A Heart to Trust by A.L. Brooks (romantic books to read txt) 📗

the room with their water glasses when Broderick, Jenny assumed, entered the room.

He nodded at Olivia, then faced Jenny. “Hi, I’m Broderick. You must be Jenny.”

“Hi, nice to meet you.”

Broderick Sinclair was taller than Olivia but not tall. He was nice-looking but not spectacularly handsome. With his slim body, brown eyes, and thick, light-brown hair that seemed naturally unruly, he was, surprisingly, just an ordinary-looking guy. Jenny had expected Olivia, stunning as she was, to be married to some hunk of a male model.

“Do you mind if I sit?” he asked.

“Uh, sure.” Jenny’s confusion was now complete. This would be a three-way conversation?

Broderick sat to Jenny’s right and gave her what she had to admit was a warm smile.

This is all so freaking weird.

After placing their water glasses on the table, Olivia sat opposite Jenny and inhaled deeply. “You’re probably wondering why Broderick is here. We thought, given what you need to know, it would be easier if he was part of the conversation. You might have questions for him too, and he might be able to put your mind at rest about any doubts you might have about this.”

Olivia and Broderick exchanged a glance Jenny couldn’t decipher, and then Broderick squeezed Olivia’s hand.

An idea formed in Jenny’s mind, an idea that made her stomach roll and her palms sweat. “Wait. Just a second.” She pushed her chair back. “If you’re about to suggest we have some kind of threesome or something, then save your breath. That’s not my bag. At all.”

Olivia’s eyes went wide, and her cheeks pinked.

Broderick burst out laughing and clutched at the table with both hands while he rocked in his seat.

“That’s…that’s not it,” Olivia managed to squeak.

“You sure? Because that’s what this sou—”

Broderick held up a hand. “No. Absolutely not. But oh God, I can see why you might have thought that.” He laughed again.

Olivia glared at him. “Not helping.”

“What the fuck is going on?” Jenny’s anger spilled over. She crossed her arms. If there was one thing she didn’t like, it was being laughed at. “Tell me right now, or I’m out of here.”

Broderick’s laughter shut off like water from a tap, and he straightened in his seat. “Jenny, I’m sorry,” he said sincerely. “I’m not laughing at you. I swear. I suppose it’s this situation and how hard both Olivia and I have worked at it, and now it’s coming to an end and…” He shook his head. “Sorry.”

“Jenny,” Olivia said, before Jenny could muster any kind of response to Broderick’s words. “Let me explain.” She waited until Jenny’s gaze met hers. “Broderick and I are in a fake marriage.”

Jenny stared at her. Fake marriage? What the—?

“It’s true. We’ve been friends for years. Since uni. Actually, I always think of Broderick as the brother I never had.” Olivia threw Broderick a warm smile. “We’ve shared a lot together, and he’s always been the person I could go to with anything that troubled me.” She took a sip of her water. “So when he called me one day and told me how unhappy he was with his life, I naturally wanted to help fix it. He had been appointed CEO of his family’s hotel business about a year before but didn’t want the job. Hated the whole sit-behind-a-desk-all-day life. He’s always wanted to race cars, not be Mr. Corporate. But the racing world is rather conservative. With his lack of both experience and anything resembling a relationship—which had led to rumors of him being gay—no one wanted to sponsor him. Being gay is a huge no-no in that macho world.” She shook her head.

“And I’m not gay, but denying it only seems to make people think you’re covering up.” Broderick shrugged. “We talked a lot over the next few weeks, about how unhappy I was, and also how her life wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders.”

Olivia snorted. “That’s quite the understatement. In the span of six months, I lost a relationship and a job. The latter, in particular, really knocked me.”

“So, we got talking,” Broderick continued. “At first it started as a suggestion for her to come to New York for a break. Spend some time with me, see the sights, all that. Then it evolved. I knew she’d long dreamed of living and working in New York, so we started to wonder if there was a way we could make something happen for both of us out of this situation. I don’t even know which one of us suggested it first, and I’m pretty sure we were drunk when we did.”

“Yes, tequila may have been involved.” Olivia grimaced. “But suddenly, we had this idea and it wouldn’t let us go. We knew it was risky, and possibly a little bonkers, but it seemed like it would solve all his problems; it would give me the chance to start over and break away from all the negative things back in the UK. I was born here in the US and have dual nationality, so working here wouldn’t be a problem if I could get a job. And living with Broderick would give me a safe base to start from in looking for work.”

“She’d already met my family a few times over the years, and they knew how close we were, so convincing them we were a couple was easy.” Broderick didn’t smile, and something Jenny couldn’t read haunted his eyes.

“But you’re not in love with each other? And never were?” Jenny’s brain tried to connect all the dots but only ended up with noodles.

“No.” He shifted in his seat. “I’m ace and aro. I love Olivia as a friend, but nothing more.”

Wow. Okay, so things were starting to make a little more sense.

Olivia met Jenny’s gaze. “And I’m lesbian.”

Jenny’s heart missed a beat. “Lesbian?”

Olivia nodded. “One of the biggest drawbacks to the whole plan was me giving up on all relationships while he and I were trying to convince everyone we were a real, happily married hetero couple.” She swallowed. “But I’d just come off