Faking Forever
by Catherine Bybee
Series: First Wives, #4
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Release Date: March 12, 2019
Shannon Wentworth’s biological clock is ticking, and she isn’t going to let her single status keep her from having a baby. When her wedding-photography business takes her to Mexico, she has every intention of finding a willing baby daddy to help her out. Until the bride goes AWOL, leaving Shannon to coddle the arrogant fiancé who has accused her of sabotaging his wedding.
Victor Brooks never could have imagined that he’d be on a honeymoon for one. Only here he is, taking a hard look at his life after the younger women he thought he loved walked out. The woman who volunteers to help him reflect is the last person he expects to be attracted to. Between the tequila, the sun, and one earth-shattering kiss, Victor finds Shannon a distraction too sexy to ignore.
They strike a deal: wait three months, cool off, and see if their tropical beach attraction is worth taking up when they go back home. Unfortunately, that’s just enough time for the past to come calling. All their best-laid plans are at risk. So is the last thing Shannon expected to matter the most: her heart.
Victor noticed Shannon sitting in the open dining area of the hotel the next morning, drinking coffee and reading on her e-reader. He’d spent most of the previous day licking his metaphorical wounds and nursing a headache.
Dressed in cotton pants that went midcalf and a light shirt, she looked like she was dressed for a long plane ride home. As much a pain in the ass as the woman had been, he felt compelled to say goodbye. After all, he was the reason she was there.
He walked up quietly behind her. “If it isn’t woman who fed me mezcal.”
The sound of his voice made her jump.
Too bad she wasn’t holding her coffee.
“You have got to stop doing that.”
Without an invitation, he sat and smiled. She took a deep breath and looked away, came painfully close to rolling her eyes. For some reason, he appreciated the fact she held back and wondered just how much it would take for her to disregard him with such a gesture.
“Please, sit down,” she said.
He glanced at his chair. “Thank you.”
She set her e-reader aside and regarded him. “I thought for sure you’d be back at the office by now.”
So did he. “I couldn’t fly yesterday even if I’d found a flight.”
“Oh?”
He didn’t miss the tiny shine in the corner of her eye.
“No. I had one too many the other night. Inflicting that on whoever had the misfortune of sitting next to me on the flight home was more than I could take after my flight here.”
She smiled, briefly, and lifted her chin. “I’m glad to hear you’ve evolved since Friday.”
Unable to help himself, he laughed.
Her smile returned.
Victor felt a twist in his gut, a pull to something he didn’t want to name. “I guess you’re leaving today,” he said.
She shrugged. “I am.”
He nodded. “Justin informed me you made sure I didn’t decide to go for a late night swim.”
“It was tempting. But then I realized you wouldn’t be able to pay me if you swallowed too much water.”
“Self-preserving. Very smart of you.”
“It’s a gift.”
When the woman wasn’t tossing barbs at him, she was beautiful. Perfect lines in her face, high cheekbones … he couldn’t tell if her olive skin was from an ancestor or the byproduct of living in Southern California. Not anything like anyone he’d been attracted to before.
What was he thinking? He wasn’t attracted.
Victor shook his head and stood. “Well, I saw you sitting here and thought I’d at least say goodbye.”
She stood with him and extended her hand. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry things didn’t go as planned this weekend.”
Her fingers were long, elegant. Just like the woman. Disappointment saying goodbye was an emotion he had no business feeling. Yet there it was, like a lump in his chest.
“Are you?”
Her smile cracked. “No. But it seemed the right thing to say. I am sorry for the heartache. That’s never easy, even if it’s for the right reason.”
Victor realized he was still shaking her hand and let go.
“Goodbye, Victor. Good luck to you.”
“Goodbye, Shannon.” And because it was the appropriate thing to do once you said goodbye, Victor walked away. When he turned to take a last look, Shannon sharply moved her gaze to her coffee.
Dressed in cotton pants that went midcalf and a light shirt, she looked like she was dressed for a long plane ride home. As much a pain in the ass as the woman had been, he felt compelled to say goodbye. After all, he was the reason she was there.
He walked up quietly behind her. “If it isn’t woman who fed me mezcal.”
The sound of his voice made her jump.
Too bad she wasn’t holding her coffee.
“You have got to stop doing that.”
Without an invitation, he sat and smiled. She took a deep breath and looked away, came painfully close to rolling her eyes. For some reason, he appreciated the fact she held back and wondered just how much it would take for her to disregard him with such a gesture.
“Please, sit down,” she said.
He glanced at his chair. “Thank you.”
She set her e-reader aside and regarded him. “I thought for sure you’d be back at the office by now.”
So did he. “I couldn’t fly yesterday even if I’d found a flight.”
“Oh?”
He didn’t miss the tiny shine in the corner of her eye.
“No. I had one too many the other night. Inflicting that on whoever had the misfortune of sitting next to me on the flight home was more than I could take after my flight here.”
She smiled, briefly, and lifted her chin. “I’m glad to hear you’ve evolved since Friday.”
Unable to help himself, he laughed.
Her smile returned.
Victor felt a twist in his gut, a pull to something he didn’t want to name. “I guess you’re leaving today,” he said.
She shrugged. “I am.”
He nodded. “Justin informed me you made sure I didn’t decide to go for a late night swim.”
“It was tempting. But then I realized you wouldn’t be able to pay me if you swallowed too much water.”
“Self-preserving. Very smart of you.”
“It’s a gift.”
When the woman wasn’t tossing barbs at him, she was beautiful. Perfect lines in her face, high cheekbones … he couldn’t tell if her olive skin was from an ancestor or the byproduct of living in Southern California. Not anything like anyone he’d been attracted to before.
What was he thinking? He wasn’t attracted.
Victor shook his head and stood. “Well, I saw you sitting here and thought I’d at least say goodbye.”
She stood with him and extended her hand. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry things didn’t go as planned this weekend.”
Her fingers were long, elegant. Just like the woman. Disappointment saying goodbye was an emotion he had no business feeling. Yet there it was, like a lump in his chest.
“Are you?”
Her smile cracked. “No. But it seemed the right thing to say. I am sorry for the heartache. That’s never easy, even if it’s for the right reason.”
Victor realized he was still shaking her hand and let go.
“Goodbye, Victor. Good luck to you.”
“Goodbye, Shannon.” And because it was the appropriate thing to do once you said goodbye, Victor walked away. When he turned to take a last look, Shannon sharply moved her gaze to her coffee.
With strong characters and emotions that could be felt on the page, Catherine Bybee has once again delivered a story that grabbed me from the first page and never let go.“Trust me. You’re better off walking away now than going around faking forever with a man who isn’t right.”
Having only seen one side of Shannon in the previous books, I wasn’t too sure about how I would relate to her, but from her first interaction with Victor I knew she and I were going to hit it off just fabulously! There was so much sass and snark buried under her quiet exterior and I just loved it. I was a bit unsure how Victor and Shannon’s romance was going to play out given their circumstances, but Catherine Bybee is a master storyteller and I should have known she would create just the right path for these two to come together in such a way that there was no way I wouldn’t fall for these two. There was a little drama towards the end that added a bit of angst, but it ended up being the perfect set-up for a wonderful ending.
One of my favorite parts about reading a series is having other characters from other books make an appearance, and I just loved how the ladies from the First Wives Club were there to support Shannon no matter what, even if they did meddle just a little bit, for all the right reasons. It was also fun to see the men get involved as well and help Victor out, even if that was not what they were instructed to do! There were also some other great supporting characters that I just loved, including Victor’s brother Justin and his parents, and even Corrie – at least until she turned into a bit of a psycho.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if you haven’t read a book by Catherine Bybee you are truly missing out and need to put her on your TBR ASAP!
I received an advance reader copy from the publisher via NetGalley which I voluntarily reviewed.
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