The Developer's Fake Fiancé (A Contemporary Interracial Romance): UnReal Marriage, #11

By Tasha Hart

Can fake love heal a real heartbreak?

 

Jazmine was supposed to be the professional, but she was upset, so when this fine white boy asked her what was wrong that she told him everything. How her ex was trying to get custody of her adopted daughter. And how the only way she could head stop him was to get married and settle down. So what did Nathan propose?

 

To get fake married, of course!

 

Crazy right? What's crazier is that Jazmine took one look at his beautiful eyes and smokin' body and said YES. Then, before you know it, they've moved in together.

 

But Jazmine's ex isn't giving up that easily.

 

He's got a suspicion that the feelings between Nathan and Jaz aren't real and he's determined to pull every trick in the book to expose them and take Jazmine's daughter away. Forever. The only way Jaz and Nathan will be able to win against him is by developing real feelings. Fast.

 

Will they succeed?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Summerhouse Publishing
• Release date: Mar 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215036068

Book preview

Chapter One

I used to hate Mondays—like really and truly despise them. (Like I’m sure everyone out there does.) But for the past few months—I’ve started to actually look forward to them. I wake up on Mondays excited for the day. Why, might you ask? Well, because every Monday at eleven o’clock on the dot I have physical therapy for my fucked-up knee.

But it’s not what you might be thinking—I’m not actually excited for the therapy itself—that’d be weird. No, it’s the woman doing the therapy on my knee that is responsible for my change of heart about Mondays.

Her name is Jazmine. Jazmine is a gorgeous woman with this beautiful ebony toned skin and dark brown eyes. She has short curly hair, and she’s almost as tall as me—which is quite rare for most females I meet, and probably what drew me to her in the first place.

She’s been my therapist for about three months now, and I know what you’re probably wondering—Nathan, it’s been three months how messed up is your knee? The truth is, my knee started feeling better quite a few visits ago, but it’s Jazmine that keeps me coming back.

I’m not normally a shy kind of guy. I usually have no problem asking women out, but for some reason every time I think I’ve worked up the nerve to ask her—something stops me. I literally lose my ability to speak, and nothing comes out of my mouth. It’s quite sad, actually. So, I vowed that I wouldn’t quit going until I mustered up the courage to ask her out.

I think today might be the day—although that’s what I tell myself every single week. But this week I swear to myself that I mean it. It has to be today because this has gotten ridiculous. It’s like when girls pretend to be dumb to make a guy like them. So, this has to be it. At least this is what I tell myself as I drive the thirty minutes to the office.

As I pull into the parking lot, I spot her car. No, I’m not a stalker—I just happened to notice that that’s the only car that’s here every single time I have an appointment with her… yeah I may be crushing a little too hard. Don’t judge.

I walk in, check in at the front desk, and take a seat in the waiting room. Not even two minutes after I sit down, she calls me back. Jazmine’s good with not making her patients wait a whole hour after the time their appointment was supposed to be at—which everyone knows is pretty rare for just about any doctor.

Good morning Dr. Walker, I greet her as she leads us into her office.

Morning, she greets me back.

I can already tell somethings a bit off, she’s usually extremely chipper, even with her greetings. I study her for a moment and notice a few things—her usually very neat curls are pulled back into a very messy bun at the nape of her neck. The next thing I notice is the coffee cup in her hand—in all of my visits I have never seen her drinking anything but water. Maybe she had a late night?

I start convincing myself that maybe today isn’t the day to ask her out. But this is exactly what I do every single time—I find one little reason to not follow through with it.

You can’t keep doing this, I remind myself as she starts my exam.

Hey, maybe it isn’t my place to ask—but is everything okay? You don’t seem like your usual self today. She sighs and stops what she’s doing. She gets up, takes a swig of her coffee, and looks at me. Her eyes look a little droopy and dare I say a bit sad.

Honestly? You’re right—I’m not my usual self today. My stupid ex-husband is coming after me for full custody of our daughter, Destinee. My lawyer is saying it looks like things might be in his favor. I’ve been on the phone with the adoption agency and tons of different lawyers for days now trying to come up with anything that might give me a leg up in this. She stops for a moment and takes a seat in her chair before continuing.

My lawyer says the only possible leg up I could have is if I were married—which obviously I’m not, she says, holding up her left hand. She takes another swig from her coffee before chucking it into the garbage can. "I don’t even like coffee," she mutters.

She looks up at me as if she only just realized I was there.

Oh, my goodness—I’m so sorry, she says as she covers her mouth with her hand like she’s shocked. This is so unprofessional of me; I can’t believe I just told you all of that.

Jazmine, Jazmine—calm down, it’s fine. I asked you. You were only being honest, that’s not a crime, I assure her. She nods.

You’re right, we’re both human beings, everyone has problems.

I can’t believe they’re telling you that having a husband would make you look better—that doesn’t even make sense.

"That’s exactly what I said to my lawyer when she told me that, but I guess the court will be looking for which one of us can provide Destinee with a better familial environment. As if a good family is determined by the number of people that are in it."

Wow, I had no idea that Jazmine was going through such hard shit. I find myself wishing there were something I can do to help, when suddenly I remember my plan to ask her out today. Well, I guess that really is out of the window now—she probably doesn’t even want to think about dating another man after what she’s dealing with because of her ex-husband.

Although her lawyer did say that having a husband could help her win custody… am I the perfect solution to all of her problems? Or am I just that obsessed with this woman?

Chapter Two

I apologize to Nathan once more and tell him I will be right back. I need to go collect myself before I finish his exam—I cannot