by Sophia Henry
“I’m in love with Erik Raines.”
“The hot landscaper?” Emily exclaims.
I nod.
“Does he love you back?” she asks tentatively.
I nod.
She slaps her thigh. “You lucky bitch!”
I am lucky—lucky that Erik loves me. Lucky that he wants to stand up for me, and face my parents with me. There’s nothing wrong with falling in love. I don’t owe them an explanation for my personal choices.
“I’m surprised you let it happen. He’s a little beneath you, isn’t he?”
The old Maddie would bark back with a biting comment. Sarcasm and one-upmanship is the kind of relationship we have. Emily and I were never very close. We had nothing in common growing up, except our love for art. It’s still the only thing we have in common—we just took two different routes: fashion for me and tattooing for her.
Over the last few months, I’ve learned to see past my self-imposed blinders, my prejudices for people who choose a path I might not understand—like hers. I’m slowly learning to appreciate her as she is, not as who I expected or wanted her to be. Maybe her attitude isn’t about defiance; maybe she’s standing up for herself and her choices. Just because we don’t agree on our ideal lifestyles, doesn’t mean hers is wrong.
“I don’t need to be chastised right now, Em. I need support”—I drop my eyes to my lap—“and maybe a hug.”
Without hesitation, Emily wraps her arms around me. “I’m sorry, Mads.” She squeezes me tight. After a few seconds of soaking up strength through her embrace, I give her a quick rundown of what happened over the last few months. I’m almost finished when my phone beeps with a text.
Erik: Thought you were inside, so I knocked on the door, and got pulled into your dad’s den. It’s go time.
“Shit!” I shove my phone into my pocketbook. “I’ve gotta get in there right now.”
Chapter Twenty
Erik
When I arrive at the Commons’ house, I’m expecting Maddie to answer the door. I figure she’s been waiting since we got off the phone. Usually, one of the girls greets guests with a mega-watt smile and the standard holiday welcome: “Merry Christmas! Come on in. What can I get you to drink?”
But the door swings open to Harris standing in the foyer. He doesn’t greet me at all, just gestures for me to enter the room located off the foyer.
I follow Harris into his den, a huge, octagon-shaped room, with walls lined with mahogany bookshelves. An ornate, crystal chandelier drops from the twelve-foot ceiling, while lanterns light up the breaks between bookshelves.
Harris shuts the door behind us, then wastes no time getting straight to the meat of the matter. “You’re living together? I thought this was a fake arrangement?” he roars. The level of his voice tells me I’m most likely the first guest to arrive. As Maddie says, it’s not the Commons way to air their dirty laundry out for all to see or hear.
“Look—” I begin when I’m interrupted by the doorbell.
Harris takes a deep breath, then lets it out slowly. He holds one finger up as if to say he’ll be right back.
While he’s gone, I shoot Maddie a quick text. I have no problem handling Harris myself, but I sure would appreciate a united front.
When Harris enters again, Maddie is right on his heels. As soon as she gets in the door, she hurries to my side.
“Someone better tell me what the hell is going on,” he demands, shutting the door behind him.
“My apartment complex is being demolished,” I begin. “Maddie was kind enough to offer to let me stay with her for a few months.”
“You didn’t have any other friends to stay with?” Harris snaps. He and I have always had a great relationship, so I’ve never seen him angry. With multiple veins straining his neck, it looks like he’s about to show me a side I never wanted to see.
“I did, but—”
Maddie interrupts me before I can finish, “But since the Commons family is the reason he had to leave his home, I figured the least I could do is offer mine.”
“What?” Harris and I ask at the same time. I pivot my body toward Maddie.
“Erik’s apartment complex currently stands on the site of a future outdoor mall—the mall that Commons Department store will anchor. It’s our fault he’s been displaced.”
Holy shit. I didn’t realize the mall Maddie mentioned in her office a few weeks back was the project that’s going up on the land. It doesn’t matter, it’s not like they did it on purpose, but still.
“Did you offer the other residents a place to live as well, Madeline?” Harris asks sarcastically.
“No, Daddy. I might have, but I’m not in love with any of them,” she retorts, grabbing my hand and lacing her fingers through mine. “Just Erik.”
Bomb dropped.
“Jesus Christ,” he whispers, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. When he focuses again, his hard gaze sears through me.
Harris’s gaze doesn’t scare me with Maddie’s hand in mine. This is exactly what I wanted after her father ushered me into his office. A united front sharing the truth. No more secrets and lies.
Despite knowing the action will only provoke Harris further, I lean over and kiss her quickly. She smiles shyly as her face flushes pink. It’s beautiful. It gives me life. Knowing she’s been crushing on me as long as I’ve been crushing on her emphasizes how much I love her and how pure that love is. It reinforces how much I want this to work out, even if it started as a crazy plan to keep me in the country.
“Look, I understand that you might think this is love. A fake relationship can feel real—”
“It’s real, Daddy.”
“Did Erik made it clear to you that dating, living together—even getting married—will not keep an undocumented person in the country? It doesn’t work the same as someone who came here legally on a green card.”
“Yes, we discussed it,” Maddie says. “It may not be enough to keep him in the country, but going on with life as usual, falling in love, and marrying an American can’t hurt either.”
The conviction and excitement in which Maddie explains our motivations is infectious and endearing. You can’t help but root for her because you know her heart is in the right place. If I didn’t know how smart she was, I’d think she was off her rocker. But that energetic spirit is what draws people to her. No matter how outlandish her idea sounds, you find yourself fighting for her—with her.
She lights up the universe. She lights up Harris’s life. I’ve seen that for years. She truly is a daddy’s girl. Always by his side. His right-hand “man” in business. He doesn’t want to be angry with her. That’s her advantage over him. Maddie is the perfect daughter. The one Cookie and Harris pride themselves in getting right.
Which is why it makes complete sense he’d be appalled that she’s fallen in love with me.
“I hear you both throwing around the word ‘love.’ Why would someone who loves you allow you to put yourself in a position where you could go to jail for helping him? Doesn’t that seem selfish to you, Madeline?”
“With all due respect, sir,” I speak up before Maddie has a chance to say anything. “I never wanted Madeline to get in trouble. I had my own motivations for a fake relationship.”
“Do tell.”
“I wanted to be in a fake relationship so she had a reason to break up with Trent Anderson. He almost killed her once. I couldn’t let that happen again.”
“Trent didn’t—” Harris starts.
It’s crazy how he’s trying to rewrite a memory of an incident where he wasn’t present. This is how history books get written, by people who weren’t there and have an agenda for how the story gets told.
It’s gaslighting when you use it with people that love and trust you. If you tell them how something happened a certain way over and over again, their memory of it changes. They start to believe the lie, even if they know the truth. Memories are easy to manipulate.
“Da
ddy, stop!” Maddie interrupts this time. Which surprises Harris, but not me. I know how strong she is. I know she won’t be pushed around anymore. She can love and respect her parents, but also create her own narrative from this point forward.
“Erik saved my life. I wanted to repay him. He wanted to help me. That’s how it all started.”
“And then we fell in love,” I add boldly, confidently.
“And then we fell in love,” Maddie confirms, taking my hand and squeezing it. “It was inevitable,” Maddie continues. “It was set in motion years ago, the moment Erik set foot on our property.”
Most people, when looking back on a moment like this, will paint it as happy, maybe even triumphant, but I can feel the tension draping the room like a thick London fog.
Suddenly, the door bursts open and Cookie slides in. “What in the world is going on in here? The guests are arriving and I’m still plating the appetizers. I need some help out there.”
“Erik and Madeline are in love, Cookie. They’re even living together,” Harris says.
It may seem as though he finally understands, but with every second that passes, I practically hear the gears turning in his head. I feel his cold glare. I see his jaw tighten.
He seems cool and collected, but there’s no way he’s going to let his daughter—the heir to his business empire—stay with me. I’ve known it from the beginning, but I stuck with it because I wanted to experience Maddie’s love, and I wanted her to experience mine. Even for a short time before real life took away our fairy tale.
She deserves to know what real love is, before she gets swept back into the world where relationships are business transactions. Where families match and marry their kids to create a business powerhouse.
“What?” she exclaims, then checks her tone and continues, whispering loudly, “I can’t believe you two.” She shifts her narrowed gaze from Maddie to me. “I tolerated the ‘fake relationship’ when you asked me to because you insisted you were helping a friend. But nothing about this is cute. Or funny,” she says in a biting tone. “What you’re doing is absolutely unacceptable. How are you so calm about this, Harris?”
“They’re in love, Cookie,” Harris says. “You remember what it felt like at the beginning, don’t you?”
I bite back a sarcastic laugh, because I can’t imagine that Harris and Cookie married for love. She seems far too conniving for that.
A smile spreads across Maddie’s face and she squeezes my hand. She still trusts her father. She still sees good in him.
She thinks love won. She thinks we won.
But I know better. I know this is the beginning of the end.
Chapter Twenty-One
Maddie
It takes me an hour, but I finally finish getting the condo set up exactly as I want it. Rose petals create a path from the door to the living room and continue straight onto our bed. Battery-operated tealights illuminate the petal path, while real candles burn on every open surface of the apartment.
Our relationship is out in the open—and my parents appear to have accepted it. Mama will take a bit more convincing, but having Daddy on our side is a huge win. None of this would have happened if Erik hadn’t fished me out of a swimming pool. If there was ever a reason to have an over-the-top romantic celebration, I’d say that’s a good one.
I’ve just finished sliding a nude gloss on my lips that makes them appear sexy and pouty, when I hear Erik unlocking the door. My heart pounds with excitement and anticipation, thinking about how he’ll receive my surprise.
“What’s all this?” he asks.
“If it weren’t for you, I’d be an angel up in heaven,” I say as I walk from the bedroom out to the living room. “To celebrate, I decided to be your angel here on earth.”
“Awww, babe, that’s—” He stops dead in his tracks when he glances up. His eyes bulge and his jaw drops. It’s the exact reaction I wanted when I chose my outfit—a headband halo made of silver garland and white lace everything else, from my matching bra-and-panty combo to the top of my thigh-high stockings.
“Holy fuck, Madeline.” His hockey bag slides off his shoulder and hits the floor with a thud. He crosses the room in three strides and grabs my hips. “Holy fuck,” he repeats, his breath increasing as he takes in every inch of me.
He smells fresh and clean, straight from the shower. Inhaling lifts my chest, which catches Erik’s eye. He lowers his head and kisses my neck, then trails his mouth to my breasts. His hand cups the underside and one boob spills out. He covers my nipple with his mouth and sucks gently. Then he grazes his teeth over it and I arch into him.
He pulls back, biting his bottom lip as he devours me with his eyes. “You’re absolutely gorgeous,” he whispers reverently. His hands slide up and down my thighs. One finger dips under my thong and he groans. “I need to taste you now.”
Erik drops to his knees, pushes the fabric away, and begins to lick between my legs. I swallow hard and squeeze my eyes shut, praying I can stay standing when he goes harder. He wraps one arm around my legs, holding me firm, as the other hand pushes down his pants and boxer briefs. My fingers curl into his hair while my pelvis grinds against his face.
It doesn’t take long for me to fall over the edge. Erik releases the grip on my legs and I wobble. He grabs my hips to hold me steady and rises to his feet. After kicking his clothes off, he backs me up until we fall onto the bed together. He reaches for the handle to the nightstand drawer, but I stop him, flipping him onto his back and climbing on top. He watches, breathing heavily, as I lean down, kissing a trail from his muscular chest to his flat stomach.
When I reach the promised land, I cup his balls gently and fondle them between my fingers. He moans, lifting his hips slightly. Then I take his long, hard cock in my hand and starting sliding up and down, squeezing and pumping, faster and faster. His breath increases, getting heavier the faster I go. I wrap my mouth around his cock and slide down as far as I can until the tip hits the back of my throat. After pulling off completely, I spit on his dick to get it nice and wet and do it again. Soon, my mouth matches the rhythm of my hand, which makes Erik shout, “Fuck! I’m gonna come.”
I remove my mouth, despite his groan of protest, and grab a condom out of the nightstand. I’ve never rolled one on so quickly, but I want him to come inside me, so I have to be fast. Once the condom is in place, I slide onto his dick and ride him hard. The friction of my clit rubbing against his pelvic bone, brings me to another orgasm within seconds.
“Fuck!” we roar at the same time, as we climax together. When it’s over, I collapse onto Erik’s chest. He hugs me to him, allowing me to calm my racing heart in the comfort of his arms.
After taking a minute to clean up, we crawl back into bed and snuggle into each other. I throw one leg over his and rest my head on his chest. We lie there, basking in the comfortable quiet. The beat of his heart lulls me into a sleepy haze.
“Maddie, we need to talk about something,” Erik says in a soft voice, breaking the silence.
“What is it?” Butterflies flit around my stomach in anticipation, wondering what he wants to talk about. I’m hoping he’ll propose. His work permit expires soon, and we have no clue how long he has in the country after that. He could be deported once his time is up.
We’re well-aware that marriage won’t keep him here, but it certainly doesn’t hurt his chances. Especially since the sham that started as a way to get him to stay in the country turned into real, lasting love. Some people might say it was fast, but we have a history. A love story that started years ago, blossoming over the last several months. There’s nothing fake—or illegal—about it.
“I love you, Madeline. Please know that.” He squeezes me to his chest.
“I know you do,” I say tentatively. It doesn’t sound like this will be a good conversation. “I love you too.”
“I’m moving to Prague at the end of the month.”
Using his chest to brace my hands, I bolt upright. “What do you mean? Di
d you get notified? Are you being deported?”
Erik sits up, taking my hands in his. “No.”
“Well, then what do you mean, you’re moving to Prague?” My voice cracks and my body shakes. He squeezes my hands.
“I have to leave the country if I ever want to become a citizen.” Erik eyes are glassy, but he doesn’t take his gaze from mine. “You know that. We’ve talked about it.”
I nod.
“I don’t know how any of this works, but I figure, if I do this now, on my own terms, maybe that will help me get back into the country sooner.”
It makes sense but I don’t want to hear it. We’ve been so focused on how to keep him here, we never discussed what would happen if he had to leave—or, in this case, if he chose to leave.
“What if you never get deported? Think about how many people are here illegally? Why would you choose to go when you aren’t being kicked out?” I can’t keep the hysterical shrill out of my voice.
“Because I want to do this right. I don’t want to live in hiding or in fear. I don’t want to be afraid to check the mail or answer the door. But mostly—I don’t want to lie anymore.”
“Is this a lie? Are we a lie?”
“No.” Erik wraps his arms around me and pulls me to his chest. “We are not a lie. We are the reason I’m doing this. The faster I can get back to this country, the faster I can be with you, forever, without any obstacles in our way.”
The tears spill over my cheeks and onto his chest. “Isn’t there any other way?” I plead, though I know the answer. We’ve exhausted every possible avenue. All roads lead to the same answer.
Erik lifts my chin so we’re staring into each other’s eyes. “You are the kindest, sweetest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known. Whether we had fallen in love or not, you chose to do something completely selfless. Illegal”—he chuckles—“but selfless, just to help me. You stood up for what you thought was right. You’re strong and brave, and you have the most beautiful heart. I’m thankful each day that you are in my life.”