Page 6 of Her Athlete's Wedding Secret

Chapter 2

Tessa’s mind whirled. “Are you proposing to me?”

“Not officially.”

Her surroundings began to tilt. “I can’t believe this.”

“My agent told me I’m going to get kicked off the team if I don’t find a wife. He wants me to find someone from Maple Creek, and he wants me to decide on a wife by the end of the week.”

Her mouth fell open. “Why me?”

“I know you want to move to the big city.”

She closed her mouth. “That’s true. I’m dying to leave Maple Creek. I have been since I was a kid.”

“Why haven’t you left yet?”

“I never felt like I could leave my mom. And it just never seemed like the right time.”

“Is your mom sick?”

“She’s pretty unstable. I’m not sure I could abandon her.”

“What if you were able to fly back frequently?”

“I’d never had the money for something like that,” Tessa said. “I’m not exactly bringing home much cash reporting forThe Maple Creek Examiner.”

“I would make sure all your financial needs were met. You’d be able to fly back to see your mom as much as you wanted.”

“I don’t think so, Benson. This is crazy. I can’t just up and get married. You don’t even like me.”

He crossed his arms. Wow, they were huge. She could tell even under his tux coat. “I like you.”

“Enough to marry me?”

“I’m desperate.”

“Gee, thanks.” Tessa felt the humiliation burning in her face. He’d never noticed her in high school, and now he’d made it all too clear how he felt about her. He probably wasn’t even attracted to her. She wasn’t his type. She was bookish and nerdy. He was the king of the jock world. But she did like sports reporting.

“So, what do you say?”

“I say, no.” This wasn’t what she had in mind when she thought about her future wedding. She’d been thinking about it more lately. Sure, she’d been married to her job, but deep down, she was a hopeless romantic. She usually focused that side of herself on her friends, cheering on their romantic endeavors from the sidelines. She’d never stepped into the spotlight herself.

With several of her high school friends getting married off recently, she’d been dreaming about her own happily ever after, wondering when it would be her turn. She’d expected some amazing guy to come along to sweep her off her feet. Benson wasn’t her prince charming. He was loud and crass and too much of a flirt.

“Come on, Tessa. I know this sounds crazy, but my career’s on the line right now.”

“That’s not my problem. You should have thought about that when you decided to break the law.”

“What about you? Were you ever planning on getting married?”

“When marriage didn’t work out for my mom, it broke her. I don’t want the same thing to happen to me.”

“If you want, we can be married in name only and act happily married for the tabloids so the public would think we’re a real couple. Just for the next three years when my contract is up. After that, we can get a divorce, and you can walk away with two million dollars. It would just be a piece of paper and a bit of acting.”

Tessa had never seen two million dollars. All her needs would be met for the next three years. She could focus on her career and maybe even write a book. “We aren’t exactly friends. We didn’t even hang out in high school. You were too busy chasing after cheerleaders.”

“You wouldn’t have even looked at me if I’d tried to talk to you,” Benson said. “You were all wrapped up in the newspaper.”

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