“Aaron, you’ve made your point.” That was all I heard.
This girl needed to go. It was time to act. The laundry room was off the kitchen and a row of neatly ironed shirts hung from a rack there. Did Aaron have a housekeeper? I was marrying a guy with a housekeeper or a guy who was a really good ironer?
I could live with either one. I slid out of my dress, kicked off my shoes, and got into one of his shirts; I even lost the bra for extra affect. I ran the tap in the sink and wet my hair so I looked like I was fresh from a shower and some intimate action.
“Is that the pizza, honey? I’m famished.” I called as I walked down the hall, catching them with their mouths hanging open. “Oh, Ophelia. Hi. I hope there’s no work emergency.”
“Uh no, I just…”
“She was just going.” Aaron said his gaze very firmly on me and not his ex.
The pizza guy came up the stairs and also got an eyeful of me in the see-through shirt as well. Sometimes a girl has to take one for the team.
“Did you want to stay for pizza, Ophelia?” I asked. Kill ’em with kindness my grandmother always said.
“That’s fine. I’m expected at home.” She pushed her way down the stairs past the pizza guy. Then she turned back. “We’ll finish this tomorrow, Aaron.”
“We’re already finished,” he replied, paying the pizza guy and closing the door in one fell swoop.
He turned to me and raised his eyebrows. “Nice outfit. What there is of it.”
“You like? I wanted to surprise Ophelia.”
“You sure did, though not as much as you surprised the pizza guy.” He grinned at me.
“I’ll go change,” I said. I could feel his eyes on my back as we headed back down the hall.
“Don’t change on my account. I’m enjoying the view.”
I looked over my shoulder at him and smiled. “Yeah well, you can look but you can’t touch, so I think I’ll remove the temptation.”
It probably wasn’t a great idea for me to be flashing my soon-to-be platonic husband, or to be flirting with him, but we needed Ophelia to butt out for this marriage to be credible so I had to do what I had to do.
When I returned, he was pouring us each a glass of red wine to go with the pizza. He studied my face for a minute. We leaned across the island bench and sized each other up.
“So this is going to be strictly not physical?” he said.
“Strictly.” I agreed.
“And you won’t miss it?” he asked.
“I don’t have it now so, no, I will not miss it.”
“But wouldn’t you like it?” He covered my hand with his. “Even a little?”
“It’s a bad plan. Maybe you’re the one who should ask himself how he’s going to survive without the physical.” After all, he’d been with Ophelia as recently as, well, I didn’t exactly know when, but certainly more recently than I had been with anyone. I was used to going without; him, not so much.
“Why must the physical be off the table, Piper?”
“Because I’m not like you. Sex means something to me. This is a mutually beneficial arrange and we both already agreed to the terms and that’s not one of the terms.”
“I think we could make a physical relationship mutually beneficial.” He circled his thumb on the back of my hand.
“I don’t doubt that but we’re not going to find out.” I withdrew my hand. “Sex is off the table and if that’s a deal-breaker for you, I’ll eat my pizza, drink my wine, and see you later.”
He sighed. “No, I understand, but I think there’s an attraction here. I like you. You like me. We’re going to be living together… It makes sense.”
I saw his point, but I knew who I was. The girl most likely to fall head-over-heels with the wrong guy. The unattainable guy. The guy who didn’t believe in love. Being married to Mr. Fabulous here was going to be hard enough, but if we took things to the next level, I’d be screwed in every sense of the word.
“I don’t shit where I eat, Aaron.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “You’re a poet, Piper.”
Chapter 4
It was Wednesday afternoon and I hadn’t seen Aaron since Sunday night. We’d been sending each other lovey-dovey messages on our phones so if immigration ever checked; we had history, but no actual human contact. So when I saw him leaning in the doorway of my commercial kitchen, I was taken aback.
I guess I had forgotten just how darned attractive he was. I, on the other hand, surely looked atrocious. He was holding a bunch of multi-colored roses and he was sporting a big grin. One of my co-workers, Lucy, was eyeing him from the corner.
“Hey you,” he said and leaned in to kiss me as I closed the space between us.
I went to turn and give him my cheek, but he artfully maneuvered to make sure our lips locked. He tasted like coffee and smelled, as always, like a pine forest. “I missed you.”
“Me, too. Are these for me? Thanks.”
Lucy’s eyes were bugging out of her head.
“Lucy this is Aaron. Aaron meet Lucy. She does loads of the baking here. She’s a total star. She also helps me with the business operations. In fact she will be the Business Operations Manager if the deal goes through.”
She was up to her elbows in flour, so she simply grinned at him. “Hi.”
His attention quickly returned to me. “I thought I’d come see where you work your magic since you’ve been too busy to come to me these last few days.”
“This is where we make our pies.” I gesticulated widely, using my beautiful roses as a sort of a fragrant wand. “This is the hub of my universe.”
“And I thought I was the hub of your universe,” he said sweetly.
“My work universe,” I corrected.
“Well, it smells amazing. You can smell it down the block. I felt like a goofy cartoon character being led by his nose down the street.”
“Smell is one of the most important senses, so that’s a good thing. I’ll give you the two-minute tour, but then I have to get back to work. The pies don’t bake themselves, you know.”
I led him to my work table. “Here’s where we make them. We vary flavors by truck and day, but certain pies are constant, such as the Aussie meat pie. Other big sellers include beef vindaloo, chicken and vegetable, and mango chicken.”
“We like to mix it up a bit as well,” Lucy interjected. “We do special ones for holidays like Bastille Day, Cinco de Mayo, and Thanksgiving. Piper is a very savvy businesswoman.”
“I can see that.” He was taking in every inch of the place and then his eyes fell on me again and I blushed.
Time to keep things moving and business like. I wasn’t sure I could cope with him watching me and Lucy watching us both. “And over here we do our sweet pies. Again, we vary them, but every day we have at least a fruit pie. We usually also do something custardy and another option. Today we did blueberry, apple and custard, pecan, and a bannoffie.”
“Impressive,” he said as his eyes ran up and down my body.
“Over here.” I pointed to my desk with charts and folders. “This is where we keep track of what sells and what tanks. What people ask for, and my inventory and stock and costs, as well as our schedules for the trucks and all that stuff.”
“You’re quite the business woman. Did you study at business school?”
“No, I’m what you might call, self-taught. In the beginning, it was me, a truck, and a few pies. We’ve grown. Lucy was my first employee. I like to think we’re organic in that sense and responsive to the market.”
“She’s very smart,” Lucy said as if he needed to be told that a degree was not essential to my success.
“Yeah, I’m very smart. A true genius.” I mocked. I didn’t like people talking about me, it made me feel self-conscious. Even if they were being kind.
“Clearly you are. Look at what you’ve achieved in a few short years. You are indeed one smart cookie, excuse the baking pun.” His saying that meant a lot to me. Maybe too much.
Maybe, because he was a lawyer with more than one degree from some of America’s most prestigious colleges. Or maybe because I liked him a little. Either way, I took a moment and basked in the glow of his approval.
“So, have you got time for a break?” he asked.
“Go on, boss. I’ve got you covered,” Lucy said waving us out the door.
“I’ll be half an hour.”
“Take your time.”
“O’Shaunnessy’s or my place?” I asked.
He slung his arm over my shoulder and said loudly enough for Lucy to hear, “I think your place will be much more private.”
Upstairs, I grabbed us each a soda from the fridge. He sat on the red sofa and definitely improved the view.
“Okay, so here’s, what I think. This weekend we need to be together the whole time you’re not working. Because we’re eloping the weekend after, right?”
“We are.” My stomach twisted. Was I really fake-marrying (or really marrying but faking it) this gorgeous guy?
“Then let’s do dinner Thursday night and then you come back to my place. And bring a bag.”
“All right.” I felt myself turning pale.
“Are you okay with this?”
I leaned against the counter and took a large swig of my soda. “It feels very real all of a sudden.”
“It is very real,” he said. “Don’t worry. Once we’re married we can do what normal people do and ignore each other, but for now, we need to look into each other’s eyes and pretend to get lost in what we see.”
I didn’t like the idea that he was planning to marry me and ignore me. I didn’t want to be ignored. Then I reminded myself what was at stake. Pied Piper Pies was what mattered and Piper’s heart was going to have to be a grown-up about it.
“Okay, well what about you meet me at O’Shaunnessy’s Thursday at seven? Those guys know me, and while they aren’t super observant, your regular appearance there might count for something if anyone comes snooping.”
“Yeah about that…” He ran his hand through his hair. “Ophelia is not buying this. Well, she’s buying it, but she thinks we should continue to continue on the side.”
“I see.” I had indeed seen that coming.
“So if you can spare a minute or two to pop by my office for what did you call it…a PDF?” He tried to make light but Ophelia was a real problem.
“PDA. Public display of affection.”
“Yes. One of those. That would be helpful.”
“Okay.” It wasn’t on my list of favorite ideas, but, again, Pied Piper Pies was worth whatever I had to do. “Can I ask how you two got started?”
“I knew her at college and then when I started at the firm, she said she wasn’t happy in her marriage. It was…”
“Immoral?” I asked.
“I was going to say convenient.”
“Like me. You’ve had a girl friend of convenience and now a marriage of convenience.”
He shook his head. “It’s not quite the same. There’s something else.”
Something else? This was all getting complicated. “Spill.”
“My mother is coming to town this weekend.”
“Your mother?” I hadn’t factored in a mother, much less a wealthy one. “I don’t really do mothers.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be optional.”
“She won’t like me. I won’t be good enough. It’ll be a disaster.” He came over to the room and rested a hand on my shoulder, the other held his soda. His touch was firm and warm and good heavens I was a mess.
“Piper, can I ask you a question?”
“Shoot.”
“Why are you so insecure about family? It seems this shouldn’t be such an issue for you with all you can do, with who you are.”
That was the million dollar question, wasn’t it? That was how I knew his mother wouldn’t approve of me, because I hadn’t gone to college or prep school, nope I was definitely not the sort of girl she would want marrying her precious son. “How about we discuss that over dinner on Thursday? I’ll even let you take me somewhere nice.”
“Will you wear that sexy silver top for me?”
“Maybe. I might have something even more enticing in my wardrobe.”
I watched him gulp his soda. “I find that hard to believe.”
Chapter 5
I was definitely over dressed for O’Shaunnessy’s. My little emerald dress was also backless—what can I say? I think my back is one of my best features. And the dress was short, coming half way down my thighs. The front was a cowl neck so it hinted but didn’t give much away. I wore gold hoops, gold shoes, and had a black clutch. I also had an overnight bag. I wasn’t exactly subtle. I was feeling really nervous. A whole weekend alone with Aaron was a big thing. Not as big as marrying the guy, of course.
“Well hello, darling’” said Jimmy, the bartender. “What have you gone and done with our Piper?”
The boys at the bar turned and wolf-whistled. I saw Aaron bristle from his place in our corner booth. His eyes ran up and down me in a way I would have liked his hands to if this had been a real date.
“You had your chance boys. I’ve been coming in for years and not one of you even so much as asked me out, so live and learn.”
“You never looked like that, darling’.”
“Yeah, but sadly, Jimmy, you’ve always looked like that,” said one of the other lads. The bar erupted into good natured laughter and the men returned their attention to each other.
I headed over to Aaron who stood to greet me. He leaned down and gave me a very proprietary kiss on the mouth, his fingers skimming my back like a flock of butterflies. Great. Now I had butterflies inside and out.
“You look amazing.”
“Thanks. As you can see, if I want this lot to remember seeing us together, I had to go above and beyond.”
“Piper, I can assure you that, for as long as I live, I will never forget the moment you walked into this bar in that dress.” There was that fluttering again. “I ordered you a martini, I hope that’s okay.”
“Perfect.” I smiled. “One day you’ll make some woman a lovely husband.”
“Sit by me.” he said. It wasn’t a suggestion so much as a directive so I slid next to him into the booth. “Busy day?”
“Yep. It’s always busier at the end of the week. And then I got a call from my potential investors. They’re coming next week to check out my operation. I’m beside myself.”
“You’re going to do great,” he said. He was genuine, I could see that. “Have you got a good lawyer helping you?”
“I have one, but I don’t know how good he is.” That was the truth. He specialized in franchising and I could afford him. That was about all the criteria I needed.
“Do you want me to take a look at whatever they offer? I’d be happy to.”
“Aaron, I can’t afford you.” I spoke the truth.
“This is your future. You can’t afford not to use me. And I’m not going to charge you, silly. You’re my girlfriend.” He ran his hand down my arm.
Smart, kind, and sexy. My hormones were going crazy. This was not good. Not good at all. The butterflies took flight again so I did what anyone would do. I chugged my martini.
We moved on to dinner at a very elegant uptown restaurant called Cellini. I’d read about it, of course, because I was an avid reader of food columns, magazines, and blogs. I had always wanted to go there. They specialized in everything truffle. Of course, that was partly affectation, but truffles were delicious when done properly.
The hostess led us to a prime table and seemed to recognize Aaron. It occurred to me that I hadn’t yet googled Aaron or his family. I definitely needed to do that. Aaron nodded at a few other patrons and even shook someone’s hand.
“You’re quite famous around here, huh?”
“I prefer infamous.”
“For what?”
“You don’t know?”
“Not a clue.”
“Cherie didn�
��t tell you?”
My face clearly said not.
“My father’s in the clink for fraud and I put him there.”
“You put him there?”
“I realized he was running a Ponzi scheme and ripping people off, so I contacted the Feds. My father was always a self-centered bastard who didn’t really give a crap about me and who married my mother for her money. But when he started ripping off the little guy, I had to take a stand.”
“That must have been difficult.” That would be an understatement.
“Not really.” Yet he averted his eyes and it was clear it had been hard. “It was the right thing to do.”
“What about your mom?”
“She was…” He seemed to struggle for the right word.
“Humiliated?” Of course she was.
“Yeah, she understood my position and she respects it but…”
“Wow. And I thought my family was a model of dysfunction.”
“Well my parents were separated at the time, but then they’d lived separate lives for a long time, but yes it was still humiliating. She spends most of her time in Europe now. It’s easier.”
“Except for, this weekend. Lucky me.”
He grinned. “Lucky us.” Have gave my hand a squeeze across the table.
I turned my attention away to the menu. I wanted to be ready when the waiter came. It was truffle overload. Not that there were truffles in everything but most things at least had a hint of truffle oil or truffle salt.
Our waiter came over. “Hello. I’m Brendan and I’ll be your waiter this evening.” It was such an American thing to learn the waiter’s name. It didn’t happen in Australia and it always amused me every time I heard it.
I gave Brendan my order for a twice-baked truffle soufflé and chicken stuffed with pancetta, ricotta, and truffle. Aaron ordered his meal and a bottle of French red.
“Are you tired?” He covered my hand with his again. “You don’t look it, but you must be.”
“I’m kind of used to the routine because I’ve been doing it for a few years, but I usually don’t stay up too late except on Saturdays. If I did, I’d never be able to make it in in the morning.”
Any Way You Slice It: An Upper Crust Novella (Upper Crust Series Book 1) Page 3
