by Holly Rayner
“Oh, wow, how unfortunate for you.”
Ali’s jaw dropped. This was a new side to Alyssa, one he’d never imagined she had. He almost wanted to shout back, to tell her she was ungrateful and that she should have asked about the checks before yelling at him.
But Ali remembered what his mother had taught him about those who were angry. They are in great pain, she always said. They need your sympathy and understanding more than anything else.
Ali’s parents might have heaped a mountain of expectation on him, but they were also wise people. Any good thing he ever did, no matter how small it was, was thanks to them and their values.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Alyssa, I am so sorry.”
Her shoulders dropped, but the scowl remained on her face. They stood there, watching each other in silence. To Ali’s right, the cat stretched out on the back of the couch. Somewhere in the apartment, a clock ticked. A door slammed in the outer hall, and a woman’s muffled shout carried up from the street.
“You told me you don’t like you job,” Ali explained. “That you want to find something more fulfilling to do with your time. I know that money would make such a transition easier.”
Alyssa’s lips twitched, but her eyes remained guarded. Unreadable.
“The way I went about it was foolish,” Ali continued. “I see that, now. I thought I could simply slip the checks into your belongings. I also told myself that, as you offered to pay me when I pretended to be your boyfriend, it was appropriate to do the same for you.”
“So, you were paying me for the dates,” Alyssa said.
“No,” Ali hurried to answer.
“But that’s what you just said.”
Ali sighed. How could he fix this?
“That was one of the explanations I gave myself,” he said. “And it was a poor one, at that. The checks were merely a gift. I want to help you achieve whatever it is you plan for yourself next.”
Ali gazed at Alyssa, silently begging her to believe him.
“It feels like you were paying me for the dates,” Alyssa said. “And I…I don’t like that, Ali.” She shook her head and looked down, and Ali’s chest ached.
“I am so sorry, Alyssa. I made an idiot move. I like you. Not because you agreed to pretend to be my fiancée, and not even because you do that so well.”
Alyssa slowly lifted her face to look at his. “You like me?”
“Yes.” Ali licked his lips, the next words already making him nervous. “I like you very much.”
Alyssa pressed her fingers against her lips, and another awful silence filled the room. Reaching into her jeans’ pocket, she pulled out two folded-up checks and held them out to Ali.
Little slips of paper. That was all they were. And yet they were destroying the best thing that had happened to Ali in years.
“Take them,” Alyssa said. “Please.”
Swallowing back his protests and pain, Ali took the checks. Instead of pocketing them, though, he walked to the kitchen area and set them on the counter.
“I’m not forcing you to take these,” he clarified. “But please know that they are a gift. They can help you do whatever it is you want to next. It is no trouble for me, Alyssa. I have more money than I will ever need, and it would be nice to…put it to good use, for once.”
Alyssa pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, looking uncertain.
Ali went back to stand by the door. “I suppose I should leave, now.”
Alyssa’s eyes filled with tears, and she looked away. Ali clenched his jaw. He wanted to rush across the floor and pull her into his arms, but he had said what he needed to, and his pride kept him from pushing further.
“Again,” Ali said. “I am sorry.”
His throat scratchy and his eyes burning, Ali turned. The roses on the table caught his gaze, and he nearly tripped over his own feet.
Was this really the end? One night of fun plus another weekend of growing closer, and now, it was all over?
He had opened up to Alyssa, told her things he’d never admitted to anyone else. No one in his life could understand the emptiness he’d been experiencing.
But then, he’d met her, and suddenly everything was different.
And then, just as suddenly, everything had changed yet again.
Ali let the door bang shut behind him.
Chapter 13
Alyssa
Alyssa stared at the closed door, her body buzzing like an electric current ran through it. Ali had left.
Gulping for air, she pivoted and took in the small apartment. Ralph laying on the couch. The checks on the counter. The roses on the table.
They need water.
Alyssa laughed at the ridiculous thought. Almost immediately, the laugh turned into a sob. Was this the right thing to do?
No, she realized. Of course it wasn’t. Ali had apologized, and her damn stubborn pride didn’t want to accept that apology, but her heart sure did.
One of the greatest people Alyssa had ever met had just walked out her door, and Alyssa knew right then and there that if she didn't go after him, she would spend the rest of her life regretting it.
“Ali,” she gasped. Grabbing her keys, she flew out the door and down the stairs. On the building’s front steps, she glanced up and down the street. No sign of his sports car or the limo from Friday night.
He was gone. She had his number, of course, but what if he didn’t want to speak with her after this? And she didn’t have his address, so it wasn’t like she could show up and demand he talk to her.
Running down the steps, Alyssa looked up and down the sidewalk. Halfway down the block, a familiar figure walked away, his shoulders hunched and his head down.
“Ali!” Alyssa ran after him, not caring at all about the people giving her funny looks.
At the crossroads, near the corner deli, Ali turned around. Alyssa jogged up to him, her breaths heavy and her heart racing.
“I’m sorry,” she gasped.
Ali’s eyes widened. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
She shook her head. “But I do. I should have just talked to you about the checks, but I was…” Alyssa laced her fingers and placed them against the back of her neck. She couldn’t stop bouncing from one foot to the other. God, this was nerve-wracking.
“I was nervous,” she said. “I didn’t want to bring up the money, because things were going so well. Yesterday and the day before…it felt like we were in our own little bubble. I didn’t want to pop it.”
Ali’s face softened. “I understand. I had the same experience. I wanted to help you out, but bringing the topic up seemed too…”
“Real?” Alyssa suggested.
“Complicated.”
“Real complicated,” Alyssa said with a nod. “Right.”
Ali reached his hand for her, seemed to think better of it, and drew back. Pain shook Alyssa to her core.
“Please don’t go,” Alyssa whispered. She didn’t care that she was begging.
“I don’t want to,” he said softly.
Alyssa sighed, all the tension she’d been holding onto leaving her with one good exhale. “Good.”
“I would still like to take you to dinner, if that is all right.”
“That sounds great.” Alyssa looked down at her jeans and shirt and remembered she hadn’t even brushed her hair that morning. Since she’d planned on breaking things off with Ali, she hadn’t taken time to get ready for a night out. Her face was also probably puffy from crying.
“Um.” Alyssa gestured at herself. “I’m not quite ready to go anywhere, though. Sorry.”
But Ali only smiled. Taking her hand, he wound their fingers together. “We can do whatever you want. I can wait while you get ready.”
“Or we can stay home,” Alyssa suggested. “Order takeout. Watch a movie?”
She watched his face for a reaction. Did sheikhs do movie night on the couch?
“That sounds wonderful,” Ali said. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he tur
ned for her apartment.
Upstairs, Ali ordered Chinese while Alyssa popped into the bathroom. Turning the faucet as cold as it would go, she filled the sink with water and splashed her face. Wiping her face dry, she looked into the mirror.
The hazel eyes looking back at her were alive in a way they hardly ever were. They sparkled with hope and excitement. Alyssa had nearly pushed Ali away, but she’d rectified the situation just in time.
Alyssa didn’t know what was to come next, but from here on out, she was going to be good to him. She was going to appreciate him. Listen to him. Be attentive in whatever way she could. Ali had walked into her life during a tough time, and she wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice and risk losing him all because she was too afraid to talk about something.
Satisfied, she turned the bathroom light off and went into the living room. Ali stood in front of the coffee table, remote in hand and staring at the TV.
“Need some help there?” Alyssa asked.
He glanced over his shoulder, and the smile he gave Alyssa made her heart sing.
“I wanted to wait for you,” he said. “What kind of movies do you like?”
“Everything.” Alyssa walked to him and studied the guide on the screen. “But I’m kind of feeling a comedy tonight. I think I’ve cried enough for one day.”
“Oh, Alyssa,” Ali said softly.
He put the remote on the coffee table, and in no time at all, Alyssa was in his arms. She pressed her cheek to his chest and sank into his firm muscles.
“I still feel stupid,” she whispered.
Ali nuzzled his face into the top of her head. “Don’t. I’m the dumb one.”
“No, I am.”
He chuckled. “No, I am.”
“Fine.” Alyssa looked up at him. “You get to be the idiot today. I’ll give you that. But I have to tell you, sooner or later, I’m bound to freak out over something. I’ll get really emotional, and I might do something irrational. Today was an example.”
She looked down, glad she was being honest, but also hating that it had to be that way.
“Is there a person on Earth who is not that way at some time or another?” Ali asked.
Alyssa thought about that. “Is that rhetorical, or am I supposed to answer?”
Ali ran his palm down Alyssa’s back, and they smiled at each other.
“Thank you for coming back in,” Alyssa whispered.
“Thank you for allowing me to.” He paused. “Will this be a clean start for us?”
Alyssa nodded eagerly. “I want it to be.”
“Good.” Ali picked up the remote and led her to the couch. “And the movie is your pick.”
“Nuh-uh,” Alyssa said. “This apartment operates under democracy. We’ll pick something we both want.”
Two hours later, snuggled under blankets, they rested on the couch with empty takeout boxes on the coffee table and the credits for the comedy they’d picked rolling. Alyssa’s legs were stretched out across Ali’s lap, and Ralph lay on her knees.
“Dog pile,” Alyssa said.
“What?” Ali looked at the TV.
“It’s what you call this,” she said with a giggle, and nodded at the cat. “When there’s a pile of people or animals.”
“Ah.” Ali grinned. “Some colloquialisms still manage to confuse me.”
“You know a lot more of them than I would guess. When did you start learning English, anyway?”
“When I was one or two, I think. My governess also acted as my language teacher.”
“Wait. So, how many languages do you speak?”
“Four,” Ali said casually, like it was no big deal. “Plus some Latin, but I don’t know if dead languages count.”
Alyssa laughed. “Wow. And I struggle just to place an order in Spanish at the bodega.”
Ali turned back to the television, a sheepish look on his face. “I have had a lot of advantages, but there was one thing I did not have as a child.”
“And what’s that?” Alyssa asked, unable to imagine what a person who had grown up in a royal family could lack.
“Time for myself,” Ali said.
His statement sank in, and Alyssa sat up a little straighter. The movement of her legs annoyed Ralph, and he jumped to the floor.
“Did you have play time as a kid?” Alyssa asked.
“Some, yes, but it was always supervised. There was always an eye on me to make sure I did nothing to embarrass my family name.”
“Oh, wow,” Alyssa muttered, and Ali’s face grew grim.
“Is it hard to talk about this?” she asked.
He frowned more. “No.”
“You look unhappy.”
“Ah.” Ali cleared his throat. “My childhood was a good one, even with the constant supervision. I was certainly luckier than millions of other children in the world.”
“So, why are you frowning?”
Ali scratched his jaw and cleared his throat. Sensing the shifting mood, Alyssa sat up even straighter and pulled her knees to her chest.
“Ali?”
“Alyssa.” He took her hand in his and looked her in the eye, but the gesture did nothing to calm her frantic heartbeat. Two hours of peace, and now something was going wrong again. Was their relationship cursed?
“You’re kind of freaking me out,” she said.
“I apologize. That is not my intention.”
Despite her nerves, Alyssa had to smile a bit. Ali was always so dang formal.
“I know that we said we are starting, ah, new,” he said.
“Fresh,” she nodded.
“Yes.” Ali paused, lips parted and eyes searching the floor as if he looked for something there. After what felt like the longest pause ever, he looked into Alyssa’s face. “Before we move forward into seeing each other properly, with no pretending to be boyfriends or fiancées, I was hoping you would do one last favor for me.”
Alyssa’s stomach curdled at the word favor. Favors were how this whole thing had started. Favors were what had nearly ended things between them for good.
Suffice to say, Alyssa didn’t exactly have positive connotations attached to the word favor.
“Okay…” she said. “What is this favor?”
“My parents will be in New York next week, and I wonder if you will allow me to introduce you to them as my fiancée.”
“Oh.” Alyssa sat there, arms around her knees, not knowing what to say. She’d been expecting the favor to be something like attending another fundraiser, but this was so much more than that. These were Ali’s parents. The people who had made him who he was.
The people who, Alyssa knew, probably wouldn’t be able to help judging her.
“That’s a big thing,” Alyssa said.
“Yes,” Ali answered quickly. “I know, and if it is too uncomfortable for you, I understand. I do not wish to put you in an unfortunate situation again.”
“Thank you,” Alyssa said. “I appreciate that. Um…just…another question. How long are you thinking of keeping this lie going for?”
And how will it affect our real relationship?
Ali’s cheeks puffed as he exhaled. “Quite honestly, I hadn’t considered that. I do not see my parents very often. I had hoped to only pause their reproaching for a while with the engagement lie.”
“And then what?” Alyssa asked. “You one day tell them we’ve broken up and the engagement is off?”
“Yes.”
Alyssa twisted her lips. Did that mean Ali already saw their real relationship as temporary? He wasn’t working it into his fake engagement plans.
Then again, why should he? They’d only just met.
“I can see this is not making you happy,” Ali said. “Let us forget about it.”
“No!” Alyssa cried. “No, sorry. I’ll do it.”
Ali’s eyebrows scrunched together. “Are you sure?”
“This will make you happy, won’t it?” Alyssa asked.
“Yes.” Ali ducked his face, seeming like
he was too ashamed to look her in the eye while he answered.
“Then I’ll do it.” Alyssa rested her hand on his arm. “I want to do it. Another question, though—and I know I said I only had one more.”
“You can ask as many as you like.”
“What if your parents come to town again, and you and I are seeing each other, but obviously, we’re not engaged. Are you gonna hide me from them and still say we ended the engagement?”
“That’s a fair question,” Ali answered. “I hoped to answer that when the time came.”
Alyssa smirked. “Right. I hear you.”
“Again, Alyssa—”
She stopped him with a kiss. Ali tensed at the sudden contact, but after a second, he relaxed. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her close to him. Her knees pressed into the cushion next to him, and she was inches away from being in his lap.
The kiss became hungrier. Ali pushed his fingers through Alyssa’s hair, and she twisted his shirt. His tongue swept across hers, making a fire ignite in her belly.
Gasping for breath, Alyssa pulled back. She still wanted to be careful with Ali and protect her heart. For her, going slow until their relationship was more solidified was the best way to do that.
“I’ll do it,” Alyssa said.
Ali cupped her face with both hands. “Thank you.”
She grinned. “No problem. And, hey, if you ever want to reprise your role as my boyfriend…”
Ali blinked. “I was hoping that might become a full-time occupation sometime soon, and not a role.”
Alyssa’s jaw dropped. “Oh.”
“Supposing…” Ali swallowed nervously. “Supposing everything goes well with us.”
Alyssa giggled. “Ali, are you nervous?”
“Only a little.”
“Did you just ask me to be your future girlfriend?”
He wouldn’t look her in the eye. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No, I liked it.” Alyssa scooted closer, getting her face so near his that their exhales mingled together. “And do you want my opinion?”
Now, she had his eye contact. He gazed back at her, his lips twisted in amusement.