by Willow Aster
“What is it that you do?” Beecham asks.
Caden lights up at this question. “My brothers and I moved to New York and started a business together. We’ve renovated a few apartment buildings so far, flipping them into condos that people can purchase. It’s a way to get people into their first homes they might not be able to afford in the city with the prices these days. And now we’ve moved on to The Lux Hotel, which is a huge project for us.”
My mother’s mouth is so pursed I want to offer her a glass of water. My sister studies her French manicure like it’s the most important thing happening at the moment. Beecham suddenly excuses himself and hightails it down the hall with Louie biting at his ankles the whole way. “The hotel is amazing,” I say. “And the condos are gorgeous.”
“Aren’t you going to move into one of those shoeboxes?” Juliette grimaces and I’d love to slap the snobbery right off her face. I’ve often wondered how we were raised in the same household. Besides our pale blonde hair, we look nothing alike and have nothing in common. Never have and probably never will.
“Yes. It sounds like the one available is going to work.”
“I was going to see if you’d like to head over after dinner. I can give you a tour.” Caden wriggles his brows. He’s completely unaffected by my family and I relax just a bit.
“Yes. Let’s do it.”
“I can’t believe you’re really doing this.” My mother shakes her head with disbelief.
“I’m ready for all of it,” I say, glancing over at Caden. He winks at me and my stomach does all these little flips.
Beecham hobbles back to the table, grumbling at Louie, who surprises everyone when he comes around the table and scratches for Caden to pick him up.
The dog definitely has good taste.
“Well, if you’ll all excuse us. We’re going to head to the building to take a look at the condo.”
My mother pushes to her feet. “I need a moment, darling.”
I glance at Caden and he’s on his feet, attempting to clear his place. Nancy hurries over to stop him and I chuckle. Before I know what’s happening, he has Louie cradled in his arms.
“I’ll be right back,” I say, and he nods as he laughs at Louie who is moaning in his arms with pleasure.
We step inside the butler’s pantry and my mother closes the door. “You’ve made your point, Cosi. Let’s move on. Jeremy is ready to change his ways. Sabine gave him a good scolding and we’re all ready for you to get engaged.” Sabine is Jeremy’s mother. I do love her. But sometimes I think even she knows that her son is a bit of a weasel.
“Maman, I’m not trying to make a point. This is not a game to me. I don’t love Jeremy. Not the way I should. I’m with Caden now, and I’m happy. You need to accept it.”
“I won’t. You and Jeremy were always supposed to get married. This isn’t a new idea, Cosette. You’re messing everything up.”
I rear back. Is she kidding me right now? “Messing everything up? Why? Because he’s a partner in your restaurant? I’m your daughter. My happiness should matter to you.”
“Oh, please. Jeremy can give you a nice life. He has a trust fund that could buy this home ten times over. The restaurant is just to keep him busy. What are you going to have with this handyman? What kind of life can he provide? You’re going to live in a condo? You think you can be happy living that way?”
My mom’s view of life is about status, who you know, having someone at her beck and call. Her house is fully staffed and she thinks I should have those same desires too. Where she veers off course with her theories about lifestyle is with her desire to work. Maybe the way she was raised has her always thinking about what could happen if it’s gone. I’m not sure. But I think even she must get bored with being rich and actually enjoys her design company. She certainly never needs to work another day in her life.
I rub my temples and yank the door open. Living away from my family while I was in college was a nice break. This year, being back at home has opened my eyes to so many unpleasant things about the people I love most in the world.
“I’m leaving with my boyfriend, Mother.” I storm out of the pantry and hurry upstairs and throw a few things in a bag. I make my way out to the dining room, and when Caden’s eyes lock with mine, I see all the empathy in the world.
“Are you ready to go?” he asks, and he reaches for my bag and throws it over his shoulder and then takes my hand.
“I am. Oh, don’t wait up. I’m going to spend the night at Caden’s,” I say, before grabbing my purse and heading out the door.
I hear my mother gasp and Juliette whispering all sorts of nonsense.
I don’t look back.
Because Caden Taylor is helping me find my way.
My fresh start.
And I am here for it.
Chapter Five
Caden
“Are you all right?” I ask after I slide into the driver’s seat beside her.
“Yes.” She’s got her hands folded together in her lap and she’s shifting them back and forth in frustration.
“Want to talk about it?”
“About the fact that I come from a family of pretentious snobs? What is there to say? Oh, is it okay if I sleep on your couch? I probably should have asked you first.”
I laugh. She’s so … different from anyone I’ve ever been with. “Family isn’t always perfect, but they’re usually coming from a place of care. They want you with Jeremy because he’s got a lot of money, and that means something to them,” I say. “And you never have to ask if you can stay with me. You’re always welcome.”
“They’re so shallow. They want me with a man that cheated on me. Repeatedly. And why? Because he has more money than God? Who cares? My family has plenty of money of their own. I make good money. I’ll make my own way.”
“Of course you will. Tell me about Jeremy. Why do they want you with him so badly?”
“Well, his parents are best friends with my parents. My mom likes the sound of his last name and the attention that it would garner in her social circle, I guess.”
“You dated him for a while?”
“We dated in high school for a little bit. In all honesty, we never had much in common. Jeremy isn’t interested in design or in creating anything. I knew he was a playboy back then, but it was just sort of expected that we’d date. I was a bit of a late bloomer, and I wasn’t really interested in dating anyone at all, so it worked at that time.”
I glance over at her when I stop at the light. A pink hue is covering her neck and adds a little color under her adorable freckles on her cheeks.
“And then what happened?” I ask when the light changes and I pull onto the freeway.
“He left for college first, and then I left. I wanted to attend school in France. Be around my relatives there more. Find my own way. So we remained friends. I dated while at university, but nothing serious. But when I moved back to join my mother at Dubois Designs, there was all this pressure to get back together with Jeremy. You saw us in Vegas. We were hardly the happy couple. I think he likes showing me off, bragging about my family and all of that. But there’s just nothing there. And I don’t know why he cares to pursue this nonsense.”
He cares because she’s a fucking prize. Cosette Dubois is the gold medal of women. She’s gorgeous. She’s smart. She’s funny. She’s the whole fucking package. Of course he cares. He wants the best of both worlds. I’ll never forget the first time I saw her. I met with her and her mom at Dubois Design and could barely string together a sentence when she walked into the room. It’s been nearly a year ago now and I still get tongue-tied around her sometimes.
“He knows he has a good thing. Can’t fault the man for that. But he should have treated you right, and maybe you wouldn’t have left.” I pull into the garage beneath the building.
“I would have left either way. I didn’t leave because he cheated on me, Caden. I mean, that’s not the only reason. I left because I knew there was something missing
. I’m also only twenty-four years old. I don’t want a lifetime of unhappiness. I want to live and travel and find a partner who wants the same things as I do.” Her voice is so soft, I fight the urge to pull her onto my lap once the car is in park and I remind myself that none of this is real. It’s all for show even though no one is here at the moment.
I turn to face her and reach for her hand. “You should have all of those things. You deserve the best, Cosette.”
She bites down on her bottom lip. “Thank you. So, am I messing up your game by forcing you to have a fake girlfriend?”
“Nope. I’m exactly where I want to be.”
She nods and her tongue swipes out to wet her lips. “Really? So how long are you willing to play along?”
“As long as you want me to, lover,” I tease.
“You’d do that for me? Why?” she asks as I unbuckle my seat belt.
“Because you’re good peeps, Cosette Dubois. And it’s hardly a hardship. Hell, being your fake boyfriend is the most fun I’ve had in a long time.” I jump out of the car and open her door before she steps out.
“You’re good peeps too, Caden Taylor. Even Louie knows it,” she says over her laughter as we slip into the elevator.
“That dog is a trip.” I laugh.
“Uh, yeah, you could say that. But you tell me when you’ve had enough, okay? If you can’t turn the ladies down any longer, you just say the word and we’ll stage a great breakup.”
“The ladies can wait. Not going to happen.” I chuckle and she smiles. “You’ll be jumping ship first.”
We step off on the eighth floor and I walk her toward the vacant condo. When I push the door open, she walks in and I flip on the lights. Her entire face lights up as she takes in the space.
“I can only imagine how bright this is during the daytime. I love the floor-to-ceiling windows. Wow. Did you design these?”
I move toward the windows and stare out at the city. “I did. I felt like the view would be our selling point. Give people a bang for their buck, you know? We made up for it with the budget and the location, knowing that installing these windows in place of the wall would go a long way. I believe it’s the reason they sold out so quickly.”
“And this one is available? How is that possible?” she asks as she floats through the space like a living, breathing fairy.
“The person buying it decided to move abroad. We were just going through the waitlist to decide who to call when you spoke to me about it.”
“And you gave it to me, just like that?” she whispers, moving to stand in front of me. Her chest rising and falling against mine.
I push the white-blonde hair away from her face. My God, she is gorgeous. “Just like that.”
She wraps her arms around me and hugs me tight. “Thank you, my wonderful boyfriend. I’ll take it. When can I move in?”
I laugh and kiss the top of her head. “The inspections are all done. So we’ll get the financial stuff going, but you can move in whenever you want.”
“I can’t wait. So where do you live?” she asks as she pulls away and moves from room to room to check out the space.
“Funny you should ask. Surprising that you don’t know, seeing as we’re so in love and all.” I laugh. “I’m right next door.”
“No way. And you’re sure you don’t mind me sleeping on your couch tonight? I just couldn’t resist with the way my mother was pushing Jeremy on me again.”
I lead her to the door and we flip off the lights before moving toward my apartment. “I have a guest room and you’re welcome to stay in it as long as you want.”
I want to tell her she’s welcome in my bed whenever she wants too, but I’ll keep that to myself. Hell, I’ve felt the pull that lives between us. The force that has been there since the first day I met her. But maybe she doesn’t feel it. Maybe she just needs a fake boyfriend, and I happen to be right here. The right place at the right time, and all that.
As I put the key in the door, there’s a loud ruckus and we both turn around to see Gus, Spence, Jesse, Mya, and Emma heading our way.
“Well, well, well … what do we have here?” Gus says, and his cheeks are flushed.
I roll my eyes as Cosette and I pause at the door. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“We tracked your phone, you dicksquirrel. Knew you were home and wanted to hear about your fake date that appears to still be going strong,” he says in a sing-song voice before making his voice ridiculously deep. “Hello, lovely Cosette.”
Who’s the dicksquirrel now?
I push the door open and everyone follows us inside.
Spence and Jesse greet Cosette, and Mya and Emma are bouncing up and down, excited to see Cosette again. They met her in Vegas when we were all there for a mini vacation and got all starry-eyed about her then too. I roll my eyes because I know they’re going to try to make more out of this than it is. Cosette needs me to play the part of boyfriend to get away from her ex. Was there a smokin’ hot kiss involved? Yes. But do I think she wants more? I really don’t fucking know. And this is new for me. I’m not shy when it comes to women, but I rarely have to make the moves. Women usually have no problem telling me what they want.
Cosette Dubois is different. In every sense of the word.
The girls remind Cosette of their names before dragging her off to the couch to chat.
I pull out seven wine glasses and open a few bottles of wine.
“What’s happening here, Sir Fakealot? Or is it Shady McFakey?” Gus purrs in my ear, which causes me to reach in my refrigerator to grab my secret stash of olives while he attacks a bag of pretzels. The dude has the attention span of a small flea. I drop an olive in his glass of red wine before handing it to him. Spence, Jesse, and I each grab two glasses and walk out to the living room and hand them to the girls.
We all settle on the oversized sectional, and I glance out at the twinkling lights in the distance. When I look up, Cosette is staring at me and she smiles. My fucking chest squeezes so tight I think it might explode. This is also new.
Before I can respond, Gus spits wine across the coffee table, along with an enormous chunk of an olive. My head falls back in laughter, and I’m thankful for the wood floors we’ve installed in all the condos.
“What the motherfucking hell? Juniper Holloway ... no fucking more!” he shouts, moving to his feet, and we lose it.
My brother is as theatrical as they come. And he has a sensitivity to olives ever since he binged on some of Mya’s mother’s secret recipes. Juniper fucking Holloway is a wives’ tale that my brother has taken far too seriously.
He swore off all olives months ago. Every bar he’s visited has heard the story, because he wants to be sure no one ever accidentally drops olive juice, or God forbid, an olive itself in his cocktail. And he’s all about the bar garnishes, just not olives.
So … in true Taylor form, I always keep a stash of olives in the fridge hidden in an old cream cheese container. Just in case. There is no one more fun to prank than Gus Taylor.
Cosette is on her feet, hurrying over to him like he’s been wounded. “Oh my gosh. Are you okay?”
The rest of us are still trying to gain our composure, and she glances back at us with concern.
“He’s fine. He’s just ridiculous about olives,” Emma says, swiping at the tears streaming down her face from laughing so hard.
“Brother. Did you do that?” Gus’ face is so serious, it takes all I have in me to shake my head no. “Please say you’re fucking with me. I can’t take any more of this curse.”
Spence covers his face with both hands and tries to stop himself from laughing.
“What curse?” Cosette asks, as Gus reaches for her hand and places the back of it against his forehead as if he has now come down with a fever.
“Juniper Holloway,” he whimpers, and Jesse grabs some napkins and starts cleaning up the mess.
“Why would Juniper Holloway put an olive in your wine glass?”
Cosette
asks before telling him he doesn’t feel warm and returning her hand back to her lap.
Her lavender gaze locks with mine and she smiles and shakes her head with confusion.
“Probably because Gus was nosing around in my business again,” I say, raising a brow at him.
“Noooooo. You wouldn’t dare, Caden. Not when you know my sensitivity to olives. It brings it all back up for me. My asshole was on fire, man.”
“I’m just saying. Maybe Juniper Holloway thinks you’re barking up the wrong tree. And why the fuck are you tracking my location?”
“Because I worry about you. And what do you do? You invite the devil in to fuck with me.” He pushes to his feet and shakes his head.
The dude really believes in this one, and I almost feel guilty. Almost. But when you grow up with three brothers and one sister, you learn how to have their backs and when to fuck with them. And I have Gus’ number. He makes it far too easy. I basically just confessed, but he still isn’t sure. He marches to the refrigerator and searches the shelves, never considering that they could be hidden in a decoy container. It isn’t rocket science.
“I don’t see any fucking olives in here, man.”
Emma and Mya fall back in a fit of giggles again.
“He makes it too goddamn easy,” Spence whispers.
“He really does,” I say.
“Don’t worry, brother. I’ve got your back,” Jesse says.
Gus pours himself another glass of wine in a fresh glass and uses a fork to swirl in the liquid to make sure there are no surprises.
He drops back down to sit with us and we pull ourselves together. Even Cosette is struggling not to laugh now.
She fits right in.
“So, are you going to take the condo?” Spence asks.
“I am. Yes. Thank you guys so much for offering it to me. I’m really excited about it.”
“Well, that will work out nicely.” Gus smirks. “Living next door to Mr. Fake-A-Date.”
Cosette’s cheeks pink up, and I’m ready to drop another olive in his glass.
