The Arrangement (3 page)

“It’s only been a couple of days. Don’t plan on handing out any awards yet.”

Erika laughed. “Still, it’s nice. When Ted and I plan parties and getaways, we try to arrange buffers to keep the two of you apart. It’d be a relief to not have to do that anymore.”

She wasn’t aware that she’d caused her friends so much trouble. She decided she would try harder to get along with Asher. He was usually the instigator of trouble, but she didn’t have to rise to his bait every time.

“So have you given any more thought to my proposal?”

Ariadne watched him from the corner of her eye as she sipped her cola.
He was very neatly dressed in slacks, a pale blue linen jacket and a shirt that was open at the collar. He managed to appear simultaneously casual and classy. His attention remained focused on the remnants of scotch in his tumbler.

“I’m still mulling it over,
” she murmured. It had been two days since he’d asked her to marry him that day on the beach. Asher had not mentioned it since. She could almost believe that she’d imagined his proposal. She watched Erika and Ted twirling around on the dance floor, laughing and having a ball. It had been Erika’s idea that they go out after dinner.

“Don’t mull too long or it will be too late.
When is that family reunion of yours again?”

She opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by a waitress bringing Asher anot
her drink. “I didn’t order this,” he objected.

“The redhead at the end of the bar sent it over.”

Ariadne shook her head. Even when he wasn’t trying, he managed to pick up women. The lady in question raised her glass to him and winked. “She’s not a natu
ral redhead, you know,” she stated the obvious after the waitress had retreated.

Asher chuckled
and beneath the table, Ariadne pressed her knees together to ease the sudden throbbing between her legs. Several women swiveled to stare at him. That damned laugh of his was lethal. “You sound jealous.”

“I’m not,” she denied hotly. “But are you sure you want to give up the single life?”

His eyes caught hers and held. “Yeah, I do.”

She sighed. “Are you sure you want to do this with me? It’s bound to raise questions since you’ve always despised me.”

His brows arched
in surprise. “I don’t hate you.”

“You could have fooled me. Or anyone who’s ever met us.”

He shrugged. “They say there’s a thin line between love and hate. We’ll say the bickering was untapped sexual tension.”
She would say no such damned thing. And her expression must have said so because he laughed again. She wished he’d stop doing that. The man was too easily amused. “You have a better idea?”

“I’d rather say nothing. Most people will be too polite to question it.”

“I wouldn’t be.”

She doubted anyone had ever described him as polite.
“The reunion is in July.”

His eyes widened. “Next month?” At her nod, he breathed out. “You’re really cutting it close.”

She shrugged. Whenever she thought about marrying him, her mind kept running in circles. Was it really worth it? But then she’d think about going to the reunion alone and facing her cousin and Daniel. The anxiety had her stomach tied in knots.

***

“Dance with me,” he demanded suddenly and immediately wondered when he’d developed a masochistic streak. He couldn’t hold her in his arms and not get hard.
He didn’t need her thinking his proposal was about sex for him. It wasn’t. But why shouldn’t he get something out of it, too?

“I can’t dance,” she said after a brief hesitation.

He shouldn’t be surprised. He’
d never seen her dance. Studying her over the rim of his glass, he wondered why of all the women, this particular one kept him tied in knots. No doubt, she was beautiful, intelligent, and classy. She boasted thousands of admirable traits, all of which he’d encountered in many other women. But no one else stuck. Women he’d dated for months had less of an impact on him than she did. He’d had one all too brief taste of Ari and she’d been burned into his brain.

“I could teach you,” he murmured, draining his glass and placing it on the table. He spotted Ted and Erika on the dance floor. His friend whispered in his wife’s ear and she threw her head back and laughed.

“No, thank you.”

“So what do I need to say to get a yes?”

“To dancing or to marriage?”

“Marriage,
” he said, hoping that she couldn’t sense his impatience.

“I need more time.”

“You need to decide before we leave
the beach so that we can get the ball rolling.”

She put a hand to the collar of her blouse. Of course, it was primly buttoned all the way to the top.
Even that turned him on. He envisioned undoing all those buttons one at a time and slowly revealing the warm curves of her breasts. Ari had a killer figure. Why she insisted on covering it up, he didn’t know. But the thought of being one of the few to ever see it, drove him wild. “I don’t even know where you live now,” she finally said.

“Charlotte, but I can move wherever you want.”

“What about work?”

He shrugged.
His family was wealthy. He didn’t have to work. They both knew that. “I can get a job as a lawyer anywhere,” he pointed out. And as a teacher, she could do the same, but he wanted to the deal to be so sweet that she’d be hard pressed to deny him.

She wet her lips and he suppressed a groan. “Give me a couple more days.
This isn’t something I can agree to lightly.”

He reached for his free drink.
“Enjoying your drink?” The red head had come over. Thanks to Ariadne his eyes immediately sought out her dark roots. Not that he’d ever cared about whether or not a woman dyed her hair. Up close, he could tell she’d overdone her eye makeup. Thick eyeliner lined her lids. Her green eye shadow was so heavily applied that he wondered if she had any left. Her cheeks were so red she looked as though she’d been slapped. Only her lipstick was understated, but he suspected it probably lined the rim of the margarita glass she’d held up earlier. Under all the goop she might have been attractive, but it was difficult to tell.

He gave her his signature smile. “Yes, I am. Thank you.”

“Would you like to dance?”

He glanced at Ariadne. She
was a visual balm in comparison. She wore very little makeup. Her smooth skin was the color of a perfect apple pie crust. That may have sounded ordinary, but it was a classic. Done correctly, it was incomparable. And it was his favorite pie. She’d outlined her eyes and her lips were a shiny plum. Her bottom lip looked so plump and juicy it took everything in him not to dive over the table and suck on it. “I couldn’t leave my companion.”

Ariadne shrugged. “It’s fine with me.”

He gave her a pointed look that he hoped she would interpret. He didn’t want to dance with this woman. She’d ruin his coat with her clown paint. “I’m sorry,” he said to the woman. “I wouldn’t feel right.”

She glared at him but eventually she walked away. “I wouldn’t have cared,” Ariadne said.

“Well, I would have.” He reached for the glass again then thought better of it. “I’d better go pay for this drink.”

***

Ariadne stared up at the ceiling in her bedroom. She needed to make a decision once and for all. In her saner moments, she couldn’t even believe that she was considering this or that she was even in this position. Marrying Asher Hollister? It was crazy and improbable. She wished she could discuss the decision with her best friend, but Erika was weird when it came to Asher.

Erika’s older
brother Chad had befriended Asher and Ted in high school. The boys were two years their senior. Naturally, Erika had developed a crush on Asher, but he never treated her as anything but the kid sister of a friend. He was nice, occasionally flirty, but always just a little standoffish. After the boys went away to college, she’d thought Erika was over him. However, whenever they came home for any reason, even the briefest sighting of Asher would set her off again. But then it was their turn to go to college. They both attended East Carolina University where Ted was. It seemed only natural to hang out with him. And Asher was around as much as was possible for someone who was attending Duke University. Ariadne had thought he was around too much to possibly be doing well in school but Ash had never seemed concerned. It seemed his priorities in life were booze, women, cigarettes, and fun, the order being interchangeable. She didn’t know what other women saw in him.

Eventually, Ted made his interest in Erika known. She had been very happy for her friend until Erika had told her that she’d started seeing him to make Ash jealous. That plan had been an utter failure.
If Asher cared, it didn’t show. But Erika continued to date Ted and fell deeply in love with him.

Yet each time Ash came close to dating anyone seriously, Erika instantly hated the woman. Not that the women that he dated were likable. They usually were undeniably beautiful but shallow, empty-headed,
and thoroughly unpleasant women.

She hated to think that Erika still harbored any feelings for Ash, but she was afraid to ask.

From her nightstand, her phone’s screen lit up
, lighting up the otherwise dark bedroom. It vibrated across the wood until she picked it up. At a glance, she saw that it was her cousin Sierra.

“Hey, Sierra, what’s up?”

“Not much. I didn’t disturb you, did I?”

“Just laying here staring at the ceiling.”

“You’re already in bed? It’s barely midnight. What kind of vacation are you on?”

Ariadne laughed. “The kind where I can walk out onto my balcony and watch the sun rise over the water.”

“Sounds great.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. So I have it confirmed. They’re definitely announcing their engagement at the family reunion.
Are you still going to come?”

“Of course.” If there was anyone who shouldn’t go to the reunion, it was Daniel and Janice. Apparently, the two of them knew no shame.

“There’s this guy I work with that you might like. He’s real nice, kind of nerdy, but totally your type.”

Ariadne tried not to become offended because she did like intelligent men, but she never would have described them as nerdy.
“No thanks.”

“Come on, Ari, you don’t walk into this alone, do you? I heard some of the aunts talking about setting you up. Trust me, when I tell you, their candidates are all a bunch of losers. You need a date and you need one
now
or they’re going to invite these guys to the reunion.”

She groaned and fought the urge to bury her head beneath a pillow. They meant well, but this was only going to make her appear more like a pathetic loser. “I can find my own man, thank you very much.”

There was a long silence and then Sierra said, “Ari, where exactly are you going to find this man?”

“Why is it that no one ever questions a man about being alone? Why is it assumed that when he’s alone it’s because he wants to be yet when a woman is single, she’s on her way to becoming a spinster?”

“Hey, I’m on your side. I already offered to kneecap the bitch for you.”

Ariadne laughed. “I don’t want to start an inter-family feud. Hold off on that guy, okay? Um, I just might have someone.”

“Really? Who?”

“It may be nothing,” she hedged. Sierra
was a good friend, but she couldn’t keep a secret to save her life. No way was she going to tell her that she was thinking of entering what was essentially marriage of convenience.

“So I’ll keep Kenny on
the hook until you lock down your other guy.”

At that, Ariadne did pull a pillow over her head. Her family was going to drive her crazy. Long after she’d ended the call with Sierra, she laid awake thinking about Ash and his proposal. Tonight at the bar, he’d been different…. He was more mature. The Asher she remembered would have danced with the redhead and probably brought her home with them. Instead he’d sat at the table with her all night, turning down invitation after invitation from other women. He’d asked her about work and her family and really seemed to be interested. It had to be a scheme, but he’d proven to her that they could have an amiable relationship.

Chapter Three

The next morning Ariadne
found Asher in the kitchen alone sipping from a tall glass of orange juice. He was shirtless. Swim trunks hung low on his lean hips. His feet were bare. “You’re up early,” she said coming to a halt and glancing around for Ted or Erika.

He gave her his signature slow smile that tipped up on the left before the right side of his mouth realized that he was amused.
“Yeah, we’re alone. God, you make me feel like the big bad wolf.”

She tugged at the hem of her shorts. They were shorter than her usual attire, stopping just above mid-thigh. Asher’s eyes followed her hands, his long lashes hiding his green irises for a second, but when he looked up she could see the heat in his gaze.
His pupils were large. Ariadne cleared her throat and tried to ignore her reaction to him. They were about to enter an arrangement where there would be no room for complications. She would make sure that he understood that. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you.”

“Yeah?” He emptied his glass in one big gulp and then put the glass in the sink. “You’
ve made up your mind then?”

She nodded.
“How soon did you want to get married?”