The Boyfriend Arrangement: A Fake Marriage Romance

by Lara Swann

I laughed and shook my head.

  “No, this place was styled specially after the owners’ passion. And they’re not actually friends - I barely know them. We just get tickets sometimes.”

  “Good thing too…because there are things I want to do to you on that dance floor that friends of your father probably shouldn’t see.”

  Heat shot through me at the look in his eyes and I stepped closer instinctively, feeling good beyond belief that we were out together like this.

  “Talking of…how come he let up on wanting to keep you safe after that little road trip?”

  That was a polite way to say confined me to the house. Seth really was making an effort. I just shrugged as we explored together, getting the lay of the place.

  “I think he was appreciative after the gala went off smoothly - mentioned that he’d got these tickets and encouraged me to go. That was his way of saying he was over it.”

  Of course, he’d suggested taking Kaylee, but still…

  We spent a bit of time enjoying the food and wine, chatting easily with each other as we watched the other couples mingling and starting to dance. It was a fairly relaxed atmosphere, but the whole style was very traditional and olde-worlde. Something I’d always adored, and it meant a lot that Seth seemed willing to go along with it. We managed - barely - to keep our hands off each other and avoid doing anything inappropriate, but then Seth finally dragged me over to the dance floor, and I got what I’d wanted for far too long.

  As it turned out, Seth could dance. Maybe not the old, traditional styles of some of the dances they did here, but he knew enough of the basics to make it work and then he just…kind of made it up from there.

  I had no idea whether it was military training or his own natural grace, but his body melded against mine perfectly and as we twirled and turned it was everything I’d imagined it would be.

  “God, Seth…where did you learn…?”

  He just laughed, the deep vibrations running across my chest as he maneuvered my body as easily as he did during any other activity. The adrenaline and excitement from feeling like I was soaring with him was almost too much.

  “Someone told me seduction was born on the dance floor…I’ve always rather liked that notion.”

  I could damn well see that as we stepped together with a confidence and accuracy I hadn’t expected before this evening, his hands lightly flitting between my waist, my shoulders and my arms. He was never in one place, never doing one thing at once, and I was mesmerized to be part of it.

  We stayed on that dance floor longer than I would have imagined possible, neither one of us wanting to let go of the insistent movement of our bodies against one another, my pulse beating hard as lust stirred through my blood. It was a slow, sensual build - a long tease, and by the time we paused for a breath, my panties were soaked with anticipation.

  We headed back to the buffet tables, but I almost wanted to leave then and there - go home with him and live out all the promises his body had just made.

  I was about to say something to that effect when he paused, shifting slightly away from me. He murmured quietly as he reached across me to get another piece of cheese.

  “Kaylee just walked in behind you.”

  My blood froze, the hot desire replaced by a sudden anxiety. I looked up at him, wondering what we should do, but we didn’t get a chance to discuss it.

  “Bella! I didn’t know you were coming tonight!”

  I turned to greet her with a smile that was a lot more forced than usual.

  “Kaylee - how did you get tickets?”

  Her eyes just twinkled.

  “I have my ways, you know that babe. Your father manage to pull them out of nowhere again?”

  “Yeah—”

  “Seth! You’re here too!”

  I rolled my eyes at her excitement, glad that Seth replied smoothly before I had to try and lie. I was terrible at that stuff.

  “Yes, Terence suggested I escort Bella - meet some of the people here.”

  She glanced between us, and I hoped like hell she couldn’t read the way our bodies were still bursting with the excitement and lust of the dance. Before she got a chance to say anything else, a tall, dark-haired man came up behind us and put a casual hand on her shoulder, pulling her into him. His eyes looked us over briefly and raised an eyebrow at Kaylee.

  “Friends of yours?”

  Something about him rubbed me the wrong way, but Kaylee laughed lightly and leaned into him, nodding and waving to us.

  “Yeah, this is Bella - I’ve known her forever - and Seth, her stepbrother. Guys, this is Darren.”

  I nodded to him, and we exchanged pleasantries for a few brief moments, before he mentioned getting something to drink and they drifted away. There were unspoken questions in Kaylee’s eyes as she let herself be led off, but as I looked over at them both, I started thinking it might be mutual.

  “Did you like that guy?”

  It was a stupid question, since we’d met him for all of two minutes, so I was surprised by Seth’s blunt answer.

  “No.”

  I turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow, more concerned that he’d confirmed my assessment than I wanted to think about.

  I thought it more than likely my snap judgment would prove false - but Seth’s instincts? I didn’t argue with those. He just shrugged though, and put an arm back around me.

  “Gave me a bad vibe - plus, he looked at you the wrong way. But your friend seems like the kind of girl who can take care of herself.”

  I nodded, slightly distracted, but let him slowly move me back to the dance floor. Once there, I hesitated, glancing back in the direction Kaylee had left.

  “Seth…”

  “One dance. To get you back in that mood I was so looking forward to enjoying later tonight. And then we’ll leave, promise.”

  I couldn’t argue with that, and as we melted back into the slightly faster dances that were starting up now, the tension left my body. I could get to the bottom of Darren later - this evening was about Seth and I. The dance did everything he’d said it would, and by the time we slipped away, laughing and breathing lightly, my body was on fire with anticipation.

  It had been as much as I could have asked for from a night out with him, and I was light with happiness and laughter.

  He didn’t waste any time in getting us home, and once we were back, we spent the night fulfilling every promise our bodies had made on the dance floor.

  * * *

  The loud ringing of the phone sitting on my nightstand made me jump, reaching for it with a groan as Seth’s arms tried to pull me back towards him. His voice was still sleepy as he murmured in my ear.

  “D’you have to get that?”

  I glanced at the caller ID and groaned.

  “It’s Kaylee - if I don’t she’ll probably come by with a megaphone and stage a protest outside the window.”

  He grunted, but there was amusement in it as I rolled away from him and tried to sit up, hoping to hell he didn’t say anything. There was no good reason for Kaylee to hear his voice at 8am in the morning.

  “Morning Kaylee - isn’t this a little early for you?”

  “Wanted to let you know I’m coming round.”

  How very generous.

  “What?”

  “I need to talk to you, babe. It’s important. And I haven’t seen you in what seems like forever.”

  “I saw you last night, Kay.”

  The thought of that - the way she’d looked between Seth and I and said not a word - gave me an uneasy feeling about what she wanted to talk about.

  “Really seen you. We barely exchanged two words, and—”

  “Yes, yes, okay.”

  There was no point arguing - I’d rather get back to a few minutes with the sexy man in my bed than have a conversation that would only end one way anyway. And besides, she had a point - we hadn’t exactly seen much of each other this summer.

  “When’re you arriving?”

  “
Umm…half an hour.”

  “Okay, see you then.”

  Seth squinted at me with a dubious look, and I clicked the phone off without waiting for Kaylee to say anything else, or we’d get into whatever she wanted to talk about before she’d even arrived.

  “Kaylee’s invited herself round. Since I’ve been rather…distracted recently, it’s probably only fair, even if I was looking forward to my morning in bed with you.”

  I smiled at him, shifting over onto his chest and kissing my way up from his eagles to his mouth. He held my hips and maneuvered me for a deep kiss before withdrawing.

  “It’s alright, I’ve got a few things I need to take care of back at base anyway. Though if you keep that up, I’m not gonna care if she bursts down the door, baby.”

  I laughed and pushed at him, reaching over for a hair tie as I started thinking about getting up before she got here. He caught my hand and ran his other through the thick strands, playing with them as they curled over my breasts. He pulled me back to nestle against him and looked at me with sudden curiosity.

  “Why do you bother with that? I’m just going to take it down again anyway. I fucking love your hair like this - wild and free. Suits you.”

  The unexpected words hit me and I hesitated as confused feelings surfaced. I knew he liked my hair better down, but…

  “Just habit, I guess. I always grew up with it like this.”

  He raised an eyebrow and I sighed, settling back against the pillows.

  “You’ll think me stupid.”

  “Well, now you have to tell me. I’ve been looking for an excuse to think you’re stupid since I first met you, baby.”

  Against my better judgment, I laughed and shook my head. Then I gave in, and reached across to the dresser drawer beside my bed, pulling out an old framed photograph. I brought it over and showed him the slightly taller, older looking version of myself.

  “This is my mother. Was. She’s only a few years older than me in that photo.”

  Something struck me and I paused.

  “God…in a few years’ time I’ll be older than she ever was. That’s a…really disturbing thought. I don’t feel old enough to be my mother’s age. I don’t think I ever realized just how young she was.”

  Seth’s embrace had become gentle, and I leaned into it as he looked at the photo. She was standing with a huge smile in front of the new home my father had just bought - bright eyes shining and long red-hair flowing down over her shoulders.

  “You look so similar.”

  I nodded, my smile slightly bittersweet.

  “I know - apart from the height, we could pretty much be the same person. She’s got slightly finer features, but…yeah. I got her looks, I guess.”

  He stroked my back as he waited for me to continue, but it wasn’t my mother that was making me pause. I didn’t have any memories of her, after all - didn’t really feel anything for her except that old longing to have had her.

  “So anyway, my hair. I tended to keep it short or put it back while I was growing up - easier to keep out of the way. But in high school, I grew it out, fancying the idea of it. Until my father saw it, the way it fell and curled at the ends…like my mother. He said it didn’t suit me, and I was devastated in only the way a teenage girl could be. He’d never really commented on my appearance - didn’t care about that stuff - so when he said that, I thought it must be terrible. I went running to my grandma - my mother’s Mom - and when she heard what had happened, she gave me this photo, and told me about them. He’d never talked about it - answered a few basic questions, but he didn’t like to discuss her. It was always my grandma that talked to me about her. Thought I should know, I guess. And when I was little, it helped. Imagining her.”

  I could feel the slight tension in his body, the way he’d tightened up at the mention of my father. I hesitated to have said something else to make Seth disapprove, especially as I didn’t blame my father for it. Not really - it had been a slip of the tongue, and after my grandma had talked to me, I’d understood.

  “He really loved her, Seth. Like, you know how calm and collected he is these days? Apparently back then he was wild and passionate - determined to change the world with her. Losing her broke his heart and I don’t think he’s ever gotten over it, you know. Even now, with Cora…I think when my mother died he lost a part of himself. It’s the way I always pictured love to be - they’re silly and romantic notions, the idea of soul-mates and true love, but I grew up with everything they had pointing towards it. I believed. But it wasn’t always a nice belief. Everyone wants to believe in true love, in a force that powerful, but no one ever thinks about what it would be like if it was real and you lost it. When you see it like that…it feels just as dangerous as it is magical.”

  His arms were tight around me and I stopped talking, suddenly realizing what I was saying. My mind flicked back to my conversation with Becky only a few days before and I shuddered, a ball of unease tightening around my stomach. I shook my head.

  “Anyway, that’s just me being silly. But my point is, he loved her - and in the end, I remind him of her. All the time, I think, and I’m not quite sure how he deals with it. I killed her, and now he has to live with me looking like her, acting like her…so, the way I figure it, trying not to remind him of those similarities - it’s no big deal.”

  I was getting choked up, emotional, but then I’d never talked to anyone about this stuff. It had been a stupid idea to start the conversation.

  He took the photo away from me and pulled me into his arms, taking us back down to lie on the bed as he kissed me gently, but I could see the shadows in his eyes.

  “What do you mean, you killed her?”

  This time a small sob did escape and I shook my head, burying it against his chest.

  “She died in childbirth. Giving birth. To me.”

  “Ohh baby. My baby-Bella. No. You didn’t kill her, my love. That’s…that’s a tragic accident. It’s not your fault.”

  His voice was rough, and I could hear a mirror to my own sadness in it.

  He was right, of course. I knew that. I always had, and my grandma had told me again and again after I’d found out.

  But somehow, I’d never quite been able to forgive myself for it. If it wasn’t for me, my mother would be alive. My father would be happy.

  That feeling had only grown since my grandma had passed away a few years ago, and until now I hadn’t realized just how much difference it made to be able to talk about it.

  To have someone there to make it all better.

  He held me like that for a few minutes, and I was shocked how good it felt to say these things and be comforted, to have his arms around me and the safety and protection of his touch. His voice. His uncompromising care and affection. His love.

  When I started to pull away to get up, he let me go, but his eyes followed me.

  “And I don’t think you’re stupid for that, Bella. I think you’re wonderful.”

  I laughed at him, but stopped when I met his eyes, and saw how serious he was, letting the way he felt about me wrap around me like a warm blanket.

  * * *

  “So what was so urgent, Kay?”

  We were sat by the pool again, but with the early morning sun and slightly different tone, had forgone swimwear, content with t-shirts and shorts. Kaylee was sat up on her deckchair, feet swung to the side of it as she looked at me, elbows on her knees. True to her word, her expression was serious.

  “Tell me what’s going on, Bella.”

  That unease started in my gut again, but I ignored it.

  “With what?”

  “Seth.”

  Her eyes caught mine and my heart jumped into my throat. It was too much to hope that my observant best friend hadn’t picked up on it last night, but still…

  “What about Seth?”

  Those deep blue eyes flashed and she reached over to poke me.

  “C’mon Bella - I saw you last night, when you were practically burning the ho
use down together. Not to mention that night at sea, and every little vibe I’ve picked up on since. You haven’t seen me all summer. I can understand why you’d want to keep this under wraps - but it’s me. Kaylee. I thought we told each other everything, and here I am having to pry this out of you bit by bit!”

  She was getting worked up - her little tirades always ended in a passionate exclamation. A loud passionate exclamation. I glanced around hurriedly, but there was no one nearby. I wasn’t even sure there was anyone in the house, for that matter.

  Thank god.

  “Okay, okay, I’m sorry.”

  “Are you going to tell me all, or am I going to have to drag it out of you, babe?”

  I laughed and shook my head at her.

  “There’s not much to tell. Yes, we’re kind of…seeing each other—”

  “Not much to tell! For fuck’s sake, Bella - you’re sleeping with your stepbrother. You. The girl who never stepped out of line in her life. Sure, he’s one of the hottest things I’ve seen cross my path, but you! You can’t just shrug and say ‘yeah, so that happened’.”

  I laughed and sighed almost simultaneously, shaking my head.

  “Fine, but shut the hell up about it, would you?”

  I started describing everything that had happened between us - starting with that time back in school - and hadn’t realized how good it would be to get it all off my chest. Especially since Kaylee had always been an appreciative audience - knowing when to ooh and aah and also when to shut up and listen. When I was finally done, she was grinning, and I felt relieved in a way I hadn’t since this whole thing started. Trust Kaylee not to judge me for any of it.

  “I’m so fucking pleased for you, Bella. Really. And sorry about all the times I said I wanted to bone him. Unless it convinced you to - in which case, I figure you can thank me.”

  I laughed and shook my head, reaching for the peach juice we’d carried out here.

  “No worries, Kay - I fully understand the sentiment.”

  “Seriously. About time you got something you wanted. You are serious about him, right?”

  I bit my lip, flushing a little, but the nod was easy - I couldn’t deny what had been growing between us the last week. Hell, the last couple of months. And I didn’t want to.