The Arrangement Read online

  Asher’s spring green eyes were sympathetic. “But you’re not like me. It’s not so easy for you, is it?”

  Standing, she shrugged. “I’ll survive. I’m going to bed. See you in the morning.”

  Chapter Two

  “I think I may have a solution to your problem.”

  Ariadne looked up from her book, her eyes dragging up Asher’s strong calves and thighs, over his ripped stomach and muscled arms. He wore dark purple swim trunks with a black stripe down the side. As her gaze met his, Asher’s lips quirked upward in a smirk.

  Sparing him a glare, she returned her attention to her book. “I don’t have a problem.”

  “Move over.”

  “What?” She frowned as he sat on her beach towel, shoving her over to make room for himself beneath her umbrella. His sun warmed skin lined up uncomfortably with hers. She scooted over farther to avoid touching him. “What is your deal?”

  His eyes were earnest as they met hers. “That’s what I wanted to discuss with you. I can help you with your ex.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Asher, I’m not interested in any of your jokes.”

  “Hear me out. This isn’t a joke.”

  She sighed. “Might as well. That’s the only way I’ll get any peace from you. Tell me, what is your brilliant idea?”

  “Marry me.”

  Releasing a loud and exasperated sigh, Ariadne opened her book again, determined to ignore him. When would he ever grow up?

  “I’m serious, Ari.”

  “You don’t get to call me that.”

  He snatched her paperback out of her hands and held it out of reach. “Would you just listen? Do you want to show up at your family reunion alone and defeated while your cousin flaunts your ex in your face?”

  The thought was unappealing. Though she didn’t know if Janice would be so cruel as to purposely rub her relationship with Daniel in her face, just his presence there with another woman would be humiliating.

  “If you marry me, then you’ve effectively proven you’re over the doofus. Instead of showing up and being the object of pity, you’d have one up on them. You could show them that they didn’t break you.”

  “What you’re suggesting sounds fantastic except for one problem.”

  He grinned. Ariadne suppressed a shiver. He had a rather predatory smile that never failed to make her suspicious. Sharp white canines bracketed otherwise straight ordinary teeth. “Only one, huh? I sense a yes coming. What’s holding you back?”

  “That I’d be married to you.”

  His smile was replaced by a scowl. “I’m not going to be the only one abiding by this truce,” he warned. “If you want to trade snipes, I’m game. Just let me know, but quit sneaking them in and thinking I’m going to keep taking it without retribution.”

  “Okay, I’m sorry, I’ll do better. But come on! The two of us getting married? Who would believe that?”

  “They’ll believe it because we have history.”

  “A hateful history.”

  He shrugged. “People will say that it was repressed desire.”

  “People are idiots,” she spat.

  Again he shrugged. “What does it matter so long as it helps you?”

  “And why would you want to help me? What do you get out of this?”

  One knee raised, he leaned back onto his elbows. “I’ll be helping my dad.”

  She frowned. “What does your father have to do with this?”

  “He’s decided to run for governor.”

  “Really? Wow.” She’d met David Hollister on a few occasions. He’d always seemed like a great dad. He was patient and kind. From what she’d heard, though he was a busy attorney, he’d always made time for Asher.

  “Yeah, wow. I told him that he was too honest for politics, but he’s made up his mind.”

  “Well, he has my vote.”

  “I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.”

  A breeze blew a lock of her hair into her face and she brushed it aside. “How does marrying me help your dad?”

  “My dad’s background is as clean as a whistle. Even after mom died, he didn’t really date until Terri. I on the other hand…”

  He didn’t have to go on. His exploits in high school and college were legendary. “You’re worried your past will impact your father’s chances?”

  “The competition won’t have anything else to use against him. Terri’s daughter Tara is his campaign manager. She suggested that I get married to prove that I’ve settled down and that my life is more stable.”

  As she recalled, Tara had had a major crush on him in high school. She wondered if Asher knew. Or if he cared. He’d been the dream date of every girl in their high school. Well, with the exception of her. “Wouldn’t an engagement be just as effective? We don’t have to get married.”

  He shook his head. “I’ve been rumored to be engaged before. It’d be too easy to brush off as another rumor.”

  It struck her what an incredibly unselfish act this was on his part. He was doing this for her and for his father. And everyone knew how much he enjoyed variety when it came to women. “Wait. You do realize that you’d have to be faithful to me. If we get married and you cheat, it will be definite prove that you haven’t changed.”

  “I know.”

  “How long would the marriage last?”

  He smiled. “So you’re considering it?”

  “More like feeling it out. How long?”

  He shrugged. “A couple of years, maybe more. It takes a while to build up a campaign. And we’d have to stay together throughout the election.”

  “And you think you can be faithful or at least discreet for that long?”

  His eyes narrowed. “I can be faithful. And I’d expect you to be also.”

  She grabbed a handful of sand and allowed it to stream out of her loosely clenched palm. She watched it form a pyramid. “That won’t be a problem for me.”

  “Despite what you think of me, I haven’t been that guy since college. I admit it. I was a screw up. It would be a shame for my teenage antics to jeopardize my father’s career.”

  She believed that he was committed to this idea and that he wanted to do this for his father. “I need to time to think about it.”

  He nodded. “I understand.” He cleared his throat, his gaze focused on the water. “So…are you still in love with this guy?”

  “Daniel? No. I know that’s over. Even if I was still in love with him, I don’t think I could ever forget what he did.”

  “Good. You deserve better.”

  She studied him through narrowed eyes. “You don’t have to butter me up. I said I’d think about it.” Which was more than she should do. She had strong beliefs in the sanctity of marriage. Was a phony marriage really necessary to protect herself from a few days of embarrassment? She’d be stuck with Asher—a man she’d actively avoided since high school—for two years.

  He pulled his shades down from the top of his head and dropped them onto the bridge of his nose. Standing, he brushed sand from his flanks. “Thanks. Let me know soon. And I wasn’t buttering you up. You…” He shook his head. Offering her a slight smile, he took off on a stroll down the beach. His shoulders were broad and his waist was trim. He had one damn sexy silhouette. Women turned to stare after him. Ariadne heaved a sigh.

  “I heard that,” Erika said with a laugh. She’d been frolicking in the water with Ted when last Ariadne had checked. So tied up in her conversation with Asher was she, that she hadn’t noticed her friend’s approach. “Could it be that you’re finally softening towards Asher?”

  Ariadne rolled her eyes. “Not likely.” She nibbled her lower lip. What would Erika say about his proposal? Her friend would no doubt think she was crazy for even considering it. She probably was, but still…the idea of walking into the reunion with him on her arm had taken root. Instead of being an object of pity, she
could cause a sensation. Asher was rich, gorgeous, and sexy. He was annoying as hell, but she couldn’t deny that the man was a catch. Imagining the looks on Janice and Daniel’s faces, she thought it might be well worth it.

  Erika sat down, taking up the space that Asher vacated. “I’m glad to see the two of you getting along.”

  “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 another 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 natural 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.

  Erik
a’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?”