“A team?” she asked.
There was something more going on here than the conversation. He could see it in her eyes. “Yes. We have to be partners. We’ll look at the events and make a plan that shows you and me in our best light.”
“I... I really like that.”
“Good. I know that we have an arrangement, but I think we should try to be friends. That will be fun too. We can learn about each other and that will lend a realness to the relationship.”
“It will,” she said.
He saw her taking notes and wondered how many relationships she’d been in. Because the way she was acting, it didn’t seem like she had a lot of experience. “Isn’t that what you normally do when you start dating someone?”
She put her pen down and tucked a tendril of hair that had escaped her updo back behind her ear. “I don’t know. Normally I date people I meet at an event. If they are an influencer, then we try to stage photos and go places where our viewers want to see us—”
“That’s not what I’m talking about. The last guy you dated—didn’t you get to know him?”
“Yes. But he wasn’t who I thought he was,” she said. “It’s so crazy because on the surface we seemed like we were made for each other but behind closed doors... Well, I’m glad that we won’t have to worry about any of that.”
“What are you talking about?” Zac asked. He wasn’t sure what had happened, but it didn’t sound like it was pleasant.
“Nothing. I like this,” she said, flipping to a blank sheet of paper on her notepad and writing with clean and neat strokes. When she was done, she turned the pad to him and handed it over. “Read this and let me know your thoughts.”
He glanced down at the contract she’d written on the legal pad. It stated a start date for their association, as she’d called it, and it stated an end date of three months from today. She listed out what she wanted from him and then left a blank for the dollar amount of her investment.
“Should we make sure we have chemistry before we try this?” he asked.
She nodded a few times. “Yes, you’re right. We need to make sure we’re believable as a couple.”
He stood up. She did so as well and then held out her hand. He reached out to take it, then tugged her toward him and lowered his head for a kiss.
Five
She clung to his shoulders as every nerve ending in her body went on high alert. His lips were close but he wasn’t kissing her but she was so close to those lips of his. And she needed to prove to herself that earlier had been a fluke. That she was the highly business-focused and driven woman with a low sex drive she’d always been.
So she shifted slightly, leaning up until her lips brushed his. That tingle started again in her lips and she saw his eyes widen slightly before he took control of the kiss. Oh, dear Lord, the man tasted so good. Better than anything she’d tasted before. She held on to his shoulders; they were strong and muscly, probably from all that time spent captaining a yacht.
She felt one of his hands on the small of her back and the other at her waist. His fingers moved against her skin, caressing her as someone cleared his throat behind her.
Zac broke the kiss and straightened, turning them both so that the boardroom table was at their backs.
“Dad,” Iris said. “Sorry about that. We were just wrapping up in here... I mean it’s not what it—”
“Stop explaining, Iris. The last thing either of us wants is to discuss you kissing Zac,” her father said.
Iris smiled because her father was right and it seemed like that kiss had lent authenticity to their story that they were dating. “Did you need one of us?”
“Actually, both of you,” her father said.
“Both of us?”
“Yes. I spoke with your mom and mentioned I’d met Zac and she wants to meet him too. You know she hates when I know something she doesn’t,” her father said with a wink.
All the enjoyment Iris had had from the kiss and feeling like she’d fooled her dad went out the window and instead panic started to fill her stomach, making her queasy. Fooling Dad was one thing, but her mom? That was going to be very difficult.
“Oh, I wish we could, Dad, but I promised Adler we’d be on Nantucket in the morning, so Zac and I were going to have a quiet night in.”
“That’s perfect, sweetie,” her father said. “Your mom invited you both to dinner. I think Thea will be there too.”
Of course, she would be.
“Zac, will that be okay? I know you said you had a call you needed to make tonight,” she said, hoping he’d pick up on her subtle hint and make an excuse so they could skip dinner.
“That’s fine. My call can wait,” he said, wrapping his arm around her waist and squeezing her close to his side. “I look forward to getting to know your family better.”
“Great. That’s settled then. I’ll text your mom. Be at ours at six-thirty,” Iris’s father said.
He turned and walked out of the boardroom, closing the door behind him. Iris took a deep breath before turning to face Zac. Before she could say anything, he ripped the page off the legal pad. “We should have two of these so we each have one.”
“What?” she asked, not even thinking about the contract. “Yes, of course. Why did you say yes to dinner?”
“If we can’t fool your family at dinner, how are we going to make a lot of people buy us as a couple for four days?” he asked. He pulled the legal pad to him and started copying what she’d written word-for-word.
“It will be harder with my mom and Thea. Dad’s easy because he only sees what he wants to. But Mom is shrewd, and you should know that Thea suggested I hire a guy for the weekend so she might try to trip you up.”
“Thanks for the heads-up. See, this will be a good test run.”
“Yeah, probably,” Iris said. “I mean, yes.”
She felt a little light-headed. Maybe it was that kiss he’d laid on her...or she’d laid on him.
“I’m sorry about that kiss,” she said. “I know you meant for it to seem as if we had been kissing if my father came in. It won’t happen again.”
“I didn’t mind at all. I was going to do more than just hold you. I wanted whoever entered to pay attention to us and not this,” he said, gesturing to the legal pad. She saw he’d signed his name on both copies. “You sign now and we’ll both have a copy.”
She went over and signed the second one and then took it and folded it neatly into thirds so it would fit into her purse.
Then it occurred to her that there was no termination clause. “We didn’t give ourselves an out.”
“You said there was no other option than to see things through for the three months. I’m a man of my word,” he said. “And I can tell that you are a smart lady. You won’t back out.”
She nodded. “Do you have a hotel in town?”
“Yeah, I’ve got a place,” he said. “I have a car there too.”
They exchanged phone numbers and she gave him her address. “Do you want to just meet at my parents’?”
“No. I’ll pick you up. I think your dad is an old-fashioned kind of guy,” Zac said.
“You’re not wrong, but he gets that we live in a modern world,” she said. “I’ll take my car and meet you there.”
“You know your family best so that sounds good,” he said.
“Okay, so see you tonight,” she said, then led the way out of the conference room. As they walked down the hall, she realized she’d said goodbye too soon and now she had to either figure out something to say to him or just walk awkwardly in silence next to him.
In the elevator, he hit the ground-floor button.
“Zac, thank you,” she said.
“You’re very welcome,” he said.
* * *
“So how did you get the money for this?” Dev Kellman asked when Za
c arrived back at his family’s Boston home where he and his friends were staying while they tried to drum up financing. Yancy McNeil was there as well, standing by the bar when he entered.
“Through Iris,” Zac said. His friends had never heard him mention a girlfriend, so he figured he’d better start talking about her soon. From watching his sister—whose channel and media following were a lot smaller than Iris’s—get dragged when she started dating Inigo, he knew that the attention he and Iris would receive was going to be a lot more intense.
“Who’s Iris?” Dev asked as he pulled three longneck bottles of beer from the fridge behind the mini bar, gave one to Yancy and held one up toward Zac. Zac nodded.
Who was Iris? His objective had been to get financing, and of course he was on the verge of securing it in the most bizarre way possible. Dev and he had been good friends for the last ten years, having met at boarding school. He knew that Iris only wanted the two of them to know about their arrangement and he was going to honor that, but he hadn’t really thought through the logistics of being her for-hire man. He was going to have lie to his friends and family or just shut them down with a few terse words. “The lady I’m dating,” Zac said.
“Since when?” Dev asked. “We landed two days ago, and you broke up with Zara before we left Sydney so I don’t think you had time to get—”
“Since none-of-your-business,” he said. He wasn’t about to start making up stories about the two of them and Dev and Yancy didn’t really need the details.
“Okay, okay, don’t get cranky. I was just asking. It’s not like you to hook up with a woman this quickly.”
“She’s different,” Zac said at last. “You know I’m not all touchy-feely and let’s talk about our emotions.”
“Me neither. Just when you tie our business to a woman, I want to make sure it’s a good decision.”
Dev and he both. It was risky. Which was why he’d almost come clean with Hal. He wanted to make sure that the deal with Hal went through regardless of this thing with Iris.
“I’m being careful. The money isn’t tied to me dating her.”
“Fair enough, but you’ve got tons of money. Why not just use yours?” Yancy asked.
“I am. Her dad is an investment guy. He puts together groups of investors who go after different ventures. When I mentioned to Iris that I was in Boston trying to raise funds, she mentioned her father might be interested. She said that he was always looking for new things. I don’t think this is quite what he had in mind when he said that, but he was game. He’s doing some research and is putting together an investment team. I’ll be one of the shareholders as will Iris,” Zac said.
“Cool. How will it be structured?” Yancy asked.
“I’m not sure yet, but he mentioned an LLC. I want you and me as COOs so that we can be in charge of getting who we need in place. We should know in the next few days about the funding, but I think it’s safe to start shopping for a design company that can manufacture our yacht,” Zac said. “I mentioned that we are planning to sell our design after the next Cup run.”
“The patent is in our names,” Dev reminded him.
“They know that. They’d get a share of the profit but no intellectual property claim.”
“Great. I’ll get the ball rolling. I’m having dinner with some guys who might be interested in joining our team tonight and then we can meet tomorrow to talk more,” Dev said.
“Let’s meet next week on Nantucket. I’ve got to be there for Adler’s wedding and Iris is a bridesmaid,” Zac said. He really needed to tell her about his connection to Adler.
“Ah, so that’s how you two met. Cool. Can’t wait to meet her. Thanks for putting this together. I was really getting sick of having our ideas overlooked.”
“You don’t have to thank me. We’re a team,” Dev said. “I’ve got to go. Talk tomorrow.”
He did the one-armed bro hug with Dev and Yancy that had become their habit, then his friends left and Zac was alone in the town house. He went up to his room and stood in front of his closet. It had been a while since he’d had to socialize with upper-class people so he wanted to look the part.
He had a closet of clothing that the staff kept clean at all times. He didn’t know how casual or formal dinner at the Collinses’ house would be. He opted for some dark trousers and a button-down shirt and paired it with some dress shoes.
He rubbed his hand over his beard. He kept it neatly trimmed but it was summer and hotter here than it had been in Australia, so should he shave? He’d leave it for tonight.
He showered and dressed, then headed to the address that Iris had given him. When he pulled into the large circle drive, there were two cars already parked there: a green VW Beetle and a sleek beige BMW. He parked behind them, got out of the car and walked up the drive. He had a bouquet of flowers he’d picked up on his way over and a bottle of wine he’d nicked from his parents’ wine cellar.
Did he look like he was trying too hard to impress her?
He texted Iris that he was in front of the house, then rang the doorbell. He heard a dog barking, and then the door opened and Iris stood there. She wore a pair of white trousers and a halter-neck top that showed off her shoulders and collarbone. Her hair was down around her shoulders and her brown eyes were warm as she smiled at him.
He wasn’t sure why it mattered but he really hoped he impressed her.
* * *
“So, when did you meet this guy?” Thea asked as they sat at the counter in her mother’s kitchen. She’d arrived twenty minutes earlier and she was just full of questions tonight.
“A few days ago,” Iris said, keeping it vague because she’d been so busy making sure they had a legal document that she’d forgotten the details of their cover story. “I didn’t want to say anything earlier because I hadn’t broken things off with Graham.”
“It’s kind of quick,” her mom said. “But your father was impressed by him.”
“He’s that kind of guy,” Iris said. There was something solid and formidable about Zac. He wasn’t like Graham, who, though charming, had at times seemed like he was trying too hard.
“I’m not sure I believe that,” Thea said. “Remember what we were talking about at lunch?”
“Thea,” Iris said. “I told you that silly plan you had wasn’t necessary. You just didn’t trust me.”
“Sorry, Iris,” Thea said, her eyes growing wide. “I was trying to help you. You didn’t mention him so I thought that jerk Graham was humiliating you.”
“It’s okay. I know you were just trying to protect me,” Iris said.
“What are you two talking about?” her mom asked, mixing some Aperol spritz drinks for them.
“I suggested Iris hire a guy to act as her date for the wedding weekend. Graham kind of left her high and dry,” Thea said. “But you knew that he wasn’t right before that text, didn’t you?”
“Yes. This weekend he was...well, not what I had hoped he’d be. So I’d already made plans to move on,” Iris said.
Oh, God, this had to work, because if it ever came out that she’d hired Zac, she was going to lose a lot of followers. She’d never lied to her audience before. She might stage photos but it was always based in honesty.
Had she made a mistake?
The doorbell rang just as her phone buzzed. She glanced down to see it was a text from Zac. Thea looked at it too. Angel face, I’m here.
“I’ll get it.”
She left the kitchen and wiped her sweaty hands on her legs as she went down the hall. This would work. She had no choice but to make it work.
She took a deep breath and opened the door. Zac looked good. Damn good. He’d put on a dress shirt and had it neatly tucked into a pair of nice trousers that showed off his slim waist. He had put on dress shoes and socks and his hair was nicely styled. As he took off his aviator-style sunglasses, she realize
d the navy shirt made his blue eyes more brilliant.
“Hi.”
“Hello. I need to talk to you about the wedding.”
“Come in,” she said. “We can do it later. Not in front of everyone.”
Zac stepped into her parents’ house as Riley, her mom’s thirteen-year-old miniature dachshund, came running down the hall, dancing around Zac’s feet and barking.
“Riley, shush,” she said, bending to pet the dog.
Zac stooped down next to her and shifted the bouquet of flowers and the bottle of wine he’d brought to the same hand so he could pet the little dog.
“Hello, Riley,” he said. Riley loved the attention and started licking Zac’s hand. Then after a final pet, Riley trotted back down the hall to the large kitchen where Iris’s mom and sister waited.
Iris and Zac stood up. “Thanks for coming tonight. Dad’s still at work. Thea and Mom are anxious to meet you. I said we met two days ago.”
“Good,” he said. “I was in Australia before that.”
“Oh, okay. I was on a weekend trip with my ex. They might ask. Maybe we should say we met at the bar today,” she said.
“Sounds good.”
“Yes.”
“Perfect,” he said. “You look nice.”
“Thanks. So do you. That shirt makes your eyes seem even bluer than before,” she said.
He smiled at the compliment. “Should I have shaved? My mom hates stubble, but I figured I didn’t want to look like I was trying too hard. Your dad would notice.”
“I like the beard,” she said, lifting her hand to touch it. It was soft and abraded her fingers slightly.
“Iris, are you going to keep him in the foyer, or can we meet him?” Thea said from the end of the hall.
“We’re coming.” Iris turned to face her sister and led the way to where Thea was standing. “Zac Bisset, this is my sister, Thea.”
“Nice to meet you,” he said, holding out his hand.
Her One Night Proposal (One Night Book 4) Page 5