Page 8 of The Replacement Fiance

"Maybe he thought that was it."

"But I was thinking, what if his battery died? What if his phone got lost or stolen? What if he's on a flight right now?"

Logan's frown deepens. "What happens if heison a flight, Mariah? Are you bringing two fiancés with you?"

I wring my fingers together, not knowing what to do with them. "I don't know. I just hate leaving him stranded if he does show up. Can we just stop by the airport for my peace of mind? I'll make it up to you, I promise."

Logan sighs though I know he's not happy, his jaw still clenched. "You don't have to make it up to me, Mariah. We'll stop by the airport."

3

Mariah

Sacramento Airport is teemingwith people when we arrive. And since Logan refuses to drop me off at the Arrivals Terminal by myself in case we lose each other, we find parking and make our way to the terminal together. I don't even know what to do if Cooper does show up. If he does, then he'll have to be a friend who's tagging along. It's Christmas Eve after all and I can't turn him away just because I found a replacement.

It's a mess and I'm a wreck just thinking about it.

Logan takes my hand and holds it the whole time. His hand dwarfs mine, rough in places but warm. It brings visions of us snuggled under a blanket in front of the fire but I push the thought away. As we stand in front of the double doors of the Arrivals gate, we look like a normal couple expecting a friend to arrive even if one of us looks anxious and the other ticked off.

"His flight just got in," he says as we both look at the board with its flight names and times. "What does he look like?"

I pull out my phone and scroll through my messages. Cooper still hasn't called or texted. I pull up his photograph and hand the phone to Logan. It's a picture of a man wearing a nice suit leaning against a Ferrari. With his blonde hair, blue eyes, and a dazzling smile, he's the 21st-century version of Paul Newman.

"You hired some actor?" Logan asks as he peers at the screen.

"Well, not really. He's an escort." When I see his shocked expression, I add, "But our contract does not include any sex. Just for him to pretend to be my fiance´."

"But an escort usually does other things."

"I know but those other things are not in the contract."

Logan arches an eyebrow. "Seriously? You two had a contract?"

"I had to draft one," I say. "There were certain... duties as far as his job description. Besides, I figured my parents would put us in separate bedrooms anyway, so there was no risk of anything else happening. And I didn't want anything to happen other than what had been outlined..." I pause, realizing how defensive I sound. There's no other way to sugarcoat it. I hired an escort.

"What exactly did you outline? What could he do and not do?"

I clear my throat. "Well, holding hands is okay."

"And?"

"Maybe a kiss. Not a deep one. Just a simple kiss."

"That's it."

I nod. "Yup. That's pretty much it."

"You've got me curious about this contract now."

"Don't be." I chuckle as Logan hands me back my phone. "It was more like a grocery list, actually."

"That sounds romantic."

"It was... for, like, two seconds."

We proceed to wait a few more minutes, scanning the oncoming crowd of passengers walking out of the Arrivals gate but see no one who matches Cooper's description. When the crowd thins thirty minutes later, Logan asks one of the passengers if he's from one of the cancelled flights from yesterday and the man says yes, and that others ended up getting on different planes with out-of-the-way connecting flights.

"But that's Christmas Eve for ya," the man says just as we spot the crew exiting the terminal and I'm ashamed to feel both disappointment and relief that Cooper didn't make this flight.

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