Any Way You Slice It: An Upper Crust Novella (Upper Crust Series Book 1)

by Monique McDonell

  She slid it on my head and, with all the other bits; I now truly looked like a bride. That’s when the tears started in earnest.

  “Oh my God, what am I doing?” I asked her.

  “You’re getting married to a really great guy.”

  “But look at me. Shouldn’t all this be for when you’re in love? For when it’s real?”

  “Look at me, Piper.” She grabbed my chin and made me face her. “It is real. You really are getting married to a real guy who really likes you.”

  I shook my head. We were such great actors, we’d even convinced her.

  But then that little voice in my head reminded me of Aaron’s pretty speech.

  What if he had really meant it?

  “I know you don’t want me to say all of this because this isn’t how it’s done. But he does like you.”

  “Yeah, but it’s not love.”

  “Well, honey, what does love look like? Love is caring, love is kindness, love flirts, love shows up, love makes you dinner, love smiles when it sees you and love has your best interests at heart.”

  I shook my head and wiped away some tears. “You sound like him. Your family has some weird ideas about this stuff.”

  “Our grandparents all had arranged marriages and they worked out fine for fifty plus years, so I guess we believe what my grandmother says: that love grows wherever it gets water and sunlight.”

  “I need a drink.”

  “First, you need to get out of this pretty dress so we don’t get those mascara coated tears on it.”

  She was right. I peeled off the frock and she packed the wedding dress and accessories away neatly for me. We also packed my bag for Vegas while we were at it.

  “Listen to me.” Cherie hauled the bag off my bed and stuffed it next to the dresser. “I’m not saying you need to marry Aaron and fall in love. I’m saying that it’s possible you already have and the idea scares you.”

  She knew me too well. “Of course that would scare me. He doesn’t believe in love.”

  “Of course he does. Honestly, he’s just as messed up as you are. Just because he’s got the fancy house and the big job and a bit of bravado doesn’t mean anything. He’s been burned by his parents and so now he’s scared. Remind you of anyone?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Definitely.” She nudged me with her shoulder and handed me a drink.

  “We need a toast. To your happily ever after, for now at least.”

  “That I can drink to.” And we clinked our glasses.

  After she left, I lay on my bed drinking a cup of tea and wondering what the hell I was thinking for about the millionth time that week. Then I reminded myself that I wanted this. This meant I could stay in Boston, keep my business and make my dreams come true. This was my only option. Being married to Aaron was part of the deal and I was going to have to make it work.

  Chapter 14

  “This is a lovely way to start,” I said to Aaron as he handed me two first class tickets when we met at the airport. “But it’s really not necessary. I’m perfectly fine flying coach.”

  “Only the best for my girl.” He squeezed my hand. “Whatever happens, we certainly need to make this a weekend to remember.”

  I was pretty sure we already had that covered. Aaron had taken care of all the details, so I was pretty much in the dark. All I could do was go along for the ride.

  After a glass of champagne on the plane and a delicious breakfast, I snuggled down in my extra-large seat and caught up on some much needed sleep. I awoke to find Aaron staring at me.

  “Was I drooling? Man I hope not. That would not be cool.”

  “Of course you weren’t.” He nudged me with his shoulder. “You looked so peaceful.”

  “I feel like I’m in a bit of a sleep deficit,” I stretched, enjoying the spacious first class seat. Boy, could I get used to this.

  But I wouldn’t. Because it’d all go away with the divorce.

  I winced. What bride thought about her divorce on her wedding weekend? I needed to stop getting so far ahead of myself and try to enjoy the day. Cherie was right: I needed to remember this weekend.

  “It seems to me like that deficit might have been growing for years.”

  “Probably.” We were an hour out of Vegas. I felt compelled to share. “I’ve not been to Vegas before. Did I tell you that?”

  “No. I just assumed you had since you were all gung-ho to get married here. I guess that’s going to make this weekend extra special.”

  It turned out that fake wedding or real wedding; it didn’t matter to Aaron because we were staying in a suite at The Venetian Hotel. Even I, ignorant as I was about the town, knew that it was the most opulent hotel with gondolas on man-made canals and amazing ceilings that looked like real sky.

  A limousine took us to the hotel from the airport.

  “It’s that kind of town, Piper.” Aaron said by way of explanation. “Sit back and enjoy the ride.”

  So I did. We had yet another glass of champagne and a toast to us, and in no time, we were whisked into a suite that was marble on marble with views across the city.

  “This is nuts.” I said taking in the plush suite.

  “I know.” He said kicking his shoes off. “Vegas is crazy. This town is a little bubble of insanity all of its own.”

  “I’ll try not to burst your bubble,” I said, peering through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the view below.

  “Good girl.” He stood behind me and put his hands either side of the glass.

  I could feel his warmth all around me, a definite contrast to the cool glass. Or maybe that was because my lady bits were doing a little happy dance.

  Cherie was right. I was a goner. My brain could calmly talk boundaries and common-sense, but the truth was my heart and my libidos were screaming at me to turn around.

  “Hungry?” He whispered in my ear in such an intimate way that neither of us was in any doubt what he was hungry for and it wasn’t food. “We could get some lunch.”

  He didn’t move his hands and I ignored the questionable voice of reason and turned around. But the truth was, I wanted to see him. I wanted to be this close to him.

  His gorgeous brown eyes were smiling at me. I was certainly ravenous, but it wasn’t food I craved, either.

  Still, I nodded. “Great. Me, too. Let’s go explore. We’re not getting married until tomorrow anyway.”

  I needed to get us out of this room and away from the enticing pull of that enormous bed and what we might do in it before I did something at least one of us would regret.

  .

  We had a ball. We wandered through the Venetian. The place was insane. The gondolas, the masterpieces, the sculptures… We could have been in Italy by the looks of the place.

  We had long lunch in one of the cavernous arcades beneath the hotel where they offered every Italian dish I could dream up. Aaron ordered a nice bottle of red and we got a mild buzz. It was nice to be away from work and stress and to just relax and enjoy.

  Then we each took a hundred dollars for some gambling.

  “I’m not into gambling,” I explained. “But if I’m going to do it, I may as well do it like a Bond girl. They always seem to play roulette from memory.”

  “I’ve had many a Bond girl fantasy over the years, so that works for me,” Aaron confessed handing me a stack of notes.

  “Yes well sorry I don’t have my bikini on, while gambling.”

  “That may be my new fantasy.” He wiggles his eye brows at me suggestively.

  I wasn’t sure what to do with that knowledge. “Come on then Bond, let’s go win some money.”

  It wasn’t a fortune, but we managed to double our money by pure dumb luck. Hey, whatever worked.

  “You’re my good luck charm, Piper.”

  He pulled me against him and I have to say that I didn’t mind. I wouldn’t mind being stuck there for quite some time. He planted a kiss on my temple.

  “Well, in my family, no one wins at gambling
, so I’m not sure how that’s possible.” I pointed to the rows of slot machines. “We call slot machines poker machines back home or one-armed bandits. The ones in our town swallowed money that my dad should have spent on things like school shoes, ballet lessons, or oh, I don’t know, maybe fruits and vegetables.” I shook my head. Not the way to enjoy one’s wedding weekend. I pushed my past away and was determined to enjoy the present again. “Sorry to be a downer. I’m having fun. Let’s take our profits and move on.”

  Aaron looked at his watch. “Oh. I almost forgot. We have an appointment.”

  “We do?”

  He took my arm and led me to the gondolas. “Your chariot awaits, m’lady.”

  “Are you serious?” Of course he was serious. I just wasn’t used to this kind of thoughtfulness.

  “Deadly.” He tried to glare at me, but Aaron couldn’t glare. He was too cute.

  He was deadly all right. Deadly charming. I climbed into the gondola and the gondolier began rowing my fake fiancé and I around the fake Grand Canal .

  Aaron swung one arm over my shoulders and I nestled against him. “You know, Piper, I never actually asked you to marry me. So will you? Marry me?” And he produced a blue velvet box containing a beautiful teardrop-shaped diamond ring.

  “Oh my God.” The thing was enormous. Much bigger than what a fake fiancée should be wearing. “Of course I’ll marry you, Aaron.” Because that was the deal. But it didn’t feel right reminding him of that at this moment.

  He slid the ring on my finger and went in for a toe-curling kiss.

  People around the canal cheered and it was the most romantic moment of my life.

  So I kissed him back as if my life depended on it.

  It just might, that little voice inside my head whispered—when I was able to think somewhat coherently, that is.

  We made our way up to our suite. Aaron kept hold of my hand the whole time and I honestly felt as if I was floating. The lines between reality and fantasy were well and truly blurred.

  There was more champagne waiting for us in the suite. He really had thought of everything. The words Cherie said the other night about love and what it looked like collided with my desire to get my feet back on the ground and keep my focus, although that was getting harder and harder to do. What was my focus? What did I want?

  When he’d filled our glasses, he stood opposite me. “So, before we toast, I want to say something.”

  “Will it be a mood killer?” I teased.

  “I hope not.” He cleared his throat. “Before I met you, I already felt like I knew you. Cherie has talked about you non-stop at family functions since you guys became friends. You know, Piper and I this, Piper and I that… Her whole family would chime in: Vinnie and Marie, her nonna… They all seemed to embrace you. I even saw you at a party once, but you were leaving as I arrived. You looked like you had it all together.”

  “Appearances can be deceptive.”

  “But that’s the thing. When Cherie set this up, I already wanted to meet you. I was going to ask her to introduce us anyway, and then this all happened and it seemed like fate.”

  “Okay…” This was not what I was expecting

  “Here’s my point. Now that I know you, well, I like you more than I ever expected.”

  “I like you, too, which is handy since we’ll be living together.” I really wanted to start on my champagne and stop the conversation so I went to raise my glass. This was all getting too complicated. One of us needed to keep things in perspective. The suite, the gondola and the champagne of yes and the obvious chemistry between us were making that increasingly difficult it seemed.

  “Wait, Piper, hear me out. I’m going to marry you tomorrow any way you slice it, but can you think about really marrying me instead of, you know, marrying me for convenience?”

  I was gobsmacked. Was he really proposing to me twice in one day? “You’re proposing for real now?”

  He gave me a nod. “Yes. Now you’ve got it. I want you to marry me for real.”

  He still hadn’t said the one thing I needed to hear. I couldn’t help that part of me was holding out for the dream. I wanted love and he didn’t love me it didn’t matter how I felt about him. I wanted to marry someone who loved me if it was a for real marriage.

  I didn’t know what to say. I flopped back on one of the ornate lounges. “I’m not really…I wasn’t prepared…I didn’t see this coming.”

  “I know. “ He knelt at my feet. “I didn’t either. I’m a cynical guy. With good reason. I don’t really subscribe to the hearts and flowers view of the world.”

  “And yet, might I say, you delivered a very romantic fake proposal.”

  “But it wasn’t fake to me. All of this is real to me.”

  I shook my head. “I think you want to believe that. It would be simple. Heck, I would like to believe it to, but…”

  “Piper.” He took my hands in his.” I don’t think I’m making myself clear. I love you. I’ve never felt like this before. Ever. I know what it is; it’s love. It’s not simple. The fake marriage would be simple. This… what I feel… It’s complicated.”

  “You love me?” Did he really say that?

  “I do.”

  I looked into that handsome face, at that mouth that kissed so well, and searched to see if what he said was true. “Really?”

  “Really. I love you Piper. Do you know how many people I’ve said that to?”

  “No.” I wasn’t sure I even wanted to know.

  “None. No one but you. Because I didn’t believe in love and now I do. Because of you.”

  There was only one thing to say. One crazy truth that needed to be shared. “I love you, too, Aaron. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

  And then his mouth was on mine and we were kissing and then our clothes were off and we were in that enormous bed celebrating our love, our marriage, and our future together. If this was how it started I couldn’t imagine how the rest of the marriage was going to be.

  Epilogue

  Our wedding took place in a chapel at Caesar’s Palace. It was a chapel designed for a hundred guests, but there was just the two of us, oh yes and the celebrant, some roped-in witnesses, and a string quartet.

  It wouldn’t have mattered if the chapel had been full. We wouldn’t have seen anyone but Aaron. My eyes were one hundred percent fixed on the magnificent face of my incredible new husband. He looked amazing in his charcoal suit.

  They say the camera never lies and every time I look back at the pictures from the ceremony we look transfixed. As if neither of us can quite believe we’re there, feeling this happy, doing this amazing thing.

  They say you find love when you least expect it. And sometimes it’s with the person you least expect it to be.

  Or maybe Cherie’s nonna is right and love grows where you nurture it.

  If you liked Any Way You Slice It, An Upper Crust Novella

  please leave me a review. Good reviews make an author’s day.

  You might also like my other novels

  Mr Right and Other Mongrels

  Hearts Afire

  Alphabet Dating

  Building Attraction

  A Fair Exchange

  Acknowledgements

  First off I owe a huge thank you to the lovely members of Writers’ Dozen who support my writing and keep my on track. A special thank you goes to Pamela Cook who reads all my work for me and gives me feedback and encouragement week in, week out. Without my wonderful writing friends I know I could not continue.

  Thanks to my beta readers for your ongoing help – especially to Renee, Betty and Deanna whose help I find invaluable.

  Thanks to cover designer Erin Cawood for gorgeous cover design. It is the first time I have worked with Erin and it was an absolute joy.

  Finally a thank you to my regular readers who write reviews for my books, e-mail me and tweet me about my stories. Knowing you’re out there reading my stories and anticipating the next one gives me more joy than you can possib
ly imagine.

  About the Author – Monique McDonell

  I am an Australian author who writes contemporary women's fiction including chick lit and romance. I live on Sydney's Northern Beaches with my husband and daughter, and despite my dog phobia, with a dog called Skip.

  I have written all my life especially as a child when I loved to write short stories and poetry. At University I studied Creative Writing as part of my Communication degree. Afterwards I was busy working in public relations I didn't write for pleasure for quite a few years although I wrote many media releases, brochures and newsletters. (And I still do in my day-job!)

  When I began to write again I noticed a trend - writing dark unhappy stories made me unhappy. So I made a decision to write a novel with a happy ending and I have been writing happy stories ever since.

  I have been a member of the writing group The Writer’s Dozen for eight years. Our anthology Better Than Chocolate raised over $10,000 for the charity Room to Read and helped build a library in South East Asia. I am also a member of the Romance Writers of Australia.

  This is the sixth novel I have released in the last two years.

  To learn more about me and my upcoming books please visit her at www.moniquemcdonellauthor.com.

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11