by Tia Siren
“Don’t let them. You are perfect the way you are. You did great with Tiffany. Just keep it up. I don’t think they’ll be nearly as bad as she was.”
She laughed. “I don’t think anyone can be as nasty as that woman. I hope I get the chance to tell her exactly how I feel one of these days.”
“My money is on you in any catfight. I would like to see it though, so if you’re going to scratch her eyes out, give me advance warning.”
She laughed. “I don’t fight with my claws; I fight with my words.”
I smiled. One more thing I liked about her. “How about your parents? What did they say?”
She groaned. “They weren’t thrilled.”
“Why not? I’m a hell of a catch!”
That made her laugh. “My mom thinks you are handsome enough, but she knows about the William situation. She thinks I rushed into this way too fast, which I would agree with if it were real.”
“Are they going to give you a lot of grief over this? I don’t want to cause you any excess trouble. We can call it off it is too much for you.”
“It’s okay. They’re going to support me. They’ll always have my back. I don’t want to turn back now. Then they’ll really think I’m wishy-washy.”
I laughed. “Good. Thank you. This only has to be for looks. I don’t expect you to be exclusive with me. I know you had a life before me.”
“Okay. How is that going to work? What if someone sees me?”
“It would probably be best if you were discreet,” I said, realizing the problems it would cause if she were caught out with another man. “I don’t think my parents are planning to announce our engagement anytime soon. They don’t want me overshadowing their golden boy,” I quipped.
“Well, that’s probably for the best. I am sorry, though. I hope our fake engagement makes them realize you are worthy.”
“Thanks. I should let you go,” I said, not really wanting to get off the phone, but I knew she was tired and had to get up for work in the morning.
“All right. I’ll talk to you later. Good night.”
When we hung up, I thought about her dating someone else. I didn’t like it. I told her we didn’t need to be exclusive, but I had no desire to date anyone else. Any woman I met would pale in comparison to Amber. Plus, it would complicate matters. I had to sell this engagement. The slightest hint of me screwing around on my fiancée would put my dad on alert. He could still change his mind and cut me off from the family money.
For now, I was content to be Amber’s fiancé.
Chapter Nineteen
Amber
It was weird being engaged, even if it was fake engaged and nobody knew. I smiled, thinking about how absurd the entire thing was. I wasn’t sure what happened from this point forward. This was his show, and I was going along for the ride.
“Amber, do you have a minute?” William asked.
I looked up from the computer screen. “Now?”
He nodded. “If you can.”
I knew it wasn’t an option. He was telling me to get in his office. I was nervous. I didn’t think he knew about the engagement. Maybe he wanted to talk to me about the other night. Tiffany had been a world-class bitch. I guessed there was always the chance he wanted to talk to me about work, but by his demeanor, I knew it was something more personal.
He walked into his office, and I followed.
“I spoke with my mother last night,” he started.
I gulped down the lump in my throat when he shut his office door. In the past, that was usually a precursor to some hot and heavy kissing. I wasn’t sure if that was what he had in mind, but I was suddenly very uncomfortable. This could have been a test. If he knew about the engagement, he might try to kiss me to see what I would do.
What I had gotten myself into?
“And?” I finally managed to say.
“She told me you and Harry are engaged. Is that true?”
“Yes,” I squeaked out.
“Don’t you think that was kind of fast? I mean, didn’t you two just meet?”
“We met years ago.”
He looked at me, and I could tell he wasn’t convinced. “You know what I mean. You only recently started talking as far as I know.”
“Well, I guess when you know, you know. It just sort of happened,” I said.
He was looking at me as if he could see right through me.
“That’s bullshit, and you know it,” he said, his eyes boring into me.
I shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know anything.”
He stepped toward me. I could tell he was angry. He was angry because he was jealous. I had hoped he would be and seeing it was exhilarating. It made my heart beat faster. I knew he cared about me.
“You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to marry him,” he said in a low voice.
My heart rolled over in my chest as he looked at me. It was the look that had first disarmed my defenses. He was so handsome.
“I’m not doing anything I don’t want to do, William.”
He shook his head. “I hurt you, and you rushed into his arms. You need to stop and think about what you are doing.”
“I have thought about it. I’m comfortable with my decision. Besides, you have no right to talk to me about this. You’re engaged yourself, or have you forgotten?” I shot back.
“You know I had to do that.”
I shook my head. “You’re a grown man. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. That is a sorry excuse.”
“Amber, you told me you loved me, and then two days later you jumped into bed with my brother.”
My mouth fell open. He couldn’t possibly know about that. He was guessing and making assumptions.
“No, I didn’t. You were with me and not three weeks later you were engaged to another woman.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “That is an entirely different situation. I have known Tiffany for years. We’ve always known we would be married someday.”
I scoffed. “Maybe that’s something you should have told everyone else involved. I didn’t know. I would have never slept with you had I known you were basically engaged to someone else. Try to think of someone else besides yourself.”
“I didn’t know it would happen so soon. You have to believe me,” he said.
“That doesn’t make it any better,” I said dryly.
“Don’t do this,” he begged.
“William, just because I haven’t known Harry for years doesn’t mean it isn’t real. We have deep conversations. He knows more about my family and me than you do, and I’ve known you for years. We have an actual connection, unlike you and your fiancée,” I snapped.
“Tiffany and I have a real connection,” he defended. “We understand each other and have a very good relationship.”
I laughed. “Yeah, your bank accounts. You two deserve each other. You’re both shallow and only interested in gaining more money and more power. If that’s what makes you happy, go right ahead and marry her. I’m not trying to stop you.”
“You don’t know anything about us,” he shot back. “We’re happy together. We’ll be happy together for a long time.”
I laughed. “That’s cute. You don’t know what happiness is.”
He looked at me with those dark eyes and shook his head. “I do know what happiness is. I remember the feeling quite well,” he said in a husky voice.
“Don’t you dare try to get me back in your bed, William.”
He smirked. “You wanted me a week ago. Now you’ve suddenly changed your mind?”
“I had to have dinner with you and your fiancée. That did it for me. I’m not like her. I could never be like her; nor do I ever want to be. You’re a different person than I thought you were. You are not the man I thought I loved. I’m glad I found out before things went too far,” I told him, meaning every word.
He stomped a foot. “It doesn’t have to be like this! Stop making it so difficult. Don’t marry my brother.”
“Why? Don’t you want me to be happy?”
“He can’t make you happy! He’s an immature excuse for an adult. He has no future. He’s lazy and doesn’t care about anyone but himself,” he said in a raised voice.
I shook my head. “I don’t see that. I like who he is. He isn’t lazy. He just isn’t you. Your entire life revolves around this company and making it bigger and better. Can’t you understand he doesn’t have the same desires? He likes the simpler side of life.”
I couldn’t believe I was defending Harry. I felt a strange connection to him, like I needed to protect him from his older brother who seemed to constantly put him down.
“He’s got you fooled. How did he manage to get you to agree to marry him? Has he made you some promise he can’t keep? I’m the one who will inherit the company and the bulk of my parents’ estate. If you think he will make you a wealthy woman, you’re wrong,” he sneered.
“How dare you. I’ve never been interested in the money.”
“Haven’t you? Didn’t you finally come to my bed after I showed you what money could buy? After I flew you in the private jet and took you to places you would have never seen without my money?”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry you feel that way, William. I was interested in you. You’re the one who fooled me. I thought you cared about me. You only wanted to sleep with me. You’re the one who used your money to woo me. Harry has never done that. He talks to me like a human being on equal footing.”
“I did too! I never treated you like you weren’t worthy of my affection.”
“Until now, William, when your true colors have shown through,” I said softly.
He groaned and ran a hand through his hair once again, mussing it with the motion.
“I didn’t try to persuade you to do anything you didn’t want to do. You were into me. I could feel it. I didn’t see the harm in exploring that mutual attraction. You have to know I didn’t intentionally set out to hurt you.”
“Whatever. We don’t need to talk about this ever again. Now, if you don’t need me for anything business related, I’ll return to my desk.”
I spun around and headed for the door. He stopped me before I opened it.
“I know why you’re doing this. You’re hoping to make me jealous. It won’t work.”
I turned and smiled. “You sure about that?”
The look on his face was priceless. He was definitely jealous. I loved it. I relished in the feeling for a moment before I yanked open his office door.
Tiffany was on the other side. She glared at me, then William. I would have loved to rub it in her face, but I was not interested in starting rumors. I did not want to be the homewrecker. I wasn’t the one who had barged in on someone’s relationship.
“What’s going on here?” Tiffany said with fake friendliness.
“I work here,” I shot back. “William and I work together and sometimes. That means I have to talk to him.”
I knew it was wrong, and I knew I was being a total bitch, but after the other night, I didn’t care. She didn’t like me. That was not a secret. I was not going to bow down to her because she was rich. Hell, if my fake engagement was to be believed, we would someday be on equal footing and related.
The thought made me want to laugh and vomit at the same time. I had a feeling Tiffany didn’t know about Harry and me.
“Well, I know that,” she said, hissing like a snake, stepping closer to me and farther from the women behind her who were hanging on to our every word.
“It was just business, dear,” William said, turning on his charm. “What are you doing here? I wasn’t expecting you today.”
Tiffany glared at me. “Obviously not.”
“Stop,” he said in a low voice. “She was going over some notes about an acquisition.”
I smiled and nodded. “Yes, I was. I’ll get the rest of the notes put together for you and have it ready by the end of the day.”
I could play along with his game.
Tiffany looked back and forth between us. I could tell she didn’t believe him or me. I didn’t care. She was William’s problem, not mine. I walked away and returned to my desk. Tiffany shot me a last look before walking into William’s office and slamming the door behind her.
It wasn’t long before the shouting started. I heard William tell her to keep her voice down. Tiffany got quiet, but then the shrieking picked up again. I heard my name several times. I was not pleased to be stuck in the middle of their tiff. I could feel everyone looking at me.
“It was just work!” I said, defending myself.
“She doesn’t like you,” one of the women said.
“She’s probably going to make him fire you,” another chimed in.
I rolled my eyes. “That’s ridiculous. There’s nothing going on between William and me. You all know that.”
“Do we?”
“I’m dating his brother,” I said, using Harry as my shield from the rumors I knew were about to start circulating.
Our fake engagement was going to work to my advantage as well. It was only fair I got something from this whole deal.
William’s door jerked open. Tiffany walked out and glared at me. I could practically feel her skinning me alive with her eyes. I glared back. I had done nothing wrong. Tiffany was taking her anger out on the wrong person. If she was mad, she needed to direct it toward William. He had created this mess. If he had been honest with me from the beginning, there would have been nothing for her to worry about. As it was, William had lied to both of us.
“That was awkward,” one of the women mumbled.
“She’s got it all wrong,” I replied. “Hopefully, she figures that out soon enough.”
William walked out of his office. He looked agitated. I felt bad for him but had to remind myself he was the bad guy. He was the one who had created this problem with his omissions.
Chapter Twenty
Harry
When my mother had called on Wednesday to tell me she had thrown together a last-minute engagement party for Amber and me, I had been caught off guard. I had expected to end the engagement before it was ever made public. This changed everything. Amber would be scrutinized by my family’s friends and peers. The society columns would be digging into her past to try to learn more about her. I had opened a can of worms.
When I had called to tell Amber about what would happen if she went through with our plan, she didn’t seem all that bothered. I had heard through the grapevine that there had been some drama at the office between Tiffany, Amber, and my brother, but I didn’t know the details. I had a feeling it was the details that were driving Amber to go all in on the fake engagement.
“There you are,” I said, wrapping my arms around Amber’s slender waist. “I thought someone had whisked you away to pepper you with questions.”
“Believe me, they tried. I shot them down. I am not going to let myself get caught alone with one of those barracudas.”
I chuckled. “Smart thinking. I don’t know if I told you, but you look gorgeous. I really like this little number you have on. Blue is your color,” I said, giving her a quick kiss.
She laughed. “Thank you. I wasn’t sure if Tiffany had the market cornered on all shades of blue or just her Tiffany color.”
“This is your blue.”
William walked by, giving us both a dirty look.
“What’s with him?” I asked her. “I heard there was some drama at the office. Anything I should know about?”
She shrugged. “No. I’m going to get a drink. I’ll be back in a minute.”
I watched her walk away, admiring the sway of her hips in the floor-length gown she was wearing. I saw William standing alone and decided to ask him what the hell was going on.
“It’s just stress. All this wedding planning is making things crazy,” he said nonchalantly.
“You sure? You and Tiffany seem to be on the outs. Isn’t that supposed to happen after the wedding?”
“She has a l
ot on her plate as well,” he explained.
It made sense. Tiffany was a control freak. I imagined she was a classic bridezilla kind of woman. I certainly wouldn’t want to be trying to plan a wedding with her.
“I’m glad Amber is so laid back. She’s happy to let Mom plan our wedding. She doesn’t care about all the details,” I said smoothly.
William raised an eyebrow. “Amber is letting our mother plan her wedding?”
I nodded. “Yep. She thinks Mom will know best when it comes to all that stuff. She’s happy to show up on the big day and enjoy the party.”
My eyes were on Amber as she escorted her parents toward mine. I suddenly felt the need to run interference and quickly excused myself from William’s presence.
When I joined the small group, I could see by the look on Amber’s face that she was not happy. It only took me a few seconds to realize why. My dad was treating her father as if he were the help.
“Bob, I could use a drink,” my mother said, seeing the way things were going.
“Yes, dear,” he said and walked away.
“I’m sorry about that,” my mother apologized. “Two weddings has him a little crazy. Please don’t take offense. He isn’t generally so rude.”
Amber’s mother smiled and put her hand on her husband’s arm. “It’s okay. We understand this was all so fast. It was fast for all of us, but if the kids are happy, that’s all that matters.”
My mother smiled. “That is exactly my opinion as well. Do you think we could get together sometime next week to try to set a date?”
Teresa looked at Amber and then me. “Shouldn’t we let them decide when they want to get married?”
My mother waved a hand. “Amber has told me she is fine with whatever we plan. Isn’t that right, Amber?”
Amber grinned. “Yes, that’s right. Mom, you and Mrs. Martin can plan the wedding as you see fit. You know I hate all those details. I would love it if the two of you worked on it.”
Teresa looked confused, but when my mother grabbed her arm and led her away to meet some friends, she went willingly.
“Your mom didn’t look convinced,” I said, leaning close.
Amber didn’t seem concerned. “I’m sure she’s wondering why I don’t want to plan my own wedding. I’m not going to waste a lot of time browsing bridal magazines for a wedding that will never happen.”