A Play Pretend Marriage (Destined Vows #3)

Chapter 1

Chapter one

Kate

Iworked for the world’s biggest asshole.

Okay, that might’ve been a bit melodramatic. Tristan wasn’t the biggest asshole in the world, he was just the biggest asshole in New York.

A groan bubbled up my throat as I tightened my grip on the manila folder and hurried toward the high-rise. My clicking heels on the hard cement of the sidewalk almost matched the furious tapping inside my chest.

Chasing after my boss was as strenuous as my favorite Kayleigh Cohen spin class.

Huffing out a breath, I wiped a bead of sweat from my brow. The action illuminated the screen of my smartwatch... and a hard curse rolled off my tongue.

This freaking idiot of a man was going to make me miss my date.

Kind of a big damn deal when it took me over six years to enter the dating scene. And no, it didn’t matter my sister set up the dating app profile behind my back or that she even arranged this date…and the previous one I didn’t show up for.

“Ugh,” I grumbled as the entrance to Blake Towers came into view. “Freaking finally.”

Increasing my brisk walk to a jog, my heels clicked faster, and my arms pumped harder. I only slowed to greet the doorman opening the door so I could dash into the lobby. I couldn’t thank him properly because I didn’t know his name—he was new, and I made a mental note to catch his name next time.

Stepping into the lobby, a shiver slid down my spine.

I never did like this place. It was pristine, sterile, and so damn pretentious. If I looked down, I’d probably see my scattered reflection staring at me.

Barely containing the defeated sound that wanted to puff past my lips, I made my way to Ezekiel sitting behind the front desk.

His perfectly straight teeth were extra white against his dark skin. The smile on his lips, the friendliest I’d seen all day.

“Is he up there?”

He gave me a knowing look. “Arrived about forty minutes ago.”

I waved the manila folder through the air. “Great.”

Ezekiel’s gaze darted to the folder then returned to me. The worry lines creasing his forehead gave my heart a little jolt. “You work too hard, Miss Kate.”

I’d been employed by Tristan for the better part of five years, more than half of which was spent chasing the man after hours, trying to get him to sign one document or another.

“Don’t I know it?” Puckering my lips, I blew at the few wayward strands dangling over my left eye. In my peripheral, I noticed the elevator doors open. “Wish me luck,” I said to Ezekiel and made a mad dash toward the shiny doors.

Of course, they slid shut the second I reached them.

“Oh, come on.” Groaning, I stabbed the button more times than necessary.

And since my irritation and anxiety was at an all-time high, I couldn’t keep still. Bending my knees slightly, I straightened them again and again, as if bouncing on the spot would make the damn car arrive faster.

Another flick of my wrist told me I had twenty-five minutes to get Tristan to sign the stupid papers and rush across town to meet Steve on time.

I can make it. Yeah… in my dreams, probably.

Another curse fell from my lips as the doors finally glided apart. Only the car wasn’t empty, and judging by the way the elderly couple stared at me, I had no doubt they’d heard what I’d said.

Fan-freaking-tastic.

I lifted my lips into an apologetic smile but received nothing but a scolding glare when they exited and shuffled past me.

Oh well.

Ignoring the embarrassment bubbling through my veins, I stepped inside and poked the button that would take me to the top floor. The doors skittered closed at the same time as my back hit the wall behind me.

I watched the digital numbers climb. Up and up they went until I could enter the hallway that led to Tristan’s front door.

My feet moved and didn’t stop until my palm connected with the wood.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

No sounds, no freaking movement came from inside.

He was probably busy. No, not probably, definitely.

I tried one more time. Curling my hand into a fist, I slammed it down harder than before.

Still, there was no sign of life.

With another groan followed by a defeated sigh, I dropped my head against the door. Only it wasn’t the hard wood I connected with. Warm, taut skin stretched tight over solid muscle met my forehead.

Could this day possibly get any freaking worse?

Lifting my head faster than I’d lowered it, I stumbled backward and scowled at the man in front of me.

The dress shirt he’d worn when he’d left the office well over an hour ago was nowhere to be seen. Nothing but lean, toned muscle in its place. His slacks were halfway undone, and his feet bare.

Now, I would be the first one to admit this man was all kinds of hot. His dark hair was slightly too long, but not in an unruly way. Then there were those eyes. The color of dark honey with a stare so intense, it easily made grown men cower.

Yeah, he was sexy as sin, and the bastard knew it too.

The first few times I’d caught him like this, heat had crept through my body, setting a flame to long-forgotten parts.

I got over that fast.

The saying: a beautiful man is everyone’s man? Well, that was Tristan Blake.

He was powerful, successful, and never seen with the same woman twice. And his moral values left a hell of a lot to be desired.

“Kate.” Voice filled with surprise; he slowly arched his brow. “Why aren’t you at home?”

I almost swore again. Waving the manila through the air like a lunatic, I gritted out, “You never signed these.” What I barely refrained from adding was I’d given it to him after lunch, but then Shelby showed up, and his productivity flew out the damn window.

“The courier arrived to pick up the contract as I was leaving. Good thing I had the sense to double check.”

He scrunched up his face. “What would I do without you, Kate?” Opening the door wide, he moved to the side. “Better come in while I do this.”

I took one step and halted. Jerking my chin, I asked, “Is it safe?” A valid question considering the things I’d seen.

He flattened his palm against his pec, long fingers splayed across his inked chest. “Oh, Kate.” A deep laugh made his frame shake. “You wound me.”

It was my turn to raise a brow. His response was to laugh some more while he ambled away, leaving me to stare at his retreating back.

“Fucking idiot,” I mumbled.

Shaking my head—at the man, at the situation—I gingerly placed one foot in front of the other and followed him inside. He went to the dining room table and scribbled his all-important signature everywhere it needed to go.

I wonder where Shelby is.

Instead of voicing that question, I chose to focus on the sparsely decorated interior of Tristan’s home. It was gorgeous. All dark colors, sharp edges, and stainless steel. Sleek, modern furniture and not a single thing out of place.

It was picture-perfect.

And it wasn’t a home.

Sure, this penthouse would fit between the pages of any upscale interior design magazine, but I couldn’t imagine living in a place like this. I’d be too afraid to put my coffee mug down in case I stained something.

Biting the inside of my cheek to keep myself from laughing at my silly thoughts, my gaze flicked to the clock on the wall.

Fifteen minutes left. There was still time… Maybe.

“Somewhere you need to be?” Tristan appeared in front of me, the manila pressed to his chest.

I narrowed my eyes and glared at him. “Yes, there is. I have dinner plans, and I’m running late.”

His lips twitched, and I knew he was holding back another chuckle. “Oh, so it’s food you’re after, and here I thought it was that time of the month.”

“Ugh.” I shot my hand out to grab the contract from him. Just as I had the envelope in my grasp, he curled his long fingers around my wrist.

“You should have said something. I’m more than happy to feed a hangry Kitty Kat.”

The words “no thank you” were right there on the tip of my tongue, but before a single sound could escape me, another voice filtered down the hall.

“Tristaaan.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and let out a breath. This was exactly what I’d wanted to avoid.

“Seriously?” Yanking my arm back, I tried to free myself from his hold, but his damn fingers were locked tight.

Shelby called out to him a second time, and despite myself, I craned my neck to look at her. She was model-beautiful: blond hair, long legs, flawless skin. And the only thing she had on was Tristan’s dress shirt from earlier.

Good heavens, I did not need to be here. Didn’t want to be here.

“For shit’s sake, Tristan, let me go.”

His fingers flexed, digging deeper into my skin. I faced him again, fully intending on giving him a piece of my mind, but when my gaze met his, something very, very strange happened behind my breastbone.

A fluttering somewhat similar to tiny butterfly wings brushing over my skin. Or maybe it was indigestion.

Whatever it was freaked me out so much I wrenched hard enough to free myself from his grasp. Then I hurried out of his apartment as fast as I could. It wasn’t fast enough. As I poked the button for the ground floor, the sound of my name followed me.

Through the elevator’s closing doors, I didn’t miss Tristan’s big body stuck inside his doorframe.

What the hell was that?

Much like earlier, I slumped against the wall. It’d been a long day. Hell, it’d been a long, few months with all the partner talk happening at the firm. It was the only explanation I had for whatever was going on with my boss.

The only one that made sense.

Shoving a few strands behind my ear, I blew out a breath and checked my watch.

There was no way I was going to make it to the restaurant on time.

I reached into my dress’s hidden pocket—whoever thought of hiding these neat pockets in a dress deserved a freaking award—to grab my phone and scroll to Steve’s number.

It didn’t take long for his gravelly “Hello” to filter through the line.

“Steve. Hi, it’s Kate.”

There was a long, loaded pause. “You’re late.” Not yet I wasn’t, but I thought it best to keep that to myself.

“Yeah, that’s why I’m calling.” The elevator dinged its permission for the doors to slide apart.

Phone still pressed to my ear; I strode across the lobby.

Sensing Ezekiel’s watchful gaze on me, I used the envelope to wave my goodbye.

He tipped his head, and his wide toothy smile was exactly what I needed when I greeted the busy New York sidewalk.

“I had a work emergency. I’m done now and should be at the restaurant in less than an hour.”

“What’s the point?”

“Excuse me?” I stood with my back to the glass doors, doing my best to avoid the hustling pedestrians.

“No, really, Kate. What’s the point? If you didn’t want to have dinner with me then why did you accept? I thought we were on the same page. I won’t be strung along.”

“I’m not stringing you along, Steve,” I breathed out. “Things have been really crazy at work, that’s all.”

There was a long pause before he spoke again. “I’m looking for something serious. Something lasting. We can’t even have a first date. I’m sorry, I think it’s best we part ways now.”

I didn’t know what to say. So instead of responding, I dropped the call and headed to the office. Confusion was a constant companion during my walk. This failed date should have bothered me.

I should’ve been disappointed or sad even. But the only thing coursing through my body was the sweet warmth of relief.

Maybe I wasn’t ready to enter the dating scene, after all.

The relief soon morphed into irritation. I wanted to move on. Wanted to find my special person. If only to parade him at Sunday lunch so my older sister would stop rubbing my nose in what she stole from me.

Yeah, it was petty. Sue me.

“I’m so sorry for the delay,” I told the courier waiting in the lobby. “Everything is signed and ready to go.” Giving the documents one last scan, I sealed the envelope and handed it over.

Not even a minute later, I was on my way up to the twenty-fifth floor. But instead of grabbing my purse and going home, I dialed Izzy’s number.

She answered on the first ring. “Uh-oh. I take it your date’s not going well.”

In the background, Millie’s favorite song played. The thought of her singing and dancing along brought an immediate smile to my lips. One that vanished as quickly as it formed when I remembered why I’d called my little sister.

“It’s not going at all.” I slumped into my chair and swiveled it toward the window.

“Let me guess. You had to do something for that self-centered manwhore you work for and missed your date?”

I should probably have been worried about how accurately she pinpointed the situation. But instead of doing that, I shrugged.

Then realized she couldn’t see me and added, “It’s not some great loss, Iz. Steve and I weren’t going anywhere.”

“You don’t know that, Katie.”

“Besides, I don’t think I should be dating right now anyway. Millie needs me.” My gaze flicked to the lowering sun, my heart squeezing tight. “She’s been through so much and adding whatever crap comes with dating to that seems so irresponsible.”

My sister was quiet for a long while, but she was still on the line. This was what she did. Isabella never said something without thinking it through. The way we say things matters as much as the words themselves, she’d always said.

She also never held back. If you were acting like a dick; she’d tell you faster than you could blink.

“Katie, I’m not going to pretend I know the first thing about being a parent, guardian, or whatever you want to call it. I don’t think anyone really does—”

“Even the psychologists?”

“Especially them,” she groaned. “What I’m trying to say is I don’t believe Clara meant for you to put your life on hold when she left Millie in your care.”

I opened my mouth to answer her…

Someone cleared their throat behind me.

Turning my head, I glanced over my shoulder at a familiar face.

“I gotta go,” I said to my sister. “Tell Millie I’ll be there soon.” I didn’t wait for the line to go dead before I pushed out of my chair and crossed to Mrs. Humphreys.

I was used to seeing her. She checked in on Millie regularly. But today, something felt so off that an uneasiness coated my skin.

“Kate,” she started. “I wish I was here under better circumstances.”

That feeling grew into a big untamable beast. “That sounds ominous.”

A veil of sadness washed over her face. “It’s Taelyn. She wants custody of Millie.”

“No.” The ground vanished beneath my feet. Ice-cold fingers of dread ripped my heart from my chest. “She can’t have her.”

Mrs. Humphreys shook her head. “Unfortunately, she can. She’s claiming you’re not equipped enough to raise Millie on your own. She believes she and her husband can provide Millie with a more stable upbringing.”

Stable upbringing? Tears filled my eyes, and I didn’t do a damn thing to keep them from rolling down my cheeks. How could I when I was about to lose the most important person in my life?