Pretend Honeymoon (Romance)

by Bella Grant

  His cock still felt uncomfortably hard, and the cool water did little to sooth it. Carter swam to the edge of the pool and pressed his hands against the still-warm stone tiles, pushing himself up out of the pool. He padded softly across the stones, leaving a trail of wet footprints to his guest house, where he pulled a towel from the cabinet in the bathroom. Looking around the small house, he imagined what it would be like to have Ava living here, to see her shadow silhouetted against the curtains from his master bedroom in the main house, to know she was sleeping, and showering, and living her life a few hundred feet away from him.

  The thought was too much, and after rubbing the towel over his wet hair, he flopped down onto the large, downy bed and returned to his fantasy from earlier that afternoon. This time, he pictured fucking Ava here, in his home, wet from the pool, her body damp and cool in the dark, her center warm and slick with desire. It didn’t take Carter long for his body to catch up with his mind, and after a day of intense arousal and maddening frustrations, Carter let out a deep moan as his cock twitched beneath the firm grip of his hand, releasing the pressure that had built in him for the last ten hours.

  Chapter 9

  Carter

  The time on the wall clock hadn’t changed since the last time Carter looked at it thirty seconds earlier. 6:47 a.m. He let out a sigh and rubbed his face with his hands. This wasn’t working. He’d had too much coffee already, an occupational hazard, but this time, the caffeine buzz was amplified by the creeping anxiety that welled up inside him.

  He pushed his chair back from his desk and walked out of his office to the balcony, where he leaned against the railing overlooking the café. He stared at the front door, where any minute now, Ava would come in from the street, from her world where she lived her life, a world he had no access to. But once she stepped across the threshold into his café, their worlds would overlap.

  Each shadowed figure that passed by the frosted glass of the café door made his heart beat faster, anticipating that it would be her hand resting on the brass doorknob, pushing against the shiny green door, stepping into his theater, the stage wherein they would play their parts.

  What was his role today? Michelle had warned him not to come on too strong for fear of spooking her. The last thing he wanted was to make Ava bolt. He needed to be patient, to let her come to him, so that was what he would do. Despite the caffeine, or adrenaline, or anxiety, or whatever it was pulsing through his veins right now, making his hands tingle and his stomach feel tight, Carter was determined to maintain his cool, collected persona.

  Cool and collected wasn’t working out that well. His fingers tapped absently on the iron banister, and when he noticed this he shoved his hands into the pockets of his blue chinos and made his way down the twisted iron staircase. Chill, man, he thought. His role today was to be her boss—he would be patient and instructive, and train her to run his business independently so he could move on to open other stores. That was it.

  Today was a new day. There would be no sexual tension from the previous night, despite the occasional twinge he felt when he thought about Ava running from the café. He needed to show her he didn’t want to take anything from her she didn’t want to give, and he would do that by backing off and maintaining a professional relationship.

  The gold bell at the top of the door tinkled and Carter’s head jerked up in response. He struggled to make out Ava’s face in the bright light pouring through the doorway around her silhouette, and after squinting at her for a few seconds, he looked down at his phone and tried to appear inconspicuous.

  “Good morning,” she said, and he thought he sensed in her an air of self-consciousness and embarrassment. Knowing she felt as uneasy as he did make him feel more comfortable.

  “Hey, good morning,” he said cheerfully, channeling all his coffee-fueled energy into being friendly. “Want a cup of coffee?”

  “That sounds amazing,” she replied. As Carter stepped behind the long, polished mahogany bar, Ava hopped onto a velvet-cushioned barstool and set her purse on the stool next to her. “Nice day, huh?” she asked nervously, as if she didn’t know what to say or how to deal with the silence that filled the space between them, punctuated by the intermittent hissing of the foam wand or trickle of the espresso portafilter.

  “Is it?” Carter asked. “I haven’t been outside yet. I got here at five, and it was still chilly and dark. Glad to hear the weather’s changing. That heatwave was too damned much.”

  “Yeah,” Ava replied, nodding, and then lowered her eyes to the counter. When he looked at her, Carter noticed her face was red, and she clearly struggled with the awkwardness. Something about her pink skin and her innocent discomfort excited him, and although he would never willingly embarrass her or do anything to make her feel unpleasant, the fact that she felt this way excited him on a level he suspected would be of interest to his therapist.

  He passed her a hazelnut macchiato and made himself a cortado. The last thing he needed right now was more coffee, but he couldn’t help himself. It was habit as much as it was an addiction, and besides, he didn’t want Ava to feel uncomfortable drinking alone. He leaned against the bar, watching her on the other side of the wooden counter. She took a sip of her coffee and smiled a slight smile—a smile he suspected was more involuntary than anything else, a response to a sensory pleasure not meant for anyone or anything but herself.

  “Do you like it?” he asked curiously.

  “Of course.” She nodded emphatically. She looked up at him, suddenly and deliberately, her large, almond eyes fixed on his, studying his face and seeking answers to the questions he knew she was too embarrassed to ask.

  He would not bring it up. He would never bring it up. What happened last night was in the past, and although the pressure of his hard cock against his leg was very much an immediate need, their encounter was not. He guessed she wondered whether he expected more from her, and whether she would be able to keep her job after running out last night, after not putting out.

  He would not bring it up. He would not dignify such a thought, even with an assurance that it was unnecessary. Carter James was not a man who needed to force his employees to sleep with him. He didn’t need to force anyone to sleep with him. That thought alone was enough to make his erection soften. Women pursued him, not the other way around. And if Ava was interested in taking things to the next level, he was game. But it was up to her to initiate it. Until then, they would proceed as usual.

  Carter was pleased to find that Ava was a quick learner. She was bright and intelligent. She knew what questions to ask and what answers she could deduce on her own. She retained the massive amounts of information that he unloaded on her during the course of her training, or most of it, at least.

  By Thursday, Carter felt comfortable stepping back to let her handle most situations on her own, supervising without interfering. As he watched her, he noticed that people responded well to her. Some of his other managers were too business-like or impersonal, and while they were highly efficient in their jobs, they did not cultivate the atmosphere of hospitality he desired for his shops.

  Ava was different. She seemed genuinely happy to be where she was, happy to have this job, happy to spend her days in this beautiful building. When Carter sent her off on her own to do independent tasks, he watched from his office window as she examined the intricate details of his shop. When she removed a wilted flower from the bouquet on the counter, arranging the remaining stems to compensate for its loss, Carter knew she had the attention to detail he required to run his flagship store. His instinct was correct.

  When the Friday afternoon rush had passed, he called her to his office for a review. She looked nervous as she settled into his leather office chair, and he smiled reassuringly.

  “Since the week is almost over, I wanted to check in with you and see how things are going,” he said encouragingly. “How are you feeling about the position so far?”

  “I’m feeling good,” Ava said enthusiastically.
“Awesome, actually. I love this job. I didn’t know if I’d be any good at it, but I think I am, and I don’t know… I guess this job makes me happy. I’ve had a lot of crappy jobs, and that probably makes this one seem even more magical.”

  She was quiet for a moment before adding, “I can’t thank you enough for this opportunity. It’s changing my life. I wish you could understand how much it means to me. I never thought I’d be this kind of person—you know, like, a manager of some fancy business. Growing up, I was told I had no opportunities and that I needed to know my place in life. Mateo was the only person who ever challenged me to want more for myself.”

  Carter was about to ask who Mateo was, but he restrained himself and let her continue. Now was not the time to interrupt her with his jealousy, not when she was talking to him.

  “And I finally did start to wonder what else I could do in life, and this incredible guy gives me this incredible job. It all seems too good to be true.” When she looked up at him, her lashes were fringed with tears.

  What was she saying? Despite her openness and gratitude, he was hesitant to presume she meant more by her words than the face value of them. She was grateful, and he was happy to help her achieve something more for herself because she was a smart, capable woman who was dealt an unfair hand in life. If anyone deserved a lucky break, it was Ava.

  Something about her words and the way she looked at him with a mixture of affection and gratitude on her face made him wonder if she was coming on to him or if he was imagining it. It wasn’t obvious enough to know for sure, and he would not make the mistake of acting prematurely on his impulses again.

  Still, her openness made Carter feel optimistic that there might still be something between them. He couldn’t stop thinking about their encounter that night in the cafe, and although he was resolute in keeping his distance until she broke the barrier, he wanted to seem as open to it as possible. Therefore, he needed to be friendly and accessible, creating a safe space in which they could get to know each other. He was about to ask her what her plans were for the weekend when her phone rang.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, looking excitedly at the phone. “I need to take this. Do you mind if I go on my break early?”

  “No, of course not,” Carter said, masking his disappointment. “We’re all set here.”

  As he turned his attention to his account books, Ava vacated his office. As soon as she was out the door, he heard her answer her phone with a delighted “hey!” The greeting made him feel oddly jealous of whomever it was on the other end of the line, and although jealousy was not a feeling he ever wished to indulge, he couldn’t help but consider the possibility that maybe she had another man in her life. Perhaps that was why she’d left so fast.

  The more Carter thought about it, the more he felt like an asshole. Of course she was seeing someone. A girl like Ava wouldn’t stay single for long. It explained so much about their interaction together. Clearly, the reason she ran away that night was because she hadn’t felt comfortable with their physical encounter. He weighed the possibility that she was afraid of him because he was her boss, but that vibe had never been in the air. He hadn’t acted like a predator.

  No, the only logical reason he could come up with was that she’d left that night because she was involved with another man, the man she was happily chatting with on the phone, sitting on the green velvet settee by the window. How Carter could have missed that fact was hard for him to understand, since he considered himself a fairly astute person.

  He replayed their moments from that week of training and tried to pinpoint the clues he had missed. It frustrated him when he could not identify any. Rather, there were several moments that seemed to support the idea that she was single. She had mentioned living alone, that she was contemplating getting a roommate but resisting because she was a private person, and that she was lonely sometimes. None of this led him to believe she had a boyfriend.

  Having mentally exhausted what now felt like a very unpleasant topic, Carter closed his laptop and flipped the accounts book closed a little harder than he meant to. The soft whomp of the book’s cover jolted him back to reality, and he took a few, deep breaths, calming himself before leaving the office. He took a moment to tidy his desk before turning off the lights and locking the door behind him.

  As he descended the iron staircase, he saw Ava still in the corner, talking happily. Instead of interrupting her, Carter decided to leave instructions with his head barista.

  “Danielle, I’m going home. Would you please ask Ava to close the shop tonight? Make sure the inventory is done, the fridges prepped for tomorrow, and she knows how to cash out the till. And let her know that if she has any questions, to please call or text me.”

  “Of course, Mr. James,” Danielle said, flashing a row of perfect, white teeth as she smiled. All his baristas were attractive, although not by design. They just happened to be the people who had the most experience and were qualified for the job. But the fact that Danielle was tanned and thin, with large breasts and a beautiful smile, was just the kind of distraction Carter needed at the moment. Anything to distract him from Ava’s silvery laugh tinkling across the café.

  “Good night, Danielle,” he said, giving her a smile he usually reserved for the women he dated. He was pleased by the effect it had on her and the instant bloom of pink on her tanned face. But even as he put his hand on the doorknob, he couldn’t help but look at Ava, who was not looking at him at all but rather chatting happily, picking a dead leaf from a fern.

  Chapter 10

  Ava

  Ava’s new routine suited her well. On Mondays, she studied and attended class, where she was beginning to excel. After years of feeling directionless, simply going through the motions, she started to hone in on what she actually wanted to do with her career—work as a manager in sales. Before her class, she marched to the Business department and filled out the paperwork to declare her major.

  Tuesday through Saturday, she worked at the café. The relief she felt from having somewhere to be and something to do was enormous, and her whole body felt lighter, as if a crippling weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Although the work was difficult, both physically and mentally, Ava felt capable and strong, and she viewed each new challenge as an occasion to rise to rather than one to be defeated by. More than once, she caught herself humming absently with the music from the gramophone, her happiness effusive.

  At the end of her second week, Carter leaned over the balcony railing, calling down to the café where she tidied tables. “Ava, come up to my office when you have a minute.”

  Ava bounded up the spiral staircase, practically bouncing into his office. “You’re in a good mood,” he commented with a smile when he saw her.

  “I can’t help it.” She grinned, trying to compose herself. “What can I do for you?”

  “I have your paycheck,” he replied, handing her a small envelope. “And I wanted to tell you that you’re doing a great job and I appreciate your energy. It’s having a good influence on the staff. Keep it up.”

  As soon as she left the office, she tore into the envelope and pulled out the check. “Holy shit!” she whispered. The number on the check stunned her. She knew how much she was making, but seeing it on a tangible check felt entirely different. For the first time in her life, she felt self-sufficient. She had a cushion. She wasn’t destitute, living hand to mouth. She leaned her head against the brick wall and closed her eyes, taking a moment to send her gratitude into the universe.

  On her lunch break, she skipped to the bank to open her first account, putting half the money in checking and half in savings. A savings account was a luxury Ava had never expected to enjoy, and the satisfaction she felt, walking away with her deposit slip, was a feeling she wanted to hold onto forever. She pulled out her phone and dialed Mateo.

  “Hey!” he answered on the second ring. “What’s up?”

  “You’ll never believe what I just did,” she replied, her voice pitched
high with excitement.

  “What?” he asked eagerly.

  “I just put fifteen-hundred dollars in the bank,” she replied with a little squeal.

  “Seriously?” Mateo asked, astonished. “How did that happen?”

  “That job I was telling you about? I just got my first paycheck. I mean, I knew he was paying me a lot, but I didn’t quite realize how much until I got my paycheck. It’s insane.”

  “That’s amazing. Way to go, dude!”

  “Yeah, I can’t believe it. I mean, if I keep this up I’ll be able to… I don’t know. Move out? Buy a car? Have some kind of freedom? It’s a game-changer.”

  “It sounds like it. This job sounds too good to be true.”

  “It kind of is,” Ava replied. She considered telling Mateo about the incident with Carter but decided against it. She didn’t want to ruin this happy moment with a cautionary speech. Instead, she asked, “How’s Harvard? Are you a judge yet?”

  “Not yet,” Mateo replied with a laugh. “Harvard is awesome. I can’t even begin to describe it. It’s like you know that if you ever had a chance of changing the world, this is the place to do it. You know?”

  Ava didn’t know, but she couldn’t bring herself to admit it. “Yeah,” she replied enthusiastically. “That’s amazing. You’ll do it, too.”

  “I miss you like crazy, though,” he said emphatically, his voice growing serious. “It’s super hard being here without you. You’re my family, and you feel a million miles away. Now that you’re loaded, when are you going to come visit me?”