Husband for rent

“Are you doubting me?” “You don't think I could make it work?” Grey Jobs asked his friend, Joseph Jackson. Joseph shook his head, his mouth quirking into a faint smile. “No. For a weekend, maybe. But not for an entire week”. “Do you want to make a bet on that?” I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “Um you guys?” The two men in the party of four at the restaurant table ignored me, even though I was the one who had unintentionally initiated this good-natured confrontation. “I'll take that bet,” Grey said, his gaze locked with Joseph’s smiling blue eyes. “Say a hundred dollars?” Joseph's chin lifted in response to the bet. “You're on”. “Seriously, guys. We're not doing this. My mother will be disappointed in me.” I chipped in. I might as well not have spoken at all. “I agree with Joseph. I'm not sure this scheme would work.” Emily Ha, my coworker, added. Before I could reply, Grey’s friend, Joseph, jumped in. “Grey could definitely do it. He’s, like, the king of practical jokes.” “Married people give off a certain vibe. Grey and Evelyn just don't have it.” “Because they haven't tried for us,” Joseph countered logically. Growing increasingly uncomfortable with this line of talk, and hardly able to even look at Grey now, I cleared my throat. Maybe I should not have told my friends about the bizarre appeal my meddling mother had made during an out-of-the-blue phone call last night. It turned out that, unbeknownst to me, my mother had been lying to people for more than a year that I was happily married to the father of my ten-month-old twins. Now my nosy mom had asked me to bring the kids, as well as someone pretending to be my husband to an upcoming family reunion. I had learned years earlier to shrug off my mother's antics, because I would drive myself crazy if I took it all too seriously. Avoidance and humor had become my two weapons of choice against my mother's periodic campaigns to draw me back into the chaos from which I escaped nine years earlier, as soon as I had turned eighteen and graduated highschool. Though I had assured my amused friends that I had no intention of complying with this latest wacky request. Somehow the conversation had wound around to whether anyone, specifically Grey, my neighbor could hoodwink my extended, estranged family into believing he'd been married to me for some nineteen months. I shot a quick look at Grey. Despite the incredible twist our conversation had taken, he lounged comfortably in his seat, looking as fit and undeniably hot as ever. Seeing me looking at him, he winked, I dropped my gaze quickly to my plate, feeling my cheeks warm. For the past seven months, I had been trying to hide my attraction to Grey from my friends, and I thought I had done so successfully. I tried so hard to deny it to myself, but that had been a much more futile effort. “Grey would also have to convince them he is your children’s dad,” Joseph pointed out. “So not only would he have to pretend to be in love with you, he would have to look comfortable with your children. Having the kids scream every time he picks them up wouldn't help his case.” “That wouldn't be an issue,” Grey said with a chuckle. “I just wouldn't pick them up. Evelyn could be the hovering mom who doesn't give anyone else a chance to take the babies.” “And it's not like they are old enough to talk, so they wouldn't be a problem,” Emily agreed. “Grey, you would need a more definitive sign to prove to Evelyn's family that you're her loving husband.” Grey looked intrigued. “ Like what?” “Your grandma’s ring and kissing,” Joseph chimed in eagerly. I choked. “Oh, now that's going too far.” “Are you guys really serious? You're actually suggesting Grey should accompany me to my family reunion and pretend to be my husband? My children's father?”. I looked at Emily, my coworker to Joseph, with a frown of disbelief, my gaze sliding quickly past Grey. “You said you wouldn't mind seeing your ailing grandmother one more time,” Emily reminded me. “And that your mother would never forgive you if you exposed her as a liar to her entire family. Seems like the perfect solution.” “The perfect solution is for me to skip the reunion altogether, which is what I told my mother I plan to do. I've just missed the past three Natalie family reunions.” “Emily's right, this would give you a chance to see your grandmother without permanently alienating your mother. And if he can make it work, Grey’s a hundred dollars ahead,” Joseph agreed with a mischievous laugh. Grey shrugged, his smile easy, his eyes inscrutable as he looked across the table to me. “No one has given me any say in all this, it's about time someone acknowledged that.” He chuckled. “It’s a crazy idea, of course. It would probably get awkward. But if you want to give it a shot I'm in.” I blinked. “You would really do this?” “Sure. I could use the extra hundred bucks,” he added with a quick grin toward Joseph. I'm not fooled that the money had anything to do with his offer, but I'm not quite certain how to read the expression in Grey's amber-brown eyes. I couldn't tell what he was thinking.