Page 17 of The Fiancé Hoax

The words were heavy in my throat. I stood up and began to pace through the room.

“They've lived with me for the past two years,” I said. “Gen’s never been the most dedicated mother, to put it lightly. But now she says she wants the girls to live with her. She wants child support, of course. She spent her divorce settlement, and now she’s out of money. So she's trying to get the girls.”

“That's awful,” Felicity breathed. Her hands were clasped over her heart.

“Yeah.” I sighed. “My ex-wife has… problems.”

Felicity nodded silently, watching me pace.

“The girls don't want to live with her. Gen has never been interested in being a mother to them. It hurts them terribly.”

“I'm so sorry, Cooper. I can tell the girls really love you. This must be difficult.”

I nodded. “Very.”

She exhaled. “So where do I come in?”

“I have an attorney specializing in family law. He says the judge handling my case is tough. Judge Graves wants children to be in a two-parent household. But when that's not available, he almost always grants custody to the mother. Even when that particular mother has never been very maternal.”

“Uh-huh,” Felicity said slowly.

I sat at the table and leaned in toward her.

“I need you to pretend to be my fiancée.”

5

FELICITY

I nearly fell off my chair.

“You want me to do what?”

“Pretend to be my fiancée.”

I rose to my feet so quickly the chair toppled over underneath me. Now it was my turn to pace back and forth across the kitchen floor. “Yeah, I got that part. I just can't believe you're asking me to do... that.”

“Think of it as a business arrangement.” He folded his hands calmly on the table.

I recoiled. This was all so easy for him.

“I was expecting you to ask for a portion of my sales. Not some kind of escort service.”

He laughed. “I'm not asking you to provide sexual services, Felicity.”

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, that's a relief.”

“Unless, of course, you want to provide them.”

I spun on my heels and glared at him. A smile crept across his face. The bastard thought this was funny.

“I'm just asking you to play a role. Go to the custody hearing with me, make some appearances with me in public. Pretend to be madly in love.”

“And you think this will make the judge rule in your favor?” I scoffed.

“Yes, I do. I think this is the only way I have a shot in hell. My attorney agrees.”

I shook my head. This was too crazy. “Is this a joke, Cooper? Did my dad put you up to this or something?”