Her Fill-In Fiancé

скачать книгу бесплатно


Leaving Jake standing in the hall, Sophia did what she should have in the first place and hurried into her bedroom. She leaned against the closet door, wishing she could block out her own thoughts as easily.

A mother-to-be could be excused for a harmless daydream about the little boy she might soon hold in her arms. But to think Jake shared—or worse, belonged—in that imaginary world simply because of his use of a pronoun was anything but harmless.

Chapter Four

For as long as Sophia could remember, her brothers had met at Rolly’s Diner on Mondays. Years ago, they’d gone there after school. Later, they’d met for lunch as long as their schedules allowed, and Sophia was pretty sure Drew and Sam would be there today.

Her hands tightened on the wheel as she came to the stop sign just before Clearville’s Main Street. For a split second, she wished she’d asked Jake to come along, if only to provide a bit of a buffer between her and her brothers and a distraction from the town gossip mill. Her return was bound to stir up stories of the past, and by no means was Sophia opposed to throwing some of that attention on Jake.

But her dad had offered to show Jake around what was left of the family farm, and Sophia had begged off with the excuse that she was still tired from the trip. She probably should have been more concerned about leaving Jake alone with her father, but he’d likely be better at keeping up the charade than she. He was really good at this kind of thing. She had seen that for herself.

He’d lied to her and used her … and now she was using him to lie to her parents.

As she drove down Main Street, Sophia forced the worries from her mind as she took in the Victorian houses that lined the road—the unique color schemes in powder-blue, purple and white setting each house apart from its neighbor, the wide, welcoming porches, the turrets and gingerbread trim. The quaint village and old-fashioned shops were a draw for the tourists and the town’s main source of commerce.

Finding a parking place along the crowed side street in front of Rolly’s, she squeezed in between two oversized pickups, silent advertising that the diner catered to locals rather than tourists, and climbed from her car.

Sophia took a deep breath before pulling the diner door open. If people in Clearville weren’t already aware that she was back in town, they would know by the end of the afternoon rush.