Lucky This Isn't Real: MacBride Brothers Series St. Patrick's Day Fake Fiance Romance by Jamie Knight (digital e reader .TXT) 📕

Sadly, my apartment was dark and empty. Needing to hear him, I dialed his cell.

“Hey, you.” The sound of his voice already put me at ease. I didn’t have to tell him about what happened, but I still wanted to talk to him. It seemed like the best thing for it at the time.

“Where are you?” I asked, trying not to sound as desperate as I felt.

“We’re at the Tin Whistle. I don’t think that’s too far from you.”

“No, it’s not. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

Changing quickly into a dress and my Chuck’s, I locked up again and headed out, not wanting to risk the car again. I was just under the limit as it was, no point in doing something stupid.

****

“Hey,” Sean said and kissed me gently.

“Where’s Maggie?” I asked.

“At home,” Gavin said. “She wasn’t feeling well but insisted we come out as planned. I’m showing baby brother the Americanized version of a real Irish pub.”

“We’re thinking of expanding into the pub business,” Sean elaborated.

“In Ireland,” I said dumbly, reminded again of the situation. It wouldn’t be long until he left.

“Yeah, Jim is keen on it. I’m not so sure, particularly after seeing this place. I’ve been taking notes.”

He showed me his notebook full of his neat, handwritten observations, none of them particularly flattering. I couldn’t blame him, really. He had the real thing at home. The best California probably had was a Disneyland knock-off.

I was tempted again to tell him about what happened with Emil, but he seemed in such a good mood, there was no point ruining it, plus his happiness was rubbing off on me.

“How was your day?” Gavin asked.

“I need a drink,” I said, both by way of repose and evasion.

“Then you’ve come to the right place.”

“Debatable,” Sean snarked, polishing off his beer, nonetheless.

Not sure what else to do, I sat with the two MacBride brothers getting gloriously drunk or ‘leathered’ as Sean liked to say. I could hardly remember the last time I’d had so much fun, aside from the impromptu bachelorette party, when we’d also had Ciara with us. I knew it was a stereotype, but I equated Irish people with fun in my head. Not least because they stood out in stark contrast to the slick, self-obsessed Hollywood glitterati I’d grown up around. It was quite a shock to realize most of it was fake, and some of our closest family friends were complete assholes. It was why I’d tried to distance myself from that lifestyle. Except the current situation didn’t seem much better. Since Maggie had resigned a while back, Nicole was the only co-worker I could stand. I knew I had to keep going and put up with Emil’s low-key abuse to pay the rent, but one thing was pulling me away. An urge to leave L.A. and even California altogether for an entirely new environment. Every place had its problems. Of course, I wasn’t dumb enough to believe the greener pastures fallacy, but getting away from the roots of my dilemma seemed like the first step. The only problem was, at that point, I didn’t have anywhere to go.

It was dark as we headed back to my place, Sean seeming to hold his beer better than I could. I was relieved to be so close to a guy I could trust not to take advantage. I clung close and kissed him on occasion. Affections he seemed to take as drunk sincerity when I had actually meant them.

The couch puffed under us as we fell onto the embrace of the soft leather cushions. We became even more entwined than when we were upright. Sean smelled of stout and musk, and it was difficult to resist him. Despite the fact we’d had sex every other time we’d been there, I really just needed to be held and loved. On the upside, he didn’t even try to ask me about my day, mostly because he was more focused on seducing me. It started gently, his hands migrating to my boobs, massaging them lightly. I had to admit it was relaxing, which was why I didn’t stop him. One of his hands found its way down between my legs, tenderly stroking my pussy through my pants.

“You know,” he said, squeezing my boob as he stroked my pussy, “the sex with you is so good, I might have to take you back to Ireland with me. Then we could have it all the time.”

I put a hand on his stopping his movements. It was sharp and sudden, I knew, but I really didn’t want to think that our relationship was only based on sex. He was probably just trying to compliment me in his clumsy, drunken way, but his words hit a nerve. I also didn’t want to hurt his feelings, so I just laughed and let him keep touching me despite how uncomfortable it was.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, noticing my sudden discomfort.

It was a fair question. Usually, I was as active as him when we were intimate, if not more. I felt like I had switched off and was just letting it happen.

“I—I don’t know.”

But I did know. There was a distance between us. I didn’t blame Sean, not really. It was the whole situation with my parents, the fake wedding, and Emil’s disgusting intentions. It was all getting to be too much, besides which I still couldn’t be sure what my relationship with Sean was actually based on. I knew I felt drawn to him like he was the only man I could ever be with, but what did that mean, and where were we going?

“I’m sorry,” he said, suddenly getting up. “I—I’m too drunk. I—I shouldn’t—I’m going to go sleep at Gavin and