Proposition (6 page)

“I’m fine,” she said stiffly.

He wasn’t really doing anything, apart from keeping her real close to him, and the fact that his erection pressed in the cleft between her buttocks. His hand was still over her waist, but he made no attempt to move either lower or higher.

“Mmm,” he hummed, and placed light kisses on her arm. “Let’s lounge in bed for a while. What do you think? It’s Sunday after all.”

Her eyes widened in astonishment. He acted as if they’d been a regular married couple.

“It’s late,” she evaded.

“Our flight is in a few hours. We have time.” He rubbed his cheek against her shoulder blade.

“You’re scratching me,” she protested and winced away from him.

“Forgive me.” He smoothed his fingers over her shoulder to sooth the slight burn caused by his stubble.

At last, Amy took courage to move onto her back and meet his eyes. He looked rather good first thing in the morning, his expression softened, hair tousled, beard stubble and everything. He seemed younger and more relaxed. He smiled at her, and looked... happy.

“I need to pee,” she said, at last succeeding to move from his embrace completely. She was self-conscious in her cotton nightgown. It was comfortable, and she liked to sleep in it, but it was short, reaching just past her bottom. Had she known he’d intended to sleep in the same bed she would have worn regular pajamas, buttoned up to the neck.

In the bathroom, she washed her face and brushed her teeth. When she came back, the bed was empty.

She startled when she felt his arms coming around her from behind.

“Do you really have to do that?”

“Do what, sweetheart?” he crooned into her ear.

“You know very well what.” She turned to him, still wrapped in his embrace. “Coming behind me, and touching me, kissing me, using endearments,” she explained, trying unsuccessfully to remove his arms from her middle.

But he only brought her closer to him. He supported his chin on the top of her head, murmured. “I know it’s all new for you, but you don’t have be so formal around me.”

“You behave as if we were in love, as if everything was normal,” she said with accusation. “How can you pretend that everything is normal when it isn’t?”

He let her go at last. Amy looked up, and for a moment when she watched the expression on his face, she thought she’d hurt him with her words. She averted her gaze quickly, but when she dared to look at him again he seemed his normal self.

The moment was terribly awkward. She didn’t know what to say, but thankfully her stomach rescued the situation and a low, loud growl escaped it.

“That’s a sign to order some breakfast, I think,” he remarked with smile.

She smiled back in relief.

“Breakfast sounds nice,” she agreed. “It’d be nice to eat on the terrace,” she added and pointed with her head to the balcony.

Amy let out an involuntary sigh of relief when he went to the other room of the suite to call room service. How was she to survive the next two years with him? So far, he’d respected their agreement, sort of. He hadn’t really tried to seduce her and he acted totally respectable in bed. Still he shouldn’t have insisted on sleeping in one bed in the first place.

To her relief when the breakfast arrived he kept romance at bay and started to talk about business. He thought that her father’s company required immediate actions.

“I’ve already made an appointment with Reynolds on Monday morning to have a closer look at things,” he said as he took a sip of coffee.

“I’m going back to work tomorrow as well,” she said distractedly, all the time admiring the view. She loved to look down from the top floors of the buildings at what was happening down there.

“To work?”

“Mmm.” She nodded as she bit on her toast. “My holiday is over. I should have been back last week, but they were so kind to give me an additional few days off when dad was in the hospital.”

“You don’t have to work,” he said.

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I can support you,” he explained simply.

She stared at him as if he’d been a creature from a different planet, before laughing shortly. “You must be kidding, right?”

“No, I’m serious. You can take care of the house, your father, whatever you want.”

“And you wouldn’t mind me lying around on the sofa all day long doing my manicure, or shop, and go to the spa every second day.”

He shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind.”

“But I would mind, and very much so.” She glared at him. “Where were you born? Your ideas about life and marriage are very outdated. First you choose the arranged marriage over a normal course of action, like dating, and simply getting to know one another better in the first place and now you expect your wife to quit her job and stay at home.”

“I don’t expect it.” He gave her a level look. “I just want you to know that I wouldn’t have anything against it. I’d be more than happy to support you.”

“I don’t need anybody to support me. I like to have my own money,” she announced.

He chuckled and shook his head.

She narrowed her eyes. “Hey, you’re egging me on!”

He lifted his hands in a defensive gesture. “Ok, I am, but I couldn’t stop myself. You’re easy prey.” He grinned, “I knew you’d react like that.”

“Very funny,” she murmured, before returning to her coffee.

“But seriously, we’re married now,” he said after a while. “The money is ours,” he stressed. “And I want you to know that you don’t have to work.”

“Let us make it clear.” She put her hands on the table and looked straight at him. “I like my work and I’m not like Claire. I would go mad doing nothing all day long apart from shopping and visiting the hairdresser.”

His lips pinched in a small smile. “I see that you have a definite opinion about your stepmother.”

Amy decided not to comment on this. Just thinking about Claire could ruin her mood. She stood up and moved, leaned over the railing, and gazed at the sky.

His voice drew her attention. “We have to think about where we are going to live.”

“My apartment is too small for two people,” she said quickly as she turned to him. “There’s only one bedroom.”

He nodded. “I agree. My apartment is perhaps bigger, but it’s not very homey. It was more of an investment to me when I bought it. It’s just a place to sleep, nothing more. I don’t have a proper kitchen, either. I think we should start looking for a house.”

Her eyes sparkled and she couldn’t really hide her reaction.

His eyes smiled at her eager expression. “Ah, I see that you like the idea.”

“Looking for a house is great fun.” She knew that she sounded as if she could barely contain her enthusiasm, but she didn’t care. “I’ll take care of that,” she offered.

“Of course you will, but am I to understand that I have nothing to say on this?” he smirked.

“No, of course not,” she protested. “I didn’t say that. But you said yourself that you have so little time, so perhaps I’ll look at some houses during a week then we could see those most desirable on Saturdays.”

“Done.” He smiled at her.

She smiled back, but then her expression cooled. She remembered herself that she was to keep her distance from him. Easier said than done. Even after one, not even full day of marriage, she knew that this would be something hard to accomplish. So far, apart from him being stubborn about sharing one bed, he’d been really nice to her. She knew that he was getting to her with such an attitude. True that he had forced her into this marriage, but besides that he’d been kind, delicate, and tender. She needed to keep herself on guard.

Hopefully she would catch some distance from him in the following weeks. It would take some time to find a nice home after all. That thought calmed her. Yes a month or two at least to find something suitable. Then the move out and some redecorating to be done as well, so she had many months before they would start living together. She sighed in relief. For now, this marriage wouldn’t be that bad.

Chapter Six

She had changed her mind some eight hours later.

“You really intend to stay here with me?” she asked unbelievably.

When they returned from the airport, he’d followed her upstairs to her condo, and entered with her. She thought that he’d accompanied her just to help her carry the bags, and the wedding dress. But she expected that later he would just say goodbye and go away.

“We’re married, we’re living together,” he informed her calmly. He paused then continued, “We can live here or at my place. It really doesn’t matter to me where exactly. Of course, only until you find a house for us.”

“You know very well there’s not enough room here,” she observed in panic as he removed his jacket and sat comfortably on the couch in the living room.

Jake looked around the spacious room. “It’s not that bad.”

“There’s only one bedroom,” she reminded him.

He smiled brightly. “I don’t mind.”

He adjusted her favorite prized pillow behind his back, the one she bought in Paris, and stretched his legs on her coffee table.

“But I do mind.” She snatched the pillow from behind his back. “And for your information, this handmade silk pillow is for decoration only. You can’t touch it including leaning against it.”

He took the pillow from her and looked at it in wonder.

“You’re kidding me. It’s just a pillow.”

“No, I’m not kidding you.” She took the pillow again from him, walked around the couch, patted it, and placed it on the other end of the couch.

“One more thing,” she continued as she stood in front of him and tapped her small foot against the polished hardwood floor.

“You take your shoes off and leave them on the rack by the door each time you enter my apartment,” she informed him. “Plus, this coffee table was designed to put coffee, snacks and perhaps some magazines on it, and not your legs.” She glared at his feet until he obediently removed them from the table.

“You’re bossy,” he said, stood up and walked back to the hall. Amy followed him of course. He kicked his shoes off and put them on a rack next to hers.

Without a word, he walked past her back to the living room and sat down on the couch, as far from the Paris pillow as it was possible.

“You’re ok now?” he asked.

She placed her hands on her hips. “No, I’m not ok. And don’t you dare pretend that you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

He stared at her steadily. “Interesting,” he said.

Her eyes narrowed. “What’s interesting?”

“You,” he grinned. “Now I know how it is.”

“What?” She shook her head and frowned.

“Oh, you know.” He couldn’t stop grinning. “For ages the guys at the bar or in the office have been telling me stories about ranting wives. Now I have one of my own.” He eyed her warmly from the top of her head to her white sock clad feet.

“You...” she seethed through clenched teeth. Without a second thought, she reached for her Paris pillow and started to hit him with it.

Her attack caused a deep, merry laugh and nothing more. Effortlessly, he pulled the pillow from her and tossed it on the floor, then grabbed Amy and pulled her squarely onto his lap.

“You’re very entertaining,” he said, his arms tightened securely around her.

“Let me go!” She struggled furiously against him, but he kept her firmly pinned.

“You aren’t going to simply kick me off here, are you?” he asked her with puppy face.

She ceased her struggling for a moment. “You promised separate bedrooms.”

“I promised no sex until you want to. But there’s a paragraph in the pre-nup, that you insisted I sign., if I may remind you...that during the course of our marriage we live together under the same roof. We don’t have a house yet, so we have to choose between mine and your apartment. But as I said I prefer yours.”

“You think I will just let you sleep with me in one bed?” she asked incredulously.

“Why not?” His hand smoothed over her collar bone. “You slept soundly last night. Like a baby.”

“I was tired,” she stressed. “And that’s all there is to it,” she informed him nonchalantly.

He grinned. “You snuggled against me during the night like a kitten.”

“That’s not true,” she gasped.

He dipped his face into her neck, and whispered giving her shivers. “I want to have you beside me every night.”

“You can sleep on this couch,” she relented.

“No,” he said simply. “Besides this couch is too small for me. You cannot expect me to sleep on it until the time we find the house. You are picky. It may take months.”

“Why are you making everything so difficult?” she asked, exasperated.

Suddenly he turned serious. “Because my only chance to make this marriage work, to make it a real marriage is to not to let you live beside me, separated from me. We’re not going to live like two strangers. We’re going to share the same bedroom, eat meals together, go out together, everything.”

Amy stared at him. “You’re pushing me too much, too far.”

“And you’re not pushing me?” he asked releasing his hold on her. She scrambled awkwardly from his lap to her feet.

“You know that I would never force myself on you when we’re together in bed.” He caught her hand, stopping her, looking straight into her eyes. “You know that.”

Her phone rang rescuing her from answering. She walked to her bag, which she’d left on the dining table. As usual, she couldn’t find her mobile, which made her throw all the things out of her bag onto the smooth polished surface.

Finding her mobile at last, she flipped it open, not even checking the caller.

“Yes?” Her face relaxed some on hearing her father’s voice.

“I’m fine, Daddy, just a little tired,” she said in subdued tone. Her eyes were on Jake who strode towards her while her father asked her if everything was all right.

“Yes, everything’s fine, Daddy. There’s just one thing I have to tell you...” She hesitated shortly before divulging the information about their wedding in Las Vegas. She swallowed her father’s congratulations, and his obvious joy at the news, and thanked him dryly. And when Thomas asked her whether her husband was somewhere nearby, with relief she said goodbyes to him and handed the phone to Jake.

She didn’t listen to their conversation, but went straight to her bedroom, took out her pajamas, and fresh underwear, and walked into the bathroom to take a quick shower. Fifteen minutes later she slipped under the bed covers. The place was silent, but she thought to hear the entrance door open and close. Perhaps he decided to leave her alone after all, she considered with hope. But some half an hour later she heard him using the bathroom. Closing her eyes, she pretended she was asleep. Soon she felt the bed dipping on the other side.

She stilled when he snuggled up to her from behind.

“You don’t have to fight me,” he whispered soothingly into her ear. “I’m your friend.”

She turned abruptly in his arms, and pushed at him. “What are you talking about? A friend. You’re bullying me, blackmailing me using my love for my father, and now you demand some impossible things...” She said everything in one breath before breaking into tears.

He cradled her to him, gently, and rubbed her back. “It’s all right. Shush...” She felt light kisses on her hair. “I know it’s all hard for you, your father’s illness, problems with the company and this marriage. Trust me all will be well, you’ll see. You take all of this too much to heart.”

Very slowly, her crying ceased. She let out a little sigh, and closed her eyes. She was too tired. She would think about all of it tomorrow.

* * * *

The next morning she woke up to the smell of freshly made coffee. Opening her heavy eyelids, she blinked several times, adjusting her vision. She could see his blurred form so she reached blindly for her glasses.

That was better, she thought as she put the glasses on her nose. Jake sat on the far edge of the bed, already dressed in a suit, smoothly shaved, his hair combed neatly back.

He seemed to hesitate for a moment but then moved closer to her, and sat by her side.

“I have to go to work.” He reached his hand to gently push away the wisps of hair, which fell across her face.

“What time is it?” she asked with a yawn as she stretched.

“Almost seven.”

She frowned. “You’re going to work so early?”

“Sometimes.”

“I start at nine, today,” she said.

“So you could stay in bed a little while longer. Here. I brought you coffee.” He handed her the mug.

“Thank you.” She took a sip. “It’s good.”

He stood up. “I left my mobile number on the fridge if you wanted to call me. I’ll be back late, around seven.”

Amy only nodded, still too groggy to make small talk.

“Have a nice day, sweetheart,” he said softly.

He bent to cup her face and placed a lingering kiss on the corner of her mouth, and on her temple.

She sat on the bed, the cup of coffee he’d made for her wrapped in her hands, staring after him as though she were spellbound, as he collected his things and left the room.

* * * *

The first day at work started out rather unusually. She was to take care of the books, which some man had left to the library after his grandfather’s death. It was a couple thousand volumes. They all needed to be carefully looked through for any damage, registered, and then distributed under the right sections. Some of them were quite valuable items, printed back in the nineteenth century.

Thankfully, she was appointed for this task together with two other women, Laura and Geri, with whom she’d made fast friends when she first came to work here. They were both a few years older than her, both married with kids. Amy had liked them from the very first moment.

Their supervisor, Mr. Robertson, who’d worked in the library forever, ordered all three of them to work to catalogue all the books. They sat in the spare room at the back of the building and tried to decide how to proceed with the task.

“It would take us a few weeks, at least, to deal with it,” Laura said with a sigh, as she looked around at the piles of towering books in the small room.

“It looks like they are mostly historical books.” Geri scanned the titles of several books.

“Yes, as well as lots of periodicals,” Amy noted. “ I’m surprised the family wanted to give away such an extensive library. Generations worked to collect these volumes.”

“I’ve heard that his grandson is leaving the town permanently.” Laura walked to open the window. It was hard to take a deep breath as the books were terribly dusty. “He said he’s moving to his future wife’s home in California. It would be a problem for him to ship all these books. He joked that his fiancée would call the wedding off, seeing him moving into her apartment with over five thousand books.”

“He was really grateful that we agreed to take them.” Geri sat by the desk and booted the computer. “I don’t think he’s aware of how much they are worth, especially the older ones. There are many first editions among them, some of them published even before the Civil War.”

“But tell us, dear, how’s your father?” Laura touched Amy’s arm.

“He’s better.” Amy smiled at the other woman. “His doctor advised him to go on a long vacation. He’s at a seaside resort in New England with my stepmother. When I talk with him on the phone he seems much more relaxed.”

“That’s good,” Geri said, not taking her eyes from the computer screen as she entered the library’s database.

“Yes. The doctor said that he has a chance to live longer and well, on the condition he changes his lifestyle completely,” Amy explained. “It would be better for him to simply retire but he’s too much into his work I’m afraid.”

“Your brother can always take control over the company,” Laura noted casually.

“Yes, I know,” Amy said.

She didn’t want to go into details about her brother. Not because she didn’t trust Geri and Laura, but because she was ashamed to admit that her father’s illness was to a large extent Peter’s fault.

“Look, I think it would work best if Amy focuses on entering the new titles into the system, while we attach electronic chips to the books and sort them out under the right sections,” Geri proposed.

Laura and Amy agreed, and soon Amy started to enter the data about the first couple of books they looked through into the computer.

Her engagement ring, and wedding band, which Jake insisted she wear, glimmered in the sun’s rays streaming through the window blinds.

Both women’s eyes locked simultaneously on Amy’s hand and their eyes widened, mouth going slightly agape.

Laura spoke first. “Amy, is this what we think it is?”

Amy followed the women’s gazes with confusion. Seeing what had caught their attention, she instantly hid her right hand under the desk. The women would have none of that.

“Come on, show it to us.” They both pulled at her hand and lifted it, admiring the ring and the matching wedding band.

“Honey, they’re beautiful,” Laura said as she pursed her lips. “You should put insurance on them. They had to be frightfully expensive.”