Her Imaginary Husband (Contemporary Romance) Read online

  “Surely you’ll move here to Eastmont now?” urged Principal Geoffreys. “Get out of the country.”

  Right. Because Eastmont has a five-digit population instead of a four-digit one, so it’s big time. “I don’t know.” Nikki had no desire to teach in the same town where she lived. What if her students caught her in the store buying toilet paper—or worse?

  “Anything else?” he prompted.

  “I won an award for most innovative curriculum design. You mean like that?”

  Geoffreys slapped her back heartily. “Exactly like that! We only hire the best at Riverview, and we’re very glad to have you aboard. Why don’t you have a seat?”

  Nikki quickly made her way to an empty chair. “Thanks for saving me a seat, Mrs. Kendall,” she whispered.

  “It’s Gayle, now,” she said, patting Nikki’s hand. Gayle looked and smelled like Nikki’s grandmother in the best possible way. Stylish, fruity, and very much don’t-mess-with-me. She’d said in the interview that she would mentor Nikki for the first year, and Nikki could tell they were going to get along.

  As Principal Geoffreys introduced the administrators, a ridiculously well-built man with receding sandy hair passed out papers to each desk. “Hi,” he said with a husky whisper. “I’m Coach Will Carlin. Welcome to Riverview.”

  Dang, he smells good for a coach, thought Nikki. “Thanks,” she said, her heart fluttering a little at his dazzling smile. She studied his features. He was probably in his early thirties, judging by the fine laugh lines around his eyes, but every part of him fit perfectly together with no odd bumps or angles. She caught herself staring and closed her mouth with a pop.

  He moved on and Gayle leaned in. “Watch out for that guy. He’s a real snake.”

  “Really?”

  “Had an ugly divorce a couple of years back. His wife left him for a pilot.”

  Nikki frowned sympathetically. “Sad.”

  Gayle waved away her concern. “He’s made up for it. New gal every month if rumors are true.”

  “Oh.” Nikki tried to swallow her disappointment. That persistent twinge of loneliness mocked her. She had good friends and was rarely alone if she didn’t want to be, but that wasn’t the same as having someone to call her own. She sighed. I can’t let every cute smile get my hopes up that someone will take me seriously.

  Behind them, Officer Ross noisily unwrapped a granola bar and winked at her.

  4~Martino’s Café

  “The two most important people to befriend at any school are the head secretary and the head janitor,” said Gayle. “Those two can get everything done, and if they like you, life will be a breeze here. If you tick them off, you might as well be teaching in a tent somewhere in Zimbabwe.”

  “The secretary and the janitor?” Nikki’s eyebrow arched skeptically.

  “Don’t be a snob,” said Gayle. “I’m telling you, be nice to Doug and Katie. They know everything about this school, and you will always have the supplies and repairs you need.” She winked and opened her bottom desk drawer, revealing a big enough stack of Post-it notes and stapler refills to last two years.

  “Wow! It’s the mother lode!”

  Gayle slid the drawer closed with a flourish. “Yep. C’mon, I’ll treat you to lunch. This is the only week we’ll have time to do that.” She touched up her lipstick. “I may look like a stunning fifty-something, but I’m actually only thirty. This place ages you!”

  Nikki giggled and clapped her hands to her face protectively. “No!”

  Gayle waved for Nikki to follow. “No worries for you. I’ve never seen such perfect skin. Do you paint that on?”

  “Nope.” Nikki blushed at the compliment. “Just lucky I guess.” She peered at their reflections as they passed a very long trophy case filled with football awards. “Now if my eyes can just figure out what color they are.”

  Gayle squinted at Nikki. “Easy. Greenish brownish goldish something.”

  Nikki barked a laugh. “They won’t be giving you a job naming eye shadows.”

  “Pardon me, I meant Frosted Algae!” Gayle waved her arm dramatically.

  “Oh, like that’s better!” Nikki snickered. “More like Mystic Sludge.”

  “Radiant Moss!”

  “Mud Madness!”

  “Hey, bright eyes!”

  Gayle and Nikki turned to see Will Carlin sauntering up behind them. They took one look at each other and burst out laughing. Will grinned self-consciously. “Was it something I said?”

  Nikki turned shining eyes to him. “We’re just heading out to lunch.”

  “Oh.” He gave Nikki a half-smile. “I was just coming to invite you.”

  “Perfect!” cheered Gayle. “You can treat us both!” She winked knowingly at Nikki, who suppressed a smile.

  “Right. Sure.” He leaned on the bar of the door to open it, holding it open with his back so that Nikki had to pass close by him to exit.

  Mmm. Very nice. She closed her eyes and willed her cheeks not to flush. The man is fine.

  “Shall I drive?” Coach asked.

  “No, I get carsick,” said Gayle. “Come on. I’m over here.” She led them to a dark green minivan. “Nikki’s up front with me.”

  Will opened the side door. “Where’s the seat?”

  “It’s there in the back. I had to take out the second row to transport a few flats of flower bulbs and I just never got around to putting it back in. You can sit back there in the third row, can’t you? Your long legs will love it.”

  Shaking his head, Will climbed aboard, bent over as he moved to the back of the van. Nikki took the time to admire the view. Yes, very nice.

  Gayle whacked the top of Nikki’s head with the palm of her hand. No lookie! she mouthed. He’s a lech.

  Yes, ma’am, mouthed Nikki. She faced front and pouted playfully.

  Revving the engine, Gayle checked the rearview mirror. “Where are you taking us, Will?”

  “Martino’s Café?”

  “Ooh, good call!” Gayle patted Nikki’s arm. “You’ll love this place. Very snug. Best Alfredo salad ever.”

  Nikki gave Will a thumbs up. “Buona idea! Delizioso!”

  “You speak Italian?” Gayle whistled. “Nikki, you keep surprising me. Don’t you play the cello, too?”

  “I wish!”

  Will’s stony silence in the back squelched the mood.

  “I mean, I wish I played the cello. I took clarinet lessons for a while, but all the ducks in the neighborhood heard me playing and thought I was torturing their mother, so I quit.”

  Will chuckled, and Nikki caught a glimpse of his usual smile. She had learned over the years that humor eased most tension. She used it as soon as she felt a negative vibe seeping in. Strong emotions frightened her after years of listening to her parents argue.

  “But Italian?” Gayle maneuvered through traffic with agility incongruent to the size of her vehicle.

  “Actually, only what I had to sing in high school choirs and whatever I picked up at restaurants.” She tucked her hair behind her ear and glanced back at Will, feeling his eyes on her. “I can sing about calamari and Christmas. That’s about it.”

  This time, Will belly laughed, and their eyes locked in the rearview mirror. Nikki felt a flutter in her stomach and quickly looked away.

  “But you like Italian,” said Will. “That’s good to know.”

  “Love it.” Am I flirting? I think I forgot how.

  “Here we are. Looks like we beat the rush,” said Gayle, parallel parking like a pro.

  Nikki moved to get out of the car and found Will already standing there, pulling the door open wider. He reached in a hand to lift her out, and she felt a tingle at the rugged warmth. Averting her eyes behind her lashes, she whispered. “Why, thank you, sir.”

  A step later, Gayle hooked an arm over her shoulders and said, “Let’s eat. All those boring meetings have made me hungry.”

  Martino’s Café proved to be a miniature version of the Olive Garden, but with m
ore intimate lighting and less garlic on the bread sticks. The hostess seated them in a corner booth and Gayle wriggled her self into the center so that Nikki and Will were forced to face each other at either edge of the C. This meant that avoiding eye contact was nearly impossible as they scanned the menus.

  Nikki sipped her water and studied Will’s features while he and Gayle debated the merits of the seafood dishes. Though his hair was thinning, it had a lush color and attractive wave to it. His blue eyes, always on the move, revealed an analytical mind that constantly assessed his surroundings. Until they came to rest on her, and then they remained thrillingly focused.

  The waiter arrived, and Nikki ordered first. “I’ll take the chicken Caesar salad, and I—”

  Will’s ankle brushed against hers and her voice pitched upward. Recovering, she feigned a hiccup. “Sorry.” She enunciated clearly. “And Diet Dr. Pepper, please.”

  Will’s eyebrow rose coyly. His leg had not moved. “Diet?”

  “Must keep my girlish figure, you know.” She smiled at the waiter, handing him her menu.

  “You’ll be twelve by next week at this rate,” teased Gayle.

  Lunch came, and with it, more stolen glances. Nikki listened more than speaking, learning much about the politics at the school between teachers, and sensing that both Will and Gayle were probably excellent teachers in their fields.

  Gayle eventually steered the conversation to more personal matters. “So, how’s Patty?” She flashed a wicked grin at Nikki. “Have you heard from her lately?”

  Will’s whole demeanor tensed, and he looked at his empty plate. Fidgeting with his napkin, he mumbled, “Only when she wants more in alimony.”

  “Does she ever ask after me?” Gayle looked at Nikki conspiratorially. “She was one of our student aides a few years back. Super cute. The kids loved her.”

  “I’m pretty sure she’s in Barbados or something.”

  Gayle squealed appreciatively, and Nikki sensed she was goading him.

  “All those frequent flier miles,” he said bitterly. He cleared the dregs of his Coke and crunched the ice. “I’ll go pay the check.”

  As he walked away, Gayle patted Nikki’s arm. “Look, it’s none of my business, but—gorgeous bod aside—Will’s still on the rebound. I don’t want to see you hurt while he’s still mopping up his shattered ego, you know?”

  Nikki nodded and swallowed. “I get it. Thanks for the warning.”

  5~The Imaginary Husband

  As the week progressed, Will seemed ever-present and ever-smiling, quick with a compliment or a courtly gesture. Nikki couldn’t, for the life of her, understand why his wife had divorced him when he was so perpetually charming. It was the strangest predicament Nikki had ever been in because, unlike Flip-Flop Man, who was totally repulsive, Will Carlin was like smooth chocolate incarnate. Hard to resist. But he also tended to lean in close and whisper innuendo. Although it was nice to feel wanted, his proximity felt forward. I don’t date players!

  Coach caught up with her in the parking lot on Friday. Bent over a pile of papers in the back seat of her car, Nikki didn’t hear him coming.

  Slap!

  She straightened so fast that she bonked the back of her head on the car door frame.

  “Oooh, sorry, Nikki!” he said. “I didn’t mean to surprise you like that. Are you all right?”

  She rubbed the new bump on her skull and glared. “Tell me you did not just slap my behind. Tell me a bird shot a really big rubber band at me and flew away because I would believe that more.”

  “Sorry,” he said, hands in the air in surrender. “I slap the boys all the time on the football field, and I forget myself.”

  “Oh, well, if I accidentally rap your knuckles with a ruler, you’ll cut me some slack, too, right?”

  Coach laughed and took a step back. “So, you have plans this weekend? Last chance at freedom before the grading starts,” he said.

  Is Gayle right? Does he flirt with all the women? Dang, he smells good.

  “I was thinking I could show you some of the more intimate bars in Eastmont.” He leaned his elbow on the roof of the car, pulling his polo shirt taut across his pecs. His whole aura exuded virility, and it sucked all the moisture from Nikki’s mouth. A date sure would be a nice change. And he’s mighty hunky.

  Something twinkling in his eyes set off a warning alarm in her brain.

  “Uh.” Nikki searched the parking lot for some clue of an excuse.

  Just then Officer Ross rolled up in his security patrol car and lowered his window. “Everything okay here? This is a no loitering zone, you know,” he said with a mock-serious tone. “The Friday before Labor Day, this place should be empty.”

  “Hi!” said Nikki too eagerly.

  “No car trouble?”

  “We’re all fine, Officer,” said Coach. He clenched his jaw and ran his fingers through his hair. “Just making plans for the weekend.”

  “Oh?” Ross glanced at Nikki.

  “We’re not making plans together.” She waved her arms between them. “We were just talking.”

  “Right. What?” Coach looked off-balance for a moment.

  “Pretty soon you’ll be married to your work here.” Ross smiled sympathetically in the way all the teachers did when they implied her life was about to be forfeit to endless grading and committee meetings.

  Married. Did he say married? Nikki had a brain flash. “Yes, actually! My husband’s taking me out tonight to celebrate my new job really starting.”

  “Your husband?” Coach coughed.

  “Isn’t he sweet?” She grinned and bounced on her heels like a giddy teen girl. “He’s always doing such thoughtful things for me.”

  “I didn’t know you were married.”

  “Oh yes. Newlyweds. You know how it is.” Nikki winked knowingly.

  “What’s his name?” asked Ross. “Your husband, I mean. I’ll need to meet him so I don’t arrest him if he comes to take you out to lunch one day.”

  Nikki laughed a little too loudly at this, suddenly panicking about the lie she had birthed. “His name?” Something neutral, she thought. Something common. “Mike. Mike Fallon. He’s… a pilot.”

  Will winced, and Nikki realized her unintentional sting.

  “Congratulations,” said Ross. He waved and drove off as Nikki slipped into the driver’s seat.

  Starting her engine, Nikki beamed up at Coach. “Well, good-bye. Have a great weekend!”

  And just like that, Nikki was married.

  6~Faith and Fabricated Families

  “Some best friend you are.” Janna slid into the pew beside Nikki as the introduction for the first hymn started playing and everyone rose to their feet. “I didn’t even get to throw you a bachelorette party!”

  “That’s because I’m not actually married, stupid,” said Nikki.

  “So what’s he like?”

  “Who?”

  “Your husband.”

  “Sh! Someone’ll hear you.”

  “Not over that organ music,” said Janna. The congregation croaked out “A Mighty Fortress is our God”, and Janna pinched Nikki’s arm. “Who’d you marry? I want details.”

  “I told them he was a pilot.” Nikki kept her eyes on the person leading the music.

  Janna snorted and flopped her head back in a loud cackle, earning more than a few disapproving glares from the poodle-headed ladies across the aisle. “Around here?” she whispered. “A crop duster, maybe, but a pilot, Nikki? How could you lie like that?”

  “I had to do it quickly. I was under pressure. You know I’m a crappy liar,” whined Nikki. “Now shut up and sing.”

  They joined their voices with the crowd, drowned out by the Von Trapp wannabes in the row behind them. Nikki’s mind wandered to all of the things that made her totally unmarriageable—first and foremost being that she was mostly afraid of dating grown-up men who might have grown-up expectations about what a date should include. By the time the song ended, she forgot to sit d
own in her fresh gloom.

  Janna tugged at Nikki’s sleeve and she landed with a thunk beside her. “You’re going to need a ring, you know. And not some boring band. It’s got to sparkle. You married Top Gun, after all.”

  “I hate Tom Cruise, and you know it,” said Nikki.

  “So how hot is he?” whispered Janna after a few minutes.

  “Huh?”

  “How hot is he?”

  Nikki turned and squinted at her. “Janna, are you missing the bit about him being imaginary?”

  “Not your husband. Your lecherous love interest.”

  Nikki’s cheeks flushed. “Will Carlin is not my love interest.”

  The woman behind them leaned forward and tapped Nikki on the shoulder. “Could you please keep it down? My children are trying to take notes on the sermon.”

  “Oh, they’ll want to take notes on what I’m saying,” whispered Janna.

  Nikki closed her eyes so no one could see them roll and held the hymnal over her mouth. Janna shook with smug, silent laughter, something she did so often that it had become like a workout regimen for her. Nikki didn’t know why the world was so funny to Janna. Or why her mascara never ran when she cried laughing.

  Nikki pulled out her phone and did a quick search of the Riverview High website. “Here,” she said, shoving the screen in Janna’s face. “He even looks good in a school photo. What’s up with that?”

  Janna repositioned the phone to get a better look. “Oh my—”

  Nikki smacked the back of Janna’s head. “Don’t say that in here.”

  Mrs. Von Trapp leaned forward and ground her teeth. “Do you mind?”

  “No, I’m good. Thanks,” said Janna.

  Nikki sank lower in her seat.

  They managed to feign reverence for another five minutes during which time Nikki tried not to think about Will Carlin. Mistake. While she was yawning at the stuffiness of the room, Janna leaned over and asked, “Seriously, how hot is his bod because his shoulders—?”

  “Stop it!” blurted Nikki, astonished that Janna could read her thoughts. A rustle of annoyance spiraled around them.