by Penny Wylder
Son. Never a good sign. If he’s in a good mood, he calls me Leo. “Hey, Dad.”
“I’ve been wondering when I would get this call. Hold on, let me get your mother.”
I sit down on one of the stools next to my bar and put the phone on speaker. It lets me cover my face with my hands and take a breath. My mind is already forming contingency plans for how to get the money.
“All right, you’re on with your mother and me.”
“If you were planning this, why didn’t you just call me?” I ask.
My mom’s voice comes through the speaker. “We wanted you to reach out. We so rarely hear from you anymore.”
“Are you guys okay?”
“We’re fine,” my dad says. “Doing well.”
I sigh. “Guess I’ll bite the bullet. I just got off the phone with Jerry. He said you put a hold on the money.”
I can almost feel them looking at each other, but my dad speaks. “We did, yes.”
“Why? Did something happen?”
Mom clears her throat. “You’re not following through on your part of the agreement.”
My mind goes blank. “Agreement? What agreement? You said the money was a gift. If that’s changed, that’s fine, I just need to know.”
There’s an aggressive sigh on the other end of the line. “The part of the agreement, Leo, where we said we would gladly fund your endeavor if you started taking life seriously and considered starting a family.”
My jaw drops, and I’m glad that they’re not in the same room with me. Yes, they’d said that when we talked about the money. And I’d agreed. But I’d also said at the time that I would consider it once we were established. It’s barely been two years, and Blue Mountain is nowhere near being in a place where I can spend the time to start a family. Not to mention that I’d have to…you know…find someone to marry.
They must take my silence as guilt, because Mom keeps speaking. “It’s been more than enough time to have even a hint of something on the horizon, Leo. That’s all we’re asking.”
“Why do you care so much about this?” I ask them. It’s an endless frustration. They’ve been hounding me to settle down since college.
“We just want you to be happy.” My dad now, and I wish that I could say that it’s just my mom talking him into this, but it’s him too. They’re lucky. My parents have that kind of deep love that’s life changing. But on the inside of that, they can’t see that not only is it rare, but it’s also not something you can look for.
“What makes you think that I’m not happy?” I ask. “I am happy.”
My mom makes a sound. “You think you’re happy. But you won’t know until you actually make an effort, Leo. And your father and I aren’t going to keep funding your childish dreams if we don’t see some progress.”
Panic reaches up and grabs my chest. This can’t be happening. Can it? I don’t know what makes the next words come out of my mouth. Desperation and fear—the need to save the one thing that I actually love.
“I have been dating someone,” I say.
There’s a soft intake of breath. “Really? Why didn’t you tell us?”
I sigh. “Because I’m an adult. I don’t mean that to be offensive, but I don’t have to report on my dating life to you. Except for now, apparently.”
“Leo—”
“But since we’re doing this, I’m actually getting married. I proposed recently.”
There’s shocked silence on the other end of the line, and I realize what the fuck I’ve just done. But it’s already out there, and now I can’t take it back. “You guys know me. I’m not really one to make a big deal out of things, but I thought you would be happy.”
My mother’s voice sounds a little strangled. “We are! We are happy, Leo. Of course we are.”
“Yeah,” my dad says, sounding just as shocked and not a little skeptical. “This is amazing. Of course we’re happy. And as soon as we meet your new fiancée, I’ll tell Jerry to wire over the money.”
“Oh, I’m going to make plans!” My mom says and I hear her steps walking away quickly.
“Bye, Leo,” my dad says. He’s way happier than when he picked up the phone. “We’ll see you soon.”
“Wait—” I try to catch him, but the line is already dead.
I stare at the phone for a minute, trying to process everything that just happened. I can’t believe I told them that I’m getting married. And I can’t believe that they’re blackmailing me into it in order to get the money. But worse than that, they need to meet her. That means I need someone to pretend to marry me until the payment comes through.
After that, I’ll figure out the rest of the money on my own. The problem now is finding someone willing to do this.
Fuck.
7
Diana
Almost dying will really take it out of you. Even after sleeping the rest of the day and through the night, I’m exhausted. And instead of going on the hike with the rest of the girls and Hudson—one of the other owners of Blue Mountain—I opt to stay in bed and rest.
But by the time noon rolls around, I’m fully awake and restless. A hike would be too much for me, but I don’t want to stay in the cabin.
It’s actually perfect, because the grounds of Blue Mountain are beautiful. The green of the trees is still fresh and just turning into the deep shades of summer. The grounds run all the way to the river, but given yesterday, I don’t really feel like going down there. Between the stables and the archery range, there are large swaths of grass and woods with nothing but the sound of the wind moving through them. That’s where I spend my time walking.
This is nice. If all nature were like this, I would sign up. Usually I’m more than happy to stay holed up in my office with nature safely on the other side of the windows. Nature from a distance is nice. But here, without the pressure of adventuring and the space to breathe, I get it.
I find a row of large trees, and behind them a row of cabins. They’re beautiful and well-made, but intentionally tucked away. This must be where the owners live, and definitely not where I should be wandering as a guest.
I’m turning away to explore elsewhere when I hear my name behind me.
My breath is suddenly shallow in my chest, because Leo is sitting on the porch of the cabin closest to the river. Just seeing him makes my heart kick up into high gear and my temperature rise. All because I’m remembering that kiss. Less than a day ago this man had his hands all over me. And I would love for him to do it again.
I’m walking over to him without consciously deciding to do it, but I don’t really know what to say to him. He stands and meets me at the bottom of his stairs. I can’t help but notice how he looks today. No rugged sports gear, just shorts and a t-shirt, and he looks damn good in them.
“How are you feeling?”
I stretch a little. “Good. Still tired, but the girls are on a hike and I didn’t want to stay in the cabin. So I’ve just been…walking.”
“Enjoying it?”
“It really is beautiful here,” I say. “And quiet nature seems to be more my speed.”
Leo chuckles. “After yesterday, can’t say I blame you. You want a cup of coffee?”
My only hesitation is that if I go inside his house with him, it’s going to be a real temptation. But a little temptation never hurt anyone, right? My attraction to him is off the fucking charts, and just being in his vicinity has me shaking. I want to know him better, wherever that leads. Emily would be proud. “Sure.”
He leads me into the house, and I perch on a stool while he pours me coffee. “I’m surprised your friends didn’t try to drag you out on the hike.”
I roll my eyes. “Are you kidding? The minute I said I was tired they practically buried me in blankets trying to get me to stay back. They might try to drag me back to bed if they knew that I was here.”
His low chuckle does dangerous things to my insides. But I notice that it doesn’t quite meet his eyes. When I look closer, I see that he loo
ks tired. Drawn almost, like there’s a weight on his shoulders that I can’t quite explain. “You have the day off today?”
“Yeah. You guys are the only ones here this weekend, and since Hudson is leading the hike, I get some downtime.”
“That’s nice.”
“What do you do?” Leo takes a sip of his coffee, and I get distracted by the muscles in his arms flexing as he raises the cup to his lips.
I blink myself back to reality and try to focus on the question. “I’m a graphic designer. Not exactly the outdoorsy type.”
“I don’t know. I think you can handle yourself.”
“For a few days,” I say, taking a sip of the coffee. “Fuck, that’s good. Emily is lucky that I love her because this is not what I would have chosen for a bachelorette party. I was promised that if I came here, there would be a hot tub and wine time, and I’m determined to get that before the weekend is over.”
“I hope you get it,” he says, but there’s a heaviness to it.
I stare, trying to put my finger on precisely what it is that’s bothering me. Like an itch at the back of my skull. But I’ve never been one for subtlety. “You seem different today.”
Leo’s eyes snap to mine. “Oh? How so?”
I open my mouth and close it again. “I don’t know you just seem…heavier? I can’t explain it.”
“You’re very observant,” he says with a sigh.
“Are you all right?”
His mouth turns up into a half-smile. Which only serves to remind me of his lips and the way they felt. The scratch of his beard. His hands on my body. “You’re here on vacation. I can’t unload my problems onto a guest. Especially one who almost died on my watch.”
My movement is pure instinct. I reach out and put my hand over his on the countertop, and both of us go still. “That’s exactly why you can tell me anything. You saved my life. The least I can do is listen to you.”
He sighs again before pulling back and scrubbing his hands over his face. “It’s complicated. My friends—business partners and I—are buying the land here. There’s a big payment coming up, and while this place is doing great, it’s not bringing in that level of profit yet. My family comes from money and they agreed to front the cost of the payments. And they’ve been doing that. Until now. They want me to…settle down and have a family.” He shakes his head and drinks more coffee.
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No,” he shakes his head. “It’s not. But I want it to be on my time, and in my own way. I don’t want to be blackmailed into marrying anyone. But…”
“But?”
“When they told me I was desperate, so I said that I was dating someone. That I’d proposed. I don’t feel good about it, but it just slipped out. I wasn’t thinking and now I’m pretty much fucked because they want to meet my ‘fiancée’ before they give me the money.”
My eyebrows rise into my hairline. “I won’t lie, that’s pretty fucked up.”
Leo rolls his eyes. “Tell me about it. So, I need to find someone to pretend they’re my fiancée so I can make it work. After, I’ll find a way to get the rest of the money. I think Asher’s sister might do it if I asked. My parents have never met her, so it might work.”
He’s here in the room, but his mind is miles away as he stares into the distance. He’s just thinking out loud right now, which is a good thing because he can’t see the look on my face. The stab of jealousy in my gut when he mentioned this girl was so strong that my face must look like I’m about to commit murder.
It doesn’t make sense. He saved my life and kissed me once. There’s no reason for me to be jealous of someone he’s clearly not in a relationship with. But I still am. I make the decision in a heartbeat.
“I’ll do it.”
That snaps Leo back into the room. “What?”
“I’ll do it,” I say again. “I’ll pretend to be your fiancée.”
He’s suddenly looking at me with such hunger that it steals my breath from my chest. It’s pure wanting. “Why would you do that? I’m a complete stranger.”
He didn’t feel like much of a stranger when his hands were on my ass and his tongue was down my throat. “You saved my life,” I say simply. “I owe you one. Besides, it would be sad for a beautiful place like this to disappear just because you’re not married. I have vacation time saved up. I’ll stay and pretend for you.”
Leo stares at me so hard and for so long that I start to think that maybe I’ve petrified him. My offer has turned me into Medusa and he’s now a stone statue.
Finally, he takes a breath. “Okay. Thank you. I was trying to think of any other way, but I don’t think that there is one.”
“As long as there are no plans to try to drown me again, it will be a piece of cake.”
He laughs, and it sounds freer. In fact, he looks so relieved that it’s making me smile. But at the same time, now that I’ve agreed, I’m nervous. Pretending to be in love with Leo will be easy. But being close to him? That will be the hard thing.
Because I’ve felt exactly how hard his body can be, and knowing that, it’s going to be difficult to keep my hands to myself.
Then again, that might not be a bad thing.
8
Diana
The rest of the weekend passes in a happy blur. I do get my hot tub time, and there don’t seem to be any lasting effects from my time in the river. Everything is perfect, including the heated gazes that Leo sends my way whenever he’s near me.
If my friends notice, they don’t say anything. But the looks he gives me are like a physical touch. I’m practically dying for more. He hasn’t kissed me again, but I know that he wants to.
Everything about him tells me that he’s dying for it, and I’ve had more than one moment where I lost myself in the fantasy of Leo pushing me against a wall and taking another kiss. And then taking everything else. God, I want him so fucking bad. There’s no way that we’ll get through this pretend engagement without it, and I don’t care. I want him.
He hasn’t asked me to keep things secret, but I have. Not because they wouldn’t understand—I think they’d be totally on board. But I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize it. If they accidentally said anything, I don’t want it to get back to his parents somehow and for them to realize that it’s all fake.
Paranoid? Maybe. But I’ll tell them when it’s finished.
“Okay,” Emily says as we pack up all of our cars to head home. “Ladies, this was perfect. And none of us died. Thank you so much for coming with me and making this the best bachelorette ever!”
“I’m glad the bar is as low as ‘none of us died,’” I say.
We all laugh, and I give my best friend a hug. “See you soon,” she says. “I’m going to be hounding you with last-minute wedding shit.”
“Of course you are.”
She blows me a kiss and we all climb into our cars and leave Blue Mountain. But once we all go our separate ways, I turn around and drive back. Leo is waiting for me when I pull back into the lot, smiling wider than I’ve seen in days. Less smolder and more joy. I like both sides.
I stay in the car a beat longer just looking at him. It’s almost criminally unfair how attractive he is. And if he thinks that I offered to do this purely because I’m selfless, then he’s wrong. I actually think that I might be getting the better half of the deal.
He takes my hand and helps me out of the car even though it’s unnecessary. Right now, I don’t mind.
“I won’t lie that I was afraid you would just keep driving.”
“Not a chance.”
A laugh. “Well, we don’t have any guests the next couple days so you can just keep your room. My parents are planning to come for dinner later this week. We’ll wow them with our romance and then you’re free to go, and I’ll absolutely never be able to repay you.”
“I think we’ll be even.”
He grabs my suitcase from my trunk and carries it without asking. I’ll have to get used to it this
week. It’s entirely possible that he won’t let me carry anything or open any doors the entire time that I’m here.
We’re almost back to the cabin when a chime has him reaching for his phone. “Hello?”
Leo stops in his tracks and goes stock still. “I thought that—okay.” A pause. “When?”
He looks over at me, and winces slightly. When he speaks again, his voice is tight. “Of course it’s no problem. We’ll see you when you get here.”
He ends the call and looks at me, all traces of that joy gone. “That was my parents.”
“What happened?”
“They decided they want to experience Blue Mountain since I’ve been talking about it for years. They’re coming to stay for a few days so they can get to know my business and my fiancée better.”
I shake my head. “That’s fine. I was going to be here anyway.”
He’s hesitating, so I let him think for a second. “If they’re going to be here, they’re going to see us and where we’re staying. So if this is going to work, you’ll have to stay with me.”
Stay with him. In his cabin. Where he sleeps. With his bed.
Oh.
9
Leo
Diana is staying with me. In my cabin. Within reach. It’s like the universe has reached down to torture me. I’ve done nothing but fucking fantasize about her for the last two days, and it’s been taking everything I’ve got not to pull her away from her friends and fuck her up against a wall.
Having her in my space? I’m absolutely done for.
This morning I woke up so hard that I was aching, body covered in sweat from a dream about taking her slowly. Thoroughly. In every way possible.
But Diana doesn’t even hesitate. She simply changes direction and heads towards my house.
I don’t even know what to do with myself, but my body is ahead of me. I’m half hard and I need to get a grip. But she’s right there in front of me with her hips swinging and that perfect ass in those jeans. I’m definitely not going to survive the week.
