harry, I need a quick word with you. Alone."

  Chapter Three

  Kayla

  Harry pushed back from the table. I was intrigued now by the whole situation.

  "This is the damnedest divorce meeting I've ever seen," Harry said as he stood.

  "Like that's a big deal. You're a contract lawyer, not a divorce attorney. How many have you seen?" Justin shot back as he stood, too.

  The way he was able to tease at a time like this was completely adorable. Eric would have flipped and flown into a rage. Justin kept his calm and his sense of humor while I was freaking out inside.

  Harry shook his head as if he couldn't believe what was going on. "You wanted a contract lawyer on this. I consulted the firm's hotshot divorce attorney. We can bring him in on this."

  Justin joined him at the door. He was even taller than I had imagined when he was sitting. His shoulders were broader. His new confidence was surprising and a relief. What had happened to the scrawny, insecure guy he used to be? If he dressed in clothes that fit him, he might actually not be too bad to look at. I could barely believe this was the same Justin I'd known in college.

  "We'll just be a minute," Justin said. "If you need anything, let Laura at reception know." Then he and Harry stepped outside.

  They were gone about ten minutes, leaving me to imagine all sorts of schemes. What was that identity thief's game? What had the bitch wanted? She obviously wasn't too bright, letting a billionaire go. And marrying him under a false identity. If she'd used her real name, the marriage would probably have been legal.

  I shuddered at the thought of her taking Justin for half his billions. She was still a threat. What if she realized who he really was and sold her story to the tabloids? Or blackmailed him?

  Justin came back alone. "I asked Harry to wait for me outside. I wanted to talk to you alone now."

  I jumped at the sound of his voice.

  "Sorry to startle you." His smile was sympathetic.

  "No, it's okay. I was lost in thought. Is it just me? Or is this wild and weird? And a little like something out of an episode of Dateline?"

  "No one's died," he said.

  "Good point. We don't want to add murder to the mix. But disappearing women?"

  He laughed softly. "It's not you. It's definitely both, with a little of 'What the shit' thrown in."

  I couldn't wrap my head around any of it—the way he'd changed and the situation we were in. Someone pretending to be me and duping Justin into marriage was either a better prank than even Dex could have thought up or a diabolical scheme. Or complete stupidity.

  "You've changed." I rubbed my chin, and mimed an imaginary pointed beard. "What's with this?"

  The Justin of old had been baby-faced.

  He took a seat next to me at the table and turned his chair so he faced me. "Because I can. And it makes me look older. I can't run a company constantly being mistaken for a twelve-year-old."

  I slid my gaze over him. "No one's going to mistake you for a boy now."

  He smiled and hesitated, as if he was searching for words. "This whole situation is…embarrassing." His gaze held mine. "Kayla, this dumb shit stunt of mine puts me and my company in a bad situation. I need a favor, a big favor, from you. You're the only one who can help me." He laughed at himself. "It's bad negotiating technique to lead with that. But it's true."

  I stared at him, heart pounding as he took my hands in his. His were surprisingly large and warm. Mine had gone ice cold in the overactive air conditioning.

  "I didn't think I'd ever be proposing to a girl like this…proposing something like this." He took a deep breath. "I need you…I would be very…grateful…if you would stay married to me."

  My mouth fell open. I knew I was gaping, but I couldn't make my mouth or voice work.

  "Not forever. Just for…a year. I'm willing to compensate you—generously—for your trouble."

  I felt my mouth working like a fish's. Open. Close. Open. Close. But no sound came out at first. "But we aren't…but I never—"

  "It's legal enough as long as we both claim it's real. We have a witness. You were holed up in your hotel room. No one saw you. The facts fit. If that identity thief bitch ever shows up, it will be her word against…ours. Who will the courts and public believe?"

  There was a second, maybe even a half a second, when the thought crossed my mind. He doesn't believe I'm telling the truth about not marrying him. He thinks I'm trying to get out of it.

  I brushed the thought aside, too stunned by the turn of events to think clearly. "I…don't know. It would be complicated. To say the least."

  "I know." He nodded. "But we can handle it. I wouldn't ask if it weren't vital. I have nearly a thousand people depending on me for their livelihood. I can't let them down."

  He began explaining about his company. How important it was to him and how he had to look responsible. How being scammed would make his investors lose confidence in him and, more importantly, the company. About how we could shut down the identity thief before she came back and tried to do more damage. Made demands that could ruin him and Flashionista. Or tried to claim the marriage was legit. Something about more money if that's what I wanted.

  I listened, but didn't hear. It was too much to take in until he mentioned money. "I don't want your money. I stand on my own two feet and earn my way in life."

  He squeezed my hands, looking inordinately pleased. "Think of being my wife like a job. You'll have to act the part. All the time. Go to charity events. Be seen in public with me. Travel with me. It will be a hell of a lot of work. You'll definitely earn your money. What can I do to convince you?"

  "I don't prostitute myself."

  He blushed. "I don't expect sex."

  I didn't know whether to be relieved or hurt by his quick answer. I hated to admit it, but apparently I was one of those shallow girls who wanted a guy to lust after her. Forever. I know, irrational. But, you know, every girl wants to be desired when she's being proposed to. As it turns out, that's true even if the marriage is faked.

  I took a deep breath. "I'm not ready to be married—"

  "According to this." He picked up the license. "You already are."

  I took a deep breath, willing myself to think. I was intrigued. "What kind of arrangement are you proposing? Would we live together, for example?"

  "Most married people do. It will make the charade more convincing. That's essential."

  "But what will everyone think? What will my parents think?" I shuddered at the thought. "Eric and I just broke up. I'm off men. It will be a h
ard sell."

  "Eric? The same Eric from college?" He sounded surprised.

  "Yeah, unfortunately. I'm a stupid sucker for him." I corrected myself: "I was a stupid sucker for him." Maybe that sounded a little too fierce.

  "I'm sorry." He was trying to look sympathetic, but I saw through him. He'd never liked Eric.

  "It's okay. Really. I'm better off without him." Or so I kept telling myself.

  "He's a real douchebag for letting you get away." He sounded genuine about that, at least.

  "That's nice of you to say. On the bright side, it makes things less complicated for us." I reached into my tote for a tissue.

  As I dabbed my eyes, I looked at Justin, trying to imagine him as my husband. And realizing with a shock that now that he was a billionaire and I was just one broke girl, he was out of my league. The world was on its ear. Girls the world over would die to be in my place right now. I had to save my dignity.

  "You'll look like rebound guy. Like I just married you to show him. 'See, I married a billionaire—ha ha! In your face, sucker.' You could have anyone, any girl you wanted now. Do you really want to be my rebound guy?"

  He got a funny look on his face. "I would be honored to be your any kind of guy."

  I laughed. "And given your situation, you really don't have any choice."

  He grinned, looking like I'd called his bluff.

  I thought out loud. "I'll look like a mercenary bitch. Everyone will think I married you for your money."

  "So? What the hell do we care?" His eyes snapped and he sounded fierce. "Let them. We'll know, I'll know, the real reason. You have a good heart. You're helping out a friend. You're taking a challenging temporary assignment."

  Crap. He was wearing me down.

  "Pets?" I asked.

  "I have a dog," he said. "You?"

  I shook my head. "Kids?" I grinned. Someone had to lighten the tone.

  "I thought you said no sex?" There was a tease in his voice. "Maybe if we make it past the one-year mark—"

  I rolled my eyes. "I meant, do you currently have any?"

  "Is that a deal breaker?" His eyes sparkled.