All Chapters of PRETENDING TO BE MRS. RIGHT: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Maxima put the suitcases near the door and then looked around the house. It was way too quiet and way too big for her alone. The night was warm and pleasant, so Maxima decided to stay outside and enjoy the nightly breeze. What better way to say goodbye to the place that has been her home for the last seven years?“Yeah… I’m going to stay here. I’ll doze off on the plane.” She sat on the swinging chair, enjoying the quiet night. The street was empty, no one in sight. The lamplights offered the best light ever so that she could ‘spy’ on her neighbors without getting caught in the act. From her porch, Maxima could see Mrs. Right in the kitchen, cleaning and loading the dishwasher. Billie’s mother was the perfect housewife. The house was always spic and span, the kitchen was always ‘in full mode’. Spending time with Billie’s family has always been a blessing. And not only because of Billie, or her parents, who always made her feel so welcome in their hous

The elevator doors opened like welcoming arms as Liam Right crossed the marble floor of the office building in Lower Manhattan. Not having to wait for an elevator during the Monday morning rush was always a good sign. It was going to be one of those great days when everything went his way. When the doors opened again to deposit him on the twenty-fifth floor and the “CareShields Ins. Group” offices, he was already moving. Life has never been better! After four years of hard work for the most prestigious insurance company in Downtown New York City, he’d had a few subtle hints dropped his way about a vice presidency coming vacant when Eric Hall retired. Liam was now more than ready to be the youngest Vice President in the company’s history. As he strode to his office, Liam enthusiastically greeted his private assistant.“Good morning, my dear Robyn.”“Good morning, Liam.” Robyn Loggins was one of the most efficient private assistants

“I’m going to see Billie… Finally!” she mumbled and took a deep breath. Maxima paid the cab fare and started walking quickly toward one of the most exclusive bars in the Upper East Side. Manhattan was not her favorite spot to have a drink and decompress after a shitty day at work, but having a drink and a chat with her best friend in the whole white world was all she needed. This was their first meeting in four years and the excitement was significant. Since she came back from Italy, all Maxima tried to do was to find some sort of balance between two aspects of her reality: her new job and her new life. But all her attempts were doomed to fail. She hated her boss, a pompous ass who didn’t know the first thing about great food, and she hated her rented apartment. But, most of all, Maxima hated being back in a city so different from Florence. The only thing brightening her return to New York, has been getting in touch with Billie Right, her ‘sister from anoth

That name… For the past four years, Maxima’s face and last words kept hunting his dreams from time to time. That last night, before her departure from Scarsdale, he did the most absurd things of all. After the party and after taking a shower, still a bit drunk, he went to her house, kissed her, and asked her to stay, acting like a damn fool who had just had some strange epiphany. She said no… obviously and kicked him out of her house. But those words she said to him, her disapproval, her refusal to come to New York with him, dug a large hole in his very essence, in his male pride, making it hard for him to find the perfect woman… the perfect ‘Mrs. Right’. Liam never told Billie or anyone else about Maxima’s refusal or about the kiss they'd shared. He never saw a reason in opening his heart and mind to the women in his family, allowing them to see the damage that the young woman, his sister’s dull friend, had been capable of accomplishing with ju

“What the hell was I thinking?” Liam said slowly, preparing to exit his expensive Upper East Side penthouse. “Asking my sister for help… Accepting her conditions and choosing Maxima Davenport as my fiancée… Man, I need a shrink. A really good one.” He was heading out for possibly the most important evening of his entire life. And to add a little extra spice to the evening, he was about to see a real blast from the past. Maxima Davenport, the chef recently returned to the States after spending the last four years in Italy. Liam had no idea what she was like now. Billie kept her well hidden, as far away from his grasp as possible. The only thing his sister said to him was that Maxima would be on time and ready to do the part of his loving fiancée.“I hate blind dates! I hate the fact that my house is going to get turned upside down by a stranger… a woman I have kissed in another lifetime.” Liam gave a look at the apartment. Everything was just perfect. He call