Falling For Her Fake Fiancé

A temporary arrangement...

Kelli Barnett invented a partner to avoid her parents’ matchmaking schemes. So, when her boss Mac Taylor—the man whose kisses once made her melt—offers to step in as her fiancé for a family wedding, Kelli snaps up his offer!

Widower Mac believes himself incapable of loving again. Until playing Kelli’s fiancé at the beautiful island retreat throws his senses into overdrive. But Mac must learn to let go of the past for this fake relationship to have a real future...

He grinned—a rare sight that zapped her in the tummy and woke up those butterflies behind her ribs.

When Mac relaxed the grip on his emotions he was a sight dreams were made of. His handsome face became beyond wonderful—good-looking mixed with fun and caring and enjoyment. And sex. His green eyes reminded Kelli of spring fields, and that mouth... That mouth could be soft as cotton wool, as demanding as a hungry child, as heat-provoking as a firelighter.

She wasn’t going to survive the weekend and come out sane at the other end. She was going to be in a constant state of terror in case she jumped his bones or fell under his spell and had not one, but two sensual nights in bed.

Rules, Kells. You’ve got rules in place.

But rules were made to be broken.

Dear Reader,

At the end of writing Pregnant with the Boss’s Baby I wanted to write Mac and Kelli’s story, so here it is.

In their back story, they had a close encounter of the sexual kind after their friends’ wedding. Back at work they find it hard to focus on patients and not each other. So when Kelli needs a partner for her brother’s wedding Mac puts his hand up—and then the fun really starts.

Weddings have become a bit of a theme for these stories, and I’ve loved writing them. And I haven’t finished. Michael and Stephanie have been nagging me to write their story, and I’m not good at ignoring a good nag. So watch out for that book, which is going to come after a duet I am writing with the lovely Louisa George.

I love hearing from my readers at

[e-mail] or drop by my web page: suemackay.co.nz.

Cheers!

Sue MacKay

Falling for Her Fake Fiancé

Sue MacKay

www.millsandboon.co.uk

SUE MACKAY lives with her husband in New Zealand’s beautiful Marlborough Sounds, with the water on her doorstep and the birds and the trees at her back door. It is the perfect setting to indulge her passions of entertaining friends by cooking them sumptuous meals, drinking fabulous wine, going for hill walks or kayaking around the bay—and, of course, writing stories.

Books by Sue MacKay

Mills & Boon Medical Romance

Reunited...in Paris!

A December to Remember

Breaking All Their Rules

Dr. White’s Baby Wish

The Army Doc’s Baby Bombshell

Resisting Her Army Doc Rival

Pregnant with the Boss’s Baby

Visit the Author Profile page at millsandboon.co.uk for more titles.

Praise for Sue MacKay

‘I highly recommend this story to all lovers of romance: it is moving, emotional, a joy to read!’

—Goodreads on A December to Remember

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

Dear Reader

Title Page

Booklist

Praise

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

Extract

Copyright

CHAPTER ONE

KELLI BARNETT PULLED a face, even though her bestie at the other end of the phone couldn’t see her. ‘I am not going with him, stand-up citizen or not.’

‘Who are you going to take to Billy’s wedding, then? You’ve got to find someone pronto.’ Tamara’s frustration was obvious. But then her family were equally frustrated with her at the moment so the tone was overly familiar.

Her brother’s wedding was turning into a nightmare. ‘No one.’ If only it were that easy.

‘You know your mother’s going to sit Jason beside you if there’s no one else to take that place.’

Oh, yeah. ‘Maybe I’ll pull a sickie, say I’ve caught some severe gastro bug that I can’t share with the wedding guests.’ Maybe she could take a flying leap off the end of the jetty and swim all the way back to Auckland city from the island where the wedding celebrations were going to take place in less than a week’s time. But no, she would never jeopardise her brother’s big day.

‘Are you being obtuse? Like this guy’s awesome, and you don’t want to admit it.’

She hated the smug laughter Tamara was indulging in. ‘You’ve met Jason. What do you think?’

‘He’s doing well as a lawyer, owns his house and drives a top-of-the-range car that goes too fast. He’ll make the perfect husband for someone.’

‘Not for me.’

‘Just checking here. You’re turning him down at every opportunity because?’ Persistent was Tamara’s middle name since she’d found the love of her life and thought Kelli should do the same.

Kelli snapped, ‘He’s dull as dishwater.’

‘Doesn’t light your fire, huh?’

‘A wet blanket would ignite that faster.’

‘And Mac Taylor would set your whole world alight.’

The phone dropped out of Kelli’s suddenly lifeless fingers. ‘Damn you, Tamara,’ she growled, but not loud enough for the words to carry to the phone now lying on the footpath outside Auckland Central Hospital. Tam was her best friend but sometimes... Bending to pick it up, she glanced at her watch. ‘Got to go,’ she told Tamara in her top don’t-fool-with-me voice. ‘I’m going in to sign my next contract with Personnel and then get to work. Bye.’ She hung up before there was any more nonsense from her pal.

But moments later the phone rang and she didn’t have the heart to send the call to voicemail. ‘You’d better have something sensible to say or I’ll hang up again.’

Tamara just laughed. Again. ‘Ask Mac to partner you to the wedding. And before you cut off our friendship for life, think about it. You two were hot for each other at my wedding. The way you danced with him said more than I know you’re ever going to admit.’

Kelli jerked to a stop in the middle of the hospital entrance, yelling, ‘Are you out of your mind?’ She’d just spent six weeks working in Fiji on an exchange with Suva Hospital and if that hadn’t put Mac on the back burner then she was in trouble. Especially now she’d been bumped from day to night shift—Mac’s shift—all because another nurse had taken early maternity leave due to high blood pressure.

‘Only looking out for you, Kells, like you did for me.’

Tears pricked her eyes.

Thanks, girlfriend. Appreciate it. Would love some of what you’ve got but it isn’t going to happen. Not while I’m still afraid to reach out for it.

A quick slash across her face with her palm, a deep sniff, and, ‘Why is it when someone falls in love he or she wants the same thing for everyone else?’ People were bumping and nudging her as they streamed past. She was getting later by the minute. There was the meeting with Personnel—might be less complicated if she headed to the local supermarket and asked for a checkout job where she’d never see Mac—before her shift in the emergency department started at three. Very soon. It had been a full-on day, avoiding her mother and finishing unpacking from her time away.

‘Because love’s so good. Crazy good, wonderful. The sun shines even when it’s raining. Of course I want that for you.’ Tamara sang happiness.

‘You think I’ll get that with Mac?’ She’d like to. No, she wouldn’t. This was Tamara rubbing her up the wrong way causing these pointless ideas to surface. ‘Don’t answer that. I am not going to ask Dr Taylor to partner me to tea break, let alone anything else.’

* * *

Kelli’s heart stuttered as she strode into the ED. Shoulders back, hands forced to hang loose at her sides, butterflies under her ribs.

Where was he? Looking around, she tried to calm the churning going on in her belly. Mac would be somewhere in here. He never ran late for a shift, and now that he was head of department he probably arrived extra early.

She shouldn’t have come back. Doing a runner while she had the chance would’ve been the better option. The hospital board had sent her to Fiji to cover for a nurse coming here to upskill in emergency treatments, but no one on that board would’ve gone out of their way to track her down and haul her back if she’d done a bunk.

Too late, Sunshine. You’re back, with another contract covering the next twelve months all signed and kicking off right now.

Where was he?

‘Hello, Kelli.’

Bang. Right on cue. Slap between her ribs. That low, raspy voice raised images of a hot night in Sydney after Tamara and Conor’s wedding. Without any effort or cohesive thought, she usually felt Mac on her skin, under her skin. But her radar must’ve been temporarily turned off because she hadn’t noticed any change in the atmosphere until he’d spoken. Bracing herself, Kelli turned to face her heartache eye to eye. ‘Hi, Mac. How’s things?’

Mac was striding towards her, head up, back straight. ‘Oh, you know. Same old, same old.’ He shrugged as though life was a bit of a bore really. At least, she thought he was aiming for a casual movement to underline his comfort levels around her, but those muscles under his shirt were tight, tension rippling off them. ‘Except it’s not for you, is it? Shift change is at three, not fifteen minutes past.’

‘Sorry, but I didn’t ask to be bumped to the night shift,’ she growled. Two could play this game. He might be setting the tone but she could just as easily keep up with the play.

His head jerked up a notch. ‘I know.’ A conciliatory note creeping in? Better if it didn’t. Aggro would keep them apart, which was all she required of him. Unfortunately he hadn’t finished. ‘We had no choice but to bring you on board.’ Perhaps not conciliatory, more annoyed. ‘None of the other nurses would change and your return from Suva fitted in perfectly with our most experienced nurse having to take urgent leave.’

‘So they told me over the phone on Friday.’ Kelli didn’t blame Mac for the change in her working times. Despite being Specialist in Charge his hands would’ve been tied, and by the looks of him he was no happier about it than she was.

‘You only found out on Friday?’ He sounded appalled, which won him a point or two. ‘I told Personnel to get in touch with you more than a week ago.’

‘You didn’t think to phone me yourself?’

He swallowed hard. ‘Yes. I did.’

‘Yet you didn’t.’ Good one, Mac. Not a great start to their working relationship if he couldn’t even do that. Really went to show how little he thought about those kisses.

Mac had kissed her in ways that tricked her heart into thinking he might’ve found her attractive in some small way. But deep down she’d known all along she was blowing in the wind. Gorgeous, sexy hunks didn’t fall for her.

According to the school bullies, she had a lot in common with elephants, and not their phenomenal memories. When plastic surgeon Steve, now ex-fiancé, first came on the scene she was long past those jibes, until he offered to do breast and butt reductions free of charge.

And now there was Mac, a man who kept himself aloof from people all the time. A man who when asked if he was single by one of the nurses had replied tightly, ‘Yes, I am,’ and gone on with his work. His tone had been so raw no one had dared ask another thing. Yet for one night, away from home and work, sharing their closest friends’ special day, he’d been different. Funny, fun, relaxed. She’d been hypnotised and felt close to him. Far too easily, considering her heart had been on lockdown since the humiliation Steve had caused her.

Which was why she and Mac had to remain totally professional on the job. She was not going through that again. Rolling her shoulders, she muttered, ‘Guess we’ll do our best to knock along.’ And she’d do her darnedest not to remember that hot night in Sydney every time she came within breathing distance of him.

‘Kelli.’ Mac tapped her shoulder lightly. ‘I apologise. I should’ve been the one to tell you about the changes, even if it was the personnel department’s place to get in touch with you.’

She gave a tight smile. ‘Yes, you should’ve. We’re better than that.’

Mac scowled at her reproach, and she instantly worked to loosen the tightness in her neck and shoulders, and took a step back. No loosening the cramp in her belly while standing close to him. But keeping him onside was important. Working in Auckland Central’s emergency department was her dream job and she’d do anything to keep it.

Anything? Avoid Mac as much as possible? After they’d shared kisses that had tricked her alter ego into sneaking out and letting her hair down—literally. And into having the most amazing time with a man she’d ever experienced, and that was without sex.

Her shoulders slumped. Mac had walked away when they stood outside her hotel room, key at the ready, leaving her wondering what had caused his abrupt change of mind when his desire for her had been plenty evident. A part of her had been relieved. Everything had happened so fast, those kisses so explosive, she hadn’t had a moment to consider the consequences. Not least what he’d think after seeing her naked.

But since then there’d been no putting alter ego back in the box. It was up and fighting. Instead of her usual placatory persona being in charge there’d been nudges and changes going on inside that messed with her mind.

Working in Suva had given her time to take a long look at herself. Getting away from Mac and his inscrutable face after Sydney had been a priority. It had been as though he regretted their night of dancing and kissing. Which hurt bad. She hadn’t been able to forget one touch, one kiss. Nor the gut-twisting moment he’d walked away from her outside her hotel room when she’d believed they were heading inside to the king-sized bed. That should’ve shut down all these hot, needy sensations that slammed through her whenever he came close. Should’ve. Didn’t.

Might explain why she found it hard to return to being the woman who played safe in order to keep people on side so they couldn’t find anything to pick at her about. It hadn’t been about that with Mac and yet she’d still been rejected. So why wasn’t she angry with him? Ignoring him? Why the heat and need for him?

In Fiji she’d figured it was time to dump the past. To stand tall and stare down anyone not accepting her as she was. To stop feeling sorry for herself and start taking some risks, get hurt maybe, loved, but most of all live. Had that night with Mac brought this on? Or was it because he’d shown her something she wanted? Excitement and maybe something more, something deeper?

Despite her new approach to life—still in training—Tamara’s insane suggestion had blindsided her.

Ask Mac to partner you to Billy’s wedding.

If only she could, and feel blasé about it. What if he laughed at her? Made her feel small? On the inside only; she’d never been small physically. ‘Elephant, elephant.’ Those taunts had returned with a vengeance after Steve did his number on her.

So much for looking life in the eye, Kelli.

‘You okay?’ the man wrecking her new purpose asked.

She stared at him. ‘I guess.’ Her belly tightened painfully while her heart went on a rampage, beating up a storm behind her ribs. Mac was sexier than she’d remembered. How did that work? That chest stretching the top of his scrubs turned her toes upward, and made her fingers itch to slip across the expanse of warm skin covering it. That was how.

She raised her eyes to his inscrutable face, despair trickling out on a sigh. He was better looking than her brain had allowed. Definitely sexier now she’d felt his strength under her palms. A lot more serious too, if that was possible. Selective memories here. She should be thinking only of watching him walk away from her that night and the twinge of relief that nudged her, nothing else. But some things were downright impossible.

Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth as moisture dried up.

I can do this. I can do this. I have to do this.

The next phase of her career was going to be an absolute blast. ‘Right, we’d better get on with the show. Any changes in staff since I’ve been away?’ Apart from the nurse she was now filling in for, that was.

‘Michael’s swapped to our shift, having decided day shift without Conor around wasn’t so much fun,’ Mac told her as they began walking towards the hub of the department. ‘Otherwise all’s normal.’

‘Cool. I like working with Michael.’ Kelli looked around at the familiar territory, and tried to feel at home again. But it was impossible when Mac was within reaching distance. The Mac she’d got close to, not the Mac she’d wondered what it would be like to make love to. There was a difference between wondering and knowing. A huge, belly-tightening, heart-shaking difference, and she didn’t have the answer. Her fingertips tingled with memories of him; warm skin, rippling muscles. And that was only his back, his arms. She gasped.

Stop it.

So much for putting that night behind her and getting on with her life. Kisses had never wrecked such havoc on her equilibrium before.

‘Everyone likes working with Michael,’ growled Mac.

Her head flipped up. Jealous? But the burnished green eyes that met hers said no, instead warning she was not special around here. Definitely not special to him. Anywhere. ‘I’m sure they do,’ she muttered as something sharp lanced her heart. ‘How did my swap from Fiji work out?’

Relief filled those thoughtful eyes. ‘She was overwhelmed for the first few days but once she got the hang of the continuous stream of patients she found her stride. Talk about soaking up knowledge faster than a sponge takes in water. She thrived, and didn’t want to go home at the end of her stint.’

‘I can understand that.’ Perhaps she could swap permanently with the Fijian nurse.

‘You didn’t want to come back to Auckland?’ Mac asked, his voice now grave. ‘Or to ED and working on night shift?’ He mightn’t have asked ‘Or working with me?’ but the question hung between them.

She avoided the hot topic. Hot? She was standing by Mac, right? Scorching. ‘Bit hard to give up those beaches and the warm water and return to Auckland in autumn.’

Did you miss me at all while I was away, Mac?

‘Talked to Tamara lately?’ he asked. Guess that meant no.

‘Less than an hour ago.’ The friend whose wedding had started the inferno between her and Mac. ‘She’s sick of being pregnant, says her belly feels like it will pop open any minute.’ She’d been full of unwanted advice.

‘Conor told me she’s as restless as a hive of bees.’

Definitely not going to talk about themselves. She could run with that. Safer, if not sad considering how well they got on in Sydney. I missed you so much it kept me awake most nights, Mac. But playing safe was her way and she’d grab this with both hands. Best way to put the whole caboodle behind her.

Then the phone in her pocket vibrated with an incoming text. Probably her mother, in which case she’d not even look, definitely wouldn’t answer. She was not going to the wedding with Jason; nice, successful, upright citizen that he was. Today was Monday. She had until lift-off on Friday to find someone to go with her.

Ask Mac to partner you to the wedding.

Go away, Tam. Go away. He wouldn’t want to attend a wedding where he knew no one but her.

You both only knew the bride and groom at my wedding.

Yeah, well, that was different. It had been small, and while Conor’s Irish family were full on, they’d been convivial, not loaded with awkward questions about her and Mac. Unlike her mother if Mac partnered her to Billy’s.

‘Hey, Kelli, welcome back.’ Stephanie, the head nurse on night shift, appeared before her, a genuine friendly smile lighting up her face. ‘Great to have you working with us.’

Now that was a better welcome. ‘Glad to be here.’ Put some effort into it. ‘Truly.’ If not for working alongside Mac, that was. ‘I’ll have all those mornings to do other things.’

‘Like?’ Stephanie grinned. ‘Sleep in?’

‘More dress designing.’ Her passion outside nursing. Why did her gaze slide sideways towards Mac? He was not one of her passions. He couldn’t be. Dress designing. Mac. Her mind flipped back and forth. Passion.

‘I’d forgotten you made those amazing dresses.’ Stephanie was prattling on, oblivious to the fact Kelli was distracted by their boss. ‘You ever try selling them to the fashion shops?’

Dragging her focus back to Stephanie, she nodded. ‘I’ve sold a few that way.’

‘We’d better keep you happy working with us or we’ll lose you to a new career.’ Stephanie reached over to the counter and picked up a file.

‘Nope. Nursing’s my first love. Designing’s a hobby.’ She held her hand out for the file. ‘What’ve we got?’

‘A lad of seven, fell off his skateboard, probable fracture of the left ulna. He’s all yours.’ Stephanie didn’t let go of the file. ‘For now I’m doing triage, but that could change. Letting you know in case you’re interested.’

‘Thanks.’ Kelli headed for the waiting room and her first patient of the day. Of the shift, of the night roster. Of working with Mac. Her feet tripped over each other. This should be easy-peasy. It wasn’t. Mac had dominated her thoughts since Sydney. Honestly? He’d started sneaking under her radar months earlier when he’d first arrived in Auckland Central’s emergency department. The volume had been turned up by those kisses they’d shared, had her hormones in a right tizz.

Concentrate on work. Sure. ‘Davy Roughton?’ she called, scoping the room.

‘That’s us.’ A young, distressed woman stood up and helped a boy off his seat.

Kelli crossed to them, bent down to the boy’s level. ‘Hello, I’m Kelli, your nurse. I hear you had an accident with your skateboard.’

His top teeth dug deep in his bottom lip as he nodded slowly. He held his left arm awkwardly against his chest. ‘It went too fast.’

She grinned. ‘They do that sometimes, don’t they? Like they’re trying to trick you into thinking you can do anything.’

Another nod, this time more relaxed. ‘I can do jumps and things. But the board went over the step too fast and tipped me off.’

‘You’ll have to train your board to behave.’ She straightened up. ‘Come on. Let’s get you fixed up.’

The mother said, ‘The triage nurse suspects he’s broken his arm.’

‘We’ll have Davy taken to Radiology for an X-ray to verify that. Then it will be a case of applying a cast and sending your young man home with painkillers.’ She looked down at the lad. ‘He’s a brave soul. Not a lot of tears.’

‘There were a few initially but Davy’s usually fairly stoic. Like his dad.’ Mum sounded closer to tears than her boy.

‘Let’s get this sorted. Would you like a coffee or tea? There’s going to be a bit of hanging around.’

‘Love a tea, thanks. Milk and one.’