His Emergency Fiancée Read Free

village and she told me she’s doing a course in website design next term.’
    ‘You know Gran. She’s always done six things at once. But she’s never pressured me about settling down before—I think this is her way of telling me she’s…’ He broke off, unable to voice his fears. Speaking them aloud would make them more real. Would make them happen.
    * * *
    He was as bad as Luke. It hit her like a physical pain. Ben—the one man she thought she could trust—was a liar. She gritted her teeth. She’d always thought Ben was honest. He made it clear to his girlfriends right at the start that he wasn’t in the market for commitment, just for fun. But at heart he was just like Luke, her ex-boyfriend. Lying, to get his own way. The words echoed down the years to her, still searing her heart as much as the day she’d overheard them: ‘The betting’s odds on…’ She’d thought it was so special, and it had all been a lie.
    Just like Ben was lying now. Anger burned in Kirsty’s voice. ‘You lied to her.’
    ‘Yes—no—Kirst, I can’t think straight. All I want is to make Gran happy. If it is more than angina…I don’t want her to die, thinking I’m still drifting around.’
    ‘Still playing at Dr Charming, you mean?’ The words came out before she could stop them—or dull the biting edge to her voice.
    He flushed. ‘I just like making people happy, Kirst. And, let’s face it, most of the people in A and E don’t have any reason to smile. If a bit of banter makes it easier to deal with what’s happening to them, that’s fine by me.’
    ‘I’m not talking about banter. I’m talking about lying.’
    He raked a hand through his hair. ‘Does it have to be a lie?’
    Her mouth dropped open. ‘Are you asking me to—to…?’ To marry him?
    ‘I’m asking you to do me a favour. Will you come to Scotland with me for a weekend as my fiancée?’
    ‘You’re asking me to lie.’
    ‘I’m asking you to make an old woman happy.’
    Her mouth tightened. ‘And just supposing I’m already engaged to someone else?’
    ‘Kirst, you haven’t even dated anyone in six months.’
    The next thing she knew, Ben was sitting down, looking shocked, with a red handprint across his face. Her handprint. She swallowed. ‘I’m sorry.’
    He rubbed his face. ‘No, I’m sorry. I deserved that. Though I wasn’t implying you’re unattractive, Kirst. Of course you’re not.’
    ‘No.’ Her voice was dry. She was plain little Kirsty Brown, and she knew it. So did everyone else. Wasn’t that one of the reasons why Luke—? No, she wasn’t going to think about that now.
    ‘You’re working long hours and spending all your spare time studying, that’s all I meant. And if anyone asks you out you always turn them down. Even I have a hard job dragging you down the pub or the Chinese, and I’m your best friend.’
    ‘Yes.’ She bit her lip as guilt flooded through her. Ben wasn’t the one she wanted to slap. But slapping her boss or kneeing him where it hurt wasn’t going to help her career. ‘I’m sorry.’
    ‘Me, too.’
    They stared at each other for a long moment.
    ‘So. What now?’ he asked.
    ‘You lied , Ben.’
    ‘With good intentions,’ he reminded her. ‘All I’m asking is that you’ll be my fiancée for the weekend.’
    ‘Fake fiancée,’ she reminded him. ‘No.’
    He looked at her. ‘Tell me, did Chambers try it on with all the female staff, or just the unattached ones?’
    Kirsty thought about it. ‘The unattached ones,’ she said finally.
    ‘There’s your answer, then. If you’re my fiancée, he’ll leave you alone.’
    ‘Ben, I am not getting engaged to you.’
    ‘What’s wrong with me?’ He pantomimed hurt.
    ‘Want a list?’ She rubbed her hands together. ‘You never clean the bath. You leave wet towels everywhere. You’re untidy. You’ve—’
    ‘Shared a house with you for the best part of nine years,’ he pointed out, ‘since our second year as med students. So I