A Weekend With Her Fake Fiancé

“Don’t count on it,” he said as she walked away.

Carmen glanced at him over her shoulder as she exited the cafeteria. “I never do.”

Maybe you’ll fill me in later about why you’re so reluctant to go with me...

After Carmen had left, Zac sat alone in the cafeteria to finish his break, knowing he could never tell her the truth. His past was a secret he didn’t share with anyone. For good reason.

God, he was such an idiot. He never should’ve accepted her offer, no matter how much he wanted to revisit the chemistry between them. There were things about him that made a return to The Arctic Star Resort reckless or insane.

Neither option made him feel better.

Never mind the fact he’d spent the last twelve years putting as much distance as possible between himself and that place. Now he was going to blow it all to smithereens in one fell swoop. All because of the chance to reconnect with the one woman he couldn’t seem to forget.

Damn. The Arctic Star Resort. The conference just had to be there, in the one place he’d vowed never to set foot in again, owned by the one man he never wanted to lay eyes on again.

His father.

The man who’d cheated on his mother and betrayed his family’s trust.

The man Zac would refuse to forgive for as long as he lived.

It was because of his father that Zac trusted no one—because of his father that he kept everyone at a distance, never letting anyone too close, never trusting anyone enough to get hurt.

It was because of him that Zac feared he was cut from the same lying, cheating cloth.

And maybe he was, considering the state of his personal life. He was a serial dater—a player, according to the local gossip mill—and he’d cultivated that reputation carefully, never letting anyone close enough to see what he feared most—that perhaps beneath the charade it was entirely too true. That perhaps he was just like his father.

He rubbed his eyes, sighing at fate, or luck, or whatever the hell had brought this mess into his life. He’d thought he’d left it all behind him for good. Started fresh, created a new future of his own making. Yet, here it was, right back on his doorstep again, and he had no one to blame but himself.

It wasn’t like he could say no to Carmen. She was his friend. Never mind that he’d been secretly crushing on her since their incredible night together after that holiday party, or that what his best friend—Lance—teased him about was true. He was off his game. Because of her.

It didn’t matter. Nothing could ever come of it.

He didn’t do relationships and she was way too good for him. Had been back then—still was today.

Knowing that didn’t make him want her any less, though.

Lost in thought, he didn’t notice Lance walk up to his table with a half-eaten sub sandwich in one hand and a water bottle in the other until it was too late.

“Dude, shouldn’t you be out cruising for trouble? You’re on call today, right?”

The well-muscled firefighter plopped down uninvited in the seat across from Zac, his white T-shirt with the Anchorage Fire Department insignia embroidered on the chest pocket stretching tight over his chest, dark circles shadowing his blue eyes. All the Anchorage first responders had been pulling extra shifts lately, gearing up for tourist season in the spring.

“Your rig’s still parked out in the ambulance bay.”

“Susan’s manning the radio. She’ll text me when she needs me.”

Zac stared out the window beside him, as much to get his head together as to avoid looking at his best friend, who would too easily read that something was wrong in Zac’s face. He’d never had a poker face, despite the genes he shared with his father.

He sighed and squinted at the cars coming and going outside. “Let me ask you something, Lance. Did you ever do something so dumb, so out of your comfort zone, so crazy, that you ought to have your head examined for even considering it?”

Lance snorted. “You’ve met Priya, right? Still can’t believe she said yes when I asked her to marry me. She’s way out of my league, dude.”

Zac chuckled. “True. Still, things have worked out okay for you guys, right?”

“Right.” Lance halted, mid-bite of his sandwich. “Wait. Are we talking about women? Because I’ve been wondering when you’re gonna get back out there again.”

Sighing, Zac scrubbed a hand over his face. He’d walked right into that, dammit. He was probably overthinking all this. Maybe Carmen was right. Maybe he should just enjoy the fact that a beautiful woman had asked him to spend the weekend with her, all expenses paid and no strings attached. Chances were his father wouldn’t be at the resort anyway. He was probably off somewhere else, supervising his worldwide hotel empire. Zac hadn’t kept up with the family business much since he’d left, preferring peace of mind to profit reports.

“Oh, man.” Lance shoved his last bite of sandwich into his mouth, muffling his words. “The way you’re all quiet, with that sad look on your face, this is definitely about a woman. Don’t tell me the great Zac Taylor, player extraordinaire, has finally fallen.”

Zac blinked at his good friend. No. He hadn’t fallen. That was insane. Sure, he liked Carmen. And, yeah, they were friends. More than friends, if you counted that one night. But, no, he wasn’t in love with her. Zac didn’t do love. Not anymore. Keeping his boundaries intact was easier, safer. No messy emotions involved.

And if that pang of loneliness inside him nipped a bit harder when Carmen was around, well, that was just the price he paid.

This weekend wouldn’t be about anything more than helping out a friend. That was all it could ever be where he was concerned.

He had too many secrets and shadows haunting him for it to be anything else.

Zac focused on the snowplow driving by, clearing the parking lot from the fresh three inches they’d just gotten.

You had to love March in Alaska.

“Well?” Lance asked, drawing Zac back to their present conversation. “You gonna tell me her name or what?”

Zac shook his head. “There is no name because there is no mystery woman.”

His friend’s gaze narrowed as he zeroed in on Zac’s face. “Nope. Not buying it, dude. Something’s up with you, and it’s not just because you haven’t been playing the field lately.”

“Why are you so concerned about my private life anyway, man?” Zac shrugged and gave his friend an irritated glance. “Mind your own business.”

“Don’t even try to change the subject.” Lance grinned. “I’m right, aren’t I? You are hung up on someone. I knew it! You’ve been acting differently since that holiday party. Been hanging around the apartment more...keeping to yourself.”

Despite knowing this would benefit his ruse about Carmen, Zac winced internally. It rankled. Zac liked his privacy. The scandal following his father’s affair had been splashed all over the tabloids, and having the spotlight glaring on him had been uncomfortable, to say the least.

It didn’t help that he’d acted out back in the day too. He’d only been sixteen when the news had broken about his father’s infidelity and he hadn’t handled it well. In fact, he’d crashed the new sports car his parents had bought him and injured the girl he’d been dating at the time, who’d been his unlucky passenger. She’d made a full recovery, but Zac still lived with the guilt of his recklessness.

One more reason he’d left his parents and all their money behind. The wealth had corrupted his dad. Who was to say it wouldn’t do the same to Zac?

Needing to get out of his own head and away from the pain of his past, he tried to change the subject again. “You and Priya ready for the wedding?”

Thankfully, this time Lance took the bait. “I guess... She’s in charge of all that. I just show up when she tells me.” He tossed his empty water bottle into the recycling bin nearby. “Like this fancy conference thing we’re going to next weekend. If she gets this new job it’ll mean a move to California. Not sure I’m ready to leave Alaska behind, but I guess sand and surf wouldn’t be a horrible change. Plus, we could always come back to Anchorage to visit.”

Zac nodded, not ready to reveal that he and Carmen would be at the conference too, and Carmen would be competing for the same position.

“Well, I don’t know what you got going on behind the scenes, but I’m telling you, dude, one of these days you’re going to find someone who’ll knock those player socks right off you,” Lance said, standing. “You’ll end up in wedded bliss just like the rest of us. See you later.”

Sooner than you think, buddy.