Fake Dating the Hometown Deputy: A Sweet Standalone Romance (Fake Dates Book 2) Read online

  Fake Dating the Hometown Deputy

  Fakes Dates #2

  Maggie Dallen

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  The (Not So) Perfect Day

  About the Author

  1

  Vanessa squinted down at the menu in her hands—not that she really needed to read it. Like the small town of Cyrano itself, nothing about this menu had changed in the seven years since she’d been away.

  “You know,” her friend Addison said from the other side of the booth. “You could probably take those sunglasses off now that we’re inside. It might make the menu easier to read.”

  Vanessa sighed as she shut the menu. The only thing worse than being a coward was being called out on it. She snapped the oversized designer sunglasses off her face and tried not to be too annoyed by Addison’s amusement. “Did you really think those sunglasses would make a good disguise?”

  Vanessa shrugged. “It worked for Clark Kent.”

  “He wore regular glasses,” she said.

  Vanessa frowned. Well, that wouldn’t work for her. She’d worn regular glasses when she’d lived here. That would be a dead giveaway.

  Addison seemed to be reading her mind. She tilted her head to the side so her dark blonde ponytail swung like a pendulum. “No offense, Vanessa, but I don’t think a pair of sunglasses can make you unnoticeable in this town.” She wrinkled her nose with regret. “I don’t think anything can.”

  Vanessa sighed again. Her friend was right. Cyrano was a small ski town tucked into the Rocky Mountains and it was fueled by winter tourism and local gossip. The fact that one of its prodigal daughters had returned after jet setting it around the world and living in the big city…?

  It was news, whether she liked it or not.

  “Here you are, Nessie!” Barbara McKinley, the lovely, plump, silver-haired lady who’d owned this diner since before Vanessa was born, set down a large brown mug with a thud.

  Vanessa stared at it in horror. “That’s a lot of whipped cream.”

  And that was putting it mildly.

  She peeked up to see Addison battling a laugh and failing as a snort escaped. Her friend clapped a hand over her mouth, as if that helped.

  “Just the way you like it,” Barbara said with pride.

  Vanessa smiled up at her—because really, how could one not smile when Barbara’s round pleasant face was beaming at you like that? “Thank you, but, um…”

  I no longer drown my emotions in junk food.

  I haven’t let real sugar touch my lips in nearly a decade.

  I’m no longer Nessie, or Loch Ness, or any other stupid nickname!

  Her smile faltered as she realized she couldn’t say any of those things to sweet, kind Barbara. “Thank you,” she said again. “But I go by Vanessa now.”

  “Oh, of course you do,” Barbara said, patting her shoulder like she was a child. “And it’s so fitting.” She eyed Vanessa from head to toe—not easy to do when half her body was hidden beneath the table. “Look at you, so grown up.”

  Vanessa tried to smile but it felt forced. She had to assume that by ‘so grown up’ she meant ‘so much slimmer.’ Or maybe, ‘so much less of a dork without the ugly glasses and the frizzy hair.’

  “I barely recognized you when you walked in,” Barbara added.

  Vanessa held her hands out wide and said what she’d been saying these last two weeks whenever she ran into someone who recognized her and felt the need to comment on her new look. “Late bloomer, I guess.”

  “I guess,” Barbara agreed with a laugh. “Who knew you’d grow up to be such a beauty?”

  No one. Certainly not Chip, the boy who’d broken her heart once upon a time. Though he had yet to see the new Vanessa, and the anticipation of that particular run-in was killing her. She didn’t know whether she wanted to see him or not.

  No, that wasn’t true.

  She wanted to see him. She definitely wanted to show him all that he’d missed out on when he’d so callously broken her heart.

  “Late bloomer, huh?” Addison said as Barbara walked away from the table. “How many times are you going to use that line?”

  “It’s catchy,” Vanessa said. As a marketing and PR professional, she lived to find a quick, efficient, sellable response. A one-liner that would answer the question without leading to even more questions about what she’d been up to these past seven years.

  “It’s corny,” Addison said with a laugh.

  “Maybe,” Vanessa agreed. “But it’s also the truth.” She had been a late bloomer. It wasn’t until her freshman year of college that her body seemed to figure itself out. True, the dieting helped, but so had a growth spurt and the onset of curves. Suddenly she wasn’t fat and round, she was tall and svelte, with curves in all the right places.

  Add in contacts, learning how to straighten her hair and make it shine, and she’d been a veritable ugly duckling-turned-swan. Her only regret was that the transformation happened too late. All the bullies who’d taunted her, and the guys who’d never seen her, the mean girls who’d made her miserable…they hadn’t witnessed the transformation.

  Chip hadn’t seen the woman she’d become, and it was him more than anyone that she wanted to make pay. Not in a mean way, just in a ‘see what you missed out on?’ sort of way.

  Was it petty? Perhaps. But she’d spent a lot of time and energy becoming this new version of herself, and what was the point if the boy who’d broken her heart didn’t regret it?

  The door to the diner swung open and Vanessa slid down in her seat. Hiding was a horrible reflex—a habit she’d long ago broken but which had made a comeback the moment she’d stepped foot in Cyrano.

  She let out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t Chip. The guy who walked in was instantly recognizable though. Trent Arnolds. He’d been the senior star quarterback when she was a junior and every girl in the school had been in love with him.

  Well, everyone but her. Sure, she might’ve had a little crush on him when she was a kid—who hadn’t? But she’d outgrown it just like she’d outgrown fairytales and the Easter Bunny. He was just as much of a fantasy, especially for a dork like her.

  Besides, she’d been too infatuated with Chip to pay much attention to Trent.

  Trent had lived in his own little orbit of popularity. He’d been just like all the other popular rich kids in town—spoiled, entitled, and lucky. Unlike most of the others in his world, he hadn’t acted like a pompous jerk. Which, oddly enough, made him worse, in her opinion.

  The fact that Trent had always hid his giant ego behind that dazzlingly white smile made her irrationally annoyed. She preferred honesty over fake politeness any day of the week—one of many reasons why she’d loved living in New York.

  She eyed him warily now as he went up to the counter to order something to go. He looked exactly the same. Frustratingly, annoyingly, breathtakingly the same. Still handsome in that all-American classic way with short blond hair and a square jaw. Still all smiles with eyes that crinkled up at the edges as if he really meant it. Still polished and
perfect, like the wealthy brat he’d always been.

  “Who exactly are you hiding from?” Addison asked, sipping her cocoa, which was not buried under whipped cream as she studied Vanessa with a mix of amusement, pity, and affection.

  Vanessa tore her eyes from Trent and sighed for the millionth time as she pushed herself upright. “I’m not hiding.”

  Addison arched her brows in disbelief. “You literally just tried to hide under the table right now.” She set her mug down. “Yesterday at the grocery store you dove behind a stack of crackers. You’ve been doing that ever since you returned to Cyrano. You want to tell me what’s going on?”

  Vanessa met her friend’s caring gaze evenly. “What’s going on is I never should have come back.” As soon as she said it, she realized it was the truth. “Coming back here was a mistake.”

  Addison frowned. “What? Why?” She reached over and placed a hand over Vanessa’s. “I thought you were excited to come home.”

  “Home.” Vanessa rolled the word on her tongue, like she was testing it out for the first time. “Is this my home? I mean…this isn’t me anymore. I’m not Nessie.” She sneered as she said the name and Addison cringed in response.

  “Honestly, Vanessa, I had no idea you had it so bad when you were here.” She gave her head a little shake in confusion and Vanessa fought a wave of guilt.

  When she’d met Addison at college in California, she’d found an instant ally. She’d known right from the start that they would be best buds from their very first class together. But Vanessa had been in the initial stages of being this new and improved person—she’d still been trying to figure out who she was and who she’d wanted to be.

  Talking about her old life had seemed like a step backwards. She’d said goodbye to the old Nessie the moment she’d left Wyoming—talking about her would only keep her alive.

  “No wonder you never came back for long,” Addison added.

  Vanessa was grateful her friend hadn’t pressured her for more details. As far as childhoods went, it wasn’t like hers had been the worst. An only child, her home with her parents had been small but warm. They loved her, and it was because of them that she’d bought a small apartment in town during her first year at the marketing company when the money had started rolling in.

  She’d bought it and decorated it in style, telling herself that it would make her parents happy knowing that she had a home in Cyrano. They had seemed pleased, but then her mother had retired from her job at the corner store and her father had cut his hours down so he only worked the ski resort during the winter and no longer did maintenance and repairs during the off-season.

  All this was to say that shortly after she’d bought the apartment, they’d sold her childhood home and had taken their RV on the road for long, extended trips across the country. She’d never really planned on moving back for good anyway, but once her parents left there’d been little reason to visit her barely-used apartment.

  When Addison had mentioned wanting to make a fresh start—somewhere far away from her billionaire father’s overprotective reach and somewhere she wouldn’t be recognized—offering up her apartment had seemed smart.

  It had been smart. Addison was like a whole new person these days—more confident, less wary, and far more outgoing than Vanessa had ever seen her. A lot of that was due to Addison’s new relationship with Colton, Vanessa was sure, but none of that would have happened if Vanessa hadn’t convinced her to come to Cyrano.

  That explained what Addison was doing here, but for the millionth time that week, Vanessa was asking herself why on earth she’d thought quitting her well-paying, high-profile job in New York City was a good idea.

  “Tell me again why I wanted to move back here?” Vanessa asked.

  Addison pursed her lips. “Hmmm, well the last time you’d called from New York you’d mentioned something about hating the backstabbing jerk face who’d stolen your client,” she said. “And the time before that you’d mentioned how your boss was hitting on you, and then there was the time you didn’t know which country you were in because you’d been traveling so much. And then there was the time—”

  “Okay, okay.” Vanessa held up a hand. “I remember now, thank you.”

  “Plus, I’m pretty sure you missed me,” Addison teased.

  Vanessa grinned. “Now that’s a given.”

  “Addison, good to see you again.” Trent’s voice beside them made Vanessa start and Addison shot her a look of surprise. The new-and-improved Vanessa whom Addison knew so well? She didn’t hide when a man walked through the door and she certainly didn’t jump like a spooked cat when a hot guy spoke to her.

  In fact, he wasn’t even talking to her, he was talking to Addison. She glanced up at him and caught her breath.

  Oh dear. He might have been talking to Addison, but he was looking at her.

  Trent Arnolds was looking at her!

  She took a deep breath. Get a grip. You are not a teenager anymore, remember?

  Her brain remembered. The rest of her? That was another story. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest as a fluttery sensation in her belly gave her a whole new reason not to touch that drink. There was a very good chance she wouldn’t keep it down.

  Not because she liked the guy, or even because she didn’t, just because…this was Trent Arnolds! And he was looking right at her! And…holy cow, his eyes were still the prettiest shade of blue she’d ever seen.

  It was official. Some part of her was still twelve years old.

  And that inner tween was freaking out.

  His smile widened as their gazes locked and held.

  Yup, his teeth were still alarmingly white. And his smile was still too darn sexy.

  Some voice of reason was trying to be heard. It was attempting to get her attention, to fight its way through the addled haze of nostalgia and remind her that she was not a teenager anymore.

  So then, why were her hands so very clammy? She wiped them on her pants.

  His eyes squinted a bit as he studied her. “It’s Vanessa, right?”

  She blinked. That snapped her right out of her insane spiral toward prepubescence. Three words but they’d made everything so startlingly clear.

  He didn’t remember her.

  Obviously.

  He was looking at her with polite curiosity, like she was some stranger. Her heart did a silly shimmying move as the butterflies up and died.

  “Yes, I’m Vanessa, and you are…?” Her smile was polite, her voice frigid.

  Was she proud of herself? No. Pretending not to recognize Trent was a new low for her.

  But seeing his surprise was worth it.

  No, Mr. Star Quarterback, not everyone in this town thinks you’re sooo cool.

  She pressed her lips together, mildly terrified by her own slip into immaturity. It was like by coming home she’d reverted back to her childhood self. And her old self?

  Well, she was astonishingly childish.

  She blamed it on all the people calling her Nessie. Who could remember they were a grown woman when they were answering to a name like that?

  “Trent Arnolds,” he said, sticking a hand out with an impossibly charming smile. Those blue eyes sparkled with amusement. A jolt of alarm raced through her as she shook his hand. Did he know she was lying about not remembering him? Was he laughing at her?

  Too late now. She was in it to win it.

  But how long could she really feign ignorance?

  The last thing she needed was more humiliation when he realized she’d pretended to have no idea who he was.

  Right. New plan.

  “Trent,” she said with her best rueful chuckle. “Of course. Now I recognize you. You look exactly the same.”

  His brows hitched up at that and she could practically see his mind working to figure out who she was that she recognized him. There was no way she’d clue him in.

  Remember me? Nerdy Nessie?

  No way.

  His hand held onto hers when sh
e tried to pull it away and she hated herself for the flush of warmth that flooded her cheeks.

  She would not swoon over this small town’s stupid Prince Charming. Do you hear me, cheeks?

  Her cheeks were not listening. They were too busy swooning.

  Oh crap. Being a teenager again was the worst.

  His gaze grew warm as he gave her hand a little squeeze before releasing it. She tucked it into her lap and tried not to notice the way it was still warm and tingly from a measly handshake.

  Stupid hand.

  He gave his head a little shake. “I’m embarrassed to admit, I didn’t recognize you when you first came to town.”

  He still couldn’t quite place her, of that she was certain, but still… points for honesty, at least. She narrowed her eyes with a teasing look. “Who gave me away?”

  His smile broadened at her faux suspicious tone and…oh heck. The man had dimples. Overkill, anyone? Seriously. He might as well have been named Ken. She glanced around the diner. The question was—who was his Barbie?

  “Gina Parker,” he said.

  For the first time since he’d come over, she felt a genuine smile tug at her lips at the name. She’d always liked Gina and had seen her many times since she’d arrived. Not only did Gina serve the best coffee in town at Java Lava, but her brother Colton just happened to be Addison’s new boyfriend.

  Vanessa might have had her reservations about Colton, but Gina was a no-brainer. “She’s a sweetheart,” Vanessa said.

  “Agreed.” Trent’s lips hitched up on one side, like he was trying to show off his right dimple. “The closest thing I have to a sister.”

  Vanessa glanced over at Addison who, not surprisingly, had remained quiet throughout this whole exchange. Her friend might have opened up a bit, but she was still on the shy side, even around the world’s most ingratiating Ken doll.