by Natalie Ann
She pulled her phone out and checked her calendar. “I do, but as luck would have it, it’s a wedding that I don’t need to be at.”
“I thought wedding planners always had to be at weddings.”
“Not at all. Sometimes I just do all the work setting up and making sure the day is ready to go. In this case, the wedding is at an all-inclusive resort in Lake George. I just need to show up before the ceremony begins out by the water and make sure the reception hall is prepared to their specifications. Once the ceremony starts, the venue takes over and I can leave. This is a case where the bride just didn’t have the time to gather samples and ideas and pull them all together. That’s where I came in. I listened to her wants and needs and helped her create the day of her dreams.”
“I’d like to say that sounds simple enough, but I’m sure your tired eyes say otherwise.”
“What a rotten thing to say,” she said, picking up a pillow on the couch and tossing it at him. “I put extra foundation on this morning too, but I can’t help the fact I’ve got a few more demanding clients that kept me up last night while they were crying on the phone.”
He’d caught the pillow one handed and set it aside, fighting a grin, she saw. She desperately wanted to get him to loosen up. “Seriously? What the heck were they crying about?”
“Trust me, you don’t want to know.”
A bride could cry over the wrong kind of lace on her dress, not getting the right shade of blue on her favors, or in this case, the fact that the mother of the groom bought a black dress. Not in mourning, but she wanted to fit in with the bridal party even though Sabrina requested both mothers wear a pastel color. Her mother-in-law felt pastels made her look old.
“Yikes,” he said. Gabe looked at his watch and then said, “We’ve been talking for over an hour. How about we finish this conversation while we make dinner together? See how we interact in each other’s space?”
“I think you just want to see if you’re going to starve or not under my care.”
“Then I guess you get to see if the same holds true for me.” She stood up and followed him into the kitchen and then walked behind him as he opened the fridge to show her the contents. “Take your pick of dinner.”
She looked around and saw a few steaks and noticed he had a grill off the deck to the kitchen. She hadn’t had a nice rare steak in a long time, so she reached for that. “What sides do you have in mind?” she asked.
“I’m not fussy at all. Look around and I’ll get these on a plate and at room temperature. I’ll start the grill once you decide on the sides.”
She liked that it was going to be a joint effort. “Do you have any potatoes?” She was positive he had to have, as he had everything else.
“In the pantry,” he said, pointing to a door to the right.
She made her way over and opened it up to see everything meticulously organized. She was a sucker for sweet potatoes and grabbed them with the bottle of maple syrup. Mashed sweet potatoes with butter and maple syrup was an indulgence to her and she figured if any time called for it, why not now? There’d been some nice fresh-picked green beans in the fridge, so she grabbed the almond slices out of the pantry too and thought they’d go well together.
“So how did you end up as a wedding planner when you said you were pre-law?” he asked when she was cubing the potatoes.
“Law was just too boring. I’d always been this girl that loved to dress up and plan parties as a kid with my dolls. It was fun. When I got older, I just figured I needed something more stable and my parents were pushing me toward law. I caved and decided to do it.”
“So you can fall to pressure?” he asked, smirking at her.
“When I was a kid I did because I didn’t want my parents to be disappointed in me. Now I don’t cave so easily.”
“Bummer,” he said adorably. There was a good sense of humor hidden in there somewhere. The trick would be finding it and bringing it out. Or maybe not. That could be dangerous to her peace of mind if she was trying to keep an emotional distance. “I’ll be right back.”
She watched as he walked out to the deck and started the grill. She had the potatoes in the water now waiting for it to boil and was cleaning the beans to sauté.
“I’m sure it was always assumed you’d take over the family business,” she said.
“Of course. So you still didn’t tell me how you ended up planning weddings and divorce parties.”
“The divorce parties were a fluke.” She settled into the routine of cooking and talking, feeling more comfortable in the large gorgeous home than she’d thought she’d feel. “I switched my major to business. While in college I got involved in a lot of activities and always seemed to be the one planning everything. I have a knack for it and one of my professors was getting married and asked if I’d help her organize a few things. The idea just snowballed from there.”
“So the divorce parties?” he asked. He’d moved next to her and was helping with the green beans. Boy, he smelled really nice. She wanted to ask what his cologne was but didn’t think it was the time to be that forward.
“It was probably the third wedding I’d planned. I really liked the bride a lot. She was so easy to work with and so excited. She was just a joy, and let me tell you, I don’t get that often. I didn’t care for her fiancé, but I didn’t have a lot of dealings with him. I just knew he couldn’t be bothered with much. A year after they were married, she found out he was cheating on her. She called me up crying. We’d gotten close in the months we were planning her wedding. I’d actually known her almost a year before her wedding.”
“And you took her under your wing and tried to relax her?” he asked, tugging on a lock of her hair. If they were supposed to be pretending at a relationship, it sure the hell felt real to her when he made moves like that, showing he could relax after all.
“Pretty much. I held her hand and was a shoulder for her to cry on for months. When the divorce was final, she had this idea of a celebration party and asked me to help her plan it. It just evolved from there.”
“Great way to grow your business,” he said. “I’m sure you’re smooth enough if anyone questions why you do both.”
“It’s always all about the business. And yes, I’m pretty smooth when I need to be.”
“Then let me go get these steaks on the grill and for dinner we can just talk about our lives and push all the details aside for the moment. If that’s good with you?”
“It is,” she said.
And that was exactly what they did. They sat there and ate a dinner they cooked together and talked about their childhoods and friends. About their lives just like an actual couple that was dating would do.
Then they cleaned up dinner together and he showed her around his house.
“You’ve got an indoor pool as part of your gym?” she asked, not really surprised at this point. She’d lost track of the size of the house and the number of bedrooms he had. He even told her she could pick any room she wanted as a home office, but he had the one downstairs.
Before she knew it there was a beeping sound coming from Gabe’s phone. They were walking outside side by side around his yard and he grabbed her by the shoulders and said, “It’s six o’clock. Time for your answer.”
“You know what my answer is going to be,” she said, smiling. “You’ve known all along.”
“I still want to hear you say it.”
“Then yes, I’ll be your pretend wife for a year.”
She held her hand out to his to shake and he said, “Screw that. You’re going to have to get used to this in public, might as well try it now.” Then he lowered his head and kissed her.
It started out slow. Just his lips lightly brushing hers, moving from side to side. Her body swayed and then moved closer to his, searching for his heat and strength. His hand came up, his thumb and finger to her chin, nudging her mouth open and his tongue slipped in.
At that moment, she realized that she might have set herself up for
something she wasn’t quite sure how she was going to handle. It was a scary thought for someone that could handle just about anything thrown her way.
Temporary Arrangement
One week later, Gabe called Leah to come to his office. She’d yet to be there, but they’d gone out to lunch twice this week trying to be seen together. Not only that, they’d been chatting or texting when they could. He didn’t want her to think about backing out, and by now he didn’t think she would.
She showed up at three like she said she would and he walked up to the front reception area to greet her, reaching for her hand to squeeze it, then kissing her gently on the lips. There, that should get the ball rolling at work.
Once they were in his office, he shut the door. “Have a seat. Michael, my lawyer, brought over two copies of the agreement. I thought we could look it over together, hash anything out we need to and send it back for revisions before we sign.”
“You like to be organized and have everything lined up, don’t you?”
She took a seat in one of the leather chairs set in a circle; he took the one opposite her. “I’m sure you’re the same way with your business.”
“I am,” she said. “I have to be; otherwise, I’d spend even more time on my job and dealing with frustrated and upset brides.”
“Do you like your career choice?” he asked her. They’d talked about so many things in their lives, almost like they really were dating now that he thought of it. It was a good thing, but he kept reminding himself this was still a temporary arrangement. Why not get along with each other during that time though?
“Of course I do. Why would you even ask that?”
“Because sometimes you act like you want to strangle people in general. Present company excluded of course.”
Even when she was rolling her eyes over funny situations, she’d never seemed all that angry and never directed it toward him. Definitely positive in his eyes. He didn’t need someone who was miserable to be around by any means. This situation was supposed to reduce his stress, not add to it.
“I need to vent at times, but at the root of it, I understand it’s a woman, or a man’s, most important day for them. Or most important day at this point in their lives. It’s my job to make that happen. I also know it’s only short term and then I won’t have to deal with them anymore. That goes a long way. So does yoga,” she said, laughing at him.
“As opposed to some of my staff that have been here for years and can get on my every nerve.” He needed to learn her patience, but he wasn’t going to be doing yoga.
“There is that,” she said, smiling. “Are these the documents?” She reached forward and picked one up.
“It is. Take your time and look it over. Do you mind if I get some work done while you do? I know what it says, but please don’t hesitate to ask me any questions or jot down notes if you need to.”
“I can leave and we can talk later if you’d like?”
Also so accommodating to him. He wondered if she’d always be that way and figured she might be. Again, her job and all.
Then he thought maybe she gave in way too much in her life in general and that wasn’t good either. Something he’d find out soon enough, he supposed.
“Not at all. I don’t have anything pressing, but things I’d like to tick off my list while you’re doing that. Maybe we could go get some dinner when we’re done?”
“Or I could cook for you?” she said, her eyes twinkling just a touch. He’d have to be careful because she just had a way that could draw him in when it wasn’t what he was really looking for. “I enjoy going out as much as the next person, but my hips don’t always appreciate it, nor do I have fitness equipment like you to burn it off.”
“You will soon if you agree to everything, but there is nothing stopping you now from using it.” It hadn’t occurred to him to even offer it to her. “It’s available for your use. If you’re going to be living there soon, I’ll give you the access codes to the house to enjoy prior.”
“You don’t need to do that,” she argued.
“I trust you, Leah. If I didn’t, we wouldn’t have even gotten this far.”
“Thank you,” she said softly. “That means a lot. I’ll let you get to work now and will save all my questions until the end.”
She pulled out a pad from her purse with a pen and he stood up, then walked back to his desk, thinking about what he’d just said to her about trust. Michael had left his office over an hour ago reminding him how nuts he thought this all was.
“I think you’re crazy,” Michael had said. “You’ve known this woman for a few weeks and you want to enter into this type of a legally binding agreement with her? Not only that, just the thought of a marriage for hire makes no sense to me. All to get your parents off your back?”
“We go back a long way, Michael. You know why. I’m over the matchmaking. I’m over the women who only want me for my money. I’m over a lot of stuff.”
Michael and he had been friends since their private school days, but even Michael didn’t know all the frustration that Gabe had endured when it came to women.
A love match wasn’t in the cards for him. He worked too much, he was too surly half the time, and he just didn’t know if he wanted to be bothered.
“How is this any different than someone wanting you for your money? She could be doing this as a payday.”
“Of course she is,” Gabe said. “But at least I know up front that is what it is. No lost love. No hurt feelings. Nothing at all. We know going in how it’s going to end. She’s a really nice woman. I find her extremely attractive. You ran a background check on her yourself and didn’t find even a speeding ticket.”
“I didn’t,” Michael had agreed. “Which begs the reason why she’d agree to this to begin with.”
“I told you. She’s in our social circle, or her clients are. Her business means everything to her and she wants to expand it. It’s just about the money to her. But even when I approached her with this to see if she knew of anyone, she didn’t. She was very up front and said there wasn’t anyone she would trust with this type of deal. She never once offered herself. It was I who asked and she was truly shocked. It took her four days to answer me after endless research on her part. I know because I saw her list of questions.”
“Such as?” Michael had asked.
“The basic things anyone would ask about the agreement. But she’s seen some of the women I’d been with. She wanted to know how those relationships started and ended. It was just a casual conversation during dinner, but I knew there was more to it. She has a good eye for people’s character and she was testing mine.”
“You could lie through your teeth on some of those relationships.”
“I could have, but I think she’d have read right through them. I know what I’m doing, Michael, and I appreciate your support. You’ll think the same way as me when you meet her. I know you will.”
“It won’t matter if I do or not, Gabe. It’s your life and your decision and what we say between these walls goes no further. This document will be locked in my house, not in my office.”
“You’re a good friend, Michael,” Gabe had said, reaching his hand out. “Want to marry us?”
“What?” Michael had asked, laughing.
“Why not? Get ordained and marry us in Lake Placid. It might make it all the better. My best friend marrying us, giving your approval. My parents won’t even think twice about it.”
“You’re nuts,” Michael said, “but if Leah is game, I’ll do it. Just let me know.”
He wasn’t nuts. He was just determined.
Start and End
“You’re being extremely generous,” Leah said twenty minutes into reading the ten-page document and underlining statements and jotting down questions.
She was looking at Gabe as he was typing at his computer, his brows knit like he was concentrating on his wording. He glanced over to her. “How’s that?”
“Aside from the payout at the
end and the clause for infidelity, the household credit card allowance is through the roof. You’re going to allow me a limit of twenty thousand. What if I charge that a month?”
“Then you do,” he said, smiling. “But I doubt you will.”
“Maybe I like bright colors. Did you think about the possibility that I’d paint some walls in your house as if I lived by the beach in Miami? Hot pink, turquoise blue, bright yellow? Oh, flamingos go with that design too. What are your thoughts on flamingos?”
“Then I’ll just have to wear shades in those rooms and make sure I get an interior designer to come in and change it all back the minute the contract ends.”
She smiled over his comment and asked herself why the thought of it ending made her pause. She knew going in this was a temporary thing. They just needed to pick a start and end date.
“Speaking of end dates. Don’t you think it’d be funny to split exactly twelve months after we married?”
“I didn’t think of that. What is your suggestion then? Not shorter though.”
“No. Maybe just expand it by two months. I just wouldn’t want to raise any red flags or suspicions. Have anyone guess what is really going on.”
“I don’t have a problem with that, but it would extend your payout by two months.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not really worried about that. I still think it’s a crazy amount of money and though I appreciate it and I’m already making a list of everything I can do with it for my business, it’s not the biggest concern I’ve got.”
He dropped his hands from his keyboard. “What’s your biggest concern?”
She wasn’t about to say that she might find it would be hard to walk away from him. That she already enjoyed his company so much that it felt like they were an actual couple now rather than a pretend one. That would be nuts and a surefire way for this to not even happen.
In the past week, he’d already explained some of his relationships to her with other women. She was surprised he wasn’t feeling burned out by them. Or sour at the very least. It seemed like everyone wanted him for his money only. Especially the ones his mother was trying to set him up with.