Page 23 of The Temporary Fiancée
“Okay,” Olivia says. She whisks some of the foam from the top of her mocha, then sucks it off of her finger while she thinks. I bite my lip, trying to squash the immediate thoughts that come to mind. None of them are appropriate for a serious conversation. “Got any suggestions?”
“Well,” I say slowly, “if this is going to seem like a real relationship to outsiders, you probably need to move in with me.”
She folds her arms. “But what about my apartment?”
“Don’t worry about that,” I reassure her. “I’ll pay for you to keep the apartment. It’s just—if we’re engaged, people will expect us to live together.”
“How would they find out?”
At that, I laugh. Olivia really has no experience being the subject of press scrutiny; I’ll have to prepare her for what’s to come. “Oh, trust me. They’ll find out.”
She nods, a small crease appearing between her eyes.
“Don’t worry,” I say quickly. “We can do this.”
“I’m not worried,” she insists, though I can tell that she’s lying. “Easy as pie. What else?”
“My father will want you to sign an NDA and a contract. Just basic stuff—his legal department will draft it. It’ll outline our agreed upon compensation, everything I need from you—especially the secrecy stuff. Is that okay?”
“Sure. I figured there would be something like that.” She takes a sip of her drink. “But it can’t be a complete secret. Our friends probably have to know.”
Internally, I balk at that; I can just imagine the flack I’m going to catch from Cole and Declan if they hear about this. But she’s right. If we want to keep this secret, our closest friends will have to help us. I nod in agreement. “That’s fine. We can include a clause for that in the NDA.”
“If you’re going to convince anyone that this is exclusive, we can’t have sex or date outside of our relationship.”
“That’s a given,” I agree.
“And if we’re going to keep these lines clear,” she adds, “you and I probably shouldn’t have sex, either.”
I don’t respond to that right away, grappling silently with a pang of disappointment. Being with her was incredible. I’m used to short relationships; being with new people is always more of a thrill than fucking the same woman long-term. But I definitely didn’t get my fill of Olivia last night.
There are so many more things I want to do with her, so many different paths open for us to explore in the bedroom. I’d been looking forward to it, honestly. Now, I’m facing six more months of celibacy.
But she’s probably right. If we keep that wall up between us, we’ll be able to keep this arrangement as careful and neat as possible.
“Yeah,” I say finally. “Yeah, that makes sense.”
“Anything else you want to add?” she asks.
I shake my head to clear it, trying to take my mind off of sex. “Well, we’re going to have to actually plan that wedding.”
At that, she laughs a little. “Oh, for sure. Get someone to take a picture of me trying on dresses, or whatever.”
“We have to act like it’s real, and that’s what they’re going to expect.”
“Works for me,” Olivia says. “Hell, it might even be fun.”
“That’s the spirit.”
“Oh,” she adds suddenly, as if a thought has just occurred to her. The smile fades from her face, to be replaced by a serious expression. “There’s something else I want in the agreement.”
“What is it?”
“You can’t be seen with other women. Especially ones you’ve slept with before.”
I purse my lips, nodding. “Well, yeah. Makes sense.”
“My reputation is important to me,” she says. “I want to keep it clear and scandal free. It needs to be part of the agreement. I don’t want anything bad to follow me out of this.”
