by Leslie North
Daniel stuffed his hands into his pockets, his belly rumbling louder as he assessed the pot on the stove. “What’s cooking here? Garlic bread and…?”
“My world-famous spaghetti and meatballs,” she said, heading to the sauté pan to stir the sauce.
Now he was extra glad he’d come home early. “Oh? Family recipe?”
She sent him a shrouded look. “No. Just my own. You’ll love it. Unless you already ate?”
“No, I haven’t. I was going to order in, but this smells far better.” He paused. “If you want company, that is.”
“More than you know!” She laughed, turning off the stovetop. “After the day I had, I would love some company that isn’t a textbook.”
“Ah, well, I can’t promise anything then,” Daniel cracked, heading for the cupboard to pull out dishes. “They’ve called me the textbook of international banking before, so…”
“But your insides aren’t filled with paper,” Jackie said, holding the wooden stirring spoon in the air for emphasis, “and though I haven’t checked yet, I’m pretty sure your spine isn’t made of cardboard.”
“Fair enough,” Daniel said, laying out a dish at the head of his long dining room table, and the second one at the corner. So they could chat better. “Though I will neither confirm nor deny the spine thing. You’ll just have to figure that out for yourself.”
Jackie snickered as she grabbed oven mitts and brought out the tray of garlic bread. She hissed as she set it down. “Damn that thing’s hot.”
Like your ass, he added in his head, but no. Far too soon for that sort of talk. Probably better filed in the never category. Especially if she agreed to the bet. He wouldn’t want her to think he was pressuring her into anything that might make her uncomfortable. This was strictly a business deal. One that he needed to sell her on ASAP.
“Do you need any help?” he called out, coming over to her as she attempted to transfer the bread to a plate.
“Just find me a serving bowl for the noodles.”
Daniel did as he was told, and grabbed the pot to strain the spaghetti while she transferred the sauce to its own bowl. Daniel grabbed the trivets for the table, and soon they were seated and smiling at each other in front of the steaming, home-cooked meal.
“Dig in!” she said, clapping her hands. Daniel prompted her to serve herself first.
“Chef gets the first pick.”
“Good. Then I get all the meatballs,” she teased.
Daniel laughed, finding his gaze drawn back to her. There was something so familiar about her…something so easy. Like they’d already been roommates for years. He supposed it was just luck of the draw that she’d been assigned to his house, but part of him wondered if there wasn’t more to that algorithm in the SitMyHouse app. He made a mental note to ask Grayson about it—maybe he’d have some developer insight.
“What are you thinking about?” Jackie asked suddenly, which made him realize he’d been staring.
“Uh…just thinking about that song you were singing to my fish. I sing to them too.”
She snickered, heaping a final spoonful of sauce onto the pile of spaghetti on her plate. “You do? What do you sing?”
“Oh, whatever’s in my head. Sometimes Taylor Swift, depending on how bad the music selection is at the gym that day.”
“I like Taylor Swift!” Jackie said.
“Nothing wrong with her,” Daniel said, fighting a grin as he dished out his own pile of noodles topped with meatballs. “Though I’m surprised you’re a fan.”
“She’s always focused on positivity,” Jackie said. “I know firsthand how important that is.”
Her offhanded comment inspired about a thousand additional questions inside him, but he needed to stay focused here. This wasn’t a pleasure mission. This was business.
“Well, I appreciate you taking care of Yucca, Luca, Pooka and Henry.”
Jackie blinked. “That’s what you named your exotic fish?”
“Yeah.” Daniel grinned at her before swirling up a forkful of spaghetti.
“Well, I named them, too, since you never included their names in your profile.”
He snorted. “What did you name them?”
“Ian, Freddy, Sarah, and Henry.”
They shared a bewildered grin. “Are you serious?” Daniel asked. “We both named one Henry?”
“It’s probably not the same one.”
“We’ll check later. After I’m done inhaling your incredible meal.” He slurped up some noodles, some sauce flicking onto her arm. She looked at it and laughed while he reached out to swipe it up with his napkin.
“Sorry. I need a bib.”
“I thought you were Mr. Fancy Pants who knows how to eat spaghetti?” she teased.
“Nobody knows how to eat spaghetti.” He cut into a meatball and popped the delicious half into his mouth. “But you know how to make spaghetti and meatballs.”
“All told, it’s not that hard,” she said with a laugh.
“You know, this reminds me…” Daniel wiped at his mouth, seeing his window to the potentially uncomfortable conversation awaiting them. “I’ve been thinking about how you’ll be hanging around here over the next month. And I wondered if you wouldn’t mind a slight change of plans.”
Her eyebrow shot up as she twirled noodles around her fork. “How so?”
“I think I mentioned before that next week, I’m leaving for a full week to attend my best friend’s wedding. I was having lunch with him today, along with another friend of ours and…well…”
He thought about trying to paper over it, claim that he just wanted company or that he thought she might have a good time. But no, that wouldn’t be fair to her. She deserved to know what she’d be getting into. He needed to lay it all out. “My best friends made me a bet that I couldn’t last the week with the girlfriend I brought. The girlfriend they think is you, by the way, after Grayson caught us in the tub. Well, I want to prove them wrong. If you can help me win this bet by going to the wedding with me and posing as my girlfriend, I’ll give you half the payout.”
Her eyes were green saucers. “How much money are we talking?”
“Your cut would be five hundred thousand.”
Jackie choked suddenly, her hand launching toward a glass of water. She chugged half of it before slamming the glass down.
“Are you fucking serious?” she squeaked again.
“Completely.”
“That would pay off my entire school debt and then some!” she shouted.
A slow smile began creeping across his face. “So it’s a deal?”
“You bet your ass it is!” She lifted her water glass, inviting him to do the same. “Hello, new boyfriend! We’re gonna have a great time in Napa.”
Their water glasses clinked, and as Daniel locked eyes with Jackie, he realized that with her at his side, he might be in for a lot more than a great time.
4
“Jackie, I promise you. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Daniel’s rough baritone sent a shiver through her. They hadn’t even officially begun their fake relationship and already she was turned on beyond belief. And they weren’t even in the same room.
“I don’t know if I can go by myself,” she insisted, gnawing on her bottom lip. The plan had been that she and Daniel would head to Napa Valley together around four, so that they would arrive in time to join the group dinner to kick off the week’s festivities.
But now Daniel couldn’t come in the car with her because of some emergency meeting. And she was ready to pull the plug on the whole thing.
“You can head over, meet everyone, get dinner and get settled in. I promise I’ll only be delayed by an hour.”
“Then why don’t I just wait an hour for you?” she asked, anxiety already making slick trails through her. Showing up to new places alone was already nerve-wracking. Going solo to Daniel’s fancy pants best friend’s wedding? She would rather die. “I don’t know anyone. Like, at all. It’s go
ing to be so weird if I show up alone.”
“I hear you. But honestly, if one of us isn’t there when the festivities start, I’m going to get so much shit for it. If you show up, you’re my messenger. Nobody can say we’re not part of this, then. Do you understand?”
Even though he was still approachable, there was an authority in his tone that made her belly tingle. One week of living with this man and she’d had enough fantasies of him to last a lifetime. How many times had she slept naked in his guest room, just wishing he’d stumble in and find her spread eagle on the bed, wanting him?
Too many to count, that was how many.
She sighed, allowing herself to relish this absurd situation for what it was: a temporary insanity that would soon pass and be relegated to her memories, where Daniel and his gilded life would haunt her for eternity. “Yeah. You’re right. I’ll go.”
“You don’t have to worry about a thing. My friend Blake already knows you’ll be coming on your own, so he’ll be there to greet you, and show you off to everyone else.”
Show you off. Like she was anyone worth getting excited over. Still, she wondered if that’s how Daniel saw her. As exotic a species as she saw him. “Great.”
“My driver will be there at four, so be ready. I’ll make sure to send along a bottle of pinot grigio, so you can get a head start on relaxing.”
She smirked. He’d picked up, in their six short days living together, that she was a huge fan of a good pinot grigio…and the stuff that he had access to far surpassed anything she’d ever been able to afford at her favorite wine shop.
“That’s sweet of you,” she said. “Condoning drinking and driving.”
Daniel laughed. “But you’re not doing the driving, and we’re not going to tell a soul, right?”
“Right.” She drew a deep breath, looking at the dresses laid out on her bed. The dresses that Daniel himself had encouraged her to purchase with the use of his credit card. She’d gone all out, at his recommendation, and had ended up with enough gowns and evening dresses to wear two outfits for each night of the wedding week. Part of her felt guilty about the lavishness…but the other part was unabashedly excited.
It felt like she was finally having the Christmas she’d always dreamed of. The Christmas that she had never once come close to having in all her years of hopping between homes as a foster kid.
“Okay. I gotta run. Just make sure you’re ready by four. I’ll see you in Napa.”
“See you in Napa,” she said, just as the line went dead on his end. As she looked around the spacious guest room, she wondered who she was anymore. See you in Napa was not a phrase she had ever imagined saying, nor were any of these dresses anything she’d considered possible owning. Yet here she was. Somehow, she’d gotten lucky, even if it was only going to be for the next week.
Luckily her classes had ended early that day, so Jackie was able to spend more than enough time organizing her things and packing her lone suitcase. By the time four rolled around, she was waiting outside in the black flapper-inspired dress she’d chosen for that evening’s attire. Paired with black heels and tons of bangles, she felt like she’d struck the perfect balance between her inner punk rock pixie and this new ritzy version of Jackie she was going to try on for the following week.
Once Daniel’s sleek BMW pulled up, the driver immediately offered to load her suitcase. She insisted she do it herself, which seemed to confuse him. When she tried to sit in the front seat, though, he corrected her.
“You sit in the back. Mr. Trent has left some things for you back there.”
“Oh. Okay. Gotcha.” So it was like an Uber. A very well-maintained, permanently available Uber. Jackie slid into the backseat, finding a small card waiting for her with an uncorked bottle of pinot grigio tucked into the middle console next to a stemless wine glass. She hurried to open the note as the driver pulled away from the residence.
“Begin relaxation! I’ll see you in Napa.”
She smiled, watching as the buildings of the Mission district began to melt away as they moved through traffic. It was nice to be able to just relax for once. She was bringing some schoolwork with her, of course, being that the wedding festivities were happening during the week, but she’d be able to handle it no problem.
The only real blip on her radar was the whole convince Daniel’s friends that we’re a couple part. She and Daniel had spent some time over the past few days figuring out what this ruse might entail—both the part where they’d have to put on an act for his friends, and how they’d deal with things when they were alone. He assured her that it would stay platonic, but told her they’d be sharing a suite at the resort and would be spending plenty of time with his friends.
So without Daniel at her side, what was she supposed to say to preliminarily win them over? Hey, your best friend in the entire world has been in my life for six days, so clearly we have a lot to talk about. If anything, she needed to pump these guys for details about Daniel. They knew what was up more than she did. The only piece of information she had over them was the name of his fish—but maybe even they knew the names too.
Her thoughts cycled between anxieties about putting on a good show and wondering what the menu might be for tonight’s dinner. When they finally pulled up to the Napa Valley resort, her jaw nearly clattered to the floor.
The place where they’d be staying was an adobe mansion. Wrought-iron gates, dripping with vines and hibiscus, were pulled open as the car approached a brick-lined cul-de-sac. Jackie pressed her face to the window of the sedan, gawking like a medieval England peasant finally glimpsing the king’s castle, not even realizing the car had stopped and the driver was standing outside the door.
“I’ll unload your things,” the driver said once she finally remembered how to stand on her own two feet.
“Right. Thanks.” She cleared her throat, running damp palms along the sides of her dress. She’d drank a glass of wine on the way, and at the time, it had helped to ease her anxiety—but now she was more nervous than ever. It was one thing to merely imagine the pending festivities. It was an entirely different matter to be standing at the brink of it all and realize how underprepared she was.
Because beyond the payout and the all-expenses-paid week in Napa, one truth remained: she was the pauper among gods. The foster kid just pretending she belonged. Like always.
A man strolled out of the enormous dark wooden front doors. Behind him, a gleaming foyer beckoned, welcoming her to a complex of untold wonders.
“Jackie Stone, am I right?” The dark-haired man had to be close to Daniel’s age but looked somehow ageless, like he was a living Gucci ad. He stuck out a hand. “I’m Blake. Daniel’s friend.”
It took her a moment for everything to click into place, but when it did, the words flowed out of her. “Blake! Yes, hello! I’m soooo happy to meet you.” She shook his hand eagerly. As long as she didn’t dwell too much on who she really was and focused on playing a part, she could get through this week.
“Daniel has told me so much about you,” he said, shaking the driver’s hand and taking the handle of Jackie’s rolling suitcase from him. “I’ll show you to your suite and then we can head to dinner. Everyone’s dying to meet you.”
“Well, I already met Grayson—sort of,” she said, having a slight panic attack as she second-guessed herself on his name. But it was too late now. Better to barrel forward like she knew what she was doing. “I’m sure Daniel told you about that hilarious story.”
“I might have heard the executive summary,” Blake said with a wry grin as he led the way, rolling her luggage behind him. A cool blast of air overcame them as they stepped into the grand, two-story foyer. Marble floors stretched in every direction. On the walls hung unique and incredibly ornate wooden art, like a mandala had sex with a forest.
“Well, I’m just so excited to be here, but I wish Daniel could have made the ride out here with me.”
“Delayed Daniel,” Blake said with a little laugh. They rounde
d a corner to a long hallway with a domed ceiling. Golden lights shone from beneath the floor, making it seem like they were walking on something touched by God himself. “I’m not sure how you put up with it. Tell me, was he late to your first date?”
She laughed nervously. Oh God, here come the personal stories with details. “He was. A little. But it worked out fine, because I was later than he was.”
“Ah, I see. A match made in heaven, then,” Blake said, stopping suddenly in front of a door that read The Plum Grove. He swiped a key card and the door opened soundlessly. Inside, a lushly decorated suite awaited them, accented heavily with curtains, artwork, and embellishments…all in the color plum.
“Holy crap,” Jackie said, lifting up a very real plum that sat in a bowl next to a welcome note. “They’re serious about the theme here.”
“Every suite is different,” Blake said. “I’m in the apple orchard.”
“I feel sorry for whoever got stuck with the cabbage patch,” Jackie cracked, which elicited a laugh from Blake.
“Do you need anything for now or are you ready to go? Everyone’s heading to dinner, so we’re right on time—but I can come back in a minute if you want to freshen up.”
“I’m ready,” Jackie said, clapping her hands. Better to just get it over with now. “Let’s do it!”
Blake led her back out of the room, handed her the room key, and they walked down a different hallway to a new part of the resort that looked part atrium, part wine cellar. The scent of garlic reached her first, and then the chatter of conversation. Finally, they came into a sprawling dining room set among entire walls stocked with racks of wine. Another gasp escaped her involuntarily. This place was just too cool.
“Is this Jackie?” a woman asked, pushing up from her chair. The table was set for probably fifty, but luckily Jackie didn’t have time to let anxiety take over. Blake led her to her spot at the table, next to an empty chair that she assumed was for Daniel, as everyone began cooing ‘hello there!’ and lifting their glasses.