Operation Fake Relationship: Take one.
“There sure are a lot of cars parked outside for a small dinner party.” I let off the gas, easing my car into the circular driveway outside Charles and Alexandra’s sprawling white stucco mansion. We weren’t exactly late, but we weren’t as punctual as I would have liked. That’s what happens when you squabble over who should drive for twenty minutes instead of getting the fuck on the road.
“Sure are,” Thayer murmured, looking out the window at the array of luxury vehicles. It was like a catalogue of high-end cars—a bright red Tesla, a handful of dark-colored Mercedes, a silver Bentley, Quinn’s white Lexus SUV, and Adam’s tinted-out black Range Rover. Briefly, I indulged in a fantasy of digging my keys into the immaculate black paint on my way past, but I knew I’d never get away with it here.
If I ever saw it parked in public, though, all bets were off.
Switching off the ignition, I climbed out and walked over to the passenger side, pulling open the car door for Thayer. With practiced elegance, she grabbed her clutch and slid off of the black leather seat, coming to stand beside me, perched on impossibly high stilettos.
She didn’t thank me for getting her door, not that I really expected her to.
“You think you can handle this?” I slammed the car door, locking it with the remote.
Thayer’s gaze cut over to me. “Of course.”
We climbed the stairs to the front entry and hit the intercom button, waiting in front of the wooden double doors to be granted access. Even in her tall heels, I towered over her. Her sweet perfume drifted over to me, and something stirred in my body in response. Not entirely surprising with the way her little black dress hugged her figure. It was sexy but still understated, leaving a little bit to the imagination—unfortunately, all that did was make my imagination start to run wild.
I drew in a slow breath, trying to banish the sordid images swirling through my mind. All that mattered was, Thayer had nailed the attractive, respectable girlfriend look. Now if we could get through the evening without her killing me, we’d be set.
That was a big if, though.
Charles and Alexandra’s household manager let us in and took our coats before directing us to the dining room, even though I was sure Thayer had been here a hundred times before. Or maybe the need for directions was legitimate, because the place was enormous—more of a compound than a house.
No amount had been spared when it came to the finishings, either; there were ornate crystal light fixtures and solid wood-paneling as far as the eye could see. I’d been around money for my entire life, but I was used to hedge fund managers and generational money, with a dash of newly minted well-to-do professionals thrown in. Charles, her mother’s husband, was more on the level of an oil sheikh in terms of wealth.
Our footsteps clicked on the marble tiles while we navigated the hallway. A murmur of voices spilled out from the room ahead, hinting at far more than a small family dinner. Suddenly, I realized this wasn’t going to be the informal test run I’d been hoping for.
I bumped Thayer with my elbow, keeping my voice low. “You didn’t tell me this was some huge dinner party.”
“I didn’t know,” she hissed.
We drew closer and the chatter became more audible. “Jared,” a female voice echoed. “So lovely to see you again.”
“Jared, as in Jared Callaghan?” I grabbed her arm. “Callaghan is here?” The stakes just multiplied exponentially.
I guess it shouldn’t have come as a huge surprise. Alexandra and Charles knew everyone with money, like they belonged to some kind of big-bank-account club. But I hadn’t known they were friendly enough with Callaghan for dinner parties, either.
“Sounds that way,” Thayer said under her breath. “Thanks for the heads up, Mother.”
I placed a hand on her lower back, hyper-aware of the need to appear like a legitimate couple. “Come on.”
The click-clack of her stilettos slowed, and she came to a halt, fingers digging into her leather clutch like a life preserver in a storm.
“Thayer?” I urged.
“Huh?” Thayer looked up at me, expression vacant. She blinked and gave her head a little shake, taking another step. “Yeah, let’s get this over with.”
I stepped in front of her, blocking her path. “Hold up.”
“What?”
No way could I drag her into the dining room with the deer-in-headlights thing she had going on. I steered her backward a few steps to the small powder room we had just passed. Something that felt a lot like guilt bubbled up within me. Maybe I should have known to expect this, but with the impenetrable front she put on these days, I didn’t think it would be an issue.
I ushered her into the room and closed the door behind us, flipping on the lights.
“What are you—” Thayer started.
“Talking to you privately for a moment, as boyfriends often do.”
“Okay.” Her scarlet lips formed a thin line, and she crossed her arms, focusing on the black-and-cream patterned wallpaper behind me. “Talk.”
I ducked my head, trying to catch her eye. “Do you still have panic attacks?”
Thayer’s attention snapped over to me. “Why?” She eyed me suspiciously, like showing weakness meant I would go in for the kill. And in most cases, she would be right, but not with her.
“Are you on the verge of having one right now?” I already knew the answer; her face was the same as it was the time that I had to talk her out of the girls’ bathroom to convince her to come write our English Lit final in sophomore year. Her panic was for nothing, because she ended up with an A+.
Her mouth pulled into a sulky pout. “No.”
Bullshit.
“I need the truth because it’s going to dramatically influence my response here.” I stepped closer and cupped her chin, tilting her face up to mine. The look I received back was nothing less than pure defiance. “Now, are you being difficult to fuck with me, or are you nervous?”
“Neither.”
“So the latter, then.” I let my hand fall away but I didn’t move, the two of us still only inches apart. The tension in the room was palpable, either from attraction or animosity or both. The briefest inappropriate urge shot through me, and I immediately clamped down on it.
Our eyes stayed locked, and her expression shifted, uncertainty flashing in her eyes. “Maybe.”
It was the strongest admission I was going to get. Hell, I didn’t blame her. Most people would be nervous in this position. But I didn’t have the luxury of being nervous, because that would merely harm my ability to pull this off, and failure was not an option.
Without thinking, I gently touched her upper arm. The instant my fingertips connected with her smooth, bare skin, it was like the contact completed an electrical circuit, lighting me up from the inside out.
Only problem was, I had no idea if she felt it too, or if I was randomly working myself up in a bathroom over nothing. While I liked to think there were signs it was mutual, I wasn’t getting my hopes up of her defrosting anytime soon.
Her gaze dropped to my hand, then moved back up to my face, the hostility in her expression waning.
“Look, everything is going to be fine. Most of that”—I nodded to the door beside me—“is fake anyway. We’re just doing the same thing everyone else does. Only difference is, we’re smart enough to be honest with ourselves about it.”
“True.” She gave a tiny nod.
“If anything starts to go sideways on you, make an excuse to come grab me, and I’ll smooth it over.”
The emotional walls shot straight back up and she squared her shoulders, eyes hardening. “I can manage just fine.”
I unlocked the bathroom door, pulling it open to let her exit first. “I know.”
DESPITE THE SHAKY START, the first half of the night flew by without incident. Alexandra was clearly happy to see Thayer with someone. Not just happy, in fact, she was visibly relieved. Though I suspected she had mixed feelings about it being me. I could practically hear her mentally cataloguing the pros and cons, but I was fairly confident it added up to a net positive in her eyes.
Dinner was served not long after we arrived, which was a solid opportunity to gradually ease into our charade. A few times, I caught Thayer stuffing a bite of food into her mouth to buy time before answering questions about our ‘relationship,’ but she’d done an impressive job pulling it off overall.
With the plates cleared, however, it was time for the most arduous part: making small talk and socializing. While pretending to be madly in love with Thayer and like I didn’t want to punch Adam in the throat, no less.
“Bennett,” Alexandra said, cornering me solo while I topped up my drink. “Adam tells me you and Jared are in talks about an investment.”
And how the hell would he know that? Despite the havoc he wreaked on my company when he left abruptly, Adam wasn’t some corporate espionage mastermind, he was merely a douche.
“Yes, we are.” I cleared my throat, checking on Thayer from across the room. She was engrossed in a conversation with Charles, which seemed a hell of a lot better than my current situation. Remaining diplomatic when speaking about Adam was always a challenge. “Didn’t realize you and Jared were friends. It was a surprise to see him here tonight.”
“Yes, we know him from the club. When Adam mentioned they were also discussing a business opportunity, I thought it would be a great way for everyone to get to know each other. Jared is lovely, as you know.”
“Indeed,” I murmured. First Adam goes after my property, then he goes after my investor? Why didn’t he just hit up the Bank of Richard as per usual? Did Richard cut him off? It would explain why he was going after Quinn. The good old Montgomery trust fund.
“Did I hear my name?” Callaghan chuckled, sidling up to join where we stood. “Alexandra, you flatter me.”
Alexandra laughed. “Always.”
“Bennett.” He extended his hand, clamping mine in a firm handshake. “Good to see you again.”
Being seated at opposite ends of the table, we hadn’t had much opportunity to talk over dinner. Now it was time to make a good impression or die trying. Unfortunately, before I could get a word in edgewise, Adam sauntered up and inserted himself into the conversation.
“Jared.” Adam clapped Callaghan on the back like they were old frat brothers. I maintained a neutral expression, but inwardly I wanted to punch him in the throat. “How was your daughter’s wedding?”
“Fantastic. Napa is lovely in September. What about you, son? Are you getting excited for the big day?”
“Can’t wait.” Adam smiled, oozing with smugness only I seemed to detect. “Don’t worry, Bennett. You’ll join us at the adult table someday.”
“I’m sure.” I returned his fake smile, grip on my glass tightening.
In a twist of unfortunate timing, Millie strolled by and caught the tail end of what Adam said. She spun around to face the four of us, tucking a lock of mousy brown hair behind her ear. “Actually, I heard Bennett and Thayer aren’t far off from walking down the aisle themselves. Is that true, Bennett?”
Her eyes scanned my face with such precision that I was scared to blink. I doubted that Millie had, in fact, heard such a thing. My money was on fishing or trying to stir up trouble, but there was nothing I could do about that now.
Alexandra, Callaghan, and Adam all looked at me expectantly, waiting for a response. It was go along, or look like our relationship wasn’t serious. And if there was one thing I needed to appear, it was serious.
“We’ve talked about it,” I lied. “Just waiting for the right time to pop the question.”
One by one, like a domino effect, everyone reacted. Millie’s eyes widened; Adam’s expression clouded over before returning to his default self-satisfied setting; Callaghan appeared impressed; and Alexandra looked pleased, if somewhat surprised.
“That’s excellent,” Alexandra said.
Callaghan held up his glass of red wine as if in a toast. “Well, that is exciting news. Shows a lot of personal growth on your part.”
“Shows something,” Adam muttered. I wanted to dump Callaghan’s wine on his white dress shirt, but I refrained. Barely.
“Maybe we’ll see a ring next time I see you,” Callaghan added.
I nodded. “Here’s to hoping.” Guess I was committing to this, then. Thayer was going to lose her mind.
Fucking Millie.
After some additional, superficial small talk, Callaghan and Alexandra excused themselves and Millie followed suit, evidently having lost interest once the juicy gossip dried up. Or more likely, she was about to go tell the whole damn town that I was next to walk down the aisle.
Their departures left me alone with public enemy number one: my backstabbing cousin. An awkward silence hung between us while I scanned the room, searching for Thayer without any success. We’d talked about me rescuing her, but never the reverse. Wish we had, because I could use it right now.
“I didn’t know Callaghan was going to be here,” I said, turning back to Adam. Might as well call him out on his machinations.
He met my gaze evenly, like he wasn’t blatantly trying to fuck me over for a second time. “Up until yesterday, I didn’t know you were going to be here.”
“Clearly,” I said, taking a sip of scotch. “I’m sure you didn’t want me to know you were wooing him.”
“No different than all the other people who are pursuing Jared for funding.” He shrugged. “Just a little friendly competition, cuz.”
“Of course.” Except it was different. Entirely different. I was sure Adam went after Callaghan specifically because he’d heard we were courting him. “Why do you need Callaghan, anyway? Richard cut you off?”
“He wanted to diversify instead of investing more at this point in time.”
“Ah.” I didn’t even try to hide my grin. Good to know I wasn’t the only one Richard had zero faith in.
“You know,” he said. “I’ve been hoping we could bury the hatchet. Especially now that you and I will be around each other more. After all, business is business.”
“It sure is.” Just like it would be ‘business’ when I stole his company out from beneath him.
Adam gave me a calculated smile. “Perfect, because I wanted to ask you to be a groomsman in the wedding.”
The skin on the back of my neck prickled. It’s almost like he knew my relationship with Thayer had an expiration date.
“Would love nothing more,” I lied. Except for skydiving without a parachute, waxing my balls, and doing basically anything other than that. But obviously I couldn’t say no right now. I’d figure out an exit strategy closer to the wedding date.
“No hard feelings, then?” Adam extended his hand and I accepted it, but our handshake was a little too firm to be friendly.
“None at all.”
Forget the hatchet. I was going to bury him.
BY THE TIME Quinn swooped in and rescued me from Adam—or rescued Adam from me, as I was dangerously close to smashing a champagne flute over his head—Thayer had been cornered next to the bar by someone tall and lanky with dark hair.
I weaved past clusters of people scattered around the room, making my way over to them, and Louis Sullivan came into focus. He was a friend of Adam’s and to say I wasn’t a fan of his would be putting it mildly.
He leaned against the wooden rail, glass of amber liquid in one hand as he spoke to Thayer, body angled toward hers. They were standing a little too close together for my liking.
As I drew within earshot, Louis gave her a wolfish smile. “Adam and Quinn were going to set us up, you know. We’re set to walk down the aisle together at the wedding.”
A bolt of irritation shot through me. While we weren’t actually together, Louis didn’t know that. Disrespectful dick.
Thayer let out a strangled laugh. “Oh, well. As they say, timing is everything.”
“It really is,” I said, coming to stand beside her. My arm slipped around her waist, the movement feeling a little more natural than it should. I stared Louis down. “Guess you missed your chance, Sullivan. Not that you had one.”
Surprise glanced across his face, like he genuinely didn’t expect to be called out for hitting on someone else’s girlfriend. “Relax, Bradford. I didn’t mean it—”
“I’m sure you didn’t.” I smiled, but it was more like baring my teeth. “Either way, you’re not her type. Timing or not.”
A silence fell over the three of us. Thayer gaped at me like I’d lost my mind. Louis’s jaw ticked as he glared at me, weighing whether to engage, but he apparently thought better of it.
“I should go find Adam.” He turned and made an abrupt departure, disappearing into the room.
Thayer shot me a look so pointed it practically pierced my skin. “We need to talk. Now.” She took my hand and yanked me through the room, barreling out the door. It wasn’t lost on me that all eyes were on us as she did.
She led us down a different hallway than the one we’d entered through, making a series of left and right hand turns. I nearly had to jog to keep up. Given the height of her stiletto heels, her speed was impressive.
With a few more steps, Thayer pushed open a glass door leading into a massive indoor atrium filled with trees, plants, and flowers. Floral scents drifted in the air, humid and warm, creating a tropical atmosphere despite the chilly early winter outside.
“What the hell was that?” She set down her empty wine glass on a rock ledge, glowering up at me through her long eyelashes. “Not my type? You don’t even know what my type is.”
“Trust me,” I said. “I was doing you a favor.”
“A favor, huh? You sure seem to do a lot of those for me.”
“Louis Sullivan is an asshole.”
The things I had heard about him made my skin crawl. Like that fact that he allegedly had a poor understanding of the word ‘no,’ which I’d heard from more than one reliable source. I had no idea why Adam would try to set Thayer up with someone like that, but Adam wasn’t great at thinking of other people. Or thinking, period.
And with Millie at his disposal, there was little doubt Adam was aware of those rumors. Quinn should have been, too, but maybe she was buying whatever bullshit Adam was peddling these days.
“Like you?” Thayer shot back.
“No, he’s a creep. If you think we’re comparable in any way, you’re sorely mistaken.” I stepped closer to her, lowering my voice. “And we could have company, you know. Just keep that in mind before you say anything more.”
Her eyes darted around the atrium, then landed back on me. She drew in a long breath, holding it, then exhaled slowly. “Fine. But you’re still an ass.”
“Noted,” I said. “While I’ve got you here, I should let you know that everyone thinks we’re getting engaged. Like, imminently.”
She was already pissed, so what better time than now to break the news?
Thayer’s jaw dropped, crimson lips forming a tiny O of surprise. “What?! How? And why?”
“I got railroaded.”
“Aren’t you the one who told me you could, and I quote, ‘handle anything’?”
Obviously, I was full of shit, but I wasn’t going to admit that to her.
“I said handle, not control.”
“But you can’t—” She gestured and dropped her voice to a whisper. “Just change the terms like that.”
“Didn’t exactly have a choice, Thay. One minute, I mentioned we might be talking marriage, and the next, everyone was asking for a wedding date. It snowballed. You of all people should understand.”
“Ugh!” She threw her head back, dark glossy hair tumbling down her shoulders as she looked up at the glass-paneled roof. “I don’t even want to get married, Bennett. Everyone knows that.”
“Newsflash: I don’t either. But people change their minds about wanting to get married all the time. It’s called growing up, or so I’m told. And if we don’t follow through with an engagement now, it’s going to make it look like our relationship is on the rocks.”
“Fine,” she snapped. “Put a ring on it.”
Not the reaction most guys hope for when discussing an engagement, but good enough.
Voices echoed from afar, followed by footsteps. Thayer spun back to face me, light blue eyes fraught with panic. “What are we going to do? They all know we’re arguing.”
“And? It’s fine.”
Her voice climbed a register. “It is not fine.”
“Shh, keep it down, okay?” I made a calm down gesture with my hands, which only made her look angrier. Mental note not to do that again going forward. “It’s called a lovers’ quarrel for a reason.”
“What?” she looked at me like I was insane. “Is this code for something?”
“People in relationships,” I said quietly. “They fight. I may not be an expert, but I know that much. And what do people do after they fight?”
Thayer’s immaculately groomed brows knit together. “They make up?” Realization dawned on her face. “You mean like…? You can’t be serious.”
“Do you want to sell this or not?”
“Of course, I do,” she ground out.
“Then play along.”
