by Berri Fox
Maybe I’m still feeling a bit off from this hangover, that’s got to be it right? I’m hot, I’m rich, and I’m damn fun to be around; anyone would be privileged to be my fake fiancé.
So I make my rounds through the corral and slowly peruse and walk the deck, looking relaxed and like I belong there while I scope out some potentials. Sure there are loads of attractive women there, but there aren’t actually a lot that are my type. And while I know that this whole engagement fiasco is only going to be a pretend engagement, I’d at least want them to be my type.
Is that too much to ask?
Apparently because my luck —what’s left of it, anyway— immediately runs out, and my heart starts to beat faster in my chest as panic sets in when I set my sights across the deck on a pair of familiar faces. Just there across the bow are the Wilmingsdale twins, and I curse under my breath and avert my gaze so that they don’t see me.
The Wilmingsdale twins (Hugo and Royston) are friends of my brothers, and they would definitely realize that I’m up to something. Not only because they know my brother quite well, but because they know that I am in fact not him, nor do I have a fiancé named Emily. They’re nice enough people, don’t get me wrong, but they’re a bit goody goody and the last thing I need is for them to strike up a conversation and wonder why I’m here and Robin is mysteriously nowhere to be found, despite the fact that he’s showing as attending on the guest roster. They’re also a couple of gossips and can never pass up a good laugh or joke, constantly drawing attention with their loud guffaws and good natured teasing.
As if on cue, Hugo lets out a belly laugh that echoes across the entire deck and everyone looks up, and I realize that if I don’t get out of here fast and out of their line of sight, I could make my situation about ten times harder to maneuver.
I don’t want to risk them finding out I’m here because there is absolutely no way that they could keep a secret longer than about three seconds, so I dart off of the deck and down a corridor just around the corner. I find a cupboard and jump in, closing the door behind me and shutting myself in to enjoy the silence and solitude of escape.
Or so I thought.
I hear sniffling and I whip my gaze around to see a gorgeous redhead, though she’s certainly not been having a good day if her expression says anything. The closet I’m hiding in is dim but there’s enough light to see that beyond the teary eyes and frazzled expression is a gorgeous woman, and I can’t help but feel pulled towards her. She’s got fiery red hair that’s cropped short and beautiful, bright green eyes, hiding behind the frantic look on her face as she clutches a small child to her front. I can’t help but wonder what they’re doing hiding in a closet of all places, but I can tell already without her saying a word that the situation clearly isn’t a good one.
If there’s something that pulls at my heart and makes me swoon more than a damsel in distress I have yet to find it, so I just know that I’ve got to get to know this girl a bit.
I give her a reassuring smile and press my finger to my lips in a silent gesture to keep quiet, nodding as I lean slowly towards the door I’d just rushed through. Before I strike up a conversation I’d like to at least get out of the cupboard that we’re all huddled into, but I can’t do that until I know that the coast is clear.
I carefully and slowly push the door open, peeking my head out after making sure that there was no one immediately outside. I could still hear the faint obnoxious sound of the voices of the Wilminsdale’s, so I looked back over at the cutie and smirked, holding my finger up. It won’t take longer than a minute or so for the twins to decide that they need to move on to the next crowd of people to please, and then we can make a break for it.
Sure enough not long after that the sound of their laughter trails off as they move further away, finally bringing silence down the corridor. I breathe out a sigh of relief and then open the door all the way and step out, checking both ends of the hallway. I nod and smile back at the mystery beauty and the toddler in her arms, chuckling.
“Coast is clear, folks. Now, why don’t we get out of here and sit down and relax? I happen to have a room here where we can get away, without having to hide in another closet.”
I wink at the two of them and then lead them down to the guest cabins, ushering them inside with a smile and closing the door behind us. It’s not hard to tell that the girl is obviously out of place on the cruise, and I can’t help but wonder how someone as young and frazzled came to find herself on board of a luxury cruise liner and hiding in a cupboard. With a toddler, no less.
Though I suppose I shouldn’t judge, given the fact that I’m currently impersonating my brother and trying to find a random woman to pay her and pose as my fiancé.
I sit down onto the bed with a sigh and smile, shrugging my shoulders and patting the bed next to me in an offer to sit down as well.
“So, why don’t we all take a breath and relax, and then you can tell me how you ended up hiding in the closet, hmm?” And,” I add with a chuckle, smirking. “I’ll even tell you my side of things too. You never know, maybe we can help each other out of our interesting conundrums.”
She sits down and starts to talk to me about her day, and how it spiraled out of control, making me feel a little less like my story was the most unlikely. But then I had a thought that maybe this woman being stuck on this ship wasn’t such a bad thing, for either of us. She needs a way off without getting in trouble and I need a beautiful woman to spend some time with me.
Well, I think with a smile, maybe this isn’t going to be such a stretch, after all.
Six
Jess
Its just too much for my poor brain to take. I can’t process.
One second I’m hiding in a fucking closet—a closet, I mean, talk about the irony—and freaking out hard core about getting out of this jam. The next thing I know I’m in this amazing, luxury suite and Alex is stuffing his face with these huge chocolate chip cookies. The great big fancy ones that cost like eight bucks each in a café.
Talking about great, big and fancy, everything is. From the scrollwork on the ceiling to the gold fittings. I’m hoping that I’m not standing in the middle of the room gaping like I fish, but I fear I’m failing miserably.
Alex is having no such difficulty. He’s plonked himself down on the huge, soft lounge. Expensive cookies disappear into his mouth rapidly and he just grabs the remote and starts flicking through channels on the TV as if he’s lived here his whole life.
For a second, the floor seems to breathe under me. What am I doing here? I can’t be here. I’m not meant to be here. Any minute now that gorgeous woman—Ashley—is going to laugh in my face and kick me out. She’ll hand me over to security and tell me she was just entertaining me until they arrived.
Keeps everyone cool, I guess. Less scenes in front of the high paying customers.
Of course, this beautiful woman found me in a closet because she was trying to hide in it herself. A big grin stretches across my face as I think about that. Maybe, just maybe, she’s a bit of an oddity, like me.
There is a part of my heart, a very small one, that flares to life. Its like an ember that breathes and glows. I can’t help it. I know its stupid but… She’s hot. Her eyes are so genuine and warm. She’s amazing with Alex. They’ve known each other five seconds but he adores her, clearly.
Reality comes back with a screaming crash. For a few minutes it was like being underwater, the rest of the world in slow motion while I sat in a still center, out of touch with the harsh details that stalk me through every second of my life.
“Champagne?” the woman who introduced herself as Ashley is in front of me, holding up the glass. I’m pretty sure she’s asked me a couple of times while I’ve been standing here outside the ozone. I try to smile and I’m still not getting a grip. The opulence of the room just keeps hitting me from every angle.
Ashley smiles, somewhat indulgently. I can’t be sure but… I think she’s checking me out. That just makes my hear
t pound and it does nothing for my mental state. When she catches my eye, her own glinting with amusement, I’m sure she’s indulging me. Like I’m a new pet she wants to spoil.
I should be offended. Shouldn’t I? Fuck. I don’t know. I don’t care. Ashley wiggles the glass again and I finally take it, putting a way a big gulp.
Oh shit. That’s the most expensive champagne I’ve ever had in my life. I threw it down like it was water and now it’s hitting me right in the back of the brain.
Ashley takes my arm, just gently. I had sat down before, to tell her my story. I’m not even sure how I ended up standing in the massive space between the bedroom and the lounge room… How many rooms do you need? Its bigger than any apartment I’ve ever lived in.
I let Ashley guide me over to a loveseat not quite in the bedroom. I don’t want to think about what might happen if we go inside there. I’m disorientated as hell all of a sudden. I feel like no time has passed since I was locked in that closet. Ashley absorbed my story with care in her eyes and a sympathetic face, now I feel like She didn’t really listen.
Like she wants something.
She grins as I take another sip of champagne.
“Do you like it? Its Dom Perignon.”
“Oh, yeah. Its nice.”
“I don’t want you to worry about a thing, okay? I’ll take care of everything.”
I nod slowly, still wondering how I keep losing time in her presence. She’s completely overpowering, and I don’t just like it… I fucking love it.
She grins and tosses that huge mess of dark hair and in the angled sunlight it glints with red, gold and black. Her blue eyes are warm like a tropical lagoon. Even though she’s grinning at me she’s also appraising me, and I wish I could think clearly. Instead I take another dose of bubbly and that doesn’t help me think at all.
“Here’s the thing.” Ashley sighs. “I’ll help you, no matter what, okay? But I need a favor. I’m hoping you might be the one to help me out. Especially since I’m doing a good deed for you… Not that I want you to think you have to pay me back… Oh, fuck it.” She sighs again and takes a sip of champagne.
“Thing is, Jess. I need a fiancé.”
“Excuse me?” My voice comes out a bit too loud. I think she just proposed to me. I can’t be sure because the champagne is making my head ring.
Ashley grins again and I realize, I’m already addicted to that grin. I love how it curves on her lips. Its all kinds of mischief and a pure, sweet joy.
She’s genuine. She doesn’t hide herself from anyone. I feel a great pull in my chest as I look at her.
“Yes.” I whisper.
Ashely looks up at me with wide, dark eyes. The grin goes down a notch and something passes between us.
“I haven’t explained yet.”
I shake my head a little. “Of course, yeah. Tell me?”
“Okay.” She laughs a little. “Here’s the thing. I’m kind of a stowaway. I’m not meant to be here. My brother is. There’s this whole setup where I’ve got to propose, because I’m supposed to be here with my girlfriend.”
She pauses and I nod encouragingly, taking another sip.
“So… Do you think you could pretend to be my girlfriend for two weeks? Do a whole proposal at sea deal? I’ll pay you, of course, and get you out of your jam.”
I can’t process for a second. Questions team in my mind. What will this deal entail? Holding hands? Kissing? Sleeping together? Oh god. Imagine sleeping next to this gorgeous creature and not being able to touch her!
“No sex of course.” She speaks softly and her grin dies down. “I’m not expecting you to be my whore or anything. I’d never insult you by even suggesting I’d pay you for sex.”
I try to hide my disappointment. I’ve been used by people a hell of a lot in my life. Ashley looks like she might at least use me gently. She’s also going to compensate me, which is more than anyone else has bothered to do.
Her face falls a little and she starts talking rapidly.
“You’ll get a really nice holiday out of it. Five star to the hilt. I’ll buy you anything you need—no, anything you want. Alex can get anything from the shops he wants. I’ll give you some money to cover any losses from being away. Anything you need, just name it.”
I shake my head stupidly. I really can’t process this.
My first reaction is a cold twist in my guts. She’s hot. She’s warm. She’s nice. But I don’t even know her. It would be too easy to just give in, but I feel like this situation could go to hell in any number of ways and I need to distance myself from it.
I shake my head, putting my champagne down. I stagger across the room, grabbing Alex who protests loudly. My heart seems to be beating far too slowly and my skin feels slick. I charge out the door, feeling my stomach heave and my brain flicker like a dying bulb.
Just when I think that it couldn’t get any worse, I barrel straight into the Chief Purser. I barely have time to put Alex down without dropping him.
“Where are you supposed to be, anyway?” he asks.
I don’t have long to be flabbergasted as Alex grabs my hand and grins up at her.
“We came from in there.” He points towards the luxury suites. “With Aunties girlfriend.”
The man has a moment to look surprised before Alex starts dragging me back towards the cookies and the big screen TV. I smile and wave and turn back to Ashley’s room.
My heart thunders and I wouldn’t blame it if it seized up entirely. Today has just been too many shocks. The worst of which Ashley’s beautiful eyes and open, honest grin.
Chapter # 7
Seven
Ashley
Well so much for that being an easy request to make of someone.
Not that I thought that the girl would fall head over heels for my proposal of being my fake fiancé, but I didn’t expect her to be as horrified and disgusted as she was. Nor did I expect her to storm out of my suite —my brother’s suite, whatever— in a huff like I’d just offered to pay her in exchange for some weird, cult ritual or something.
So here I am, pacing back and forth in Robin’s suite and wondering what the hell just happened and how I’m going to fix it. Not just the fact that the one shot I thought I had to make my impromptu plan work, but now she knows who I am and what I’m planning; who says she isn’t going to run off and tell someone? I might have just let my best chance at fixing things storm out of the door, along with further piling the shit onto the pile of trouble I was getting myself in.
Just as I’m getting ready to dart out of the room and see if I can find the redheaded beauty of my dreams to try and at least convince her not to tell anyone what I was trying to accomplish, she comes rushing back in with a look so desperation on her face. She’s got the kid in tow with her who seems to be just as nervous, almost as if they had been being chased or were dodging someone.
“Uh, hi?”
I give her a wary smile and start to step forward, but then there’s a knock on the door and the colour drains from her face. She gives me a pleading look that breaks my heart, and I don’t know if I could even refuse to help her even if I wanted to. Like I said before; a damsel in distress is a weakness of mine and this girl was giving of serious vibes that I just couldn’t ignore, nor did I want to.
So I give her a quick nod and then I saunter over to the door to find Mr. Potts, the man I’d met earlier when I approached then gangway leading up to the cruise liner. I put on my best smile and sigh, winking at him as I playfully nod into the room where the cutie and her kid are waiting.
“Well hey there Mr. Potts, I see you’ve finally met my girlfriend, Emily Warrington.”
I smile as calmly as I can and then shrug my shoulders with a sigh, playing off the calm cool and collected persona that has gotten me out of —and let’s face it, into—so many scrapes in the past.
“I hope that everything is alright? They were just having a look around the ship while I settled into the cabin.”
Mr. Potts
smiles, clearly relieved that the young woman and child he found were indeed supposed to be there —or so he thought— and not going to cause him to have to fill out a slew of paperwork as to how they got on board in the first place. He nods back at me and then over at ‘Emily’, chuckling.
“Well I’m glad that she found her way to you Miss Carmichael, I do hope that you’re pleased with the accommodations. If I may, please allow me to give you some suggestions and highlights of the cruise line for while you’re aboard.”
Not wanting to seem suspicious or eager to get him away from us I happily nod and lean against the doorway as he rattles of attraction after attraction, urging us to try each and every one of them. Apparently there’s a new dish at the restaurant that is just to die for, and I assure him that we will try it before the week is out. After a few moments I convince him that we’ve got some things to get settled before we explore, and he finally leaves us alone.
I turn back to Jess and Alex with a sigh and shrug my shoulders, giving them both a warm smile. I’m not about to take advantage of her because I can, and I want her to feel as comfortable as possible in all of this. Sure I’ve got my own selfish motives, but I’m not a complete jerk.
“Listen,” I say with a gentle smile and brushing my thumb over her shoulder, “Why don’t I pay for a room for you and the little guy. That way you can have a quiet place to relax without any pressure, and if you want then you can get off at the first stop and get back home.”
She seems taken aback that I would even suggest something, and at first I can’t tell if she’s impressed, nervous, in disbelief, thankful, or all of the above.
“You’d really do that for us?”
Her voice is quiet and full of both apprehension and curiosity, and there’s a hit of a smile that plays on her lips, the corner upturned in a would be smirk had she not been so terrified only moments ago. I realize after a few seconds that instead of answering her question I’m still staring at her lips and I blush with a smirk, nodding as I clear my throat.