Only if necessary
“I’m glad you changed your mind.” Ana rounds her desk, dropping into her chair. The smile she gives me is warm and welcoming, and I remind myself I’m only doing this because of everything she said it could do for me.
The biggest reason why I caved and said yes to the offer, however, was hearing Lucas say he needed me. I like that. Feeling needed. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like I was needed before. So now I’m here, agreeing to pretend to be his girlfriend.
The door opens behind me, and my head snaps to see Lucas walking inside. I haven’t seen him since last week, and obviously, I knew I’d see him again, but I forgot he looks like that. Tall and handsome, his wavy hair framing his face perfectly. The way his black t-shirt fits around his biceps makes my eyes drift to them, a few tattoos peeking out, and I force myself to look away, glancing at the coffees in his hand.
I raise my eyebrow, hope lingering within me. Maybe this thing with Lucas won’t be so bad after all. Especially if he brings me coffee every morning.
But when he approaches Ana and hands one over to her, I quickly realize my mistake and slump back in my chair.
“Did you want one?” he asks, eyeing me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know your order.”
I run my tongue over my teeth, needing some caffeine – desperately. “No. It’s fine,” I say.
“So now that you’re both here,” Ana says, taking a sip of her coffee. “We can get started.”
Lucas sits on the chair beside me and leans back, taking a sip of the other coffee. “So, what do we need to do? Take some pictures and stuff?”
Ana nods. “A little more than that.”
“Like what?” I ask, confused about how this works.
“Well, you need to act like a couple for starters,” she says, gesturing to the large space between our chairs. “So this is not a good start.”
My eyes lock with Lucas’, and I swallow visibly, but he lets out a sigh, reaching over to place his hands on the back of my chair and dragging it closer until my chair touches his. “Got it.” I try not to think of his arm still hanging over the back of my chair or the fact that we’re now so close that I could move just an inch, and my leg would touch his. “What else?” he asks.
She purses her lips, scanning her desk until she finds and slides over two sheets of paper. One for me and one for Lucas. I glance down at the papers, skimming them briefly. “Before we get into the details, I’m going to need you both to sign this.”
“A non-disclosure agreement?” I ask, my brows knitted together. “Is this really necessary?” I don’t know what I expected, but I kind of thought we’d just take a few more pictures and then announce our break-up, and that would be it. But there’s a lot more to this agreement than I realized.
“Yes,” she says, her face unwavering. “I need to make sure there will be no scandals.” Her eyes narrow slightly on us, adding, “I know you two have some… animosity between you, but this is important to both your career.” I glance down, reading through the contract. It’s times like these when I wish I were interested in law because I don’t have a clue what any of this is. “Which is why you need to sign so that we make sure we’re all safe.”
I lift my head up, my brows furrowed. Safe? “If anyone finds out this is fake,” she continues, seeing my expression. “It will ruin both of your reputations and legitimacy.” Her glance balances between us both. “Can you do that?”
My eyes drift down to the paper again, and when they lock on the fine for breaking it, they nearly pop out of my sockets. “A hundred thousand dollars fine?” I ask, my tone raising about three octaves.
“It’s for your safety, too,” Ana tells me. “This goes both ways. This arrangement has to stay between us and no one else. Got it?”
Lucas lets out a sigh, reaching over Ana’s desk to grab a pen. He quickly flips the pages, signs his name, and slides the contract back to her. “What else?” he asks.
I glance over the document once again, trying to see if any red flags pop out at me, but none so far, so I follow his lead, grabbing the pen and signing my name over the bold black line.
“Great,” Ana says, collecting the documents. “We’ll start simple. Something to get the press talking.” Her brows lift, a smile on her lips. “How about a walk?”
“A walk?” I ask, taking out my planner from my bag. Lucas eyes me for a second, but he turns back around with a shake of his head.
She nods. “Roam the city, get people used to seeing you as a couple, and get them talking to you. Maybe get some coffee, or an ice cream, or a stroll in the park. As long as the paparazzi can photograph you.”
“That seems easy enough.” My shoulders relax as I write down the details.
“Well, obviously, there needs to be some form of PDA,” Ana continues. My head snaps up, my muscles tensing up all over again.
“PDA?” I ask her, licking my dry lips, feeling my hands start to get clammy. “Like what, exactly?”
She lifts her shoulder. “Whatever you’re comfortable with,” she says. “Holding hands, maybe a kiss. Whatever you guys want. We need to make it clear that you two are dating and not just friends. Feed into the story the press is spinning. We want to keep people talking about you.”
My pulse starts to race, and scratch that. Yep, my hands are definitely clammy. I drop my pen onto my planner, discreetly trying to wipe my hands on my pants. “A kiss?” I ask her, swallowing the words down like they don’t belong in my throat. “Is that necessary, or can we do without?”
Lucas lets out a scoff, and I turn my head to look at him, seeing him shake his head. “Are not attracted to me or something?” he asks. As much as I hate to admit it, being attracted to him isn’t the problem. And therein lies the problem. “You know,” he continues when I don’t answer. “Most girls would die for a chance to kiss me.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You’re right,” I say with a bite. “Death is a much better outcome than kissing you.”
His chest shakes with a laugh. “No kissing. Got it.” He lifts his brow at me. “Anything else, princesa?” he says in that smooth Brazilian accent of his. My lips part, and my eyes widen at the use of the nickname, which I have no doubt – from his cocky smirk – he means as an insult.
I am not a princess. I just have boundaries. I snap my mouth closed and turn to face Ana, trying to ignore Lucas, who is still grinning at me. “What else?” I ask her, reaching for my pen.
She smirks, giving a subtle shake of her head. “I can tell you guys are going to be trouble.” She glances down at her monitor and then lifts her head. “The paparazzi will be there,” she informs us. “Make sure you don’t look at them. Better yet, just pretend they’re not there. Take the day to get to know each other,” she says, tilting her head at us, a smile on her lips. “You’ll be spending quite some time together after all.”
I make the mistake of glancing toward Lucas to find him already grinning at me. He chuckles, shooting me a wink. “Can’t wait.”
I roll my eyes. Kill me now.
A knock hits the door, and Ana lifts her head, ushering whoever is at the door in. “Mr. Daniels is waiting for you downstairs,” she says.
“Of course.” Ana lifts herself from her desk and glances at us. “I’ll be right back.” Her head cocks to the side. “Try not to kill each other.” She rounds her desk and heads out of the room, and I realize I’m left here with the one person who makes my blood boil.
Lucas swivels his head to glance at me, his brows furrowing. “What are you writing in there?”
“None of your business.” A shadow looms over me as I jot down the time, date, and a few extra details. I lift my head, seeing Lucas looking down at my planner, a playful grin on his lips. “Well, girlfriend,” he teases, making my eyes narrow. “Look like you’re excited for our first date.” He grins mischievously, clearly finding the situation amusing, as opposed to me.
“Don’t call me that,” I tell him. “And I’m not excited. I just want to be prepared.”
He lets out a laugh, sitting back in his chair. “A little too prepared if you ask me. Remember to smile? Really?” he asks, arching a brow.
My eyes narrow at the fact that he managed to read my planner. “You’ve been doing this for a lot longer than I have.”
He laughs again, shaking his head. “Don’t worry, I’ll remind you to smile.” With that, he flashes me a grin, making my eyes drift down to his lips.
I rip my eyes away from his mouth, tucking my planner back into my bag. “If we’re going to do this, then we need to set some rules.”
He sighs, wiping a hand down his face. “Of course we do.”
I arch an eyebrow. “Do you have a problem with that?” I ask him. “I’m not sure what you were expecting to happen. I’m not going to sleep with you.”
His eyes widen. “What?” He questions, a laugh escaping his lips. “You don’t need to worry about that. That’s definitely not going to happen.”
“Good,” I say, squaring my shoulders. “And no kissing either.”
The corner of his mouth twitches. “You said that already,” he says. “Even though I think it’s stupid,” he admits, with a shake of his head. “Who’s going to believe we’re dating if we don’t kiss?” His brow lifts, enquiring, but he continues before I can respond.
“You were in my arms, Madeline. I held you against my chest while your arms were wrapped around my neck. Your eyes were locked on mine, looking up at me like someone in love.” As he speaks, flashes of the pictures of us I’ve seen repeatedly come rushing back. I pull my bottom lip between my teeth at the memory. “How are we going to go from that to being five feet apart?” he asks, frowning. “You need to know how suspicious that will be.”
He’s right. I know he is. We need to do whatever is necessary to make this work. But the thought of someone’s lips on mine for the first time in years makes my heart beat so fast I swear I stop breathing. I can’t do it. I don’t want to do it. “No kissing,” I repeat firmly. “But you can do anything else.”
A smug grin dances on his lips. “Anything?” he asks with an arched brow. My mind spirals out of control, thinking of what anything could entail.
“Within our boundaries,” I clarify.
His lips curve into a smile. “So I can hold your hand?” he questions teasingly.
“Sure,” I reply, attempting to keep my composure even though the thought of it makes my skin break out into a sweat.
“I can…” His eyes trail over my face. “Kiss your cheek?”
I feel my heartbeat in my throat, just from picturing it, but I nod against my better judgment.
His hand reaches out, running the back of his hand down my arm slowly. His eyes track his movements, and my skin breaks out into goosebumps from the featherlight touch of his skin on mine. It seems to go on forever until he reaches my wrists and glances up at me. “I can touch you?” he murmurs, his voice dipped in a deep, husky tone.
I swallow harshly and let out a breath. “Only if necessary.”
He pulls back, a smirk on his lips. “Interesting,” he muses to himself. “Any more rules?”
My mind goes blank for a second, but then I breathe out a laugh. “I’d say we can’t fall in love, but that won’t be a problem for us.”
He laughs, shaking his head. “It definitely won’t for me,” he says, squinting at me. “What about you? Are you sure you can handle that?”
I scoff. “I’m sure I’ll be able to manage it.”
“Are you sure?” he asks, teasingly. “I could swear I saw some love hearts in your eyes earlier.”
“You’re delusional,” I drawl, rolling my eyes. “Consider any hypothetical hearts crushed.”
He laughs a little, rubbing his chin. “Good.” His shoulders square, and he glances back at me. “I have one rule,” he says, making my eyes widen.
“What is it?” I ask.
“For however long we’re doing this,” he starts, gesturing between us, “I don’t think we should date other people.” My brows lift, but he continues. “I don’t know your life or if you’re seeing anyone right now.” I almost scoff. “But, while we’re in this arrangement, we should cut off things with anyone else. In case someone finds out, and we get exposed.”
He seems serious, and although I want to laugh at the idea, I don’t. “Fine,” I say, turning my head when the doors open, and Ana walks in, narrowing her eyes at us.
“Everything good in here?” she asks us, her eyes shifting from me to Lucas.
Lucas flashes me a cocky grin. “Perfect.”
