by Gemma Weir
“No?” Fitzy asks.
“Hell no, that’s…” I trail off, unsure how to diplomatically say she looks too much like her sister in that outfit.
“This is more my sister’s style than mine,” Tally quietly offers, a sad smile tipping at the corners of her pouty lips.
Fitzy nods, tilting his head to the side and assesses her. “Okay, go change. I have something that I think you’ll love.”
Tally disappears again and Fitzy shuffles the garment bags, pulling items from a few different bags and then handing them off behind the screen.
Lifting my fork up, I scoop some food from my plate and try really hard not to focus on the screen and the fact that I’m pretty sure she’s naked, or almost naked behind there. Quicker than before she appears, a wide smile on her face as she looks down at her outfit. She’s wearing denim overalls that finish just above her ankle. They should look ridiculous, but actually cling to her every curve. Beneath them is a simple white vest paired with a black leather biker jacket that looks soft and comfortable.
“This, I love this,” Tally says excitably, running her hand over the arm of the jacket.
“Okay, I think I get it now. Take that off and I’ll get the next outfit ready,” Fitzy orders and she pouts adorably.
“But I love this,” she says.
Fitzy’s smile is indulgent and soft in a way he very rarely displays. “Don’t worry, you can put it back on later if you want, but I need you to try some other things first.”
She sighs, then nods. “Can I at least have my coffee first?”
He agrees and turns to the rail to start pulling items from the bags again.
“Here,” Olly says, jumping up from his seat, grabbing her drink from the coffee table and handing it to her.
“Thank you,” she says smiling at him, and an unreasonable bout of annoyance hits me, but I’m not sure why.
She takes a sip, then a second, moaning lightly in pleasure when the rich coffee fills her mouth. “God, real creamer; we only have the stupid no fat stuff at home.”
“Come on, darling, we have more to try,” Fitzy calls and she reluctantly puts her coffee down and dutifully disappears behind the screen again.
I busy myself with my food as the guys, including Olly, go and make their own plates as we chat about nothing in particular and wait for her to appear again. Normally the idea of shopping or being in anyway involved in the purchasing of clothes is boring at hell, yet this fashion show Tally is putting on for us is fascinating.
The next outfit is skinny jeans and a black and white patterned shirt that she’s just tucked at the front, the back hanging loose over her ass. After that she tries on a beautiful black dress that is so short all of her legs are on display, making me both pissed and tempted at the same time. Outfit after outfit, her smile gets bigger with each one, as Fitzy grins and laughs with her.
When she appears in a formal outfit, a gold fitted crop-top and long skirt, I almost drop my plate. The outfit only shows two or three inches of exposed stomach, but hints at so much more and I have to lower my plate over my dick to hide the fucking erection I’m sporting.
“Fuck,” I hear one of the guys hiss, and I spin around and glare at them before I even consider why the fuck I’m getting territorial over a girl that isn’t fucking mine, or at least not mine in anything other than this fake engagement I’ve forced her into.
Tally spins around, the long flowy, but structured skirt floating out and making her look like a fucking society princess. “I hate formalwear, but this, I want to find a ball to go to just so I can wear this dress,” she cries happily.
Words rise unbidden in my throat, words to offer to take her to a ball. Hell, I’ll fucking throw one in her honor if she wears that fucking outfit and I get to touch her in it. But I swallow them down, because I’m using her and she knows it, and as much as my dick is feeling like all of this is real between us, it’s not, and I need to keep reminding myself of that.
“We need to get going, we’re scheduled to sail in an hour,” I say to the room.
“Go, you don’t need to wait for me. I can just get Greg to come and fetch me,” Tally says with a wave of her hand.
“Who the fuck is Greg?” Olly growls and I feel my eyes widen in shock. What the hell does he think he’s doing getting fucking possessive over my fiancée?
“My driver,” Tally says, her brow furrowed in confusion.
“I’ll take you home later, you’re coming out with us,” I say, shocking myself a little. With the way my dick is behaving around her, I really should just let her go, but honestly, I don’t fucking want to. I want her to come with us. I want to see her relax and have fun, and more than that, I don’t want her to have to deal with her toxic family.
“I can’t, my mom and dad, Carrigan,” she says shakily.
“Will still be there later and honestly what difference is a few more hours going to make? Come with us, then I’ll do what I can to smooth things over with your family.”
“I,” she starts.
“Go, the outfit I picked for you is too cute not to be used,” Fitzy says, winking at Tally.
“I,” she says again.
“You’re coming, that’s it, so go get changed and eat while we get ready,” I say talking over her and making the decision for her.
With one last look she lets Fitzy guide her back behind the screen.
Handing off the beautiful ballgown to Fitzy, I dutifully take the pale-yellow lingerie he hands me and pull it on, then dress in the shorts and yellow shirt I tried on first. It’s strange how in such a short space of time he’s managed to put together outfits that feel like I picked them myself. Except for that one dress, everything he’s chosen is my style and nothing like the Carrigan replica clothes my mom insists I wear when I leave the house.
“You decent?” Fitzy calls.
“Yeah,” I say, sliding my feet into the butter-soft leather boat shoes he paired with this outfit.
His sweet face appears around the screen and there’s just something so caring and fatherly about him that I throw myself at him, flinging my arms around his shoulders as I hug him. He doesn’t hesitate to pull me close and hug me back, rubbing my back soothingly.
He pulls back, but doesn’t release me, his brow furrowed, his eyes soft and reassuring. “I don’t know all the details about what’s going on between you and Arlo, but if you need me to go big bad godfather on that stupid boy out there you just let me know.”
I laugh softly. “Thank you, but I’m still hoping I can convince him how stupid all these lies are and get him to tell my family the truth.”
“Where’s your cell?” he asks.
“Err, upstairs I think.”
“Go grab it and all your hair and makeup things and I’ll get you all sorted while you eat.”
“You don’t need to,” I start, but the words fall away at the look on Fitzy’s face. “Okay, thank you. Why are you being so nice to me?” I ask.
A sadness fills his expression. “Because you’re engaged to my idiot of a godson, so that makes you my goddaughter, and because I think we met for a reason and maybe that’s because you need me.”
I don’t say anything, because I know that if I open my mouth I’m going to cry, so I just clamp my trembling lips together and nod. His arms pull me back in for another hug and I realize that maybe something good might have come from all the chaos Arlo has caused after all.
“Come on then, darling, you need to eat,” he says, guiding me from behind the screen. “Arlo, I’ll add all of this to your bill. It’s the least you can do for your fiancée,” Fitzy says with a wink.
“Seems fair to me; anything else you think she needs just organize for her too,” Arlo says. “Just nothing in pink.”
My head pops up and I stare at him. “Why no pink?” I ask.
“Because your sister wears pink and I don’t want you to wear anything that she would like. You’re more beautiful and far more unique that she is. There’s no need
to do anything like she would when you’re indescribably more interesting just being yourself,” he replies easily, his stormy eyes locked with mine.
My lips part and my mouth falls open as I feel tears well in my eyes. He’s openly using me and I’ve no doubt there will be vicious consequences when I get home, but what he just said to me means more than he could ever possibly understand. For so long my family have told me that I’m unimportant, that all of our focus should be on Carrigan, because her future is so much bigger than mine and he just undermined all of that with one sentence.
Blinking away the stupid tears that are threatening to fall, I flash him a shaky smile and escape the room as quickly as I can.
An hour later, I follow the guys out of the house and climb into the back of Arlo’s Range Rover, with Olly on one side, Carson on the other, and me squashed in the middle as we fly down the highway to the docks and Carson’s yacht.
The huge automatic gates slide open when we arrive and Arlo steers us into a parking space and kills the engine before climbing out. I follow Olly, taking his hand when he offers to help me climb down from the huge SUV and then wait for the rest of the guys to follow suit.
“There she is,” Carson says excitedly, pointing to a huge shiny yacht that’s glistening in the sunny fall morning. The weather is still mild and I slide the sunglasses Fitzy gave me over my eyes to shield from the sun reflecting off the water as I take in the rest of the marina.
Rows and rows of impressive shiny boats are lined up ahead of us and I breathe deeply, inhaling the familiar briny smell of the water as Carson impatiently paces, obviously ready to get going. Olly reaches for my hand again, but Arlo drapes his arm across my shoulders and smiles down at me. “You ready?”
I nod and he guides me forward and away from the car until we reach a metal gangplank that leads from the dock up onto the huge yacht.
Carson leads the way, rushing up onto the boat and then grinning widely as he greets an older man dressed in a white uniform. “Mr. Windsor, she’s all ready. As soon as your guests are all aboard we can get going. Would you like to helm out of the docks, or shall I go ahead and get us into clear water?”
“Matthew, you already know Arlo, Watson, and Olly, but let me introduce you to Tallulah Archibald.” Carson says, his voice polite as he gestures to me.
“Good morning, Miss Archibald. Welcome aboard The Escape.” Matthew says.
“Thank you.”
“I’ll helm thanks, and I know the guys want to crew, so if you could let control know that we’re ready, we’ll get going,” Carson says confidently.
“Yes, sir,” Matthew says, nodding efficiently before disappearing inside the boat.
“Let’s get this motherfucking show on the road,” Carson shouts with a grin and all the guys cheer in response as I watch in confusion.
“We’re all going to crew, so you can either sit out here while we get into clear water, or inside; your choice,” Arlo says, dropping his arm from my shoulders and turning to face me.
“I’ll stay out here, if that’s okay?” I ask.
“Cool, go with Carson. There are some seats up by the wheel,” Arlo says, then moves away and starts winding a handle, the muscles flexing in his arms.
Carson’s smile is wider than I’ve seen on him so far. This boat is obviously his happy place and he’s practically jogging on the spot as he grabs my hand and hauls me across the front of the boat to the huge wheel halfway down. “You can sit over there,” he says, pointing to a leather seating area off to the side and I immediately lower myself into the seat and watch as the guys bustle around doing things with ropes and shouting things back and forth in a way that says they’ve done this all a hundred times before.
Matthew appears a minute later and speaks to Carson, then he crosses to where we boarded and unties the ropes holding the walkway to the boat, passing it off to a man I hadn’t noticed standing on the dock.
Several moments of busy action passes as I watch the guys—all dressed in simple shorts and polo shirts—maneuver the huge yacht away from the dock and out of the marina into the open water of the lake. The wind whips against my face and my hair blows behind me as the boat effortlessly eats up the water, moving quickly, until the marina and all the boats are nothing more than dots in the distance.
When I’m sure I won’t be in the way, I stand up and move closer to the roped off edge of the yacht, looking down into the dark-blue water beneath us and the waves hitting the boat as we glide across the lake.
“What do you think?” Carson asks, his smile still wide on his face.
“I love it,” I answer honestly.
“Do you want to steer for a bit?” He asks.
“Really?”
“Yeah, come here,” he says, laughing at my very obvious enthusiasm.
Carefully, I walk over to him and he talks me through how to steer and how to see which direction we’re heading in. The boat’s wheel is huge, and I grip it tightly, then experimentally turn it one way, watching in surprise as the huge yacht responds to my command.
“You’re a natural,” Carson says, as he drops into the seats I was in before and stretches out his legs, tipping his head back and basking in the warm sun and cool wind.
“Hey, I don’t really know what I’m doing,” I cry when he actually closes his eyes.
His laugh is carefree and light. “We’re in the middle of fucking huge lake without another boat in sight. You’ll be fine.”
A giggle falls from my lips and I turn to look ahead, my own smile almost as big as his. He takes over steering after a while and I carefully make my way to the front of the boat and find Arlo and Olly stood watching the water and chatting.
“Hey,” Arlo says when he sees me approaching.
“Hey.”
“You having fun?” He asks.
I nod, “Yeah, this is awesome. Thank you for forcing me to come.”
“There are some perks to this whole fake fiancée thing,” he says dryly.
“Yeah, about that.”
“Tally, just don’t. I’m not gonna change my mind and I’ve already told you what I’ll do if you tell your family.”
“You’re an asshole,” I hiss, bracing my hands on my hips as I glare at him. “You’d really tell my family I orchestrated all of this and destroy my relationship with them?”
“What fucking relationship?” He snarls. “They pretend you don’t exist. You’re fucking scared of them.”
“I’m not scared of them,” I cry unconvincingly.
“Bullshit. I saw the way you were looking at them last night. I saw the fear in your eyes.”
“You just threw me under a fucking bus with them, then blackmailed me to keep my mouth shut. My family might not be the nicest of people, but you’re exactly the same,” I shout, turning and walking away before he has chance to say anything else.
Bypassing Carson at the wheel, I stomp through the door and into the boat’s living quarters, pausing slightly to take in the opulent state room I just entered. Soft creams with rich woods and muted tones cover the space in a way that screams luxury. Ignoring the décor, I throw myself down onto one of the couches and cover my face with my hands. I’m screwed. I believed that maybe I could reason with Arlo, that I could make him see how stupid this whole fake engagement is.
A light scoff falls from my lips and I lower my hands and let my head fall back against the couch cushion. If I had a better relationship with my mom, dad, and Carrigan, his blackmail wouldn’t work. If we were a normal family and I had a normal sibling/daughter role, there’d be no question of my family believing I didn’t orchestrate this, but the truth is I don’t.
All of this has shone a light on the fact that my parents don’t give a fuck about me. If any of that money was coming my way, maybe they would, but it isn’t, and money is everything. Hot anger bubbles up and for a moment this lie, this stupid fake engagement seems worthwhile, that fucking with them is worth it.
The bravado dissolves quicker t
han it should and I sigh, because he won’t let me out of this stupid arrangement and he’s right, my family will always believe him over me.
“Tallulah,” a low voice says from the doorway.
I look up expecting to see Arlo, but instead Olly is watching me, a cautious smile hitching the corners of his lips. “You okay?”
I shake my head, my bottom lip trembling slightly.
Closing the distance between us, he pulls me into an unexpected hug, holding me against his chest as he rubs soothing circles on my back. “I’ll talk to him, see if I can make him see sense,” he whispers into my hair.
At his words, the tears I’ve managed to hold back until now finally fall and I shudder against him as silent sobs wrack through me.
“I’m sorry, Tally. This was all just supposed to be a joke. I’m so sorry,” he soothes, as he pulls me tighter, stroking my hair.
After a minute, I pull away from him, wiping the tears from my cheeks as I take a shaky breath and try to get myself together. “How long are we going to be out on the water for?” I ask, my voice raspy.
“Most of the day.”
“Is there a bedroom I can use?” I ask, needing to be alone to sort myself out. “I swear I’m not normally this pathetic.”
“You don’t seem pathetic, Tally. You seem pissed off, and sad and alone,” Olly says, his eyes downcast.
A dry humorless laugh bursts free and I nod. “Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.”
“Come on, I’ll show you to one of the rooms. Lunch won’t be ready for a couple of hours.”
Pushing up from the couch, I wipe my eyes again and force a shaky smile to my lips. “Thank you,” I say, touching his arm. “I don’t know why you’re being nice to me, but I really appreciate it.”
“I’ll try to get him to drop this. We can think of another way around Carrigan,” he says, like he really thinks it’s an option.
I don’t say anything else and he leads me to a bedroom, casting a worried glance in my direction before he leaves me. I close and lock the door behind him.
