Arranged Love

by Lacey Wolfe

  “Again? It seems like you’re never here anymore.”

  Ryan had to agree. Now that he had Kayla and all these emotions, he was always finding a reason to not be at the office.

  * * * *

  Kayla ran around the living room picking up the odds and ends. Her mother was coming by soon with lunch. While some clutter was okay, the bras she always took off in the evening while she watched TV had begun to pile up.

  It dawned on her that she couldn’t do that any longer with Ryan there. She might actually have to clean house and be somewhat housewife like. Oh, wait. This wasn’t a real relationship. She didn’t have to do any of that—well, maybe the bra thing.

  Her phone rang from her desk, but she decided to ignore it. The ringtone wasn’t one she’d programmed for anyone special. And yes, Ryan had his own special tone too. She went into the kitchen. Crap. The sink was full of dishes. She didn’t have time to worry about that. Her mom would have to understand she’d been under a lot of stress with her job.

  Her cellphone began to ring again. She jogged across the house to see who it was, since they obviously wanted to talk to her. It was Abbie. She certainly didn’t have time to workout right now and she was avoiding her. It was best to ignore the call.

  But as soon as it stopped ringing, it began again. What the heck? What did she want so bad? Kayla picked the phone up to answer when she heard her mom pull up.

  “Hey, Abbie. It’s not a good time. I’ll call you later.” She hung up, not giving Abbie a chance to speak.

  She set the phone back down and went to open the front door. Her mom carried a pizza box and Kayla’s mouth began to water. Yum! Her favorite.

  “Hi, Mom. I can’t wait to dig in. I’m starving.”

  “It has all the toppings you prefer on it too.”

  Kayla followed her into the dining room. She’d already set the paper plates out. All they needed now were drinks. “Water?”

  “Sure.”

  Kayla went to get the water when she heard her phone ringing again.

  “Kayla, your phone is ringing. Want me to answer it?”

  “No,” she called. “Better yet, put it on silent. Or turn the damn thing off. I told her I was busy, but she keeps calling.”

  A moment later, the ringing stopped. Kayla met her mom back in the dining room. They scooped up slices of mushroom and black olive topped pizza onto their plates.

  “Are you having problems with the caller?” her mom asked.

  “She’s my gym partner, but she isn’t very supportive of Ryan and me for some reason, so I’m trying to put some distance between us.”

  “Who wouldn’t be happy about you and Ryan? You seem so happy.”

  Kayla took a big bite of the pizza.

  “When will he be moving in?”

  Kayla shrugged. “I’m trying to hold it off a bit, but Ryan is pressing.”

  “He must really like you. Men are usually the resistant ones.”

  “I guess. It’s just moving so fast.”

  Her mom wiped her mouth with a napkin. “It isn’t like you’re eighteen anymore. Embrace it.”

  “How are things with Dad?” Kayla took a sip of her water and watched her mom take a bite of pizza.

  Finally, a moment later, she spoke. “Still the same. You’re just going to have to face it. We aren’t getting back together.”

  Kayla was so tired of hearing that and not knowing the reason. “Why?”

  “I’ve told you, this is between us.”

  “It doesn’t make any sense. And don’t think I didn’t catch you two sharing a look the other day at dinner. Feelings are still there.”

  “You just think you saw something.”

  Of course her mother was going to deny it. “This would be easier for me if you’d just tell me what’s going on. Have you even thought of trying counseling?”

  “You’ve been moved out for many years. There is a lot that goes on in our house that you don’t know about.”

  No kidding. “I’m still a part of the family even though I moved out.”

  She smiled. “I know, dear. But this is between your father and I. End of story.”

  Kayla knew she had to drop it, but she had one more question. “But if you love each other, isn’t anything possible? That’s what you always told me growing up. ‘With love anything can happen.’ So you two don’t love each other anymore?”

  “Enough. I don’t want to discuss this.”

  From her mother’s tone, Kayla knew it was over. She couldn’t push for more information. Her mom wasn’t talking about it, and as much as she might prod, it wouldn’t do any good.

  “Hey, did I tell you I have an article coming up in USA Today?”

  “You didn’t. Tell me all about it.”

  For the rest of lunch, they talked about Kayla and her work, but in the back of Kayla’s mind, she couldn’t help but want to solve the mystery of her parents’ recent split.

  * * * *

  Ryan took a seat on an empty barstool at McDuffy’s. A majority of them were vacant with it only being two in the afternoon. After his encounter with Abbie, he needed a tall, cold, foaming beer. Just one, then he’d head home and perhaps watch a movie.

  “What can I get you?” a bartender he’d never met asked.

  “Give me what your special is on tap.”

  “Domestic or imported?”

  Why did it have to be so complicated? All he wanted was a beer. “I’ve had a hell of a day. Surprise me.”

  The man nodded and a moment later, the drink Ryan had been desiring was in front of him. He pressed the cool glass to his lips and chugged the first few gulps down.

  “Must be a bad day,” the bartender commented. “Need to talk?”

  Ryan chuckled as he set the glass down. “I’m sure you hear all kinds of stories. Here’s one. I’ve got a fake girlfriend to get my parents off my back about settling down. Yet, now I’m moving in with the fake girlfriend and talking marriage. I have an ex who is practically stalking me. And I’m beginning to wonder if the fake girlfriend is really so fake.”

  The man behind the counter smiled. “Yeah, a good reason to drink. I find women do that to us.”

  “Any advice?”

  He leaned against the counter. “You sleeping with either of the women?”

  “The fake one.”

  “I think that answers your question about it being fake.”

  Ryan raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

  “You’re sharing a bed. And I imagine you’ll be sharing a room.”

  As far as Ryan was concerned they were sharing. Fuck, this man might be right. When the heck had feelings wiggled their way in? He’d been so careful not to develop any, or so he thought. He lifted the drink to his mouth again. Oh man, he was in trouble. Maybe moving in wasn’t a good idea. They needed to keep the distance between them so no one fell in love.

  Two beers and forty-five minutes later, he entered his apartment. Ryan was ready for that movie and perhaps a nap. But before he dozed off, he needed to call Kayla and find out how she knew Abbie.

  He dialed her number, but it went straight to voicemail. She was most likely editing, so he decided to email her.

  Kayla,

  When you’ve got a moment, we need to talk about your friend Abbie.

  -R

  After the email was sent out into cyberspace, he grabbed the remote and began to scroll through his movie-on-demand channels.

  * * * *

  Kayla entered the smoothie shop next to the gym. It felt weird to be going there in the evening, but hey, at least she knew what she was working off calorie wise. She stared at the board trying to decide which flavor combination she wanted today.

  “Kayla,” a familiar female voice said from behind her.

  Crap. Just the person she was trying to avoid. She turned around and said, “Hey, Abbie. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to call you back. My mom was visiting today.”

  “I would’ve liked it if you’d called me back. I
really needed to talk to you.”

  “Let me order and we can sit and do that.” There was no way around it. Obviously Abbie had something to say.

  After Kayla ordered her drink and waited for it to be made, she remembered her phone was off. Pulling it from her purse, she switched it on. As the lady behind the counter handed her the drink, Kayla heard the soft beep alerting her of an email.

  As she got a straw for her cup, she opened the email app to see a new message from Ryan. She read the email several times. He wanted to talk to her about her friend Abbie? Kayla glanced over her shoulder at her waiting friend. She wished she had time to email him back to see what it was all about, but regardless, she was certain she was about to find out.

  Kayla made her way over to the table and took a seat.

  “So…” Kayla took a sip of her smoothie.

  “I’d wanted to talk to you. I didn’t realize you were seeing the same Ryan as me.”

  What? “Excuse me?”

  “I guess that sounds weird. We’re currently on a break, but I expect that to be over soon.”

  Kayla nodded. What could she say? Racking her brain, she remembered Ryan had mentioned an ex, but he hadn’t spoken of her kindly. And from what she had gathered, that ex had been the reason he didn’t believe in love. Her gut told her that ex was sitting in front of her. What a small freaking world!

  “Why didn’t you ever say anything all those times at the gym when I talked about him? I told you his name and what he did, and you just sat there and listened. Or should I say told me to end things,” Kayla snapped.

  Abbie shrugged. “I wasn’t sure at first. Anyway, I’d really appreciate it if you could end what’s going on between the two of you. After all, you’ve been telling me all along it’s fake. And I was at his office today and he confirmed that as well.”

  Kayla knew she needed to choose her words carefully. She didn’t know Abbie well enough to know how she’d react to things. It was best to tread the water with her. “I’ll speak to Ryan and see what he wants to do.”

  “You do know what he did to me, right?”

  Kayla shook her head. She knew what Abbie had done to Ryan, but he hadn’t filled her in on much else.

  “He cheated on me.”

  That was news. “Oh, yeah?”

  “He slept with my best friend in our bed. How disrespectful is that?”

  “Very.” That didn’t sound like Ryan. It sounded more like the story he’d told her about Abbie. She couldn’t see him flipping the story to make him look good. Then again, how much did she really know about him?

  “Don’t think you’re special. He and I are meant to be together. But this is what we do. Back and forth.”

  “Thanks for telling me this.”

  Abbie grinned, proud of herself. “I see you’ve got your gym clothes on. Want to workout?”

  This lady was psycho. “I can’t.”

  “Why?”

  “My belly hurts. I think I need to head home.” Could she have not come up with a better excuse?

  “All right. Soon then. I’ve got to keep myself looking good for Ryan.”

  Kayla pushed her chair back and stood. Placing a hand over her stomach, she wondered if she really would be sick. “See ya.”

  As she made her way out of the smoothie shop, she made a mental note to cancel her gym membership and find one across town away from psycho girl.

  * * * *

  Bang. Bang. Bang.

  Ryan pushed himself up into a sitting position on the couch.

  Bang. Bang. Bang.

  “I’m coming,” he called out.

  Ryan glanced at the clock. It was after eight. Who was there?

  Making his way across his cramped apartment, he flung the door open, hoping it wasn’t Abbie again.

  “Kayla.”

  “We need to talk.” She entered his apartment.

  “Hello to you too.” He shut the door.

  “I just had a run-in with your ex.”

  “Did you get my email?” Ryan rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

  “Yeah, when I was with her. Little late.” Kayla sat down on the couch. “I feel like such a fool.”

  He took a seat next to her. “Why?”

  “I’ve been talking to her about you and she’s said nothing all this time. She claims she didn’t know, but the more I think about it, I know she did. The last few times at the gym she practically begged me to end things with you.” She sighed. “Speaking of which...what’s the story? According to her, you’re on a break and this is normal. And you cheated on her. You brought her best friend home and into the bed you two shared.”

  Ryan jumped up, anger coursing through him. “She’s a liar. I told you before, she’s the one who brought a man home into our bed. That woman is so sick and twisted.”

  “This is complicated. I didn’t sign on for this. In fact, I didn’t sign on for much for what I’m getting.”

  “She’s the one who hurt me. I imagined I’d be with her the rest of my life. Had it all planned out too. Kids, dogs, house. She apparently got lonely and brought my friend back to our place and fucked him in our bed. That’s who she’s with now. Or did she leave that out? She’s still with Taylor.”

  “This is just getting more complicated than I anticipated.”

  Ryan raked his hands through his hair. “Yeah, I agree with you.”

  “Maybe we should slow things down. Not move in together yet. I mean, this is unreal. We need to figure out all the dynamics of this relationship before it goes any further.”

  “I was actually thinking the same thing earlier.”

  “At least we’re on the same page about things.” She smiled.

  “But what do we tell our parents?”

  “They’ll understand.” Kayla sighed. “Everything about you and I revolves around them.”

  “That is why we’re doing this, right?”

  She was silent and stared at her hands in her lap. Ryan was nervous about her answer. A part of him wanted her to say no, that she’d developed feelings for him the way he was her.

  “Yeah. I guess since you put it that way, we should move forward with moving in together.”

  That was a complete one-eighty in her thoughts. “You want to go ahead?”

  Kayla shrugged. “You just confirmed that this isn’t about us and our feelings, but about them. That is why we started this, to get them off our backs. And we can’t exactly start to have trouble in paradise.”

  “Then, we’ll move forward. The end of this month is approaching quickly. I’ll let my landlord know I won’t be renewing for another month.”

  She stood. “I guess that solves it, kinda. We’ll be in touch soon and figure out the dynamics of this move.”

  Now that they were officially moving forward with this, he had to get to the bottom of what it was Abbie wanted. Maybe it was time he paid Taylor a visit and let him know what his girlfriend was up to.

  Chapter 12

  Ryan climbed the steps to the home that Taylor and Abbie shared. When he’d called Taylor, he’d ask to speak to him at a time when Abbie wouldn’t be around. From his ex-friend’s tone, he could tell there had been trouble in paradise recently. Taylor assured him Abbie would be gone. She had a spa appointment and she never missed those.

  Before Ryan had a chance to knock on the door, it swung open. He took a moment to take in his old friend. He looked the same, but with a sadness to his eyes.

  “Come on in, Ryan.” He stepped back. “It’s good to see you.”

  Ryan nodded and went into the house. It felt odd being there. He’d spent a lot of time at Taylor’s in the past, but now it was so foreign. He stood in the small foyer where pictures of Abbie and Taylor hung.

  “Follow me. Want a beer?” Taylor walked past him and Ryan followed.

  “Sure.” Beer would help right about now. Ryan took a seat on a barstool in the highly decorated kitchen. It looked like it had been remodeled since he’d been there last. Taylor popped the c
ap off the brown bottle and slid it over to him.

  “So you wanted to talk about Abbie?” Taylor took a seat on the opposite side of the island.

  Ryan took a swig of his beer and set it down on the dark granite surface. “I wasn’t sure if you were aware she’s been approaching me and asking me to get back together with her. I was going to stay out of it because I turned her down, but turns out she’s been bothering my girlfriend has well.”

  “You’re seeing someone?” Taylor looked surprised.

  “Yes, and it’s serious.”

  “Congrats, man. I’m happy for you.” He sighed. “Things aren’t well with Abbie. She isn’t an easy woman to keep happy. She’s cheated on me already, but apologized profusely until I agreed to take her back.”

  “You deserve better.” Maybe. He did steal Abbie, but that had been a blessing. “I wanted you to know that I’m not interested in her. No matter how hard she tries, I’m not going back down that road. I’m very happy with Kayla.”

  “I deserve what she’s doing to me. What I did to you was wrong, man. I’ve never gotten the chance to tell you, but I’m sorry.” Taylor appeared to be truly sympathetic.

  “I’m not here for an apology. We need to figure out a way to get Abbie to leave me and Kayla alone.”

  “I’ll talk to her.”

  Ryan cleared his throat. “Chances are, she’s going to tell you that what Kayla and I have isn’t real. It technically isn’t. It’s more of an arrangement we’ve agreed on, and it works for us.”

  Taylor raised an eyebrow. “Arrangement?”

  This was harder to tell someone than he thought it would be. “We’re not falling in love.”

  Taylor took a drink. “If that works for you. If I didn’t love Abbie, she’d be out on the streets.”

  Where she deserves to be. “Love complicates things.”

  “I’ll sit down with her after she gets home. She’s always a little more relaxed after a day at the spa. I’ll find out why she isn’t happy with me and go from there.”

  Ryan felt bad for his ex-friend. They certainly weren’t going to bond over this and be best buds again, but he knew how Taylor felt right now.

  Ryan took another sip of his beer. He hated to not finish it all, but he also didn’t want to stick around any longer than he had too either. “Thanks for the beer. I hope things start to look up for you.”