"We can go up to wine country or down to Mexico. It's the middle of winter, so being able to hang out on a beach for a few days will be nice. What do you think?"
An image of the beach came to mind. Warm sand and cool water. Me in a bikini and him in swim trunks. What did his chest look like? All of a sudden, I really wanted to know.
"Warmth sounds nice."
"Then Mexico it is."
"Oh, wait, I don't have my passport." I didn't even know whether my passport was up-to-date. That was another thing that I'd let my parents manage.
"How about Hawaii? You don't need a passport for Hawaii."
Hawaii was a lot farther away, but maybe that was a good thing.
"It will only be a few days, but while we're there, we’ll be able to get our stories straight and get to know each other well enough that it won't be weird if I hold your hand."
I looked down at his hands, but they were hidden in his pockets. All of a sudden, I worried he thought maybe I was looking at his dick.
My head jerked back up. "You think it will be weird to hold my hand?"
His lips twitched upward in amusement. He shook his head. "I don't believe it will be weird for me. But maybe for you." He pulled his hand from his pocket and held it out toward me. I put my hand in his, and he wrapped long fingers around it. Warmth flooded up my arm and through my body. How weird that when I shook his hand, I hadn't felt this. Holding his hand now didn’t feel weird at all. It felt nice—thrilling, actually. What was weird was telling myself I wasn’t supposed to be feeling this. I was only supposed to pretend to feel warmth and attraction.
His thumb brushed over the back of my hand, making sparks fly over my skin.
"So, are we going to do this?" Was his voice husky or was it just the ringing in my ears?
I looked from our clasped hands up to his face. I nodded because once again, words failed me.
He bent forward, pressing his lips to my cheek, and it was a wonder I didn't melt into a gelatinous heap.
"We’re officially engaged, Reyna."
CHAPTERSEVEN
James
I sent Reyna back to the party without me. I told her we should be pretending to keep our relationship on the down-low even as people might be wondering why we’d disappeared together.
But the truth was that I needed another drink to sort out all the craziness going on in my body. The erection I understood. She was sexy and sweet and smelled like Christmas. But there were other sensations. When I held her soft hand, it looked small in mine, and I had a crazy need to hold onto it like I was her protector. When I leaned in and kissed her cheek, it was simply to practice acting intimate, but as it turned out, I didn’t need practice. Standing so close to her felt right. Like I was a puzzle with a hole, and she was the missing piece. What the fuck was that about?
After a drink and reading a few stock reports, my dick and my chest were back to normal. When I rejoined the party, I felt triumphant and confident. It was easier to deal with George and the rest of the board’s fake holiday cheer knowing that I was about to thwart their plans to oust me from the company.
But when I arrived home, reality sank in. I was going to marry a woman I didn't know. I had to be fucking insane. This wasn't going to be a situation in which we lied and told people we were married. I was going to stand at an altar and make vows that weren't true. I wasn't afraid God might strike me dead because I'd certainly done worse things in life. But it did feel wrong to take a commitment of loving someone for the rest of your life and turning it into a business deal as part of a scam.
A year after we married, I'd be a divorced man. Thinking about that felt so weird. What if in the future if I met somebody I truly did want to marry? How would I explain my marriage to Reyna to her? The truth would probably send her running for the hills, but if I lied, wouldn't that be wrong to do to somebody I planned to spend the rest of my life with? This whole thing was fucking with my mind, so I pushed it away and went to bed.
When I woke the next morning, the last thing I wanted to do was go to a family Christmas party, but I loved Amelia too much to not give her this. She deserved all the happiness in the world, and I wasn't going to mess that up for her.
I'd made arrangements to pick Reyna up on the way to Amelia's place. After a shower and dressing in slacks, a T-shirt, and a red V-neck sweater, I drove to the address Reyna gave me. I pulled up in front of the efficiency hotel and nearly choked. The place was seedy and dingy, and the idea that Reyna was living there did not sit well with me. I wondered if her living conditions were why she’d agreed to this crazy marriage idea. Then I remembered it had been the money. Still, having a nice place to live wouldn’t hurt.
I'd agreed to meet her outside, but I had a quick change of plans, so I exited my car and headed to the door of her efficiency, knocking.
She opened the door. "I said I'd meet you out front. I'm almost ready."
"You need to pack your things."
Her head jerked back and her eyes rounded in surprise. "Is something wrong?" She looked worried, and I realized my tone and word choice might not be coming out correctly.
"You can't stay here anymore. So, pack your things." I gently pushed on the door, and she stepped back to let me in. The inside of her place didn't look quite as bad as the outside, but it was only because she’d clearly cleaned it up. The scent of cleaning products and some sort of autumnal, spicy scent filled the air.