A Limited Engagement

by Bethany Michaels

This is absolutely nothing limited about this story!

While the scenario may not be completely unique, I mean, a long lusted after, super successful drop dead gorgeous childhood dream asking for a favour – the word Yes would have been tripping off my tongue in the blink of an eye or at least before I have a chance to talk myself out of it so when Lily is faced with this very scenario, I couldn’t help but cosy myself down and settle in for the afternoon, I had a feeling this was going to be a beauty!

Lily and Derek knew each other from childhood, he was friends with Lilly’s bestie’s brother, a little more complicated that you normally get but equally as elusive, all that brothers and sisters connection malarkey, I don’t get it but whatever. So, other than that obtuse connection keeping them apart, there was also the fact that he was older than her, not by much, after all 6 years isn’t exactly a lifetime but it was enough to keep a respectable distance but not enough to stop her dreaming!

So when she gets a call from Derek, inviting her to lunch, it is safe to say that her curiosity got the better of her and by the time he was ready to drop her home, it was most definitely piqued because it isn’t every day the guy you had the hots for as a teenager asks you join him on a trip and to pretend to be his fiancée

Derek is huge in his profession and like all professional sportsmen, sponsorship is key, so Lily is soon joining him on his trip to Dallas to meet up with and hopefully tie down a major sponsorship deal, while keeping the other interested parties at bay. Derek doesn’t need anything coming between him and his racing and that means relationships don’t exactly feature in his plans, so it is easier to deflect unwanted attention and the daughter of his biggest potential sponsor, by having Lily by his side for the weekend.

Lily understands the enormity of what is on the line for Derek, his whole future could change as a result of this trip, so with assurances that this is just for the weekend, she is ready to play along, and no man could possibly wish for a more devoted fiancée but can they keep the news contained…not a chance.

How on earth did they didn’t  realise that the most eligible bachelor in racing suddenly rocking up with a fiancée in tow wasn’t going to be big news, I have no idea because their little trip to Texas is suddenly major news and what they had hoped would fly quietly under the radar has erupted into a media storm and as huge as that is, it pales in significance to the fact that their families are now party to this “relationship” and their impending nuptials…safe to say the plan was well and truly
scuppered. So rather than come clean, what do they do…yep you guessed it they make the educated decision to extend their little pretence a while longer…until a natural more befitting conclusion can be reached, little did they know that their limitations and patience were about to be tested to the limit and something was going to have to give?

Because as fun and flirty as it may have been initially, spending time together, more than a day or two soon makes one thing abundantly clear, there is definitely something between the two of them that isn’t willing to play by their silly rules, this isn’t make believe anymore and they just have to find a way to figure out where they go from here…things have begun to get very real, very quickly.

You will fall very quickly for the delight that is the connection between both Derek and Lily, their friendship is blatantly obvious, the banter and flirtation between the two of them was a mixture of sexy and snappy, they pushed each other in ways that only they could, in ways that their confidence and comfort around each other afforded them. They work together to work through not only their “engagement” predicament but also to help each other resolve some deep seated issues, that in many respects were holding them back. Derek was able to provide Lily with the emotional support that she needs, while she was slowly able to let Derek see that just because his family was torn apart when is father left, doesn’t mean that he is made of the same stuff. They might just make it, if he gives them a chance and with Lily he may just be willing to try, because being without her is a prospect that he isn’t ready to consider.

A super, quick and enjoyable read that had fun and flirty characters that were both entertaining and engaging.