by Claire Angel
“That is truly complicated. Well, my advice is to call and take her out on an amazing date and maybe you can convince her of becoming more than just a fake wife or stand-in mommy for a while.”
After finishing our lunch in relative silence, I decided to make the call. “Would you excuse me for a while? I think I’m going to follow your advice and call her.”
The phone didn’t ring long before she answered. “Hi. Diane speaking, can I take your order?”
“Umm, hi, Diane. It’s me, Xander. Is this a good time to talk or should I call back later?”
“Oh, hi! No, it is fine. How can I help you?” Diane sounded a little nervous and I smiled at the surprise in her voice.
For a moment, I felt like an idiot again. “I was wondering if we could go out and maybe start over. I felt like last night happened so fast and I wanted to make it up to you.”
The line went quiet for a moment and then she replied, “Where do you want to meet?”
“How would you like to have dinner on my yacht? I’ll pick you up and drop you off afterward, if that’s okay with you,” I offered, hoping that she would agree. Dinner on the peaceful water with a chance to talk was the perfect way to get to know each other more.
“Sure. I’ll send you my address. I’ll be ready at nine, if that’s okay.” There was a tinge of excitement in her voice and I grinned at this.
“Great, see you then.” As I hung up, my stomach felt twisted and it felt like I was back in high school. Man, I love that feeling.
The next moment Jared slapped me on my back, “Well done, bucko. I knew you had it in you. I must admit, your opening line was really lame, but it did the trick and you are all set for a fun-filled evening.”
Don’t think we’ll be fooling around; it’s just a business arrangement, I tell myself, that way I won’t get my heart ripped out and smashed to pieces if it isn’t too late for me already.
Chapter 6
Diane
“Dinner on a yacht.” The words sounded funny coming out of my mouth. As I looked in the mirror, the foundation and concealer were not really concealing the dark circles under my eyes. But I was happy; at least they were a little lighter than before. Finishing touches of lip gloss and mascara were the best I could do. I hoped my dress was appropriate for a yacht as I had never been on one and the internet wasn’t that particular about what to expect or what is best to wear on a boat. The only good advice I could pick up was to keep the heels short, as there might be narrow staircases. Speaking of narrow steps, I hoped not to get sea-sick. Imagine the humiliation. I took a last look in the mirror and gave myself a wide smile.
As I walked towards my living room, there was a soft tap on the front door. I took a look at my watch and it was exactly five minutes to nine. I liked the punctuality; it showed there was respect for my time. Time was the one commodity that I valued the highest at the moment, as I could never get that back and I had very little time to spend on myself. I hoped that he lived up to my expectations.
As I opened the door, he was standing with his back towards me, looking back at his car. He quickly turned around at the sound of the door opening. He was looking magnificent, dashing and utterly breath-taking in his black suit, just like a Hollywood star.
“Hi.” He was silent for a few seconds and I was hoping it was not because of having second thoughts about the whole date.
“Hi… you look amazing. Are you ready to go?” He smiled and I felt my heart jumping inside of my chest. This man was gorgeous and I might end up marrying him. Money or not, this could be fun. The little girl inside me gave a small skip and a high-five. On the outside, I was all poised and only allowed a half-shy smile to show on my face.
“Thank you. I just need to grab my purse.” Out of his sight, I took a deep breath and recited the rules I made for myself.
First: No sex. Don’t sleep with him, no matter how charming he is.
Second: Stop drooling; hide your heart and tuck it away. This is not for pleasure. I chided myself on my initial thoughts at the door.
Third and Last: He must never know that there is some part of me that wanted to get married to him for real; it will make things awkward at the end when the break-up is inevitable.
I took a deep breath and, with my goals fresh in my mind, I was able to face him and enjoy the rest of the evening. I locked the door behind me and he hooked my arm in his and led me towards the black limo waiting at the curb in front of my house… I knew he was rich, but he was far richer than I had thought. He definitely was a millionaire or something. I was in a state of both shock and surprise for a few minutes.
Silently, I was thrilled too… I had never been inside a limo and all of this was getting me overly excited.
Get a grip on yourself, Diane and close your mouth! This is going to be harder than you thought.
He stood in front of the door and said, “Please, allow me to open the door for you.” It felt strange to be treated like this. I usually open the door all by myself and never had any other dates doing something like that for me. Chivalry might be dead, but it did feel nice for a change. Maybe it was because he was trying to convince me that his offer was the best.
As I entered inside, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was a complete ultra-luxurious lounge on wheels with a big screen TV and attractive lighting. I took a seat and noticed that there were already two glasses, a champagne bottle placed in an ice bucket and five red roses in a vase next to the bucket on the bar table just near to the TV screen. Xander slid in beside me and closed the door behind him.
“I hope you don’t mind my presumption that you would like to share a glass of champagne.” He picked up both glasses and offered one to me.
“Thank you.” I smiled gratefully and took a sip as the bubbles tickled my throat lightly. It felt so relaxed. The driver had already left my place and soon we were on the freeway. Suddenly, I realized that there wasn’t any harbor around Ann Arbor and look at him. “Where is your yacht docked?”
He smiled at me and I felt genuinely gullible for not asking that earlier. I had just got into a stranger’s car and had given him full permission to take me wherever he wanted to.
He started laughing at me softly, “Don’t be so stressed; I’m not going to abduct you. You’re safe with me and I will bring you back to your home tonight, as promised. My yacht is docked at the Detroit Yacht Club. It’s about an hour’s drive, so we have plenty of time to start our conversation from last night over if you want.”
An hour sitting so close to him? I had to keep my focus. “Yes, sure, which part would you like to start over? Should I rewind and erase everything you said, or just certain sections?”
He smiled at my quirky comment and I felt my shoulders relax. “I don’t want you to erase anything, but I do want to get to know you better. So, if you don’t mind, please tell me about your café.”
Not exactly the topic that I had expected, but it did make sense to start with my business experience.
“The café actually belongs to my mother. She is, well… she was a very hard-working Wonder Woman. She was able to run the café all by herself.” He looked so interested in what I was saying and I felt compelled to keep on telling him of how things had changed since mom got sick four months ago.
“When my mother was diagnosed with stage two cancer, our world came to a stand-still. Everything had to stop to make time for appointments with specialists and doctors. After a few weeks of madness, the one waitress resigned, explaining that she found another job. With that wake-up call, my mother handed the café over to me and asked if I would be willing to run it during the weeks that she would be in for treatment.” I stopped for a moment, as the memories of how my mother reacted to the first treatment were shocking and really painful.
“Her body didn’t respond as well to the procedure as the doctors had hoped, so she became very ill and weak. She had to stay in the hospital for a week, where other patients only stayed for a day or two. Even when she was at home, she wa
s too weak to get back to the café and I took over full-time. The medical aid only covers the treatment and one day in the hospital, the rest of the expenses are from our private account.” I turned to look out the window, as I could feel my eyes starting to tear up and I didn’t want to appear weak in front of him.
“So, you can probably imagine how quickly the private account reached more than the profit the café can make in even ten years. So, I had the difficult task of asking the remaining waitress, the temporary bookkeeper and the cleaning lady to find other work elsewhere. The new arrangement was bearable for the first two months, but then I became tired and completely fatigued. Mimi helped me out two times a week, but when she broke her toe, she had to stay off her feet for a minimum of four weeks. So, I was back at square one.”
After telling him the whole story, I realized how hard the past few months had been and I understood why I was so tired and exhausted all the time.
Xander was looking at me the whole time as I was telling him the story, but now he turned his face the front of the car. I didn’t know if he was judging me. Because as I was continuously telling my sad tale anybody could be judgmental.
I felt weak and almost close to tears. I just stared down at my hands
as a tear formed and fell onto my palm. I quickly wiped the wetness from my hand and from my cheek. I hated the feeling of being weak, especially in front of him.
I didn’t want him to see me in a vulnerable position, so I corrected my posture and looked at him. “This is a mistake; I should never have revealed my heavy load to you. I don’t know why I’m not able to stop telling my tale from last night. I am sorry about it.”
He took my hand in his and said, “Please, I know all about humble beginnings and hardships beyond my reach. I wasn’t always wealthy and I, too, started from the bottom, but with pure luck and good intuition, I have been able to acquire more than I deserved. Yet with all this money in the bank, I can still not buy custody of my daughter.” Xander stared into my eyes. “Please allow me to pay the outstanding debt that you already have and also for the future expenses.”
“I don’t know; I will have to think about it. I don’t know if my mother would approve and accept such a big donation. She has been an independent lady all over the years.”
I could see that Xander wanted to push the issue, but he decided to let it be for a while. “Okay then, let’s leave the offer on the table. Let’s enjoy the rest of the evening, as we’ll be arriving shortly.”
With a surprise, I looked at my watch and saw it was already ten to ten. How did the time go by so quickly? I took the last sip of my champagne and tried to relax my racing heart. I had just revealed so much of myself to him and I knew very little about him. I silently decided that the rest of the evening, I would be listening to him instead of spilling all of my secrets.
We reached the dockyard and Xander escorted me onto his yacht. He was gentle the entire time and didn’t give me the opportunity to remember the three rules.
It was massive, at least a three-story yacht. As I entered in, it was again a surprise for me and my first thought was that Mimi would have loved it. There were an open swimming pool and beautiful loungers on both sides of it.
“It’s so beautiful. Is this yours? I mean, do you own this or do you rent it or lease it?” I knew it was a lame question. Why can’t I keep my mouth shut?
He laughed, maybe he was thinking how stupid I was. “Yes, it’s mine. I bought it few years back. Let’s get inside. You must be hungry.” I just nodded and now I was sure that he definitely someone more than a millionaire, a billionaire maybe.
He asked for my hand and took me inside. There was a beautiful garden on the right side. As we moved forward there was already a barbeque ready table at the corner with a small fountain behind it. A man was standing there.
“Please have a seat, Diane.”
“Thanks.” I sat on the chair and he took the seat in front of me. The chef started preparing our dinner.
“I hope you like seafood, as I have freshly caught lobsters for our main course and oysters for our starters,” Xander said.
“Wow, that sounds amazing. I haven’t had lobster before, but my mom once made crayfish at the café to see if the customers would appreciate it. It turned out to be a bit of an acquired taste in our neighborhood and didn’t sell as well as she hoped it would.”
Xander turned to face me with a questioning expression in his eyes on his face. “Wait, where did you say your café is?”
“I don’t think I’ve told you. It’s in Kerrytown, just across the road from the farmer’s market. Why, have you been there before?” I smiled and waited for an answer.
“Crazy small world.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I have been there so many times before. I do some charity work at the Community High School close by, giving motivational speeches to the kids. I haven’t been there in a while, but I remember the crayfish special and your mom actually told me I was only one that ordered it. I must admit, your mom had a good recipe, but the next time I went there, she had taken it off the menu. A pity, but there are many other great dishes. I also love the décor, so cozy and simplistic.” As I listened to him describing the cafe, I started smiling. He really got very excited about things.
“Yes, that is the place. I’m sure my mom will be happy to hear such praises from one of her former customers.”
He asked the chef to leave and started putting the lobster on the barbeque and the aroma immediately filled the air; a fresh, familiar smell, reminding me of the week when the cook practiced on the crayfish. Still focused on the lobster, Xander asked, “Have you been to the hands-on museum that is close by? One of my inventions is on display there. Have you been to the little art shop a bit further south? I can’t remember its name, but it has amazing contemporary artworks.”
I started laughing at his enthusiasm. “Yes, I’ve been there. Do you like art?”
He offered me an oyster that he had already prepared with Worchester and lime juice. “Here, taste this.” He looked at me as I took the shell from him and for a moment, I was lost. How do you get that into your mouth?
Xander quickly noticed that I had no experience with oysters and took one into his own hands to show me how to tip the shell into my mouth. I allowed the soft oyster to slide into my mouth. There was an explosion of flavors and my eyes were opened to a whole new world of seafood beyond fried shrimp. “This is amazing.”
“Try this together with the oysters. It’s a Muscadet, the best pairing wine with oysters.” Xander handed me a glass of white wine. He seemed so happy serving me and it was a really nice feeling.
As I took a sip of the wine and let another oyster slide into my mouth, I could taste why the two were such a right combination; they just complemented each other. “It’s great. Looks like you’re trying to buy me with good food and wine?” I teased him with a smile.
He started laughing, “Maybe?” He turned back to the barbeque to turn the lobster over and looked back at me, “So, is it working?” He gave me a knowing smile and a wink.
Shit! Xander had a way of turning me on without even putting in much effort. I just smiled at him and turned around, walking away from him. I had to get some distance between us, so I walked towards the railing on the edge of the deck and looked over the harbor. We didn’t leave the dock, as I was a bit skeptical about seasickness. But as I was standing there, I wished I had accepted the offer to sail out onto the lake. The lights on the opposite coast looked inviting, almost beckoning me to become part of their world; this world, filled with luxury and happiness.
Xander came to join me and as he handed me my glass of wine, our fingers touched slightly and at that moment it felt like home. I felt safe with him; no financial worries and no inhibitions of protecting my heart. He moved closer and my heart raced as I looked into his eyes. He stared at my lips and he could see the need in my eyes. He leaned into kiss me and I almost allowed him to, but a sire
n went off in my head and I had to step back.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.” I took a step back and tried to think of something to say. “Where is the lady’s room?”
I could see Xander was feeling slightly awkward after I rejected him, but he pointed towards the cabin. “First door on the right.”
Chapter 7
Xander
Okay, maybe I deserved that, but I couldn’t help it. She was irresistibly attractive. She looked stunning. I had been avoiding women for a long time, but Diane was driving me wild. I wanted to kiss her right there in the car, but I somehow controlled myself. I was very good at holding my feelings back.
The smell of the lobster quickly brought me back to reality. Shit, maybe the food burnt to a crisp. I caught it in time; the lobster was perfectly cooked. As I plated, I was scolding myself for not keeping my cool. This was a business agreement, not a one-night stand.
I turned around to carry the plates to the table and saw her coming back, but she stopped in the doorway, staring at me. Just as I caught her staring, she looked away and walked closer towards the table.
I was almost sure that there was mutual interest and there was definitely some chemistry between us. I had seen the need in her eyes. Could I possibly convince her to be more than just a fake wife? I pulled the chair out for her and as she sat down.
She was so easy to talk to, but now I was struggling to string two words together. “I hope you like it.” Seriously, that was just lame. I could come up with anything to say and that’s my line. We ate the lobster and sipped our wine in relative silence, though slightly awkward. Maybe it was because I was trying too hard to impress her and it turned somewhat sour.
“I’m sorry; it’s just that I have it in my head that if we are going to get into this fake marriage thing, we will most likely have to kiss at least in public to make it convincing.”
I could see that her blood pressure was rising and her cheeks were starting to turn crimson, so I quickly added, “I know you haven’t agreed yet, but I got carried away. As I said, I’m sorry.”
