by Ali Parker
He hadn’t even blinked when I’d named my price for going through with this. It was enough to pay off all my debt as well as comfortably cover a full year’s worth of bills and living expenses for me and Jolene. It would give me the chance to get ahead, to climb out from beneath the pile of debt that had been near-crushing me the last six months or so. The thought of my future opening up like that in front of me was dazzling in a way I couldn’t put into words, as though the sky had spread wide before me to show a life I had never even dared to imagine someone like me could actually have.
“This is your place?” he remarked once we were both standing in front of it as I fumbled in my bag for my keys. I nodded.
“Yeah, I just need to grab a few things and then we can, uh, I can drop them off at your apartment,” I replied, a little shaky. With the money I was getting, I would be able to pay for Jolene to stay in the home, so there was no need for her to know how I was getting it or what I was doing to keep the two of us above water. I could visit her all the time and focus on getting my career off the ground. I could do anything I wanted. I could finally have the life I had dreamed about for both myself and my sister, and that was so overwhelming, I was having a hard time keeping my head straight.
We made our way into the condo, and I was glad I had at least thought to tidy the place before I’d left. It was one thing for him to see how tiny this place was. It would have been quite another if it was a total mess as well.
He leaned in the doorway and looked around, and I wondered if now was the time to tell him about Jolene, about my parents, about everything that had led me to this situation in the first place, but I figured it was best for him not to find out so soon. I could tell him later if I decided to, but I had no idea whether I could actually trust this guy or not. We barely knew each other, my husband and I. I ran the words around my head, hoping they would start to make sense, but they sounded just as crazy now as they did the first time they had occurred to me.
“What do I need to bring with me?” I asked. He looked out of place in this room, as though he had been photoshopped in from somewhere else entirely. He furrowed his brow at me, and I realized he must have had everything he could possibly need back at his apartment. Or maybe he’d just never had a woman staying with him for more than a night at a time, and he was struggling to think of anything I might need to bring with me.
I hurried to my room to gather all my stuff, leaving him standing there surveying my place, and I tried not to think how cheap it must look to him. He had a fucking private jet, for goodness’ sake. I had no idea what he did for a living or if it was family money he was swimming in, but this guy was rich in a way nobody I’d ever met before was. I couldn’t imagine living the kind of life he got to on a day-to-day basis. Hell, if I asked him to sponsor my library for me, he could probably pay for a whole new wing to be added to it without a second thought. And now I got to experience that kind of life with him. It was a thrilling thought, but the price I was paying for it was terrifying. I had never been a good liar, so how was I going to look his family in the eye and assure them I was his loving wife when I barely even knew his name?
Stuffing a few clothes, my laptop, and what little makeup I had into a bag, I slyly checked myself out in the mirror. I looked a little rough around the edges, but my eyes were shining with excitement. I flashed myself a smile and then heard a little scrabbling next to me. I’d almost forgotten about someone.
“Toby!” I headed over to his cage, and he came scuttling up to the bars. It was clear he had missed me. One of my neighbors had agreed to come in and feed him, but Toby was a social little ferret, and he always liked attention where he could get it. I’d be leaving this place for a year, and there was no way in hell I could leave him behind. I was going to bring him with me, and Kristo was just going to have to deal with it.
I gathered all my stuff up and scooped up Toby’s cage as well, heading back through to meet Kristo in the living room. He hadn’t moved, as though he had no idea how to interact with a place like this.
“Who have you got there?” He nodded to the cage, and I giggled as Toby sat up on his hind legs and glared at Kristo. He was often possessive and liked to make it known he was the most important man in my life. Kristo leaned down to look him in the eye, and the two of them looked so funny staring each other down like that, I found myself dissolving into a mess of laughter. Or maybe it was just the hysteria taking over as I realized what in the hell I had gotten myself into.
“I hope you’re not allergic to fur,” I teased. “Because there’s no way I’m leaving this little guy behind.”
“He’s a ferret, right?” Kristo remarked as he straightened back up again. “I’m not so sure he likes me.”
“Well, he doesn’t have to as long as he can come with us,” I replied. “That’s okay, right? Or does your place have rules about pets?”
“There are pretty much no rules in this city that I can’t afford to break,” he shot back, flashing me one of those cocky smiles I was already starting to recognize as his signature. I liked the way he smiled at me, a reminder that the two of us shared a secret. I had a feeling I was going to be seeing a lot of those kinds of smiles in the near future.
“So, I’m good to take him then,” I nodded, and he reached over and plucked the cage from my hand. For the briefest moment, our fingers touched, and I ignored the spark that passed from his bare skin to mine as we connected. It was the oddest thing. I knew I’d slept with this man, I knew I’d liked him enough to pull something I would have never even dreamed of before, yet I couldn’t remember any of it. It was as though it had happened in a dream, and he had marched straight out of my sleeping memory and into reality. My dream man, except I had magicked him into real life, and now I was married to him. It was a lot to take in.
He carried the cage out to the car, and I hesitated for a moment before I followed him. Toby wouldn’t have any idea what was happening to him, but I did, and I couldn’t help but wonder if this was a really, really stupid choice on my part. It was easy to get swept up with the excitement of it, to tell myself this was a good idea because of the money it would provide and the time it would give me to get my life on track in a way it hadn’t been in a long time. But I was leaving my entire life behind. I would have to hide some of this from my sister, the most important person in the world to me. And I had no idea what kind of man he was. What if I was walking into the worst decision of my life?
Then, I looked around the apartment, at this tiny place I had called home for so long, and I knew I couldn’t stay here. This place had been enough when I knew there was nothing more for me out there, but even before I had met Kristo, it had long-since started to feel oppressive. The way the walls seemed to close in, a reminder that I was stuck here thanks to my enormous debt and everything that came with looking after Jolene, felt suffocating at times. Now that someone had offered me a way out, I would have been utterly crazy to turn it down. Yes, anyone else might have thought I was insane for taking him up on his offer, but whatever life he had for me, it had to be better than the one I currently found myself stuck in.
I followed him out to the car, hefting my bags over my shoulder as I did so, and found Toby waiting for me in the back seat. I slid in next to him, poking my fingers through the cage to let him know I was there and that he shouldn’t be scared.
“You all right?” Kristo asked warily, eyeing me in the rearview mirror. I hesitated for a moment and then nodded.
“I’m fine,” I promised him. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled, clearly relieved.
“Good.” He nodded, starting up the car. “Let’s get you back to my place, and we can get the contracts ready to go.”
“Cool,” I replied and watched him as he drew out on to the road once more. Now that this was actually happening, the nerves fluttering inside me began to dissipate into something else entirely. This meant a whole year, with an insanely rich, ridiculously gorgeous guy who needed me to pretend to be his wife and a life-chang
ing amount of money when it was all over. I was crazy to even second-guess myself. And now that I had made the choice, I was quietly excited about what the hell the next twelve months were going to bring for the both of us. Throwing my arm over Toby’s cage, I grinned as the road whipped by outside the window and felt like I was ready for anything.
7
I woke up on the couch, feeling almost as bad as I had when I’d come to the night before. Fuck, how long had it been since I’d slept the night anywhere but a bed? As I peeled myself upright, rubbing my eyes and stretching out my crunched-up muscles, I remembered why. Because couches weren’t built for sleeping, and I was too old to pretend I could still pull this off.
By the time we’d arrived at my place the night before, it had been so late that both of us had wanted nothing more than to just get some sleep.
“We should get to bed.” I’d yawned as soon as we’d taken her stuff out of the car and dumped it in the living room. She was swaying slightly on her feet, clearly so exhausted, she could hardly think.
“Do you mind …” She fell silent for a moment, clearly trying to think of the best way to phrase whatever was about to come out of her mouth.
“Mind what?” I prompted her. I was too tired to play games, to mess around and tease it out of her.
“Could I sleep in the bed by myself?” she blurted out at last. “I just don’t feel ready for us to sleep together yet.”
“Fine,” I sighed, glancing over at the cage her little ferret was scrabbling around in industriously. I knew that thing would keep me up all night anyway, and I didn’t particularly want to share a room with a rodent, no matter how enamored she clearly was with it.
“Come on, it’s through here.” I’d taken her through to the main bedroom. I could have put her in the guest room, but I hadn’t used it in so long, the bed was covered with stuff I’d purchased with every intention of putting up around the apartment and had never got around to, and I couldn’t be bothered clearing it all off for her. Maybe I would get around to it now that I had someone else living here with me.
“Thanks.” She sat down on the edge of the bed and took her shoes off, sighing as soon as she’d kicked them away. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Guess so,” I replied, and I lingered in the doorway for a moment. I was tempted to make a move, to try and convince her there would have been nothing wrong with the two of us sharing a bed and maybe more that night. Fuck, knowing I had moved in with a ferret against my will was enough to get me to do it out of spite, but there would be plenty of time for that later. For now, both of us needed some sleep, and I left the bedroom, shut the door behind me, and settled in on the couch.
I got up the next morning and glanced around. She wasn’t up yet, or if she was, she hadn’t emerged from the bedroom, the door still shut where I’d left it last night. I headed through to the kitchen to make myself some coffee. I was still tired after a bad night’s sleep, but there was something kindling in my stomach—excitement, maybe. It had been a long time since I’d actually had to pursue something with anyone, most of the women I wanted practically falling at my feet as soon as I showed an interest. It would be kind of fun to have to finesse my skills a little to convince her back into bed with me, but I was more than confident I could do it.
I moved around the kitchen, glad to be home, and wondered how this place looked to her. Her condo had been tiny, so small that I didn’t know how a person could live there and not find themselves going stir-fucking-crazy within a half-hour. But then, my place was barely lived-in at all. I was always traveling or at the office, and it meant I had never much bothered with turning this place into any real kind of home. All that art and that crap piled on my spare bed, yet the walls were still bare. Sometimes, this place looked more like a hotel than a home. Maybe having a woman around would change that.
It was Sunday, and the whole city was probably suffering from a hangover that morning, but my brain was buzzing with energy as I prepared the briki to make myself something strong, hot, and black to drink. My nonna would be expecting me over to visit later in the day, and she was quite a drive away, so that would at least give me time to prep Amaya on what to say and do in her presence.
She was staying nearby in the wake of Dad’s wedding after helping prepare everything so it was traditional enough for her and modern enough for his new young bride. She had strong-armed me into coming over every Sunday for dinner, and I didn’t have the heart to turn her down. This time, she wasn’t going to be able to corner me about marriage because I would be coming with a wife on my arm. Sure, she was going to freak the fuck out that I had gotten married without telling her or anyone else in the family, but I could just claim romance, and they would all accept it. Hopefully. Then, I could come home and get the contracts drawn up and make this official—well, more official than it already was, given that we were married.
As I made the coffee, I heard some movement from the bedroom. Could have been her ferret, but it sounded too big for that. A few moments later, she made her way out of the bedroom and practically staggered into the kitchen to join me. Her hair was a mess, and she was wearing a big, baggy T-shirt and a pair of panties. It was the most I’d seen of her since the morning before, and I let my eyes linger on her legs for a moment, wondering how they would have felt wrapped around me again.
“Coffee,” she croaked, leaning up against the island in the middle of the kitchen. “I need coffee.”
“Coming up,” I replied, stretching out a kink in my neck that the couch had given me. I added a little sugar to sweeten it for her, stirring quickly. I took mine black, but then I had been drinking it for years and preferred it that way now. I picked up the long handle of the briki and carefully poured her a small cup, handing it over.
“Careful. Just sip on it,” I warned her. “It’s probably different than what you’re used to. More bitter.”
“The stronger, the better,” she said, and she took a sip. She sighed with pleasure as the flavor hit her tongue. “Mmm, that’s good.”
She gestured to the briki as I poured myself a cup and took a sip.
“What’s that thing? I’ve never seen one before.”
“It’s a briki,” I replied. “I got used to making coffee with them when I was visiting my family in Greece, so I brought one over here to use.”
“You’re Greek?” She cocked her head to me.
I nodded. “Yup. The name didn’t give it away?”
“I guess yesterday was such a rush that I didn’t think.” She shook her head and raised her eyebrows, taking another sip of the coffee. “You go back there a lot?”
“Yeah, I’ll probably have to take you there with me at some point,” I remarked casually. I hadn’t yet talked to her about taking her out of the country, but I knew as soon as my nonna found out I was married, the rest of the family would be on red alert expecting a visit from me as soon as possible.
“I’ve never even been out of the country before,” she sighed, leaning back on the counter as she sipped her coffee and raking her fingers through her hair. “You think I’ll like it in Greece?”
“As long as you’re prepared for every single person in my family to be a little obsessed with you, you’ll be fine,” I replied, smiling. I liked having her around. It was nice, waking up and having someone else in the apartment who I didn’t immediately want to turn out on the street.
“So, what happens now?” she asked shyly. “I feel like I’ve been asking that a lot the last twenty-four hours.”
“Well, first, you need to come to dinner with me and my nonna,” I replied. “She’s cooking for me tonight, and I figure she’s the best tidemark of whether you’re going to fit in or not.”
“And if I don’t?” She cocked her head at me, a little flurry of worry passing over her face.
“If you don’t, then they’re just going to have to get used to it.” I shrugged, finishing up my coffee with one last sip. “We’re married now. They’ll come around. Bu
t it would make life easier if they liked you.”
“Well, I didn’t seem to have trouble getting you to like me,” she pointed out playfully. “You married me a couple of hours after meeting me.”
“You can’t just marry everyone to get them on your good side, you know,” I teased, putting the cup in the sink and glancing out the window. I had the whole day to get her ready for this meeting, yet I still didn’t feel like that was close to enough. I could have spent ten years trying to cover everything I thought someone needed to know before they met my family for the first time, and I likely wouldn’t have come close to filling them in on it all.
I watched her as she finished up her coffee, impressed she’d managed it without complaint. Most Americans I gave this stuff to at least flinched when they tasted the dark, slightly gritty flavor of this stuff, but she seemed to enjoy it. I took the cup from her, filled it again, and handed it back. As she woke up, her eyes were brightening, and I could see something in her that I had the very first night. In the thin, watery light of the morning sun pouring through the window, there was something nearly angelic about her. Well, as far as I was concerned, she was a gift from God, saving me from the dozens of arguments I’d had with my family about settling down already.
“So, what do I need to know about your nonna?” She cocked her head at me. “Is there time to catch me up before dinner?”
“I’ll give you the abridged edition,” I replied, yawning as I headed through to the bathroom. “But I need a shower first. I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Sure thing,” she replied, and she turned her attention back to her coffee as I walked out of the room, not before glancing around and stealing one last look at her long legs, at the shape of her through her shirt. I couldn’t wait to convince her that sharing that bed with me would be a hell of a lot less lonely for the both of us. But I had plenty of time for that in the future, a whole year together if things went to plan. For now, I had to focus on the task at hand, and that was getting my grandmother to approve of the woman I’d married.
