Marry Me for Real, Cowboy - Valerie Comer Page 0,11

on her knee, squeezing lightly.

How could he peg her already? They hadn’t known each other quite twenty-four hours, but here she was, in his family home, reading his cues as he read hers.

This was the kind of guy she’d like to have met when she wasn’t on the run. When he wasn’t conniving his way into his stepdad’s good graces. When he was genuinely looking for a girlfriend… but if Chantelle Devereaux was what he went for when he wasn’t up against the wall, he’d never give the real Riley a second look. After all, she was the one who’d literally thrown herself at him.

He thought she was an easy mark, and she’d done little to change that impression.

Yeah, well, she deserved to know what she was up against with previous flames. Sounded like he had a bit of a reputation from her search last night and from his siblings’ comments. That shouldn’t be too surprising. He was a hot-looking, self-assured cowboy with a full trophy case and a new award to add, even if he didn’t want to talk about it. He must be loaded in his own right to strike a deal with her as he had.

A man like Adam would have dozens of women falling into his arms and, probably, into his bed. Not that he’d said a single inappropriate thing to Riley since they met. No hints of sharing a hotel room last night, even.

All that told her was she wasn’t attractive to him. She wasn’t in his league. Somehow, she’d shown up when he needed a fake fiancée. He’d decided she could fulfill that role for a time, but she wasn’t the kind of woman he could actually fall for.

He wasn’t her ideal man, either, so they were even.

But as his palm warmed her knee, she found herself turning her hand over and twining her fingers with his.

He wanted her to pretend to be in love? She could do that. She could pretend the entire setup was real. It wouldn’t take nearly as much acting as she’d thought last night.

Riley would have the rest of her life to recover from this fake fling. But she may as well enjoy it while she could.

Chapter Five

When the meal came to a close and the men had thanked the cook, Adam’s brothers began excusing themselves.

Now what? Riley waited with Adam until his stepfather had left the room. Adam gave a long exhale then turned to her. “Ready to meet my mom?”

Not really. After the tension around the dinner table, Riley mostly wanted to run for the hills. Was putting up with this family worth ten grand? She studied Adam’s face. Gone was the cocksure cowboy. This guy was hesitant, vulnerable.

Why was she such a sucker for a guy in need? Visions of Raul’s puppy-dog eyes danced in her periphery. But Adam was different. He might be using her, but they’d spelled out the parameters. Riley was under no delusions any of this was real, but she was here until the new year sometime with a role to play.

She offered Adam a sweet smile. “Sure, why not?”

To her surprise, he led her down the staircase to the lower level. Ahead and to the left, through an expansive family room, she made out a rounded wall of dark windows with French doors beside them. This was a walkout basement, then.

But that’s not where Adam guided her. Instead he turned the other way and tapped on a door. “Mom? It’s me, Adam. I’ve brought someone to meet you.”

“Come in.” The voice from inside was barely audible, but Adam pushed the door open.

The room was lit by two floor lamps. Draperies covered the far wall. There were probably windows and perhaps a door behind them, but it was solid dark outside, so the cocooning made sense. The walls were gray with several watercolor paintings. A woman sat in a gray tweed easy chair with a white afghan over her lap. There was plenty of empty space around it, a low sofa, a bookcase, and a narrow dining table with several upholstered chairs.

A Yorkie bounded across the room, yipping away.

Adam bent and scratched its scruffy head. “Hi, Ezra. Just me.” Then he faced his mother and took a deep breath. “Hi, Mom. I’d like you to meet my fiancée, Riley.”

The woman seated in the easy chair studied Riley.

Riley returned the favor. The woman’s graying blond hair was pulled into a loose bun, and her face seemed sad.

Adam squeezed Riley’s fingers. “Honey, this is