Hoax Husband - Candice M. Wright Page 0,8
as the doors close, leaving me laughing as I head back to my office, but the joviality of the moment soon ends when I think about the call I’m about to make.
Taking a deep breath, I dial the number and wait. “Dawn? Yeah, I have a proposition for you.”
“Asher?” Soraya greets me with a smile as she swings the door open. I lean in and kiss her cheek before she lets me in, her long silky black hair tickling my face.
I lift a strand and tug it gently. “I miss the color,” I tell her. “It's so much easier to read your moods when you dye it accordingly.”
When I first met Soraya, the ends of her hair looked like they had been dipped in royal blue paint, which supposedly meant everything was good in her world. It was when she dyed the ends red you needed to be cautious and watch out for her fiery Italian temper.
“Yeah, well, until this kid makes an appearance, it's au naturel for me, I’m afraid,” she says with a wink, rubbing a hand over her small bump. “Graham didn’t tell me you were coming over. Is everything okay?”
“It was a last-minute decision. Nothing to worry about. Is Graham around?”
“Sure. He’s in the kitchen with Chloe. Come on.”
I follow behind her, heading toward the sound of laughter.
“How’ve you been feeling, gorgeous?” I ask, flinging my arm around her shoulders as we walk into the kitchen, just to get a rise out of Graham.
“Well, I have to pee every second of the day, I’ve thrown up four times, and my boobs are killing me,” she deadpans.
“If you need someone to rub—”
“Finish that sentence and die,” Graham growls, walking up to us and snatching a laughing Soraya into his arms.
“Asher!” an excited little voice yells from behind him.
I drop into a crouch just in time to catch a running Chloe. “Hey, short stuff. How you doing?”
“I’m awesome. Daddy is going to paint my nails, and then if I’m good, he said I could paint his.”
I look up at Graham and smirk. “Did he now?”
“Why are you here?” he snaps at me, making me smile.
“I have news regarding what we talked about earlier,” I hedge, standing back up.
He looks at me for a moment before turning back to his girls. “Ladies, give me ten minutes, and I’ll be all yours.” He kisses Soraya then bends to ruffle Chloe’s hair.
I follow him down the hall into his office at the back of the house. Once inside, I sit in one of the leather seats facing his large mahogany desk.
“I’m assuming you’ve come up with a solution, since you’ve shown up here,” Graham deduces as he sits in his chair behind his desk.
“I’m just making sure you’re delivering my kisses to Soraya.”
“I don't even know why I’m friends with you.” He curses before pouring himself a drink without offering me one. “Tell me what you’ve come to say, then fuck off. I’m spending the rest of my day with my girls, and I don't want your ugly mug here, interfering with that.”
I laugh, but sober up when I take a breath, delivering news that is sure to stun him. “I’ve found someone willing to play my fake fiancée,” I tell him without preamble.
“Jesus, that was quick, anyone I know?”
“Dawn, actually.”
“Dawn, as in your father's ex-wife?” he spits out in shock.
“One and the same,” I confirm.
“Are you crazy?”
“Possibly, but I want this fucking deal, and if that means putting up with Dawn for a while, then so be it.”
“You’re insane. I don't think this is what Peterson meant when he said that family is important. Nowhere in that speech did he mention fucking your stepmother.”
“I’m not gonna fuck her. Jesus, give me some credit. Besides, she isn’t my stepmother anymore.”
“Credit? You’re talking about getting engaged to one of your father's vapid vipers.”
“Fake engaged. And my father keeps his weddings low key, usually marrying them abroad probably already planning the anticipated divorce before their wedding night is even over. Most people won't have a clue who she is, and it isn’t like Dawn and Peterson are going to get together for a chat, now, is it?”
“She can't be trusted. You must know that.”
“Oh, I do, but if there is one thing she cares about, it’s money. With my father not supporting her anymore, she won't do anything to risk losing what I can offer her.”
“Christ, Asher, this has bad idea written all over it, but I can see you’re serious about this.”
“I