Proposition (7 page)

Amy glanced up at the older woman. “You think so?”

“Yes, I do think so.” Laura nodded with conviction. “I don’t know much about it but it looks like a diamond.” She touched the ring. “It must be worth a small fortune.”

“So, spit it out, who’s the lucky guy?” Geri cried excitedly.

“And why didn’t you say a word to us?” Laura raised an eyebrow, letting go of Amy’s hand. “We weren’t even aware you were dating somebody.”

“Because I wasn’t dating anyone,” Amy murmured uneasily. “Look, there’s nothing to brag about, really.”

Geri touched the younger woman’s arm gently. “Something wrong?”

Amy only shrugged her shoulders, her eyes lowered to the keyboard. The two other women exchanged worried glances over her head.

“Look, if it’s some family secret, you better keep it to yourself,” Laura said gently. “We’ll understand.”

Amy let out a miserable sigh. “But you must swear you won’t tell anyone about this.”

“Amy, you don’t have to tell us anything if you don’t want to.” Geri’s voice was earnest. “We’ve been teasing you.”

“Sure, we won’t get offended if you keep it to...” Laura started, but Amy interrupted her in a decided voice.

“No, I want to tell somebody about this, otherwise I will go mad.”

She took a deep breath, straightened herself in her chair, and announced. “Last Saturday in Las Vegas I married Jake Barry.”

The women’s eyes widened in shock.

“You mean the one and only Jake Barry who donated the new wing?” Laura wanted to make sure.

Amy nodded. “The same.”

“But how did you and he...” Geri shook her head in astonishment. “We weren’t even aware that you knew him.”

Amy waved her hand. “Oh, I met him many years ago, when I was still in high school. He was then working for my father. Then he started his own company, but still I saw him quite often because he and my father seemed to become quite close. When I was nineteen he even asked me out, but I refused. I didn’t feel like dating anyone back then, you know there were problems with Peter and my father started dating Claire....” She sighed and added, “To cut things short I had enough problems to deal with, without adding to things dating a guy eight years older than myself.”

Laura and Geri again exchanged confused glances.

“But you’ve married him now, right?” Laura frowned at Amy.

Geri imitated her coworker expression. “But you’ve said yourself that you weren’t even seeing each other.”

Amy nodded. “That’s right. You see... my father’s company is in very bad shape, it was the main reason for his heart attack. Jake offered to rescue the company if I agreed to marry him.”

Both women stared at Amy with round eyes, their faces appalled.

“He really demanded such a thing from you?” Geri breathed at last, her tone unbelieving.

“Yes. We must stay married for two years. We are to live together and pretend we are a happy couple in front of the world, but I don’t have to—you know...” Amy gave the women an embarrassed look.

“Sleep with him,” Laura ended softly for her and Amy nodded. She hid her face in her arms supported against the desk.

There was a longer moment of silence before Geri whispered, “It’s so hard to believe such a thing has happened in real life, especially in a modern world.”

“Amy, dear, is it so bad?” Laura asked gently.

Amy lifted her face from her arms and shook her head. “Surprisingly, it’s not. I mean, apart from the fact he bullied me into this, and rudely moved into my condo, saying that we’re going to live together in my place, until I find a house for us, it’s really not that bad. He is ...nice.”

Geri leaned to her. “You mean he treats you well, right?”

“Actually, yes, very well.” Amy nodded. “He’s really kind and nice and ... tender, which I think is very strange.”

Laura laughed. “Why do you think it’s strange? Shouldn’t he be nice to you?”

Amy waved her hands. “Well, I don’t know! I just think that his behavior is really strange in this situation. Especially because he asks me how I feel, and if I am not tired, and what I want to do, or if I do need anything, and calls me endearments all the time.” She rolled her eyes. “Yesterday when I yelled at him because he didn’t take his shoes off when he entered the condo, and put his legs on my antique coffee table, he wasn’t angry at all. He just smiled and did as I asked him, or rather ordered him to do, to be precise. And this morning he even made me coffee and carried it to me in bed before he went to work.”

Geri and Laura glanced at each other over Amy’s head, both looking much relieved.

“Amy, everything is going to be all right.” Geri smiled.

Amy looked up hopefully. “You think?”

“The guy loves you,” Laura stated simply, and chuckled when Amy gave her an outraged look. “Don’t look like that at me. Think, what other reason could he have for all of this?”

Amy shrugged. “I don’t know. Likely he’s some weirdo.”

But Laura and Geri didn’t look convinced.

“I think the same as Laura.” Geri crossed her arms over her chest. “I think he maneuvered you into this because he’s in love with you.”

Amy shook her head. “No, it doesn’t make any sense. You see, when he first came up with this stupid idea of marriage for convenience I told him that we could date first and he said no. He announced that he had no time for dating and that he wanted a wife and family now. Can you imagine? If he really cared for me he would give me more time, try to, I don’t know,” she frowned, “to court me.”

Geri smiled doubtfully. “Court you? In this day and age?”

“And why not?” Amy cried defiantly.

“Look, Amy,” Laura began patiently. “From what you’re saying this is exactly what he’s trying to do now, to court you. He’s giving you the time you need to adjust to your relationship. He allows you to set the pace as far as the intimate part of the marriage is concerned. Believe me not every guy in his situation would do it, waiting patiently until you are ready to sleep with him.”

“I’m not going to sleep with him at all!” Amy cried.

Both women erupted into laughter at this comment.

Amy glared at them.

“Sweetie, come on, the guy is hot,” Geri pointed out gently.

“I’d jump into his pants myself if I wasn’t already married,” Laura said.

“Me too,” Geri volunteered, as she turned to the other woman. “Laura.” She nudged her friend playfully. “I think we could make a bet how soon she would drag him to bed— a month, two months?”

Laura pursed her lips. “I give her two weeks.”

“You stop that!” Amy cried, curling her hands into fists. “I am serious about this! I am being forced to live with a total stranger.”

Geri patted her on her back with understanding. “Look, it’s always a bit weird at first when you live with a guy.”

“Yeah, right.” Laura nodded. “I’d been dating Bob for over a year before we started living together. At the beginning, I thought I lived with a totally different man than I’d known before.”

Amy folded her arms across her chest defiantly. “I don’t understand him. Why did he insist on marriage so much? I agreed to date him.”

“Perhaps he didn’t want your pity,” Laura pointed out. “Men in general can be very proud. They hate to be rejected.”

Geri supported the idea. “He must have already liked you very much when you rejected him years ago. You obviously hurt him pretty badly then.”

“I was nineteen,” Amy reminded them. “I was barely out of my teens. I was in no way ready to date an older man back then!” she cried defensively. “It was years ago.”

Laura shrugged. “So what? Me and Bob were going to the same school and were in the same class. When we were around eleven, I asked my teacher not to sit me next to him, because he kept drawing my attention away all the time, drawing some funny things, distracting me. When he learned about this, he hardly spoke to me for the next several years. He reminded me about this on our first date years later when we were twenty-five.”

“So, now we know at least why Jake Barry agreed to pay for this new wing,” Geri observed, looking knowingly at Laura, who nodded her head in agreement.

Amy gaped at them. “You must be joking. You really think that he did it just because of me?”

“Yes,” both women said in unison.

Their conversation was ended abruptly when Mr. Robertson entered the room, scowling at them because they hadn’t done enough in such a long time. The women had little choice but to return to their job.

Chapter Seven

After work, Amy didn’t go straight home, but first dropped by the real estate agency. She looked at pictures of houses currently offered, before she decided to see one of them the next day. Despite the unusual circumstances of her marriage, she couldn’t keep her excitement in check when it came to finding a new house.

She was about to return to her condo when she realized that the fridge was virtually empty so she drove to her favorite grocery store.

It was after six when she drove into the car park under her building and started unloading the car.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were stopping for groceries?” She heard Jake’s familiar voice behind her. “I’d have helped you.”

Amy turned to him, eyeing him suspiciously. His whole face beamed for lack of a better description. She frowned. Why on earth did he look so damn happy?

“You said you’d be home after seven,” she reminded him coolly.

He moved past her, and he started unloading the bags from the trunk. “I managed to finish things earlier today.” Amy watched as he tucked his briefcase under one arm, and took the two heaviest bags in each hand. She attempted to reach for the pack of bottled water but he stopped her.

“Leave it. Too heavy for you to carry.” He shut the trunk. “I’ll return for them later.”

Only two light bags were left for her.

“Thank you for your help,” she said politely when they approached the elevator. “It would have taken me twice as much time to drag all these groceries upstairs.”

“There’s a lot of stuff, here,” he noted.

She shrugged. “For two people.”

When they entered the condo, he followed her straight to the kitchen, and put all the bags on the kitchen island, together with his briefcase. Then to her quiet relief, he left her all alone without another word. Probably, there was little hope he’d changed his mind about staying at her place. Couldn’t he understand how awkward it was to have a complete stranger around, and to make matters even worse, a male under her roof? A weary sigh escaped her. She took his briefcase, put it on the chair, then tentatively looked out into the hall. Not seeing him, she padded to her bedroom.

Quickly she changed into a comfortable, soft cami and black leggings, accompanied with sweater-knit ballet slippers, which was her usual outfit while lounging at home. After a moment’s consideration, she pulled on a grey cardigan, too.

Back in the kitchen, she started to unpack and store everything, filling the fridge and the cupboards. She heard the clatter of the closing and opening of the front door. Soon he came in carrying the heavier stuff that they’d left in the car trunk like cartons with milk, water, and juice.

“Where do you want me to put this?” he asked, and she noticed that he was slightly out of breath.

Amy glanced up at him, from her current job of washing the boneless chicken breasts, and noted that his business suit was gone. He wore jeans and a faded sweatshirt. Obviously, he must have changed in the living room, at the same time when she was changing in the bedroom. This morning, before leaving for work, she noticed his small suitcase standing next to the couch.

“Just leave it on the floor,” she said, as she turned her attention to the chicken again. “I’ll take care of it when I finish with this.”

Amy heard him leaving the shopping bags on the floor as she ordered. She couldn’t really help going involuntarily tense when he walked behind her, and leaned his head over her shoulder.

“I’ve got to go down one more time.” She felt his breath on her cheek, and though he barely touched her, his proximity disturbed her. “I dropped by my apartment earlier to get more of my clothes,” he added.

Amy finished washing the chicken and started drying it with a paper towel.

“After dinner I’ll make room in one of the closets so you can put your things there,” she said, very careful not to look at him.

“Thank you,” he murmured warmly.

His warm hands rested heavily on her waist. They felt big as they darted under her cardigan, and stroked her sides through the soft material of her cami.

She stilled when his lips kissed her nape, revealed when she’d pulled her hair into a twist at the top of her head earlier.

“Strange, you seem to be smaller than before.” His suddenly throaty voice rasped just above her ear.

She turned in his arms and she spoke coolly with a frown. “There’s nothing strange about it. I always wear high heels for work. Now I’m wearing flat home slippers,” she said, her gaze focused on her feet. His gaze rested there as well. “And you really don’t have to remind me how short I am.” Her eyes narrowed, lips pressed tightly together. “Believe me I’m well aware of the fact.”

“I wasn’t poking fun at you.” He scowled, moving closer and very gently pulled her into a bear hug. “I like the way you’re built.” His arms contracted behind her back. “I like it very much, especially the fact that you’re so petite.”

Petite right
, she huffed inwardly. Was he purposely making fun of her? Petite would be Natalie Portman, not someone like her with a bottom the size of Texas.

Clearly, he was getting more amorous. He started murmuring something incomprehensible into her ear, his hands smoothed over her back.

“Please stop that,” she whispered, and pushed away from him. “Why are you behaving like that?” she asked earnestly.

“Like what?” He tucked away the stray strand of hair, which had escaped her clip.

She searched his face. “You know what I mean. As if we were a happily married couple. Are you not tired of all this pretending?”

“I’m not pretending,” he said simply, but before she managed to answer anything to that, he changed the subject, asking briskly, “What are you doing?”

He moved away from her, but leaned against the counter nearby.

“Just chicken breasts in herbs and lemon,” she said as she returned to her task. She tried to compose herself, determined not to let him recognize how much his embrace affected her. “I hope you like it,” she added formally.

“Want some help?” he offered.

Amy looked up at him with a disbelieving raise of one eyebrow. “You can cook?”

“No...” He hesitated, his gaze focused on her, his arms crossed over his chest. “But I guess that I can perform something simple when properly instructed.”

“You can wash the salad.” She put the chicken aside and reached for a small skillet. “Just be careful to wash every leaf separately.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a grin.

For the next few minutes, Amy couldn’t help glancing occasionally as he washed the salad under the running water. Surely, it looked as if he’d been doing this for the first time in his life.

After finishing with the salad, which took him ages, he was still strangely eager to help, so she sent him to set the table, indicating first where he could find the dishware and cutlery. Surprisingly, he did quite well with the task; well sort of at least, she thought when she brought the pan with sautéed chicken breasts to put on the table. Very discreetly she rearranged the cutlery, which he’d placed the other way round, and allowed herself an amused smile on the funny way he folded the napkins. Clearly, he had little practice in setting the table too. The question was why he insisted so much on helping her in the first place, and why he tried so hard on it. Probably he heard somewhere that a contemporary husband should help a wife with preparing meals, and with other housework.

Amy wasn’t very hungry, and during the meal her attention concentrated more on Jake than on the contents of her plate. He had a hearty appetite for sure, she concluded. She glanced repeatedly at him when he attacked the third chicken breast, while she still nibbled on her first, and probably the last one. He wasn’t much enthusiastic about the vegetable, because his salad was barely touched. Amy wasn’t really surprised, her father was the same, definitely a meat eater.

“I have spent most of the day with Reynolds,” Jake said, as he pushed his plate away. “Everything seems to be under control. The threat of the bankruptcy has been delayed for now. We think that it will be easier to regain the trust of the banks when they learn about my interest in the company, and new connection between our families.”

Amy listened carefully, thinking how confident, and even a bit arrogant he sounded when he talked business.

“Thank you,” she said simply, leaning back into her chair, “I’m sure Dad will be relieved to hear this.”

Jake met her gaze, leaned towards her, and cupped her cheek. “I’ve already phoned him, informing him everything is under control.” His thumb grazed her temple. “You don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

His gentle touch, his solemn expression and the utter tenderness in his voice, made her nervous again. The last thing she wanted was another mushy scene on his part. Not that it felt bad when he held her, but it was getting harder and harder for her to deal with it and control her own reaction to him.

She stood up. “Thank you, again,” she pronounced stiffly. “I really appreciate your help. I’d never have managed on my own. I don’t know beans about business.”

A frown appeared on her face, when she noticed that Jake, who still sat in a chair, didn’t look at her face at all. His dark blue eyes clearly rested on the very front of her cami.

She followed his gaze, and for a moment wondered what was so interesting before she felt heat seep into her face, knowing she’d turned scarlet.

“Hey, stop that!” she cried angrily as she crossed her hands over her chest protectively.

“What?” he asked innocently.

He stood up and lifted his hands in defensive gesture.

“You should rather expect such a reaction from me, not wearing a bra and going around just in this thin something,” he pointed at her cami.

Amy buttoned her cardigan swiftly and did her best to glare at him.

“Excuse me!” she huffed. “But so far it’s my home and I can dress as I like.”

“I don’t deny it.” He smiled gently. “I’m only saying you shouldn’t be surprised by your husband’s reaction then.”

“First of all.” she pointed her small finger into his chest. “You’re not really my husband.”

“I agree,” he interrupted her again, his warm gaze sliding over her. “Not yet,” he added in such a tone that made her feel suddenly very hot, and weak in the knees.

Her eyes narrowed and she stepped closer to him. “Look, if you thought I didn’t put on a bra on purpose, because I intended to lure you or something like that, you are very wrong.”

He cocked his brow amusedly. “I am?”

Her chin lifted up proudly. “Yes, you are. For your information, wearing a bra the entire day is neither the most comfortable nor the healthiest thing, especially when one has rather sensitive breasts like mine. So when I’m home, my home,” she stressed, “I actually like to feel relaxed and not bound with underwire digging under my breasts.”

At least the amused expression was wiped away from his face, she noted with satisfaction. He looked worried, and his eyes searched her face.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to embarrass you. Just wanted to tease you and loosen you up. You’re so formal around me.”

Amy frowned. His apologetic expression looked genuine. She let out a soft sigh, shrugged and spoke. “Ok, let’s simply forget about this,” she conceded listlessly. “I’m a bit tired and it’s been a long day. All I want is to clean the dishes, take a shower, and go to bed.”

She felt his big, warm hands coming to rest on her shoulders again.

“You do look pale.” He sounded concerned. “Leave this to clean tomorrow and come to bed.”

Amy drew in a sharp breath. “Leaving the dirty dishes for the night is something I hate most in the world,” she informed him, moved past him and collected the plates with unnecessary clatter.

She strode into the kitchen and started loading the dishwasher. She looked around but he was nowhere in sight. Good, she thought. Perhaps he got offended at last.

Twenty minutes later, the entire kitchen was again spotlessly clean and tired but at the same time satisfied with fulfilling her duty to clean the kitchen, Amy walked to her bedroom. The bathroom door was closed and she heard the sounds of running water. Clearly, her
husband
was taking a shower. The large black suitcase was open in the middle of the room, containing what seemed to be a complete set of male wardrobe. He must have gone for this when she’d been putting the kitchen in order.

With a resigned sigh, she opened the door to the smaller built in closet and started removing her clothes from it. When he came out of the bathroom, she was in the process of storing his socks in the bottom drawers.

“You don’t have to do it right now.” He tried to stop her hands.

She closed the last drawer soundly.

“But all is done,” she managed a polite smile.

Despite everything, she didn’t want him to feel like an intruder. She didn’t like treating people in such a hostile way; it was against her nature.

“I hope you’ll have no big problems with finding everything. On the hanger, are your suits, slacks, and shirts. On the middle shelves are your sweaters. On the lower shelf I’ve placed your t-shirts, and in the drawers your underwear.” She gestured towards his now neatly arranged clothes.