by Tia Siren
“Harry!” my dad called out. He was waving me over.
“Go ahead. I’ll be fine,” she said with a smile. “You better go see what he wants.”
I groaned. “I’m sure it’s to shake more hands. I hate these things.”
“Go, do your thing. I’ll be here waiting.”
I left her to see what my father wanted. I saw Tiffany stomp by. She looked pissed. My eyes caught a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye. It was William. He was motioning for Amber to join him. I looked at Amber and watched her walk toward my brother. They were headed to the library. It seemed to be their thing.
I quickly excused myself and made my way to the library, staying out of sight.
“This is your last chance to back out of this,” I heard William say. “You don’t have to do this. You know it’s a mistake.”
“Seriously, we’re going to go through this again?” Amber said, groaning.
Again? I wondered when they had gone through it the first time.
“Think about it. You’re rushing into something, and you’re going to end up regretting it.”
“We’ve already gone over this, William.”
“You don’t even know him!” William shouted. “Do you know his reputation? Do you know how many women he’s slept with? He isn’t going to settle down, and he’ll never be faithful to you.”
“His reputation doesn’t matter. I don’t base my opinion of people on rumors. I like to form my own opinions,” she said reasonably. “Besides, you aren’t any better. Just because you hide your affairs doesn’t mean they don’t happen. Don’t think I don’t know about the many women you have slept with, William.”
I bit back a laugh. William liked to pretend he was a saint, but I knew different. I was glad Amber knew as well.
“My reputation is solid. Unlike my brother, I don’t flaunt all my conquests on the pages of the tabloids.”
“Speaking of your conquests, shouldn’t you be chasing after your fiancée? Isn’t she sick or something?” Amber said with heavy sarcasm.
“She’s fine. You’re making a mistake. I’m trying to save you from the hurt and embarrassment his past and future are sure to bring you. No one takes him seriously. You will be the laughing stock in our circle of friends,” William argued.
“As if I care what your friends think about me. I don’t think Harry cares either. That’s your issue, not his. Are you jealous or something, William? You didn’t want me, but you don’t want anyone else to have me. Is that it? I’m not good enough to be your wife, but I’m too good to be your brother’s wife. Do I have that about right?” she said, and I could hear the anger in her voice.
I loved that she wasn’t backing down. She was fighting back, which made me want to rush in there and kiss her.
“You know it wasn’t like that, Amber. It wouldn’t have worked between us. We’re from two different worlds. That doesn’t mean I didn’t care about you. This doesn’t have to end between us.”
I held my breath, waiting to hear her response. I knew I should have been livid to hear my brother proposition my fiancée. I would be later. Right now, I had to know what Amber was going to do. I didn’t think I could even be fake engaged to her if she was still pining after my brother. That would be too weird.
“You make me sick, William. Are you asking me to be your mistress—again? You have no shame. I never want to hear you talk about your brother as if he were lower than you. I don’t think Harry would ever treat a woman like you have treated me or are trying to treat Tiffany. He may have slept around a lot, but I guarantee you he didn’t give any of those women false hopes or encourage them,” she said in a voice so low I almost didn’t hear her.
“Mistress is such a dirty word. You know why I have to marry Tiffany. You know I didn’t intentionally lead you on. I thought you understood it was never anything serious.”
“I’m over this, William. I’m tired of hashing this out with you. I’m marrying Harry. He’s your brother. Don’t you find it even slightly loathsome that you are asking me to climb in your bed when you know I’m engaged to your brother?”
I smiled. I was glad she was defending me and our engagement, even if it wasn’t real. She was a good woman. William had missed his chance. Amber may still have had some feelings for him, but I knew she valued herself too much to ever debase herself by sleeping with a married man.
“It isn’t like you’ll be married for long. He’ll cheat on you before the honeymoon’s over,” William spat out.
I heard her laugh. “You’re not even married yet and you are already planning on cheating on your wife. You still think you’re better than him?”
Score another one for Amber.
“I would never flaunt it in her face.”
She was laughing for real now. “I can’t believe I ever thought you were the better brother. You’re a wolf in sheep’s clothing. No, wait, strike that. You’re just a snake slithering through the grass.”
“Watch yourself, Amber. I’m still your boss.”
“That’s an easy fix. And, William, it’s you who better watch yourself.”
I realized she was going to be exiting the library in a well-timed exit. I quickly jogged down the hall and into the kitchen. I didn’t want her to know I had heard her conversation with William. I was so proud of her, and I wanted to thank her for defending me and kiss her for protecting our engagement. I wouldn’t. I wanted to wait and see if she would tell me what had happened.
Judging by her initial comment, William had been giving her a hard time at work about our engagement. That was something I would be addressing. I had a feeling Tiffany must have been made privy to one of those conversations as well, which was why she was acting so cold toward her fiancé. William had better watch his step. If he didn’t fix things with Tiffany, he could very well find himself single. Then I would be the good son, even if I wasn’t marrying a woman of quality. The very thought of the tables turning made me laugh inside.
I walked into the ballroom and spotted Amber talking with her mother and downing a glass of champagne. I walked toward her, wrapped her in my arms, and soundly kissed her in front of the entire room.
She pulled back and gave me a strange look. “What was that for?”
I smiled as if it would take over my face. “I wanted to let you know I think you are one hell of an amazing woman.”
Her mom had tears in her eyes as she watched me spin Amber around. I may have overplayed my hand, but at that moment, I meant every word I said.
Chapter Twenty-One
Amber
Ever since I walked into the office this morning, I had been the center of attention. I had a good idea what Tiffany felt like when she walked into the office. Everyone squealed, clapped their hands, and congratulated me on my new engagement. I felt like a star.
Trying to pretend I didn’t like all the attention was useless. I can’t help but feel a sense of pride and excitement over my new bit of jewelry. Harry had gone and made it official and presented me with a ring on Saturday morning. I couldn’t very well be engaged without a ring. He, of course, outdid himself and bought a stunning diamond that rivaled the basketball-sized rock on Tiffany’s finger. That was the part that made me smile the biggest.
“It’s gorgeous!” one of the ladies said, grabbing my hand. “You are one lucky girl.”
I laughed. “Thank you. I am feeling very lucky.”
“How many carats is it?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t ask. I was too stunned by the sparkling diamond to think to ask.”
The women laughed. “Girl, you have to ask! You need to get that thing insured.”
I looked at the ring on my finger and only then stopped to realize I was probably wearing a piece of jewelry that was worth more than what I would make in five years. It was going to suck when I had to give it back. And I was without a doubt giving it back.
I accepted the compliments that had been coming my way all morning. I hated the decep
tion, but it wasn’t like anyone was going to get hurt. The two parties involved were aware of the situation. That was all that mattered. We knew it wasn’t real. We could enjoy the hype and all the fun that came with it. When things settled down, we would quietly break up and hopefully, everyone would forget all about our engagement—which reminded me, we still needed to talk about our eventual breakup.
“When’s the big day?” a woman asked.
That was a question I had fielded numerous times at the engagement party. It was something Harry and I should have talked about a bit more. We hadn’t done a great job planning our fake engagement. There were a lot of details we had overlooked, and if we weren’t careful, they were going to give away our lie.
“We are going to sit back and enjoy a nice, long engagement. Neither one of us wants to rush into anything,” I explained. “We’re thinking sometime next year. It will give us time to get to know each other better.”
That was apparently not a satisfactory answer.
“A spring wedding? Oh, what about a wedding in Paris? That would be so romantic! Or at a castle!”
I cringed. Harry and I had ignored all the important stuff. We had decided to pretend we were going to get married and hadn’t thought twice about the rest. I was going to have to sit down and write all the details down. Harry and I would have to make sure our stories matched.
“Actually, we are letting his mother do most of the planning. My mom will be involved somewhat as well. We are happy to leave it to them. We’re going to show up, say our vows, and then leave for a long honeymoon,” I said with a smile.
“Really? You trust her to plan your wedding?”
I smiled and nodded. “Of course. She has a lot more experience with this kind of thing than I do. The woman throws extravagant parties all the time. She knows what works and what doesn’t. Plus, she is planning William and Tiffany’s wedding. She’ll have lots of practice and be an expert when it comes time to put ours together!”
Everyone laughed. “Good thinking!”
The idea of having a beautiful, stress-free wedding and then a fun honeymoon was very enticing. I had friends who had nearly lost their minds trying to plan their weddings. And then there were the women like Tiffany who turned into complete control freaks. If I were to get married, I wouldn’t want my fiancé to end up hating me because I had turned into a royal bitch during the planning of said wedding.
“Well, we’re all happy for you. I think we’re all shocked. You never let on you were seeing anyone, let alone one of the Martins. That is big news!”
I giggled. “We didn’t want to flaunt it. We weren’t sure where it was going and didn’t want to go through the trouble of explaining a relationship if it didn’t work out.”
“You definitely did a good job hiding it. We probably wouldn’t have even known if he hadn’t started coming around,” one of the ladies said. “Why would you want to hide that man? He is absolutely gorgeous.”
I shrugged. “Well, we didn’t think it was appropriate since I work for the company.”
“Oh,” a few of the women said in unison. “He doesn’t work for the company, does he?”
I smiled. “Not technically, but he is the son of the CEO—even if that fact seems to get forgotten,” I added under my breath.
“Excuse me.” William’s voice was suddenly behind me.
I spun around. “William!” I shrieked, guilty of being caught chatting instead of working.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” he said in a gruff voice.
“Um, yes, sure,” I said, standing and smoothing my skirt before following him into his office.
I closed the door behind me and waited for him to talk. I could tell he was mad and waited for my lecture.
He turned around and glared at me. “That kind of talk is inappropriate for the office. I’m surprised you would act like that.”
“What kind of talk?” I asked with confusion.
“About your wedding and your dating life,” he said through gritted teeth.
I raised one eyebrow and folded my arms across my chest. “Really? Talking about a wedding is inappropriate?”
“Yes.”
“So Tiffany can come by here every day, flaunting her ring and talking about all the details of your wedding, and that is okay?”
“I’ll tell her not to do that anymore.”
“No one is talking inappropriately. Talking about an upcoming wedding is normal. How can that be inappropriate?” I questioned. “You always told me I needed to be nicer to the others. Now that I’m having a conversation, you tell me to stop.”
“I don’t think it is appropriate to talk about personal matters in the office. We have work to do.”
“And we get it done. Have I ever not completed my work on time?” I asked.
“Don’t talk about your wedding to my brother anymore!” he shouted.
My mouth fell open. “You’re jealous.”
“No.”
I nodded. “Yes, you are.”
“I said to stop, please. I would hate for you to be written up by HR.”
I laughed. “Did you not see who was asking all the questions? Or maybe you don’t know who your employees are.”
He looked at me with confusion.
I rolled my eyes. “One of those women is the head of HR.”
“Then it is even more inappropriate for her to be having those kinds of conversations in the workplace. I believe we have a fraternization policy in place.”
“Really? Does that policy also include you and I, or are you above the rules? You and I can sleep together as long as we never talk about it. I think I’m beginning to understand. You do what you want, and everyone else better stay in line.” I glared at him.
He sighed. “It wasn’t like that between us. You know that. I know you’re angry about my engagement to Tiffany, but please, don’t think marrying Harry is the answer,” he said in a soft voice.
Once again, I caught a glimpse of the man I had thought I’d loved: the soft, gentle man who could make me feel so beautiful and wanted with a few words and gentle caresses. He was confusing me. He was hot and cold. I knew I hadn’t been wrong about his feelings for me. Looking at the man in front of me and seeing how broken and angry he was after hearing about Harry and me was proof. I felt a twinge of guilt. I had never wanted to hurt him.
“William, I’m not sure what your problem is. I gave you plenty of opportunities to make this right between us. You’re getting married to Tiffany. I’m not interested in being your mistress. You have to allow me my happiness.”
His phone rang in his pocket. He looked down and rolled his eyes.
“Tiffany?”
“Yes,” he said.
“You better take it.”
“No.”
“I’m leaving now,” I said, not wanting to carry on the conversation any longer.
“Don’t go. We’re not finished.”
I groaned in frustration. “William, I don’t know what you want from me. Your fiancée is calling. You better call her back.”
“No. I’m talking to you right now.”
I shook my head. The man was not acting like himself. He was risking his engagement. Tiffany was not the kind of woman who waited around. That much was obvious. William was being pushed into a hasty marriage, but he could stop it. He wasn’t helpless. The fact he was allowing Tiffany to push him around was very telling.
I softened my tone. “William, what’s going on? You’re not acting like yourself.”
“Nothing. I’ve got a lot on my plate right now. I’m asking you to quit talking about the wedding.”
“Yours or mine?” I shot back.
“Yours!” he said, his voice raised once again and his face a contorted twist of anger and frustration.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m very sorry you are having such a rough time. I’m going back to work. I hope things settle down for you.”
“Stop rubbing it in my face!”
I walked to
the door and didn’t look back. I felt like I was on one end of a yo-yo. Up and down, in and out. I didn’t know what the hell William wanted. I didn’t even know what I wanted anymore. Initially, my main goal had been to win him over and prove I was worthy of being his wife. Now I wasn’t so sure I wanted that. But no matter how hard I tried to tell myself it was better to keep my distance, he would give me a look or flash me that little smile of his and I was putty.
My mom and Courtney would kill me if they knew I was still longing for the man I had thought I knew. Harry—I wasn’t quite sure what he would think. The whole fake engagement was supposed to help me exact revenge on William for using me and then breaking my heart. I didn’t want to hurt William. No matter how badly he had hurt me when he’d tossed me to the side like yesterday’s trash, there was a part of me that still cared for him.
“What was that about?” one of the ladies whispered when I returned to my desk.
I shrugged. “He was concerned we were doing too much chatting and not enough work.”
She rolled her eyes. “But it’s okay for his fiancée to roll in and out of here whenever she pleases.”
I smiled. “It’s fine. I think he’s having a bad day.”
The woman laughed. “Just think, soon enough, that man will be your brother-in-law. We all heard him yelling at you. I don’t think your fiancé would appreciate that. He seems very alpha male. I imagine him beating on his chest and protecting his woman.”
I laughed. Harry was the alpha type. I wasn’t sure he would protect me from his brother, but it was an interesting image in my head. A saying my mother used to always repeat popped into my mind: Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.
I had a feeling I had landed myself in a web of lies that was going to end up with a lot of people getting hurt. Why had I let Harry talk me into this stupid idea?
Chapter Twenty-Two
Harry
When I had gotten the phone call yesterday afternoon demanding I meet with William, I’d had a feeling something was up. We had gone weeks without speaking, and now since it had been announced he was getting married, the man wanted to see me all the time. I realized he didn’t have any friends. He had always been so driven, he never allowed himself time to relax and hang with the guys. I almost felt bad for the guy. Almost.
