Wedding Date for Hire (4 page)

Trent sighed then nodded. “How about we start over? I’m Trent Montgomery.” He stuck out his hand to her.

She glanced at it, not bothering to shake it, and immediately lost her smile. “I know who you are, Trent. We went through four years of high school together.”

He squinted at her.
Four years?
Impossible. There was no way he would have gone all through his high school years without noticing or asking her out at least once. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” Her expression became a mask of impassive coolness. “As sure as you asking me to your junior prom.”

He blinked. “We went to the junior prom together?”
What the hell?
It’s getting worse
.

“No. I said you
asked
me to your junior prom. Then two weeks before, one of your jock buddies told me it was some sort of varsity hazing ritual to ask someone out from marching band. Some joke. I had bought a dress and everything.”

Okay, not getting worse. It was worse. Then a memory popped into his mind. “Wait. You’re
Fatty Maddie
?”

Her chin shot up, and she pinned him with a kind of disdain reserved only for delinquent dads or men who kicked puppies. “It’s just Maddie nowadays, but yes,” she said in a frosty tone.

He winced. Of all the women he would need to depend on for his business, it was dumb luck that it would turn out to be a girl his buddies practically tortured in school. A dull throb filled his temples, and he reached up both hands to massage them.

He should have been more surprised at his actions, but it wasn’t hard to picture himself going along with something like that back then. When his buddies had teased Maddie about her weight, he had said nothing. Never came to her defense. But he had been a rotten teenager, constantly looking for approval and acceptance from his friends since his parents were never around to give him those things. It was one of the reasons he wanted to start a youth program in his gym for high school boys. To make a difference but to also keep young men from becoming what he had been: a self-absorbed ass.

“I’m sorry,” he told her, finally dropping his arms. “I didn’t exactly hang around with the best crowd back then.”

Maddie shrugged. “Water under the bridge. We’re both mature adults now. Well,
I
am, at least.”

“So you not wanting to hire me has nothing to do with our so-called past? I mean, since you’re the mature adult in this equation here.”

“That’s right. It has absolutely nothing to do with high school.” But the waver in her voice combined with the way she didn’t meet his eyes when she answered told him a different story—like this woman knew how to hold a grudge.

Not that he blamed her. He could tell he had hurt her back then. And for that, he felt like a true jackass. No wonder the woman didn’t want to hire him as her date. She probably didn’t even want to be in his presence now. But he had to change her mind.

“I find that hard to believe.” He stepped closer to her and caught a pleasing scent of citrus mixed with flowers—like springtime and sass in a bottle. He barely knew this woman, but somehow the fragrance suited her. Everything about her seemed fresh and clean and bright. All the way from her neon pink panties to the robin’s-egg blue color on her fingertips. He wondered how he’d missed someone so vibrant all those years ago even in just passing.

Then he frowned, suddenly remembering the real reason he had gone after her in the first place: so she’d reconsider and use his cousin’s escort service. Which actually was turning out to be a more interesting job than he originally thought.

“Look, I’m perfectly fine,” she told him in a no-nonsense tone. “So get over yourself. We were both kids. As you can see, I’m unaffected by what you did back then.”

As a beautiful woman in desperate need of a hired wedding date, he had to assume she was affected by
something
. Not that her problem was his to solve. He had enough of his own, including getting his investment money back from his cousin’s business.

He cleared his throat. “I’m glad to hear it. I guess I’m hired then.”

Hired.
Ugh. The word still sounded bizarre. He couldn’t believe he was one step away from actually begging. But if Maddie asked, he wouldn’t be averse to dropping down on his knees and doing just that.

She scoffed. “I don’t think so. It’s kind of awkward at this point, you pretending to be my date and all.”

“One little mishap in high school doesn’t have to be awkward.”

She pursed her lips, staring him down. “Did you know you also broke my glasses on senior prank day?”

Oh, crap. He sighed then shook his head.

“Well, you did. You and your buddies bought hundreds of those super bouncy balls and dropped them from the second floor onto underclassmen below, one of whom happened to be me. One bounced right in my face and knocked off my glasses, then a girl in a wheelchair ran over them while she was trying to roll out of the way. My mom made me spend my own money to buy a new pair.”

He rubbed his face with his hand and prayed he hadn’t done anything else to this woman. Karma certainly was a bitch, or in his instance, a five-foot-five blond pixie who wore contacts and had an elephant memory. “Uh, sorry about that, too, then.”

She blew her hair out of her face, sending curls dancing along her cheek. “Look, Trent, no offense, but this whole situation combined with our pasts is just a little…weird. It won’t work. I’m not that good of an actress to pretend that I like you, let alone that I’m smitten with you. And right now, I literally can’t afford for anyone not to believe me.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. Leave it to the professionals at Match Made Easy.”

Maddie cocked an eyebrow. “The professionals. You mean
you
?”

“Yes, uh, me.”
Sort of.
Maybe he wasn’t exactly an escort professional. But he knew women well enough. How hard could this job be anyway? All he had to do was think of it as a one hundred and twenty hour date…

Kennedy better be right about this job being good for business.

“My sister was four years behind us in school. Do you really think for one second she is going to fall for any of your lines? She knows what you did to me.”

“Okay, I can see where there might be some issues for you, but I can guarantee you that I’ve changed.” He
had
changed. He made a show out of crossing his heart to help prove his case. “Maddie, you’re going to have to trust me on this.”

“Ha! I don’t trust you as far as I can—”

“Maddie!” a female voice called.

“What now,” she said with a groan.

They both turned in the direction of the voice. A very attractive brunette walked over to them, all smiles and white teeth for Maddie. “Hey, Maddie,” she said once she stood next to them. “What are you doing here? I thought you said you were allergic to working out.”

Trent held in a grin but glanced over at Maddie with raised eyebrows.

Maddie’s cheeks colored. “Uh, no, Sabrina. I said I have
allergies
and quite possibly”—she fake-coughed several times—”exercise-induced asthma. That’s why I don’t work out. I prefer good old-fashioned walking,” she said, pumping her arms back and forth.

Sabrina’s brows furrowed. “Then what are you doing here?”

“I…was just passing through…on my walk.”

“Passing through a gym?” Sabrina chuckled. “I don’t think so. I know you too well. Not unless there was a Krispy Kreme on the other side of it. Does this have anything to do with your friend here?” she said, giving her a knowing smile.

Maddie blinked. “Friend? Who?” She glanced at Trent in horror. “NO! Not at all. He’s not a friend, he’s—”

“Her boyfriend,” Trent blurted. This was it. This was his one chance to seal the deal, and he was grabbing it. He then threw his arm around Maddie and pulled her into his chest.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Maddie mumbled into his T-shirt.

Sabrina raised questioning eyebrows at him. “Are you or aren’t you?”

He gritted his teeth but smiled. It was obvious Maddie wasn’t going to take a knee and make this easy for him. “Maddie has a wonderful sense of humor. It’s one of the things I love about her.”

Maddie managed to wriggle out of his embrace, shooting him such a sharp look that he almost checked for blood.

“So nice to finally meet you, Sabrina,” he went on to say. “I’ve heard so much.”

Sabrina looked at him blankly. “Really? That’s funny because I’ve heard absolutely nothing about you.” Then her eyes widened at Maddie, and she smacked herself on the forehead. “Oh, I get it. You didn’t mention him to me because you didn’t want to jinx it, right? I knew you believed in the family curse. Well, I wouldn’t have told me, either. I’ve read curses—and voodoo hexes—can be very tricky to eliminate.”

Maddie gulped and looked at a loss for words. Sabrina mentioning a family curse threw him for a loop, too. Fortunately for Maddie, in his lifetime, he’d picked up his share of fumbles, so he was prepared to pick up hers and run all the way to the end zone with it. “You are so correct,” he said smoothly. “We’ve been keeping it a secret for exactly that reason. But then again, ever since I met Maddie, I haven’t wanted to let her out of my sight for one minute.”

Sabrina looked to Maddie. “Is that why you haven’t called lately?”

“I—”

“We’ve been pretty…
busy
,” he added with a wink.

Sabrina chuckled. “Ah. Well, all is forgiven then.” She glanced at the time and frowned. “I’d love to hear more about how you two met, but I don’t want to miss my yoga class. We can catch up at Louise’s wedding.”

Maddie finally found her voice. “Y-yes, we’ll talk more at the wedding.”

Sabrina cocked her head at Trent. “I guess I’ll be seeing you there, too?”

Trent nodded emphatically. “You bet. Wouldn’t miss attending Maddie’s sister’s wedding for anything. Curse or no curse. Isn’t that right,
honey
?”

When Maddie kept her jaw clenched, he gave her shoulders a subtle little shake. She caught on fast and looked up at him with an ultra-bright Miss America smile. “That’s right, schnookie,” she said to him through her teeth.

Sabrina beamed at both of them. “Great. And Maddie, don’t even think about the curse now. In fact, I promise not to mention it again, either. I’m just so glad you’ve met someone and can prove to your family that the curse is finally broken.” With a little wave, she then took off in the direction of the yoga room.

Trent turned to her with a frown. “What’s this about a curse?”

Maddie ignored his question, planting both fists on her hips. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Helping you.”

“You mean helping yourself,” she spat.

“No, I mean helping
you
. Maddie, listen. You don’t seem like the kind of woman who would call Match Made Easy on some whim. There must have been a pretty darn good reason. Or maybe even more than one. Start being honest with yourself, and don’t let your pride about what happened in our past get in the way. I can help you with whatever that reason is in the present. If you let me.”

Maddie looked down at her hands, wrung together in one giant knot of tension. He was right. This woman didn’t just want simple company at this wedding. There was definitely more to it. But he had to remind himself that whatever the reason was, it wasn’t his concern.

After several long moments, she finally conceded. “Okay,” she breathed. “Fine. I really don’t have a choice at this point. You’re hired.”

Yes!
He couldn’t wait to tell his cousin. Luckily for his self-respect, he had seen the end zone before and was able to school his expression into a perfect mask of impassiveness.

“Great,” he said. “Let’s go talk to Kennedy then.” He started in that direction but after several steps, realized Maddie wasn’t following.

When he glanced back, he saw Maddie no longer wore the troubled expression of a defeated woman desperate for a date. Instead, she’d taken on a warrior stance with those glossed lips of hers settled into a fine tight line. “Look, hot shot, Sabrina may think that we’re a couple, but my family can spot bad acting faster than Roger Ebert at a B-movie festival, so you better be convincing.”

He advanced another step and had the satisfaction of seeing her lose a little of that tough-act bravado. “I can be very convincing,” he assured her in a voice several octaves deeper than he intended.

“Well…all right then.” She bit her lip. “I’m paying a lot for you so I don’t want there to be any mistakes.”

Trent managed to drag his eyes away from that shiny mouth of hers and grinned. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I guarantee I’ll be worth every penny.”

Chapter Three

T
rent Montgomery better be worth every penny.

With a queasy feeling, Maddie signed the check with the first half of her payment to Match Made Easy and stuffed it in an envelope.

A male escort as her wedding date. Ugh. Her life had hit an all-time low.

She sank her head into her hands—a tame action, considering she really wanted to stuff her head into the toilet and flush. Was it truly that important to attend her sister’s wedding with a gorgeous guy on her arm and show her mom, her cousin, that dirtbag of a best man, and the rest of her family that she was not a loser and not in fact cursed?

Yes
. Yes, unfortunately, it was.

She would have spent almost any amount of money, too. Money she didn’t really have just to stop the talk and whispers, even if only temporarily. She had to dip into her dismal savings she had hoped would last until she found another job. Not that she faulted her family. They didn’t understand the pain she’d feel whenever she heard the jokes start to crack.

Looks like our dear Maddie gave another man the slip.

Hey, Maddie, have you bought stock in WD-40 yet?

Poor Maddie still hasn’t found a job. The curse hasn’t stopped at her love life.

Maddie took several deep breaths until she was strong enough to raise her head again. Everything was going to be fine. Her life would get better. It would. She had to believe that. She just needed to get through her sister’s wedding first.

A knock at her door sounded, then her mom stuck her head in. “All clear? Hi, sweetie.”

Maddie rolled her eyes. “Mom, please. This is your house, and I’m thirty years old. I’m hardly sneaking boys up to my room at this stage of my life.”

“Maybe not boys, but perhaps
one
man in particular,” she teased, having a seat on her bed. “So why don’t you tell me about him.”

“About who?”

“That’s what I’d like to know,” she said with a chuckle. “I don’t even know your boyfriend’s name.”

“Boyfriend?” She blinked. “Oh, right.
Boyfriend
.” She smacked her hand against her forehead. Gosh, it would be good if she remembered that small tidbit if she wanted to make this wedding date work. “Yes, his name is Trent. Trent Montgomery.”

Her mom’s brows furrowed in thought. “Didn’t you go to school with a Trent Montgomery? He was a football player and very cute if I recall.”

Maddie sent her a weak smile. Leave it to her mom to remember those details of her high school experience. “Uh, yeah. That’s him all right.” Although if she were being honest, she’d hardly describe Trent as “cute.” Adonis, stud-like, hottie McHot-Hot, even pulchritudinous—all acceptable descriptions. Hardly just cute.

Her mom frowned. “Wasn’t he the one who—?”

“Yes.”
She cleared her throat, trying to block out all the embarrassing high school experiences. “Yes, that Trent Montgomery. But it’s all in the past. Apparently he’s very nice now.”

“Apparently?”

“I mean, he
is
nice now. Of course he is. Um, he’s great.” She managed to hold in a snort. Trent hardly seemed nice or great or changed at all. What kind of conceited man capitalizes on his good looks and becomes a male escort anyway? He was practically one step away from being a gigolo. Good grief. Maybe it was a mistake to hire him for her only sister’s wedding after all.

Her mom cocked her head. “Honey, are you okay? You look a little…green.”

“Uh, it’s probably the stress of the wedding that has me a little wiped. How’s Louise holding up?” she said, anxious to change the subject.

“She and Michael are in Newport already. I imagine his parents are trying to take care of a lot of the wedding details for her. She mentioned Michael even scheduled a spa appointment to help her relax.”

Maddie smiled. Her sister had found a gem of a guy. “Michael is so good for her. I hope they last.”

“Maddie! Of course they’ll last. Why on earth would you think otherwise? Are you letting what Veronica said the other day get to you?”

She made a face. “I try not to let
anything
Veronica says or does get to me.”

But in truth what her cousin had said about the curse had gotten to her. If she wasn’t cursed, why couldn’t she keep a man interested? She’d never been able to get to know a guy long enough to ever fall in love. Even her own father—the man she’d worshipped and had thought felt the same about her—didn’t think she was worthy enough to stick around for. They had been so close, too. He’d read to her almost every night when she was a child, just the two of them. He’d sneak in her favorite chocolate mints, and she’d slowly savor each bite as he read, basking in the attention he’d given to her. Those were the best days. Then one day he was gone. No good-bye. No note.

Nothing.

It had pretty much set the tone for the way men fizzled out of her life after that.

Her mom stroked her head. “I know your cousin isn’t the easiest to get along with, but my brother said having Louise marry first between all the cousins has set her on edge a bit. And now that you and Trent are so serious, I’m sure she’s feeling the pressure even more.”

“If that’s Veronica under pressure, I hate to see what she’s like when she’s in full-on stressed out mode,” she grumbled.

Her mom chuckled. “Well, hopefully we won’t have to find out. And speaking of Trent, you should have him come by tonight. I’d love to meet this special guy of yours.”

“Meet? Tonight? Oh, no, that can’t happen,” she blurted without thinking.

“Why not?”

Yeah, Maddie. Why on earth not?
“Uh, because…” she said, searching frantically for a plausible explanation. “He works. And he has to go out a lot when he works. At night.” Lame, but not necessarily a lie. In fact, Trent might even be out on another date at that very moment, which for some reason kind of irked her. Was it unreasonable to ask he remain a monogamous escort while he was under contract with her?

“Don’t you plan on seeing your boyfriend at all before the wedding?”

Not if I can help it.
Little did her mother know that she hoped to delay being in Trent Montgomery’s macho-football presence for as long as possible. But she supposed if she and Trent were seriously seeing each other, they would make time for each other. “Uh, yeah. Sure.”

“Good. Then before you go out, Trent can certainly spare some time to sit and visit with your old mom here. We can all have a nice chat. How does that sound?”

“That sounds…”
Nightmare-on-Elm-Streetish.
“Perfect.”

She gulped. She and Trent hadn’t gone over anything personal about each other yet. They still needed to get their stories straight.

She’d have to scramble to see if Trent was even available to stop by. It would probably just require thirty minutes of his time. She was sure the great Money Montgomery could spare a measly half an hour to ensure this job goes smoothly. Oh, crap, would he charge extra?

Her mom stood. “It’ll be good to get to know him before the wedding.”

“You’re telling me,” she muttered, but she must have said it louder than she’d thought, because her mom gave her a strange look. “I mean, it’ll be good for
you
to get to know him.” She gave a shaky little laugh. “I’ll call him right now.”

Maddie picked up her cell phone in front of her mom, making it look as if she were going to do just that. She even had her index finger poised in the call-ready position.

Too bad she didn’t actually have Trent’s number.

Her mom clasped her hands together. “I’ll chill some wine just in case he’s free. Does he prefer red or white?”

Maddie held in a scream. Her mom was killing her with all these questions about Trent. Slowly and painfully killing her.

“I don’t think it matters, Mom.” She hoped. And she hoped he was available.

“Okay, I’ll give you and your man some privacy then.” Her mother practically floated to the door then, with a bright smile, closed it behind her.

As soon as she heard the click of the doorknob, Maddie scrolled through her contact list in her phone until she found Kennedy’s number. Hopefully, this extra little “service” she was about to ask for wouldn’t be an issue. She was in too deep now to turn back. She needed to make this wedding date look like a real relationship. Hopefully, Trent wasn’t already booked.

Without wasting another second, she hit the dial button and waited for Kennedy to pick up, all the while wondering if this was what it felt like to lose one’s mind.

“Y
ou’re late,” was all she said in greeting.

Trent glanced at his cell phone. He was one minute ahead of the time Kennedy had told him to report to Maddie’s house. He inhaled deeply.

Serenity now.

The things he put up with for family. Maddie and Kennedy were damn lucky the only thing he had going on tonight was giving his dog a bath, otherwise he would not be on this woman’s doorstep about to play devoted boyfriend.

Although, seeing the way Maddie looked when she answered the door more than made up for her sour attitude. From her blond hair pulled back in a low ponytail to the sleeveless pink T-shirt dress with white flip-flops, Maddie looked as good and smelled as sweet as one of those petit fours his mom would always serve at her fundraiser teas. Maddie was the epitome of the girl next door. The one he’d always ignored all throughout school. Not his usual type. However, he couldn’t deny the fact that Maddie McCarthy was a natural traffic stopper.

He slipped his phone back into his pocket and held out his arms. “Is that any way to greet your adoring boyfriend?”

She shot him a glare that could have easily taken down the best of linebackers. “Just get in here. We need to discuss some things before my mo—”

“There he is,” an older woman said in a sing-song voice. “The man of the hour.”

Maddie’s cheeks colored. “Oh, Mom.” She nervously glanced from her mother to him. “Yes, this is Trent. Um, ta-da!”

Maddie’s mom looked young, maybe early fifties. She was attractive with straight blond hair that just brushed her shoulders, and she had a trim figure like her daughter. She walked up to him and took his hand firmly between her own. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

Trent smiled back. “You, too.” And he found he meant it. Maddie’s mom seemed like a sweet woman who loved and was concerned for her daughter. Very unlike his own mother, who ignored him most of his life until he became a college football star and she could brag to anyone within a three foot radius. His mom was more the rich, pampered type whose version of natural childbirth meant giving birth without makeup. His father wasn’t far behind in that belief. His parents weren’t even there for him when Trent had suffered his accident in college. Only Kennedy had given him the moral support he’d needed during his recovery and then his decision to quit football. He would never forget that, which was why he would do anything for his cousin now, including posing as a boyfriend/wedding date to a high-strung blonde who seemed to hate him.

“My sneaky little daughter has been hiding you from us for quite a while,” her mom went on.

Trent lifted an eyebrow at Maddie, who went pale at her mom’s “hiding” comment. “Yes, our Maddie here is a crafty one all right,” he agreed. “In fact, you’d be surprised at some of the things I’ve seen her try to pull off recently.”

Maddie wound her arm through his, slyly digging her thumbnail into his biceps. “Now,
honey
, you don’t need to go spilling secrets,” she said between clenched teeth.

“Oh, come now,” he said, patting her hand, “there shouldn’t be secrets between family, right?” Her eyes went wide, and he bit down on a laugh. Yes, he had probably tortured this poor woman enough all through school, but heaven help him, he couldn’t resist having a little fun with her. It had been way too long since he’d wanted to laugh out loud like this. He liked her feistiness.

Blue-eyed fury stared back at him. “Well, if you do spill secrets, I might have to tell a few of my own. Like your Viagra story.”

Her mom half cleared her throat, half choked. “You know, now might be a good time for a glass of wine.” Fanning her face, she turned and made her way down the hall.

Maddie rushed to follow, but he grabbed her hand, yanking her back. “Not so fast.
Viagra
story?”

“What?” She had the nerve to bat her eyelashes. “You were the one getting cute, hinting around to me hiring you for Louise’s wedding. Besides,” she said with a smug grin, “it was the first thing that popped in my head when I looked at you.”

“Thanks a lot. You gave your mom the idea that I have ‘performance’ problems.”

She shrugged. “It’s fine. She’ll only assume I’m with you for more than just your body.”

“Well, from now on, I’d prefer you to be more shallow.”

“Like all those cheerleaders you dated in high school?”

“Ah,” he said, wagging a mocking finger at her, “I figured since we’ve gone from the dating to relationship phase in less than twenty-four hours, you’d see how committed I am. Obviously you’re the jealous type.”

“Look, just don’t try anything else funny. It’s not too late for me to fire you.”

Trent was all too tempted to call her on that. By his account, it
was
too late. Unless she wanted to show up to her sister’s wedding stag, which he highly doubted considering this whole big ruse she was trying to pull off in the first place. But he wisely decided to keep his mouth shut and keep the peace for the sake of his cousin. “Anything you say, boss.”

She regarded him through wary eyes. “All right then. This shouldn’t take too long. I told my mom we would have one drink with her. Just follow my lead and pretend we’ve been dating for months then when I tap my watch, you’ll mention that we have to get going because we have dinner reservations. Can you handle that?”

I can handle anything you want to give me,
Trent’s mind suggested. Then he gave his hormones a swift mental slug. What the hell? He was supposed to be thinking of Maddie as a job. A favor to his cousin and business arrangement only. That was
all.