Modern Arrangements: Complete Trilogy (Modern Arrangements #1-3)

by Sadie Grubor

  "Um…sorry. I heard about the storm and wanted to make sure everything was alright." Fully aware of the fact that I hadn’t moved my hand from her back, I licked my lips and took her daylight revealed body in. Perfection.

  "Can you uh….grab my clothes please?" She stretched her left hand down the bed until she found the sheet and pulled it up. "Nevermind," she wrapped it around her.

  Sitting up, her face was red as a tomato. I couldn’t help but laugh at her.

  "Shut up," she glared, but the hard line of her lips started to curve. "I didn’t expect you back and it was hot." She whined, hiding her face again.

  "Did I complain?"

  "Of course not, but still…its embarrassing," she groaned.

  "You can sleep like that every night. In fact, I insist you do." I chuckled.

  "Shut it, Iverson," she laughed and got out of bed. Grabbing the sheet quickly, she jolted back. Spinning around she looked at my smiling face.

  "Stop it," she reluctantly laughed. "It’s not funny," she tried to be mad, but my laughter kept messing up her game.

  "Come on, Mrs. Iverson. If you wanted to consummate the marriage all you had to do was ask. You don’t have to try to seduce me."

  Her face hardened. Uh oh…maybe I went too far. Relief passed through me when her face softened.

  "Trust me, seduction was not my intent." She yanked the sheet out of my hand and went to her trunk.

  "I’m not so sure," Chuckling, I leaned against the headboard.

  "Oh, trust me."

  "You know you want me," She swung around looking like she was going to laugh in my face.

  "Listen, Mother Nature has you cock blocked buddy." She snorted and shut the bathroom door behind her.

  Mother Nature has me what? Shit! Perfect…so that meant it was definitely not an option now. Sighing, I got out of bed and headed to the kitchen.

  The rest of the time on the island went by quickly. We snorkeled, went to the hot springs, hiked around the island, I took her fishing and we spent time at the beach as well as back at the house. We talked a lot about ourselves and also about the college classes she would be signing up for after we returned.

  Even though intimate interaction was not planned for the trip, especially with the most recent development of her period, I still couldn’t help fantasizing and hoping something would happen. I wanted her to crack. We’d woken up tangled in each other a few times but always pulled away. Her period was not a deterrent for my dick. He knew what he wanted.

  At the end of our final day, we packed our things. Carmen arrived, along with Devan and Bradley, to help close the beach house. They even helped us to the docks with our bags. The boat crew handled it from there. Lilli fell asleep quickly on the couch. Desperate to touch her, I slid next to her on the couch and carefully pulled her to my chest. She stirred but didn't wake up. Wrapping my arms around her, I sighed, completely content.

  "Aidan..." I froze thinking I woke her. "Hmm...mmm... Aidan." Her warm breath danced over the base of my neck and she snuggled closer.

  She was calling my name in her sleep. A smile spread across my face and my arms tightened a little more around her body, pulling her closer to me. Cracking her may not be as hard as I thought.

  Chapter Four

  Paybacks are a Bitch

  Aidan

  The rest of the trip home was quiet but comfortable. We talked and laughed. Lilli had asked about my trip back, but I decided not to go into too much detail about the situation.

  In actuality, the truth would cause an argument. The Regalie Company knew that without an heir I would lose the company to the board. They didn't want to be involved in that, so I had to ensure them that an heir was in the works. Hell, I basically told them that their tantrum over the 'conditions' had interrupted the conception of my heir. Lilli would kill me.

  Our return to New York meant we would be going to our new home, the Iverson Mansion.

  "Holy crap!" Lilli exclaimed as we pulled up to the mansion.

  I laughed and she turned to looked at me.

  "This isn’t a house, it’s ridiculous!"

  "It’s just an oversized house." I laughed hard at the expression on her face.

  Once we pulled up to the house and climbed out of the car, I grabbed Lilli’s hand and led her inside.

  "Welcome home."

  "I’m so gonna get lost. Do you have maps?" Her laugh echoed throughout the house and I was surprised at how much I loved the sound.

  "You’ll be fine." Squeezing her hand, "Come on, I’ll show you around," I pulled her behind me.

  We walked to the left of the entry. I showed her to the dining room, the breakfast room, and the kitchen.

  "The kitchen has a back staircase there." I pointed across the kitchen. "Rachel is the cook and she’s on call during the day. She’ll cook all meals, you just need to keep her up to date with the schedule."

  "Schedule?" Lilli looked at me questioningly.

  "Yeah," I motioned to the large black book on the counter. "That’s where you mark if we are having guests, etc. She keeps the menu up to date." Shrugging, I looked back to Lilli.

  "So, I have to keep track of that?" She cocked her eyebrow.

  "I can do it, if you don’t want to." I shrugged again. "Come on. You can meet Rachel tomorrow."

  Walking through the atrium at the back of the kitchen, I showed her the pantry with walk in fridge. After those kitchen features, we walked past the kitchen table and up the back staircase.

  "On this floor there are six guest rooms and each room has its own bathroom." We reached the other end of the long hallway.

  "This is the master suite," I opened the door, "and our bedroom." She stiffened a little.

  I didn’t take her all the way through the master bedroom, knowing we would both be there later when our luggage arrived. Instead, I moved on.

  "This leads to the third floor" I opened the door and lead her up the stairs.

  "I’m am seriously going to get lost," she whined.

  I chuckled.

  "You won’t. You’ll get used to the place." I tugged her down the hallway, "Okay, up here are two smaller bedrooms which share a bathroom and the music room is at the end of the hallway."

  "Music room?" she questioned.

  "Yeah, my piano’s in there and some other musical equipment."

  "Oh," was her reply.

  "Then there is also Rachel’s apartment. She lives here with her son, Alex."

  She nodded.

  "There’s another apartment over the garage. Jay and his wife, Carole, live there. Jay is, well, I guess people would call him the butler, but he’s more like family." She simply nodded again. "Also, Mrs. White is our maid and she has a helper, Kirsten."

  I lead her back down the multiple staircases, returning to the entry way.

  "Now, to the right, we have the formal living room."

  She looked around the room, taking it all in. I proceeded to walk her through the ballroom, study, and attached library.

  "And, this, is the basic living space," Pushing a large set of doors open, I led her into the non-formal living room.

  "Seriously, get me a map." She let go of my hand and walked around.

  "Uh…we aren’t finished."

  She turned to look at me.

  "Yeah, there’s a workout room, along with the steam room, the pool, the theater, and –"

  "The theater?" she choked.

  "Yeah, it’s nothing really. It’s just –"

  "Most people go out to the movie theater, they don’t have them in their house." She laughed.

  "Not us. We have too many people trying to get a piece of us, of who we are." I sighed. "Trust me, Lilli. There are people that are going to follow your every move, so much more than you’re used to." Taking a deep breath, I continued. "We are one of the wealthiest families in New York, hell, in the U.S., people take pictures, make up stories..."

  "You mean like the paparazzi?" She furrowed her brow.

  "Sort of
, we aren’t famous like an actor or musician, but we are popular targets for reporters and local gossips because of our money." I really hoped I was making sense. She simply nodded.

  We continued with the tour of the house; the pool, workout room, theater. I also showed her the attached garage, the detached garage, the pool house, the outside pool, and told her about the tennis and basketball courts that were down a path in the back yard.

  "Iverson, you’re a spoiled brat," she teased as I led her back to the master bedroom.

  "No, I wasn’t," I lied.

  "Like hell you weren’t." She snorted. "Where are we going now?"

  "I want to show you around the master bedroom." I was hoping she wouldn’t take it the wrong way.

  "You’re gonna have to woo me better than that," she giggled.

  "Ha, ha," with a large smile I looked over my shoulder.

  Opening the doors again, we entered the master bedroom. For a moment, I had to stop and take a deep breath. The last time I was in this room it had belonged to my grandfather.

  "This is the bathroom." I pushed the double doors open, showing her the area. "Shower, Jacuzzi tub, double sink, vanity area…" I trailed off.

  "This is my closet, here, and that’s yours," I pointed to her closet, walked over and opened the door.

  "I think this is the size of my first dorm room." She entered the walk in closet and looked around. Her expression turned serious. "Whatever you do, don’t talk about or show Phoebe the size of this closet! Okay?"

  "Huh?"

  "She’ll want to go shopping to fill up the closet, so just don’t," she laughed.

  "As long as that means you’re not going to fight me about sleeping in the same room, it’s a deal." I smirked.

  "That’s sneaky, Iverson." She playfully narrowed her eyes at me.

  I shrugged. "Hey, I do what I have to do."

  "Uh-huh…sure."

  "Over on this side is the sitting area."

  "A sitting area in the bedroom?" She scoffed.

  "Hey, I didn’t design the room."

  "True," she agreed. "So, please tell me we’re done. I’m already confused." She sat down in a chair.

  "That’s about it." I sat down next to her.

  "Master Iverson?" Looking toward the door, Jay stood there stoically.

  "Come in, Jay." I stood. "Lilli, this is Jay. Jay, this is my wife, Lilli." I couldn’t help it. I liked calling her my wife.

  "Pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Iverson," Jay bowed his head to her.

  "Oh God, don’t bow! And, please, call me Lilli." She laughed and stuck her hand out to him. Jay smiled and shook her hand.

  "Master Iverson, your luggage has arrived. Do you want it brought up to your room?"

  "Yes, please." Jay turned to walk out. "Thanks."

  "Of course, Master Iverson" He pushed the double doors open widely.

  "Master Iverson?"

  "Yes, Mrs. Iverson?" She rolled her eyes and smacked my arm.

  "Why don’t you tell him to call you Aidan?" She wrinkled her brow.

  I shrugged.

  "He’s always called me something like that. Since I was young, it’s been Master Iverson and my grandfather was Mr. Iverson. It’s just a tradition, I guess."

  "Oh-Kay." Just then the luggage was brought in. Lilli, of course, tried to help.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Lilli

  "Lilli, quit before you get hurt. Let them bring the luggage in." Aidan lectured.

  "I’m not used to people doing everything for me." I argued as I watched the men carry the trunks and bags in.

  "Well get used to it." He was so close, his breath fanned over my neck. I shivered.

  Moving to one of the trunks, I started pulling out the dirty clothes.

  "Put all your dirty items over here." Spinning around, a plump, gray haired woman stood looking at me.

  "Mrs. White," Aidan exclaimed and rushed to hug her, planting a large kiss on her cheek.

  "Oh! Aidan, my boy!" She hugged him tightly. "You’re finally here to stay." She pulled back smiling, clearly thrilled he was here. "So…" Aidan looked at her funny. She smacked him in the head.

  I’m so gonna love her.

  "Introduce me, boy!" She motioned to me and Aidan laughed.

  "Mrs. White, this is my wife, Lilli. Lilli, this is Mrs. White." I smiled brightly as she pulled me into a large hug.

  "Oh, my dear, welcome!" I hugged her back. She pulled away. "If you need anything at all, you just let me know."

  "Can you smack him again? That was great," I laughed.

  "Hey," Aidan grumbled playfully.

  "Oh Aidan, my boy, you’ve got yourself a feisty one." She laughed and turned back to look at him. "I love her already."

  "Well, as long as she has your approval, I suppose I’ll stay married to her." He laughed.

  "What?" I exclaimed. "I have to stay married to you?" I stuck my finger down my throat, making fake gagging noises.

  "You know what…" Aidan grabbed me by the waist and tossed me over his shoulder. "I can easily carry you to the pool!"

  "Don’t you dare," I smacked his back.

  "I definitely see the life coming back into this old house." Aidan turned and looked at Mrs. White’s thrilled face. I had to twist to see her expression. She truly was happy, almost joyous.

  Aidan smacked my ass before putting me down. I screamed and, once on my feet again, smacked his head before hiding behind Mrs. White.

  Leaning to the side of Mrs. White’s head, I whispered in her ear. "Tell him to behave."

  "She won’t team up with you, she’s on my side." Aidan exclaimed.

  "Phhhttt!" I snorted, "We women stick together."

  "Oh, you two…" she shook her head, "Aidan, behave! Go through your luggage."

  "Traitor," he chuckled at Mrs. White.

  "I knew I loved you." Kissing her on the cheek, I giggled and went back to my luggage.

  Using the ruse of sorting my clothes, I tried to process the marriage, the house, the same bedroom. It was all so much. This bedroom alone was about the size of the apartment Dixon and I had lived in. It was ridiculous.

  Our first night back, our presence was demanded at Viola and Liam’s house for dinner. She wanted to hear about the island and if I enjoyed it. I think there was a small glimmer of hope in her eye that Aidan and I would’ve ‘connected’. However, I’m pretty sure I saw the glimmer die when Aidan and I acted just as before – married friends. Arriving back at the house the tension started to build.

  Once in the bedroom, I went to the bathroom to shower and get ready for bed. After slipping into a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt, I emerged. Aidan wasn’t here, so I climbed into bed – alone.

  Tossing and turning for over an hour, I finally climbed out of bed and decided to walk around the house. My first venture was to the library. There were so many books, wall to wall books. Grabbing one, I sat down on a large lounge chair. ‘Little Women’ had always one of my favorite stories and I quickly got lost in the pages.

  My eyes fluttered open and I stretched out, feeling warm and cozy. A firm, warm body was pressed against me. Twisting my head, I came face to face with Aidan.

  "Good morning," he croaked. Looking around, I realized we were in the bedroom. How in the world did I get into bed? "You fell asleep in the library. I carried you here last night."

  Had I asked out loud?

  "You could’ve left me there. I would’ve –"

  "Slept there all night?" His voice strained as he stretched, rolling his eyes.

  "You didn’t have to carry me up here."

  "It’s fine." He sat on the edge of the bed. My eyes scanned his bare back. He stretched again, arms over his head, his muscles flexed and lengthened. I almost moaned at the sight.

  "Well, thank you."

  He nodded and rubbed the back of his head, making his way to the bathroom. Watching him cross the room, my body tingled.

  Once he was out of sight, I rubbed my face. Snap out of it! />
  After only a few minutes, he emerged freshly showered and walked into his closet. I quickly made my way to the bathroom and showered. When I came out of the bathroom, Aidan was standing at his large, door length mirror tying his tie around his neck.

  "Do you have plans for today?" He looked at me in the mirror.

  "Um…I need to get my college stuff taken care of and finalized." I shrugged. "That’s about it."

  "I probably won’t be home till around eight." He finished the knot on his tie. "I have a lot to catch up on."

  I nodded and headed to my own closet. I closed the door and pulled on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a sweater. When I walked out, Aidan was standing there. I stopped short.

  Leaning forward, he kissed the top of my head. "See you tonight." He spoke quickly and walked out the door.

  The routine was the same for almost two weeks. I would explore the house, swim, work out, and some days I volunteered with Viola. Aidan usually didn’t get home until seven at the earliest, which was on a good night. Typically, when he got home he would go to his office and work the rest of the evening. I’d frequently fallen asleep in the library, though I always seemed to wake up in bed next to him.

  It was nine at night and Aidan was out with clients, so I was aimlessly wandering the house. I didn’t know what to do with myself. Celia was working and Phoebe was with Oscar.

  One minute I was walking down long empty hallways, the next I was standing in familiar, warm, chlorinated air. The pool looked so inviting compared to the wandering. With a quick scan of the changing room, I found only men’s swim shorts. The water looked so nice though.

  Ideas began to turn in my head. Mrs. White and Jay were done for the evening. Rachel was visiting family for the night. I was alone.

  "Oh, to hell with it." My words echoed against the empty walls.

  Stripping down to my bra and underwear, I jumped into the water. On my fourth lap, I stopped to catch my breath.

  "Well, well." My head snapped over. Aidan was standing on the side of the pool with a mischievous grin on his face. I sunk down into to the water, hiding my body.

  "Why is it that you only take your clothes off when I’m gone?" He walked around the edge of the pool as I continued wading further away. "What do I have to do to get you to do this when I’m around?" He laughed, picking up my jeans and flashing a very toothy smile.