Chapter 5
Marian
“You gave a condition, and I agreed to it,” Declan says to me on the plane. “I have one too. You can’t tell anyone that ours is a marriage of convenience.”
The first thing that Declan did yesterday when I agreed to this scam of a marriage was to change his flight so that we could go home together. A terrible idea if you ask me. I’d have preferred to go home alone to have some time to think and get used to the idea of being married. Not to mention to write down a list of the people I need to update on my new status.
“I can’t lie to Brooke and Jason. They’re my best friends, and besides, I already told them when we got married,” I tell him.
He shrugs. “Tell them we decided to try and make it work. It’s true. We’re trying to make it work, just not how they think.”
I’m not sure I can go through with this. It’s tempting to call off the whole deal, but I want a baby so badly. It’s all I can think about ever since Declan mentioned it. It’s my only chance to have a baby of my own.
Guilt gnaws at me. I haven’t exactly told Declan the truth about myself. I’m a divorcee. Leonard and I were married for five years. Declan hasn’t told me anything about his past either, but I’m thinking he doesn’t have a divorce on his resume.
It wasn’t part of our deal, I tell myself.
This deal has brought all sorts of problems that I had not anticipated. First, there’s Jason and Brooke. I’m sure they’ll see right through it for what it is. Then there are my people at the office. Maggie at the store and Kimberly and Eric in the office upstairs. My employees don’t know this side of me. The impulsive side, aided by alcohol that decides it’s smart to marry a stranger.
And I’m a wedding planner, for goodness sake. How can a wedding planner elope to Vegas? My wedding should have been the biggest and most romantic in all of California.
I groan inwardly and stare moodily out the window.
My stomach heaves as a plane touches the runway in LA. It hits me then just what Declan and I have done.
I look at him at the same time as he turns his head to look at me. My heart skips a beat as I take in his good looks. My gaze is drawn to his lips. Declan has the kind of lips that make you want to kiss him.
That’s another problem. Declan is easily the sexiest man I have ever seen. He looks hot in anything. Like now. He’s wearing a white button-down casual shirt over a pair of chinos, and he looks like he belongs on the cover of a men’s magazine.
I know that sex is not a part of the deal but try telling that to my pussy, which is oozing arousal juices. How will I restrain myself if I have to live in the same house as Declan?
Of course, I’ve considered sleeping together, just to take the edge off my horniness, but that won’t work. There’s too much at stake here to mess it up over lust. One way or the other, I’ll just have to reign in my hormones.
“Jason and Brooke are waiting for me,” I tell Declan when the plane comes to a stop.
He smiles, and my heart skips a beat. He has a dimply smile that makes me think of all kinds of wicked things he could do to me. It has been a long time because any time I’m in Declan’s company, all I can think about is sex.
“I’m glad. The sooner we meet, the better,” Declan says. “Can we drive to Santa Monica tomorrow for dinner with my family? We can drive back, or we can spend the night at my place and come back to LA early in the morning.”
My head is reeling. I feel as if I’ve been dropped on a roller coaster. And I hate roller coasters.
“Hold on,” I say weakly. “You can’t just make ‘we plans’ like that.”
“Do you have another idea?” Declan says. “And we are now a ‘we.’ I like it.”
I stare at him dully and wish that his enthusiasm could rub off on me, but I suppose for him, this marriage is perfect. He’ll get his money and fund his business. I can understand his passion for his business. I feel the same way about my business.
I want to crawl under a bed and stay there until my life goes back to normal.
“Hey,” he says while reaching into his pocket. “There’s something I want to give you.” He takes out a small jewelry box and snaps it open.
Inside are two gold wedding bands. They are simple but gorgeous, and a glance tells me they are not cheap. “They look expensive.”
Declan grins. He looks adorable. “Nothing but the best for my wife. Go on, try it on.”
“It wasn’t necessary for you to spend a lot of money on fake wedding bands,” I protest.
“The marriage may be fake, but that doesn’t mean we have to wear fake rings.” He takes one from the box, takes my hand, and slips it onto my left ring finger.
As soon as we are out of the plane, Declan takes my hand, and no matter how much I tug at it, he doesn’t let go. I feel fake as people smile at us the way they do when they see a couple in love. He keeps my hand in his throughout and even as we get our baggage.
“I see Jason and Brooke.” My voice changes with the nervousness that I feel.
“Can they see us?” Declan says.
“Yep. They are waving.”
Declan drops his bag and pulls me into his arms. His woodsy scent surrounds me before he slips his hands around my waist and pulls my body against his. His eyes are dark and stormy. A light hits them, and they morph into an
