Arranged Love

by Lacey Wolfe

  “It’s not a goo—”

  Her father interrupted. “Nonsense. Move over so your friend can sit.”

  “I like you, Mr. Ames. You don’t happen to be single, do you?” Abbie joked.

  “He isn’t,” Kayla blurted out instantly.

  “I’m flattered such a young, beautiful woman would ask.”

  “Enough.” Kayla threw her hands up. “What is you wanted, Abbie?”

  “Is that how you talk to your friends? I hope you don’t speak to Ryan that way.”

  Oh, she’d love to tell her father just who Abbie was and the dislike they had for one another, but this wasn’t the place, or was it?

  “Her and Ryan are so cute together,” Abbie said. “I think they are a match made in heaven.”

  How cliché.

  “Her mother and I helped bring them together.”

  “Yeah? I think I remember Kayla mentioning that.” Abbie watched Kayla’s father, studying him.

  Her father looked at his watch. “I’ll let you two have girl chat. I’ve got to get back to the office.”

  “Please don’t leave on my account,” Abbie said sweetly.

  “I’m not. I’ve got a meeting I need to prepare for this afternoon.”

  “I’ll walk you out.” Kayla started to stand.

  “No, dear. Sit down. We’ll talk soon.”

  As soon as her father was out of sight, Kayla glared at Abbie. “What the hell do you want?”

  Abbie grinned. “I think I want Mr. Ames. I noticed the lack of a wedding band.” She stood. “You keep Ryan, and I’ll take Daddy.”

  That was it. Kayla snapped. She stood up and pushed Abbie, watching as she fell back and hit the wall.

  “Stay away from him!”

  Abbie appeared to be shocked, then turned on the waterworks.

  “Kayla, what are you doing?” her father said.

  She turned in what felt like slow motion to see her dad standing there.

  “I forgot my drink, and when I came back I saw you pushing Abbie and yelling at her.”

  This had just gotten even worse. “It’s not what you think.”

  “I’m really disappointed.” He grabbed a napkin from the table, handing it to Abbie.

  “Thank you, Mr. Ames.” She wiped her eyes.

  “Please, call me Bob.”

  Kayla turned and walked away fast. She couldn’t stomach this any longer. Seeing Abbie trying to put the moves on her father, and him taking her side... She had to get away.

  Chapter 15

  Ryan answered his phone, and pulled it away quickly as Kayla yelled.

  “I can’t do this anymore. Let’s just tell our parents the truth. This has been a day from hell,” Kayla rambled.

  “Slow down. What’s going on?”

  “Abbie.”

  It had been too good to be true that she’d be out of the picture. “What has she done now?”

  “She’s trying to date my dad. And now I look like a horrible person. I shoved her and yelled at her, and my dad saw everything. I turned and ran, leaving them together at the coffee shop. Shit, that was stupid of me. Abbie cannot date my father. Oh my God! Could you imagine if he married her? She’d be my step-mom and your mother-in-law. We have to tell them the truth and who she is.”

  Ryan raked his hand through his hair as he took in everything she’d said. “Abbie is still with Taylor.”

  “As if being attached to someone matters to her.”

  She had a point. “Your dad isn’t going to date someone he thinks is your friend. Besides, you’d put up enough of a stink that the wedding would never happen.”

  “Okay, yeah. You might be onto something with that thought.”

  Finally, she was beginning to become rational again. “Just tell your dad she isn’t really your friend, and she’s my ex.”

  “Will that work?”

  Ryan chuckled. “You wanted to tell him the truth. Isn’t that what you’d be doing?”

  She was quiet a moment. “It is, isn’t it?” She laughed slightly. “I think I’m losing my mind.”

  “Thankfully, you’ve got me to help you find it.”

  “What would I do without you?”

  He was beginning to wonder the same thing. Not what she’d do without him, but what he’d do if he didn’t have her. She had become such a part of his life, the thought of her not being in it...well, it sent him into an almost panic. “I’m glad you called me before you did something drastic.”

  “Me too.” She sighed. “But we’ve got to do something about your ex. Why is she so hung up on you?”

  “I’m good like that,” he joked, but quickly added, “I don’t really know.”

  “You’d better figure it out.”

  “Maybe I should talk to her.”

  “Alone?”

  “Yeah. I’ve talked to her boyfriend and it did no good. Maybe I should sit down and have a chat with her—see what it is she’s after.”

  “I don’t like that.”

  “Jealous?” He couldn’t help but grin.

  “No, uh, no.”

  Oh, she was. He could hear it in her voice. And the worst part was he liked that side of her. She didn’t want him to be alone with his ex.

  “You have nothing to worry about. I’ll be coming home to you.”

  “Quit being a pig.”

  He leaned back in his office chair. “Do you want her to go away or not?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then let me talk to her.”

  “Whatever,” she snapped.

  “I’m leaving in the next twenty minutes. How about I pick up take-out? Then after we eat, I can run you a warm, relaxing bath.”

  “Now you’re being a suck-up. But yes, take-out sounds perfect. See ya soon.” She ended the call.

  Ryan took a deep breath. Talking to Abbie was the last thing he wanted, but how else was he going to get to the bottom of this? She obviously wasn’t going to go away. It wasn’t like they’d parted on the best of terms. And not once since then had he given her any reason to think that he wanted to get back with her. Quite the opposite. He avoided her at all costs.

  He unlocked the screen on his phone and opened the texting app. He created a new message to Abbie. It was taking everything in him to sound friendly, but it was the only choice he had if he wanted this to go smoothly.

  Hey Abs, I’d like to get together and talk. When’s a good time for you?

  He wasn’t at all surprised when she responded right away. However, he didn’t get the answer he was expecting.

  I’m not sure when at the moment. I’m out right now with Mr. Ames.

  “Fuck.” Ryan rubbed his temple, then wrote back. Text me later when you’re home.

  Her reply was almost immediate. If this goes as planned, it’ll be a late evening. Tell Kayla hi for me.

  “Double fuck!”

  This was the first time he was dreading going home to Kayla.

  * * * *

  Kayla eyed the living room. Ryan would be home any minute with dinner. She did a quick clean up of dishes and wrappers, then took a seat on the couch. This was still an awkward time, him coming home. She sometimes freshened up her makeup or put on nice clothes.

  His car pulled up in the driveway. She hopped off the couch and went to open the door. He greeted her with a smile and a pizza box. She took it from him and closed the door behind him. She turned, expecting him to still be standing there to give her a kiss, but he’d disappeared.

  Kayla went into the kitchen, where she found him removing a bottle of wine from the fridge. She set the pizza down and asked, “What are you doing?”

  He was silent as he poured a glass then handed it to her. “Drink.”

  “I’m not really in the mood for a glass of wine.”

  “Don’t care.”

  She set the wine next to the pizza box. “Knock it off. I don’t take demands. What’s going on?”

  “Will you at least sit down?” He pointed at a chair.

&nbs
p; “I guess.” She pulled the chair out and sat. “Okay.”

  “I texted Abbie earlier to arrange a time to talk. And…and…”

  She could see he was nervous. “Spit it out, Ryan.”

  “She was with your dad.”

  “What? Weren’t you the one who just gave me this whole conversation about him not being interested in her because she is supposedly my friend?” She stood and paced the kitchen. “Did she say what they were doing?”

  He shook his head. “No. She just said she couldn’t talk to me right then.”

  Kayla picked up the wine glass and chugged it down. Damn, she needed another two glasses, then perhaps she could pass out and pretend this hadn’t happened. But alcohol wouldn’t solve this problem. Instead, she walked out of the kitchen and to her desk where she found her cellphone.

  “What are you doing?” Ryan asked.

  “I’m calling my mom.”

  “Why?”

  She spun around. “I’ve had enough games. I’m tired of all this stuff being up in the air. I’m done. I want my life back.”

  Ryan reached out for her arm, but she jerked it away before he could touch her. “Kayla.”

  “I’m done, Ryan.”

  She took her phone and walked toward the bedroom. After she shut the door, she sat down on the bed. This was getting to be too much for her. She was going to call her mom and tell her everything. This thing with Abbie was too much for Kayla to deal with. It was all a joke to her. Abbie wanted Ryan, and she was going to do whatever she could to hurt Kayla for having him. But it was going too far.

  She dialed her mom.

  “Hi, sweetie.”

  “Mom, we need to have a serious talk.”

  “What’s the matter? You sound upset.”

  “I am. I can’t do this anymore.”

  “Do what?”

  Kayla took a deep breath. “Dad’s out with another woman named Abbie, who is claiming to be my friend, but she isn’t. She’s Ryan’s ex and she wants him back, only I stand in her way. But really I don’t—”

  “Wait, honey. Your father’s not out with someone. He’s here right now.” Her mother whispered something Kayla couldn’t make out.

  “Dad’s there?” She sighed in relief.

  “Yes, he’s been here since he left you.”

  “Put him on.” She needed to hear it from him.

  “Kayla, I’m not out with your friend,” her father said.

  “You’re not? Did you go out with her at all?”

  “No, after you ran off, I came straight to your mother’s to talk to her about your actions. We’re worried about you.”

  Well, this was taking a turn. “Me? I’m fine.”

  “You shoved that girl against the wall.”

  “Yeah, because she said she was going to date you. And she isn’t my friend. She’s Ryan’s ex and she’s been making trouble,” Kayla explained.

  “Your mother and I think you need a break. You’ve had a lot of stress lately. So we’ve decided to pay for you and Ryan to go on a trip next weekend.”

  Ooo, another nice turn of events. “A trip? Where?”

  “To the mountains. We’ve rented a cabin for the two of you.”

  She sighed. She didn’t want her parents spending money on her and Ryan. “Listen, this thing with Ryan—”

  “We insist and won’t take no for an answer.”

  “Yes, but—”

  “End of discussion.”

  Damn, confessing that this was fake was harder than she thought it would be. “Fine.”

  “Good. Now I’m going to return to the dinner your mother prepared for me.”

  Dinner? “Wait, does that mean…”

  “Goodnight, Kayla.” He ended the call.

  This day was getting even stranger than she’d imagined. At least Abbie and her dad weren’t dating. But she was tired of this charade with Ryan. Obviously, as complicated as it was, it wasn’t meant to be. It was too easy with him. They worked well together, yes. She loved having him around and going to bed with him each night, but it wasn’t real. And she wanted real. She wanted knock-your-socks-off kinda love, even if it meant one day it would end.

  * * * *

  Ryan rubbed his lower back as he stared at the computer screen in his office. He’d slept on the couch last night. Kayla never came out of the bedroom, and he didn’t want to bother her. He figured if she was hungry or wanted to talk, she’d come out. But she never had, so he thought it was best to sleep on the couch. It wasn’t the first time. He’d spent many nights at his old place there, falling asleep as he watched TV.

  But last night, he’d tossed and turned. He’d missed her—her smell, her body, the little sounds she made. He was in love with her. And after a night away, he knew that with everything in him. But they’d made a deal. Would she be okay if he broke it? How would she take the news?

  He opened his email program, intent on sending her message to tell her how he felt. However, a message already sat there for him from her.

  Ryan,

  I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and we need to reconsider what we’re doing. I’m not sure this arrangement is ever really going to work. Each day we get deeper and deeper in a lie. My feelings have grown for you, but I know you’ll never be able to give me what I want. I’ve tried to sacrifice and settle into a loveless relationship, but I’m sorry, I just can’t anymore. We’ve let this go too far, and now my parents have paid for a weekend for you and me to get away. I don’t feel right. The time has come for this to end. I’m sorry.

  -K

  He stared at her message, reading it again. She admitted to having feelings for him. Had she fallen in love with him as well? While this letter should make him sad because she wanted to end things, he saw the silver lining. And he needed to make sure they went away on this vacation so he could tell her how he felt. That this was no longer about convenience, but that he loved her. Now he had to keep her from kicking him out before then.

  He closed out his email. He needed to get down to the lab. Today he was certain he’d finally get the breakthrough he needed for his medicine.

  He left the office and began to make his way down the hall.

  “You always look so sexy in your lab coat.”

  Abbie. He sighed and turned.

  She flipped her blonde hair behind her shoulder. “You wanted to talk. I’m here.”

  “I was about to go in the lab. I’m on a time crunch.”

  “Last night you made it sound like you needed to talk to me badly.”

  She was right about that. He did want to talk. A quick glance at his watch told him he could spare twenty minutes. “Come in my office.”

  Inside, he took a seat behind his desk and her in front. She smiled sweetly at him, but he didn’t have time for it.

  “I want to find out why you want to get back together,” he said.

  “You were the best boyfriend I ever had.”

  Yeah, right. That was news to him. “I was never around. You complained constantly.”

  She shrugged. “Taylor is always around and it drives me crazy. I see now what you and I had was real.”

  “At one time I believed that too.”

  She leaned forward, displaying her breasts in the v-neck shirt. “It wasn’t all bad. We were happy for a long time.”

  At one point, yes, Abbie and he had a great relationship. She had been everything to him, but when the going got tough, she’d hopped beds to get his attention instead of talking to him. “How can I ever trust you again?”

  “I was stupid, and I’m sorry. But I’m not entirely to blame in this. You used your work as an excuse to get out of things more times than I can count. Every time I had a work function—and you knew how important they were to me—you couldn’t manage to put your dislike for parties aside. So you always claimed you had to work. You forget I’ve watched you do that to your parents. Sure, you weren’t home a lot, but you also weren’t there for me at the times I needed you most. It was like
you weren’t willing to compromise.”

  She spoke the truth. He hated to go to her work functions. She was an interior designer, and he hated listening to everyone talk about décor. What was in style that day and what wasn’t. Who really cared? “Why would it be different now?”

  Abbie groaned. “I thought absence would make the heart grow fonder.”

  He chuckled sarcastically. “Oh yeah, maybe if you weren’t playing house with Taylor. This ship has sailed, honey. I’m not going down that road again. I’m happy with Kayla.”

  “But it’s fake.”

  Time to break the news to her. “It was fake.”

  She stared at him a moment. “You mean…it isn’t anymore?”

  “No. I fell in love with her.”

  Abbie turned her head slightly, glaring at him. “But you told her you’d never fall in love again. So I thought that meant I still owned your heart.”

  Ah, it was all making sense now. Abbie was under the impression he’d never love again because he was still hung up on her. Sometimes he didn’t get the way women thought. “My heart doesn’t belong to you anymore. It now belongs to Kayla.”

  Abbie’s eyes grew moist. Damn, he hated to see a woman cry. She stood and turned as though she was going to leave.

  “I don’t want to hurt you, but it’s time you decide if Taylor is the man you want. I don’t know why, but he’s crazy about you.”

  She glanced over her shoulder. “How do you know?”

  “He told me.”

  She looked surprised. “You talked to him?”

  He nodded.

  “He knows I’ve been trying to get back together with you? And he didn’t break up with me?”

  “It appears so.”

  She walked toward the door.

  “Abbie, do me a favor. Stay away from Kayla’s dad. He isn’t available.”

  Abbie stared at him before she nodded, then turned and left. Ryan blew out a breath and leaned back in his office chair. He hoped this thing with Abbie was finally over. He needed to get this figured out with Kayla now and find out if they had the future he hoped they did.

  But first, he needed to get down to the lab.

  Chapter 16

  Kayla wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans. It was almost time for Ryan to be home. He hadn’t responded to her email. Had he read it? Most likely. Was he mad? Upset? She had no idea.