The Arrangement Duet Box Set

by Madison Quinn

  “Even though Mr. Parker’s family absolutely loves him, I think he has always struggled to accept that their love is unconditional. He always seems surprised by the little things that they do to show him how much they love him. I honestly don’t know if he even knows what love looks like; I think that’s why it was so easy for him to think he was in love with Harper. Obviously, I wasn’t there when she first said those three words, but knowing Mr. Parker the way that I do, I think he was so taken back by the fact that someone outside of his family was saying that they loved him, that he convinced himself that he needed to love Harper back.”

  “You don’t think he ever loved her?”

  “No,” her voice leaves no doubt. “I can see the way he looks at you, the way he hangs on every word you are saying, and the way he constantly seems to search you out when you’re not near him. That’s love, Kenzie. He never did that with Harper; half the time, I don’t think he even knew if she was in the apartment with him. He loves you, whether he is ready to admit it, though, may be a different story.”

  “I walked in on him having a Skype session with Alex; I overheard something I wasn’t supposed to.”

  “What you overheard made you doubt his feelings for you?”

  “Alex asked him if he loved me.”

  “How did he answer the question?”

  “He said he couldn’t love me.”

  “Oh, Kenzie, I’m sorry dear. I can’t imagine how those words must have hurt,” she reaches over and squeezes my hand before signaling the staff for drink refills.

  “I shouldn’t have let it bother me. This… what we have was never about love, I’ve always known that.”

  “But you fell in love with him.”

  “I think I am.”

  “Just like I said about Mr. Parker loving you, I know without a doubt that you are just as in love with him as he is with you—”

  “I don’t—”

  “Neither of you may be ready to admit it yet, but it doesn’t change how obvious it is to everyone else that you are in love. You both have a past that makes loving someone or having someone love you difficult,” her words surprise me as I’ve never spoken to Julie about my past. Hell, I’ve never spoken to anyone as in depth as I have with Nicholas. “You just need to be patient with each other.”

  “But what if…” I don’t even know what I’m trying to ask.

  “Just be patient, Kenzie; he needs to realize how he feels on his own. Alex was probably pushing him to see what we all have already seen. He’s is the only one, besides Austin, who will call Mr. Parker out when he’s… stubborn”

  “Maybe.” But it doesn’t change the fact that he said he couldn’t love me.

  “How has your trip been thus far? Everything else okay between you two?”

  “It’s been wonderful,” I admit. “It’s felt like we were the only two people in the world—that the press and everything else didn’t exist. We’ve both… gotten to know each other better.”

  “Good, don’t let today ruin the rest of your trip, Kenzie. Try not to focus on what you overheard.”

  “It’s kind of hard not to.”

  “I know it is.”

  Glancing back out at the ocean, I try to wrap my head around what Julie has told me. I knew that bitch had messed with Nicholas, and that he had difficulty trusting women after what she did, but I don’t think I ever thought about it beyond that. I never considered that she could have hurt him to the point where he didn’t think he could love someone again.

  I also worry if what Julie is saying isn’t accurate: what if what he said had nothing to do with what Harper did to him. What if he was right? What if he really can’t love me? What if I’m not good enough for him? What if everything everyone has always said about me was right?

  “Kenzie, I hate to do this, but Carter and I have dinner reservations that I need to get ready for,” Julie pulls me from my thoughts some time later.

  “Of course, go… have fun!”

  “Do you want a ride back to the villa? I can drop you off before I head to our room if you want.”

  “No, I think I’m going to spend some more time out here. Thank you… for everything, Julie.”

  “Anytime you need to talk, Kenzie, I’m here.”

  “I appreciate it, I really do.”

  I spend the rest of the afternoon and most of the evening on the beach; ordering dinner and drinks for myself rather than going back to the villa. Obviously, I know at some point I need to go back there, but I don’t know what to say once I see Nicholas again. What do you say to someone who just admitted they couldn’t love you? Do I just ignore what he said and pretend it never happened? Even if I thought that was the best choice, I’m not sure I can do it. I don’t know how to go back to the way things have been between us over the last few days without constantly hearing those words in my head. I really had thought that with everything that had happened between us this week, that I wasn’t the only one developing feelings in this relationship. I think I would have been okay if Nicholas admitted he didn’t love me but had feelings more than friendship for me. But he didn’t… all he said was that he couldn’t love me.

  When the sun starts setting, the air turns cooler, and I know that I need to head back to the villa to deal with the situation that I’ve been avoiding for the last few hours. I still don’t know what to say to Nicholas—part of me still doesn’t want to talk about it. I’m afraid that if he realizes how much his words hurt me that he will also realize that they hurt because I’m developing feelings for him beyond the friendship that we have formed. With the press release just issued by PFS about our nuptials, doing anything to interfere with our arrangement could ruin Nicholas. I think the best option is to pretend as if I never overheard his conversation; this way he won’t know that his words hurt me or know the reason they did.

  Realizing this is my best option, I take a deep breath, pack up my towel before tossing on my beach cover up and head up the boardwalk. Since Julie brought me here, I’ll be walking back to the villa. There are well lit paths from each villa to various areas of the resort so I’m not worried about my safety or getting lost. I reach the top of the beach where there is a small parking lot for the golf carts where I find one single golf cart parked. I don’t have to look at the person behind the wheel to know who it is…

  “How long have you been here?” I ask as I approach the golf cart and climb in.

  “I arrived a few minutes after you and Julie did.”

  “You’ve been here for…” I have no idea what time it is because I didn’t bring my phone.

  “Yeah,” he shrugs.

  “Why didn’t you come down?”

  “You seemed to want to be alone.”

  “You didn’t have to stay, I’m sure you had things to do.”

  “I didn’t.”

  He starts the golf cart and drives us back to the villa. The ride is quiet, neither of us wanting to address the obvious elephant in the room. I’m shivering by the time we get back to the villa: the night air is much cooler than I had expected it to be and unfortunately my skimpy beach cover up doesn’t offer much protection from the wind on our trip.

  “You’re freezing,” Nicholas touches my arm seeing me rubbing them.

  “I wasn’t expecting the temperature to drop so quickly.”

  “Why don’t you get in the hot tub? The water is already heated and it will warm you faster than a shower will.”

  “I think I will, thanks.”

  I walk over to the hot tub and turn the water on. Until tonight it hasn’t been used; I wait a few minutes for the water to quickly fill and climb in. Sitting in one of the seats, I turn the jets on, lean back and close my eyes. I feel Nicholas enter the room before I see him; he sighs heavily before sitting in one of the seats just behind me.

  “Kenzie… I… I’m sorry you overheard call with Alex earlier—”

  “You don’t need to apologize. If anything, I should be apologizing to you.”

  �
��To me? Why? What do you have to apologize for?”

  “You obviously had wanted privacy for your meeting, which I interrupted. I should have texted you like you asked, so you knew I would be coming back. The only reason I didn’t was because if you were still on your call, I didn’t want to interrupt you, which I ended up doing anyway.”

  “I’m sorry you walked in when you did. I never meant—”

  “Please, let’s not do this.”

  “Kenzie—”

  “Let’s just forget about it, please.”

  “I think we should talk about it.”

  “Why? Why should we talk about it, Nicholas? Is what you said untrue?”

  “Well… no… but—”

  “Then there’s nothing to discuss.”

  Frustration, anger, disappointment, hurt and probably an array of other emotions that I can’t identify run through my head. I get out of the hot tub, grab a towel from the bench and dry off while heading to the bedroom. I was hoping that he wouldn’t want to talk about what had happened, that he would want to forget what happened just as much as I did. I hadn’t pinned him for the type who would want to talk about and hash it out.

  I change into a pair of shorts and a tank top before climbing into bed and wrapping myself in the warm blankets. Part of me feels bad for snapping at Nicholas for wanting to talk about what happened, but I can’t let him see how much his words hurt me. I can’t let him know that it hurt because I was starting to fall for him. I can’t let him know that he just confirmed one of my biggest fears—that in fact, I am unlovable.

  “Don’t fuck this up you little slut. This is your one chance at doing something with your life. I still don’t know how you managed to get Richard to fall in love with you—he’s too good for you. He deserves better than you, but for some reason, he wants to settle for you. Don’t fuck it up!”

  “I won’t, Grandmother.”

  “If you fuck this up, don’t come crying to me. Once you walk out of this house, you won’t be permitted back in it. Your future is being handed to you. For whatever reason this wonderful man has decided you’re his future. What he sees in you is beyond me, but he must see something to want to spend the rest of his life with you. You fuck this up and your life is over. You will have nothing. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t care what he does, how he treats you or how unhappy you are, you don’t leave him under any circumstances. If he ever leaves you, it will be your fault for not being able to keep your husband happy. This is now your only priority: you keep this man happy and by some miracle whatever he found in you will stay there. I still can’t believe Richard fell in love with you; not when there are so many other women falling at his feet. Just remember that: you have nothing that he can’t find somewhere else.”

  “Yes, Grandmother.”

  “You know, I bet he doesn’t even love you.”

  “He does—”

  “No, I think he just tells you that to appease you. It makes sense now that I think about it; he doesn’t actually love you. I’ve told you over and over again no one will ever love you. You’re certainly not good enough for Richard to love you.”

  I wake up with tears pouring down my face; my eyes frantically search the room, almost expecting to see her standing there. I’m relieved when I realize I’m in the villa in Fiji and not back in that horrible house in California. It’s not until I turn the bathroom light on and look back at the bed do I realize that I was sleeping in it alone. For the first night since our wedding, I have slept alone, although I guess it shouldn’t surprise me after what happened between us yesterday. I didn’t really give Nicholas any indication that I wanted to sleep with him.

  I don’t think he understands why what he said bothered me so much because really I don’t know that I fully understand it. I should be happy he isn’t falling in love with me: it means things won’t become more complicated than they already are. I should be grateful that he wants to keep this friendship between us and not complicate our arrangement with love. I’m none of these things though—I’m not happy, I’m not grateful… I’m just…

  I shake my head, needing to free myself from thinking about what happened earlier and from the nightmare. I remember the day clearly; it was the day I had announced to my grandmother that I was moving out. I had only known Richard a couple of weeks, but he knew I was unhappy living with my grandmother and had suggested we move in together. I thought it was too soon, but when he told me he was falling in love with me and wanted to spend every moment with me, I fell for it. Hook, line and sinker.

  He had just started to look for a house to buy and invited me along to get a choice in where we would live. I thought it was my dream come true. I foolishly thought he was my knight in shining armor coming to save me from the shitty life I had lived until that point. Looking back, I realize just how stupid I was; we barely knew each other and had no business moving in together. I should have known that he didn’t love me, that we didn’t know each other long enough to love each other. I was just so desperate to get away from my grandmother that I probably would have moved in with anyone at that point.

  Needing to get my mind off of things, I head out to the patio, quietly passing by the living room where I assume Nicholas has decided to sleep for the night. The cool air on my face immediately wakes me up while the sound of the waves crashing in the background immediately draws my attention to the ocean and away from everything else. I’m about to turn around to find my flip flops, intending to walk down to the beach, when I hear whimpering coming from the other side of the patio. I immediately rush to the day bed where I find Nicholas tossing and turning under the sheets. I try calling his name but he doesn’t respond.

  “Mommy… please help… Owwwww!!!!!!!!!”

  FUCK! I need to do something—I can’t just sit here and watch him have a nightmare. I’m torn, though because he told me never to try to wake him from a nightmare. He even made me promise to leave the room if he had one when we were sleeping together. I try calling his name again, louder this time, but still no response.

  “Please… Please… I’ll be a good boy… Don’t… NO!! NO more!! Please no more!! It’s HOT!! I good boy; I good boy.”

  My heart is absolutely breaking: I can all too easily picture Nicholas as a scared little boy being hurt by his mother. Forgetting his warning, I slide into bed, lying next to him but keeping a small amount of space between us as he continues to toss and turn under the blankets.

  “Nicholas, please wake up,” I beg, but all I receive in response is him moaning in pain.

  I need to do something—I can’t just let him continue to relieve what happened to him when he was younger. I cautiously move myself closer to him, knowing that if he does end up hurting me this could permanently ruin our already messed up arrangement. I know he would never forgive himself, even if I was able to convince him that it wasn’t his fault. I know he wouldn’t hear of it.

  I take his hand in mine, squeezing it to try to pull him from the nightmare. His head turns in my direction, but he doesn’t open his eyes. His back pushes into the bed, his face twists in obvious discomfort as he tries to push something imaginary off of his chest. I want to touch him, but I don’t know if that will trigger something worse for him. Not knowing what else to do, I do the only thing I can think of—I put my hand on his cheek and cautiously bring my lips to his. He immediately stops moving, but remains tense next to me.

  Unsure if his nightmare is over, I gently run my tongue along his lips trying to bring him back to reality and away from the horrible person that hurt him so badly when he was too young to defend himself. It takes a few minutes, but eventually Nicholas sighs, and I feel him relax into the bed. I tense when he moves, unsure what he is going to do, but I’m relieved when he wraps his arm around my waist. I gasp in surprise when his tongue finds mine; the kiss quickly turns from one of comfort to one full of emotion.

  “I’m so sorry, Kenzie, so fucking sorry,” he pulls me clo
se to him and buries his head in my neck.

  “Shhh… let’s not talk about that right now,” I beg him.

  “We need to—”

  “Not now, please.”

  “Okay.”

  “You had a nightmare,” I point out the obvious.

  “Yeah.”

  “You haven’t had a nightmare since we left, did something cause this one?”

  “You weren’t in bed with me,” he says it as if it explains everything.

  Chapter 18

  Nicholas

  I wake up to find Kenzie wrapped in my arms, and it immediately brings a smile to my face. When I went to bed alone last night, I thought the mornings of waking up with her in my arms were over. I knew things were fucked up yesterday, that I fucked things up yesterday. I never expected her to overhear my call with Alex—she couldn’t have walked in during a more inopportune moment. Of course, she didn’t walk in when I was telling him how much I like moments like this: lying in bed with her in my arms. No, she had to walk in to me saying that I can’t fall in love with her. I’ll never forget the look in her eyes, there was so much hurt in them. She has the same look after she has a nightmare, and it nearly killed me to know that this time I caused it.

  I’ve tried to apologize, to talk to her about what she heard but she keeps pushing me away. I don’t think she wants to talk about it, but according to Alex that’s the worst thing I could let happen right now. Of course, he also demanded a raise since I failed to put marriage counselor in his job description.

  I spent hours sitting in the golf cart watching Kenzie on the beach yesterday, trying to figure out how to fix things between us. I don’t know what Kenzie was thinking about, but she looked just as lost as I was; she just spent the time after Julie left looking out at the water. So many times I wanted to go down to her, sit next to her where Julie had been and tell her how sorry I was. I didn’t, though; she made it perfectly clear that she didn’t want me to go with her. I wanted to respect her need for space, even if it was killing me to do so. I know her personal space is important—that was obvious from the first contract with Bridget. I didn’t want to do something to fuck things up further between us.