Page 19 of The Temporary Bride
She shakes her head. “My own driver brought me here, thanks. He can take me home.”
“Come on, I insist.”
My driver pulls up the car, a dark-windowed Audi A8, and I open one of the back doors before Chloe can protest, gesturing for her to climb inside.
She does so, moving to the far seat so that I can sit next to her. My driver starts the car, and we pull away from the curb.
For a few minutes, we ride in silence, each of us looking out of opposite windows. I can’t help glancing over at her every once in a while, catching a glimpse of her new engagement ring glistening in the sunlight.
Finally, she speaks. “So, are we officially engaged now?”
“I had been under the impression that we were officially engaged in that conference room,” I reply.
She curls her lip. “How romantic.”
“Sorry,” I say with a chuckle. “Nothing about this is traditional, but… that’s the moment when we both committed to it, right?”
“I suppose.”
“So that’s basically a proposal.”
She shrugs, then sighs. “Yeah. I guess it was.”
A loaded silence stretches between us, and I’m intensely aware of the proximity of her body to mine. We’re side by side in the back seat, her thigh only a few inches from mine, close enough that I can feel the warmth of it.
“When are we announcing it?” she asks.
“I don’t know,” I respond. “There’s nothing in the will to stipulate, so I guess that’s up to us and our families.”
“I’m not sure I want to go public with it. Not yet.”
Something about that is difficult to swallow, for some reason. It bothers me that she wouldn’t want the world to know about our engagement. “I don’t want to keep it a secret though.”
“I’m not saying keep it a secret.” She shakes her head impatiently. “I’m saying that it’s not necessarily something we need to announce. At least, not yet. If anyone asked—”
“We would need to be seen together, for that to work.”
She nods, her jaw tight. “Yes. I think we probably would.”
“I don’t want anyone to think that this is something I’m doing for appearances. We each have our own personal and professional reputations to maintain. We can’t lose sight of that.”
“Of course not,” she agrees. “And we definitely will make an official announcement. Eventually.”
The scent of her perfume lingers in the air between us, overpowering the leather scent of the Audi’s upholstery. I think it’s lilac. Or lavender. Something along those lines.
“I just don’t think I’m ready for that yet,” she says.
“When do you think you will be?” I ask.
She lifts one shoulder in a half-shrug. “Soon. I promise.”
“Soon,” I repeat, nodding. “Good. Fine.” I clear my throat. “And… we should probably discuss other arrangements. For after the wedding.”
She stiffens at the reminder. “What kind of arrangements?”
“Well, for example, where should we live?”
Immediately, the tension between us seems to double. I can tell that she hasn’t considered this yet, and wince internally, expecting another argument.
