The Boyfriend Contract

by Victoria James

  Callie leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with excitement. He held his breath because he knew that look. You didn’t grow up with Callie in the house and not recognize that smile—it was the smile that inevitably landed one of them in trouble. “I have the perfect replacement,” she said.

  He swallowed the curse words already bubbling in his throat with their mother still in the kitchen, which was open to the family room. Clearly he wasn’t alone in his worry, because his brothers were already shifting nervously.

  “Out with it, before you give us nightmares, please,” Brody said, passing around beers.

  Callie gave them her infamous shit-disturber smile and then proceeded to crack open her beer and take a long drink. “Okay,” she said, finally, many long, tense minutes later. “How about Emily?”

  No one said anything. Emily was the person he was trying not to think about. Now he was beginning to suspect that all these extra Emily meetings were a setup by his well-intentioned but very irritating family members. Like today, of course, attending Sunday night dinner. Now Callie wanted her playing in their championship baseball weekend?

  “Emily doesn’t strike me as a baseball player,” Austin said, walking to the kitchen and then plucking a grape from a cluster on the fruit platter. He threw it in the air and caught it in his mouth. He was rewarded by a swat from their mother as she prepared the salad and pretended not to be listening to their conversation.

  He knew she was allied with Callie in their plan to insert Emily around him wherever possible. He told himself he was indifferent to it. They’d been trying this kind of thing since about two years after Catherine had passed. At first he’d been angry, but as time wore on, he knew they were just trying to help. They wanted him happy again, and they assumed he needed to be married to be happy—that couldn’t be further from the truth. Beer and a baseball game on TV made him happy, as did whiskey. Well, never as happy as a woman could make him, but he didn’t want that anymore. He saw Catherine as a different time in his life, almost like a different life. He had tried to explain that to his family on a few occasions, after a few drinks, but his message didn’t seem to take.

  They were a bit overzealous in their infatuation with Emily, but he refused to give them the satisfaction of falling for their plans. Or Emily. The slight problem he was having was that he could see himself falling for Emily. Of course, hooking up with anyone in Maple Hill for the night wouldn’t be the wisest thing, with how easily gossip spread. Then there was the fact that he’d never been one for the casual hookup, and going home with a stranger—or not so much a stranger—didn’t appeal to him.

  His mind immediately went to Emily and the fact that he’d thought about her. A lot. When she wasn’t around. When he was alone at home. At night. There were other things he’d noticed… There was a strange kind of anticipation to start his day, one that he couldn’t remember having in…a very long time. He was always the first one at her door, and he had a craving, almost an addiction, like wanting his morning coffee. He wanted to see her smile. He wouldn’t admit that to anyone in this room, because they would pounce on that like a cat on a mouse.

  “Well, why don’t you ask her when she gets here, Cooper?” their mom said, not waiting for his answer before darting into the dining room.

  He felt the blood drain from his face. Why was that question directed toward him? He glared at Callie, who held her hands in the air and tried to run past him. He blocked her and crossed his arms over his chest, doing his best to appear intimidating. It was futile because his sister wasn’t intimidated by any one of them and had often been the one to kick or deck one of them, growing up, knowing they weren’t allowed, nor would they ever be allowed, to lay a hand on her. “Cal, I think I made it very clear, I’m not interested.”

  He ignored the snickers from his brothers.

  “I didn’t say you were. We’re being good friends.”

  “Well, I’m her contractor, not her friend.”

  “Well, I’m her friend, and just because you’re too obtuse to notice how great she is…and how she feels about you…”

  His stomach dropped. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “She told you that despite the fact that you don’t speak and you have staring problems, she’s attracted to your assets for some reason,” Austin said, with a slow grin.

  His face burned. He needed to stop attending Sunday night dinner every week.

  Callie pointed the tip of her beer bottle at him and lowered her voice. “See? Everyone sees it, even Austin and Brody, and they notice nothing.”

  “We’re all in the same room, you know,” Austin said.

  He ran his hands through his hair, not liking how they were all talking about him. “Stop trying to invent things that don’t exist. You want a new BFF, great, go for it. I don’t need another wife, so back off.”

  He saw the sympathy flash across his sister’s eyes; that made him even angrier. He hated sympathy. He’d rather she be pissed at him. “I’ll back off,” she said.

  “I say we ask her to fill in next weekend,” Austin said, clearly not giving a crap about what Cooper had just said.

  Callie clapped. “Perfect.”

  He glared at her.

  She gave him a big, smug grin. “One day, big brother, you’re going to thank me. Just try and talk a little more.”

  He clenched his teeth and turned and walked out of the room just as the doorbell rang. Ignoring his sister’s squeal, he walked into the dining room, hoping his mother would put him to work or something. She was straightening the cutlery as though expecting royalty.

  “Can I help with anything?” he asked, knowing full well she wasn’t going to trust him with her table arrangement.

  She gave him a smile not unlike Callie’s. “Not at all, my dear. We both know I’d never let you anywhere near my perfectly arranged table, just as we both know you are trying to ignore the beautiful, sweet woman at our door. Now, be on your best manners and try to make it look like you comb your hair every once in a while.” She patted him on the arm, and when he didn’t move, she turned it into a pinch. “Get out into the hallway and greet our guest,” she hissed, still smiling, though it now seemed closer to a snarl.

  He knew his mother wouldn’t relent. He made his way out toward the entrance, where the rest of his siblings and his father were all standing around and greeting Emily like they hadn’t just seen her the other night.

  He stood on the sidelines, hands in the pockets of his Sunday jeans, wishing the sight of Emily didn’t make him so damn happy. Her glossy brown hair fell in waves over her shoulders, and the pale-blue sweater she was wearing highlighted her curves as it fell over her hips and the top of her dark skinny jeans.

  Worse was the undeniable fact that she wasn’t just a gorgeous woman; it was her sincerity, her laugh, her warmth. She was smiling and joking with his family as though she’d known them for years. She handed a bouquet of flowers and a bottle of wine to his parents, and they gushed over the gesture.

  Emily glanced at him, and for a second he forgot that he didn’t want a relationship again. But when her smile faltered and uncertainty danced across her green eyes, he found himself walking forward, not wanting to be the man who took her spark away.

  “Hi, Emily,” he said, trying to pretend he didn’t notice his family all but lean in and grab front row seats. It felt like he was about to take her to prom or something.

  She let out a small breath, almost like she was relieved, like maybe she didn’t think he’d come forward and greet her. “Hi. I hope you don’t mind that I’m joining your family for dinner tonight,” she said, taking off one of the tall leather boots she was wearing. He felt the sound of that zip scrape along his nerve endings, and dammit if he didn’t have to turn away. His attraction to her was becoming inconvenient—especially when his stupid brothers were grinning because they knew exactly what he was thinking.

  He cleared his throat. “Not at all. Our Mom makes the best Sunday night dinn
ers in the county.”

  His mother beamed at him and patted his cheek as she walked by. “Good boy. You should have shaved, but your compliments make up for your whiskers. Come in, Emily, don’t be a stranger.”

  Callie linked her arm with Emily’s and guided her toward the kitchen. “Come on, I’ll show you to the wine,” she whispered.

  Emily laughed, and he turned to talk to his brothers but then decided against it, since they were watching him with stupid grins on their faces. His family was great, but this was overstepping. He didn’t need them interfering in his perfectly…okay life.

  But interfere they did. Two hours later, he was seated beside Emily, trying to ignore the lemony scent of her perfume whenever she leaned over to reach something on the table. She fit into Sunday night dinner as easily as the pumpkin pie his mother would serve later.

  “And what about your family, dear?” his mother said.

  He glanced at Emily when she didn’t answer right away. Her face went slightly red, and one hand clenched in her lap. “My parents both died in a car accident almost a year ago.”

  Silence fell over the table, and he had the overwhelming urge to reach out and put his arm around her. He wouldn’t, of course. She seemed alone and vulnerable, telling all of them she was basically on her own. It wasn’t good to have no one around. He placed his arm on the back of her chair, not touching her but hoping it made her realize she wasn’t alone.

  “I’m so sorry to hear that, dear,” his mom said. They all agreed, mumbling out condolences.

  “But she has a cat now. How’s your cat, Emily?” he asked, inwardly cringing at his conversation. Who was he? He was a guy who didn’t talk and stared at people apparently. He didn’t want to be that guy anymore.

  “Um, she’s so cute,” Emily said, shooting him a wobbly smile. Even she knew he was acting weird. “Her name is Buttons. She’s a gray and white long-hair cat.”

  “She’s adorable. Like a puffball,” Callie agreed, topping up his wineglass with a suspicious gleam in her eye.

  “How wonderful that she’s found a good home. Hopefully she doesn’t get into too much mischief,” his mother said.

  “She will definitely keep me busy. Tonight I have her set up in my bedroom with water and food to keep her away from the construction. I think I’ll have to gradually allow her into different rooms once they’re cat-proofed.”

  “Well that’s a very good plan. If you need any help at all Cooper loves animals,” his mom said with a smile that was a little too wide to be natural.

  “I do?”

  Her smile dipped. “Remember that animal you brought home in the first grade?”

  His brothers burst out laughing. “You mean the class gerbil I had to take care of for a week?”

  She nodded. “You did a fine job with that.”

  He leaned forward. “Mom, the gerbil died on day three. Austin ran him over with his bike.”

  “You guys are sick,” Callie said. “I’m so glad I wasn’t born to witness this stuff.”

  “It was an accident. Not one of my finer moments as a four-year-old. I didn’t know Cooper had brought the hamster out to the driveway, and I was practicing riding a two-wheeler. I had no control over that bike,” Austin said, his face red.

  “That sounds very tragic,” Emily said, her eyes swimming with laughter.

  “Life with three boys,” his mom said, placing her napkin on the table and leaning back in her chair with a sigh.

  “Do you have any other family?” his dad asked, brows drawing together along with a deep frown.

  “I have a brother back in Toronto. We’re…not that close. He’s twelve years older than me.”

  There was hardness to her voice when she spoke of him that reminded him of the night he’d heard her on the phone. “Oh, well, hopefully he can get out to see you sometime soon. Or are you planning on going back to the city?”

  She toyed with her napkin, and he fought the urge to tell his family to stop giving her the third degree. “I think I’d like to settle down here. It’s not that far from Toronto that I can’t visit. Besides, it’s nice to be in my grandmother’s old town,” she said with a smile.

  “Your grandmother was highly regarded here. I’m sure she’d be proud of you, what with opening an inn. That’s a big project you’ve got there.”

  “She’s doing a great job on it, too,” he said before he could second-guess himself, or before he could contemplate the implications. Everyone turned to him. He shrugged and finished off his wine.

  “Well, thank you,” she said, her cheeks turning a pretty shade of pink. Ah, damn. The fact that he was noticing things like the shade of pink her cheeks turned when she blushed was a bad sign. “I have big plans, but it’s all of you working on that house that are making it happen.”

  His dad folded his hand on the table, his chest puffing up slightly, as did each of his brothers. She’d charmed them all. Including him. She laughed and joked with everyone, and clearly they were all in love with her. He glanced at her and found himself smiling involuntarily.

  …

  Emily tried to quell the onslaught of emotion that had threatened to overwhelm her through the night. This was family dinner like she had never known. There wasn’t any tension—well, except from the man sitting beside her—but there wasn’t any angry tension. The entire family joked and laughed, and when they teased there wasn’t any underlying hostility. They all seemed genuinely happy to be sitting and enjoying each other’s company. It wasn’t about the food, even though it was all delicious. It was about being together.

  Sure, she knew families like this existed, but she’d mostly witnessed that on television. If it weren’t for the man sitting next to her, this would have been the most relaxing, enjoyable night of her life. Cooper took away the relaxing part of the night, though. She couldn’t quite relax around him—she was a bundle of carefully controlled nerves and excitement. “I’ll help clear the table,” she said when the siblings all stood and began gathering dishes.

  “Oh now, I can’t have a guest do that,” Mrs. Merrick said. “But since you’re more like family, if you want to help, then I suppose that’s okay. Usually the kids take care of the dishes on Sunday nights.”

  Brody walked by and gave his mother a kiss on the head, and Emily spotted Cooper trying to trip him as he walked into the kitchen, almost sending the platter of leftover roast flying across the room. Emily bit back her smile as she stood, gathering her dish and then scraping and stacking some more. She joined the others in the large kitchen and felt like an outsider—an outsider who desperately wanted to be an insider. Callie was prepping two different pies while coffee brewed, the aroma filling the already fragrant kitchen. Brody and Austin were loading the dishwasher and Cooper was at the sink, his sleeves rolled up as he washed the platters.

  The Merrick house was large but warm and homey. The kitchen had an oversize chestnut-stained island with a butcher-block top, while the rest of the kitchen had white cabinets with white quartz countertops and an enormous white farmhouse sink.

  Emily stood there and wanted to just join in on the chatter and banter, stand beside Cooper and rinse the dishes and dry them. She wanted so badly to belong to a family like this one.

  “Hey, Emily. Do you want to grab the mugs and creamer and sugar?” Callie said, shooting her a smile over her shoulder.

  She nodded and walked over to her friend.

  “Emily, are you a baseball fan?” Austin asked.

  She smiled. “Absolutely. Our company always had season tickets.” She picked up a small tray holding the coffee condiments. Callie shot Cooper a strange smile.

  “Perfect. Next weekend we have our end-of-season tournament. We have a long-standing rivalry with the other team. Our first baseman is out with a broken arm. Any chance you want to take his spot?” Austin asked.

  Emily felt all the blood drain from her face, and she was pretty sure she was as white as the cream on the tray she was holding. She glanced around at th
e other Merricks, mostly interested in Cooper’s expression. But his jaw was doing that ticking thing and his eyes weren’t exactly warmed by the idea of her joining the team.

  For a second she wanted to readily agree, but with confidence. She wanted to be the woman who’d grown up playing sports, who was comfortable joining any kind of sporting event, but she wasn’t. She had never been allowed to play. Coupled with her insecurities, something like this was a nightmare. She searched for something to say that wouldn’t make her sound inept. “I’d love to. Thanks so much for asking, but um, I’m not a great player. Big fan, no talent.”

  Callie frowned and walked over to her. “You don’t have to be a great player. My brothers can barely catch a ball,” she said, smiling.

  “Hey,” Austin said, attempting to swat her on the head, but Callie ducked in time.

  “Seriously, it’s just a fun game,” Callie urged.

  “But it’s end of season and against your rival,” she said, shifting from one foot to the other. She couldn’t do this. She’d humiliate herself.

  “No one takes these games seriously except Cooper. Really, don’t worry about it,” Brody said, walking past them and back into the dining room.

  She glanced at Cooper, but he didn’t deny that he took it seriously. No way would she add this pressure to her life and make a fool of herself in front of her new friends. “Well, I’m busy on weekends, and I um, have my cat.”

  Callie frowned at her, clearly not buying her feeble excuses. “I’m not going to let you become some under-thirty, crazy cat lady. You’re on the team and I’m not taking no for an answer. If you haven’t played in a while, I’ll come over and help you practice, okay?”