“Well done, kiddo. Don’t be a stranger.”
“Get a passport, Dad! Then you can come and visit me.”
“Maybe I will.” Then he was gone, and the miracle was, he hadn’t asked me for anything.
Aaron was lying on my bed, looking at me. “Not such a bad dad after all then?”
“He’s trying.”
“Will he be mad you got married without him?”
“Not mad I don’t think.” I hopped onto the bed next to him. Gosh it was good to get off my feet. “He’ll be a bit sad, I expect, for a minute or two. He’s not one to dwell.”
Aaron took my hand and twined our fingers together. “If I had a kid, I’d want to be at the wedding.”
“I would, too. What about your mom?”
“She’ll be mad I got married versus mad she missed the wedding, which she likely wouldn’t attend anyway. And give that it’s Vegas, she definitely wouldn’t attend. But I kind of don’t care. I care about her, obviously, but not about her opinion on the matter.”
That seemed reasonable to me. If he didn’t care, then I probably didn’t either. We lay there side by side and I let my mind replay the events of the day from the hours of meetings where I had been so nervous but I’d nailed the deal anyway, to the party where I was surrounded by friends. I wanted to etch those moments in my memory forever.
Then I heard it. Next to me Aaron had fallen asleep, a small gentle snoring had begun. Like a cat purring in the bed beside me.
It was nice laying there. It was weird to be in my bed, holding hands with my future husband, who, it turned out, was one of the sweetest people I knew. This had been quite a day.
I didn’t go to sleep. I rolled over on my side and watched him sleep. There was no two ways about it he was the full package. Smart, sexy and sweet. I leaned in and kissed his cheek. I had thought finding someone to marry was going to be the hard part, who knew that resisting my own husband would be the greatest challenge of all?
Chapter 12
Unfortunately, I still had to be up and in the kitchen at two the next morning. Business as usual. An apologetic and hung-over Lucy arrived about fifteen minutes late.
“I’m so sorry.” She looked like she had dressed herself in the car.
“It’s fine Lucy. I’m glad you enjoyed the party.”
“Too much, I think. You were the model of restraint, though, thank goodness. One of us needs her wits about them.”
“Coffee is brewed. Go get a double.”
She filled her mug. Mine was already half gone.
For a while, we worked in silence. I was on the pastry and she was on the fillings. I’d chosen our simplest fillings for today. No need to get too fancy. A bacon & egg pie, meat of course, spinach and feta, chicken and asparagus, and beef, bacon, and cheese. The dessert pie was apple. Lucy and I were a well-oiled machine. We each knew what needed to be done and we did it.
“So,” she said. “You and Aaron? He looks smitten.”
This was awkward. I didn’t like lying to my friends. “I guess. You know, I’m not really very good at talking about this stuff.”
“What’s there to talk about? The hot guy likes you.”
I shook my head. Maybe I was overcomplicating things. People in my life seemed to have no trouble believing that Aaron could actually like me for real, and wasn’t that the idea? It needed to be believable for the government, and I guess it was. Even Aaron’s family, mother excluded, seemed to buy it.
At that moment, Aaron appeared in the doorway. “Do I smell coffee?”
“Well, hello, Handsome,” said Lucy. “Where did you come from?”
He pointed to the roof as he strode towards the caffeine. “How can you girls be up and bright-eyed after last night?”
“My eyes aren’t so bright,” Lucy responded.
“I held back.” I straightened my shoulders for the full effect. “High on life and all that. Although I think I might need an afternoon nap.”
He walked over and kissed me on the head. “You have certainly earned one.”
I felt self-conscious with Lucy watching us, but it also felt very real having Aaron here, fawning over me.
“It sure smells good in here. All that pastry and bacon.”
“You want a bacon and egg pie for the road? It’s the breakfast of champions. Well, Australian champions anyway.”
“Sure thing. I’m happy to be an Australian for the morning.” He grinned at me, taking the warm pie from me, his fingers brushing mine. “I’m going to need to add more exercise to my routine thanks to your amazing cooking.”
“No need to panic yet. You still look pretty good to me,” I said. Across the room Lucy gave a vigorous nod of agreement.
“Why, thank you.” He took a bite of the pie and sighed. “No wonder they want your business. These are fantastic. Speaking of food, you’re bound to hit a wall later, so come to my place and I’ll make you dinner.”
“And he cooks,” Lucy sighed from across the room.
“I have a couple of dishes that I’m not too bad at. Let’s not exaggerate my skills. Italian or Asian?”
“Italian.” Comfort food was definitely in order.
“Italian it is.” He scarfed down the rest of his pie and chugged his coffee. “Okay, I better head home and get ready to face the world. I’ll have a look through those papers.”
“No rush. My lawyer is checking them out, too.”
He leaned in and gave me a slow kiss. He tasted like bacon and coffee. Not bad.
“Have a great day, Piper. See you later, Lucy.” He called out over his shoulder.
I stood there for a minute. I was losing track of what was real and what was imagined again. That kiss felt very real. Parts of my body had melted as a result. It was six in the morning. No one had ever kissed me at six in the morning and turned me into a puddle. We were going to have to have a boundary discussion before we went to Vegas or I was going to be in a world of heartache in the not-too-distant future. Then again, maybe that was unavoidable.
After I finished for the day, I poured myself a cool drink and read through the pre-nup. I figured we were two days from Vegas and if the paperwork needed altering then I should get on it. First, I read the agreement Aaron had written for himself. It gave him none of my anything unless we were married ten years. As I currently had a truckload of debt, that seemed like a smart choice.
We wouldn’t be married in ten years so that seemed logical.
Next, I read the pre-nup he had written for me. There was no way I could sign it. What the heck was he thinking? It was nuts. He was giving me way too much. It was ridiculous.
This was another discussion we would need to have over dinner.
I was heading out my front door when I heard a familiar voice.
“Going somewhere?”
It was none of Opheilia’s business. I wondered how she’d found me until I remembered that I lived at the business address. Not exactly much snooping required. “Can I help you?”
“I know you think you love Aaron, but you’re going to get your heart broken,” she warned. Although it felt more like a threat than a warning. Her stare was icy and her heels were so high she could have stabbed me with one of those spikes, had she been so inclined. I felt small in my jeans and sweatshirt but despite that, I steeled myself for confrontation. She could say what she liked but I wasn’t going to let her intimidate me.
“What business is it of yours?”
“I’m simply giving you some advice as Aaron’s friend.” The word friend was given special emphasis.
She looked so sad, and I could tell she really loved him. I felt sorry for her. “Well, thanks for letting me know. I think I’m going to take my chances.”
As I turned to walk away she grabbed me by the arm. “You’re making a mistake.”
“Maybe, but as I said I’ll take my chances. And so that you know, I already know about you two. I know you’ve been a little more than just friends.”
She looked appa
lled that he had told me.
“And I think, regardless of what happens between Aaron and I, you need to make a clean break from him, for your own sake not mine.”
That was the truth. She wasn’t going to leave her husband, and even if she did, Aaron didn’t want her. She needed to let go. I hoped this would be the end of it.
I turned and walked away. She was as tragic and beautiful as her name.
***
His house smelled like basil and garlic as he met me at the front door.
“Hey, you.” He leaned in to kiss me.
I turned and gave him the cheek. There was no one here to impress. He didn’t need to make nice with me.
“Are you okay?”
I waved the pre-nup at him. “Are you crazy?”
“What’s wrong?” He closed the door behind me and followed me down the hall.
“Have you read this?”
He nodded.
“What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking it was a fair pre-nup.”
“Aaron, you’ve written in a million dollars for every year of marriage up to ten years when we then do a fifty-fifty split.”
“Yeah. That’s fair.”
“First of all, you must have a shit-load of money. And second of all, while I realize we don’t have to stay married that long, we haven’t really discussed the exit clause. It’s too much money. It’s too real.”
“Calm down, Piper. First of all, if I wrote a flimsy pre-nup it would look suspicious. It has to look real. And secondly, if you stayed married to me an extra year, I’d be happy to give you the money so it’s no big deal.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Not to me. Wine?”
This whole thing was getting crazy. “Listen, we need to have a boundary discussion.”
He handed me the wine and was sure to have his fingers brush mine. “Boundaries. Right let’s talk boundaries again. I love talking boundaries with you, Piper.”
“Look, this is all fake, right? You’re marrying me for partner track and I’m marrying you to stay in America. I get that we have to make it look real, but you don’t need to be kissing me all the time and making nice when no one’s looking.”
“So you would rather I’m unpleasant when no one’s looking, Piper?”
“That’s not what I mean and you know it.” God he was exasperating.
He stirred whatever was bubbling on the pot in the stove. “Here’s the thing you don’t seem to fathom, Piper. I really like you. If I wasn’t about to marry you, I’d ask you out. I’ve tried to tell you that and show you that all week, but for some reason, you don’t seem to believe me. You’re pretty, you’re smart, you’re funny, you work hard, and you’re kind. You look very sexy in my shirt, just my shirt, and in every little dress or sparkly top you put on. Why do so many of your clothes have no back, by the way? I’ve been meaning to ask you that.”
I didn’t answer. I was processing. That was some pretty flattering stuff.
“We’ll come back to that. I enjoy doing nothing with you or going out. I seem to be inordinately interested in when you call me and if you call me and what you’re doing next. You’ve kind of taken over my life. So I’m sorry if that makes you uncomfortable, but wouldn’t you rather marry someone who feels that way about you than not?”
I didn’t really know what to say. Honestly, I didn’t want to marry someone who felt that way about me, not in a fake marriage. “But Aaron this is supposed to be an illusion. None of that is supposed to be true. It’s a contract, a verbal agreement that we would marry for mutual benefit.”
“Well, one of the benefits for me is I get to hang out with you.”
He was standing in front of me. My hands were firmly placed on my hips. I no doubt looked like a cranky school teacher.
“You look very cute when you’re confused.”
“I’m not confused, I’m exasperated.”
“And a little confused.”
“Okay, a little.”
“You know why?” He took my hands in his. “Because you actually like me, too. You wanted me at your party. You like making me pies. You enjoy my company and that scares you. But there’s no reason to be scared. I have no intention of hurting you, Piper. Look, I’m making you risotto.”
As if that was proof of anything.
“Here’s the thing Aaron, you will hurt me because I’ll get used to this. The someone-to-come-home-to, the kindness I’m not accustomed to, the way your face lights up when you see me, and then bam! our time will be up and there’ll be another Ophelia or a Persephone or a Portia and I’ll just be that girl you accidentally married.” I sighed. “Because the one true difference between us, beyond the obvious, is that you don’t believe in love and, unfortunately for me, it’s all I believe in. Because if I don’t believe in it, that it’s out there, that one day someone will find me and love me only for me, well, then I don’t have anything. That’s what keeps me going. That’s what I’ve held on to for all these years through the crappy family and the lackluster relationships. I’ve been holding out for love. I know it’s out there and I want it and you know what, I deserve it. So I’m not giving up on that, as much as I like you and I could let myself get sucked in to believing that this was enough, it just isn’t.”
Aaron came and took my hands from my hips and held them against his chest. I could feel his heart pounding in there.
“Look at me Piper.” And I did. But I was sure to steel my resolve before I looked into those delicious eyes.
“What if I was wrong? What if I do believe and you’re it for me?”
“Except, I’m not.”
“You could be.”
“I could be, but I’m not. So you need to stick to the agreement, less kissy-kissy, less touchy-touchy, even if you like me a bit, as my friend, then make it easier for me, not harder.”
“But that’s going to be so much harder for me.”
I shrugged. We had a stare-off. A minute, maybe two, passed. He was still holding my hands rubbing his thumbs over the backs in a very, very seductive way. Then he dropped my hands and went to stir the risotto.
“I hope you like mushrooms.” He said.
I certainly did. I wasn’t certain of too much else at that moment.
Chapter 13
It was Thursday after work; I sat in my little apartment and realized that I wasn’t going to be living here anymore. .
I had told Lucy that Aaron wanted to take me away for a romantic weekend to celebrate my success. She naturally found that totally swoon-worthy. We roped in a couple of our regular helpers to cover my weekend shifts.
When I came back from Vegas on Sunday, I’d officially be moving into Aaron’s. But I guess I could still stay here if I needed to since I started work so early. Not that sharing a place with Aaron would be torture, mind you.
Still, I hadn’t lived with anyone except when I’d followed Jacob to the US all those years ago, and that definitely hadn’t worked out. I was used to taking care of me and only me, so this would be a big change.
I had ordered a wedding dress online and the package arrived today, just in time. I hadn’t opened it since Cherie insisted that, if she wasn’t coming to the wedding, she was at least coming over for a pre-wedding dress-viewing and champagne. That was nice. I had never had so much champagne in all my life as I had these past two weeks. Still, one more glass couldn’t hurt
With the business changes and this wedding, I felt the old life I had built for myself shifting. Probably for the better, but the truth was, I had been happy in my little flat, building my business, making a few friends, and having a beer at O’Shaunnessy’s. It hadn’t been a huge life, but it had been worthwhile. Things felt like they were about to expand exponentially.
Cherie came bounding up the stairs and entered, as always, without knocking. She had shopping bags over one arm and a bottle of champagne in the other and was humming the bridal waltz.
“Hey, you. What you got there?” I grabbed a bag fr
om her.
“Only a few little treats.”
“Cherie!”
“Don’t Cherie me. You’re my best friend and you’re getting married.”
I grabbed a couple of glasses from the cupboard while she popped the bubbly.
“To the bride.” We clinked then Cherie got all comfy on the sofa. “Okay, dress first.”
We unwrapped the dress which I had found at a great designer discount site online. Lucky for me, I’m a standard size. Still, I had a moment of panic.
“What if it doesn’t fit?”
“It will.” She squeezed my arm—her version of a love tap. “Open it.”
I unfurled the dress, a strapless ivory sheath that fell right below the knee. It was lacey but also simple, elegant, and it was made out of fabric that felt like butter.
“Ohmygod, I love it. Put it on.”
The dress felt amazing and, when I looked in the mirror, l looked like a proper bride. Cherie whipped the elastic band out of my hair and my curls cascaded around my shoulders.
“You look amazing. Aaron will choke on his own tongue.”
I almost swallowed my own. “What?”
“I meant in a good way.” She grabbed another bag. Linnea’s was scrawled across the front. Wow. The fanciest lingerie shop in town. “Open this.
It was a white teddy that would be perfect under the dress. “You like?”
“I love.” I hugged her. “Thank you.”
“Now this one.” She lifted a large box from the next bag and inside, beneath a riot of tissue paper, she’d hidden a bunch of treasure. The first was a small beaded bag. It was her nonna’s she explained.
“Something Old.”
I started to cry. “That’s so lovely, Cherie.”
“Now don’t get all misty on me,” she fanned her hands in front of her eyes. “My mascara will run.”
“It’s just, well, your family is like my family and…”
“I know sweetie. And now you’ll officially be one of us. So you need a part of us on the big day. Apart from the groom that is.”
Something Blue was next: a cute and surprisingly tasteful garter. It was followed by a small bracelet made of sea pearls that I knew was Cherie’s, so Something Borrowed. Finally, the Something New: a small veil.
Any Way You Slice It: An Upper Crust Novella (Upper Crust Series Book 1) Page 7