I sucked in a sharp breath, his words stir fanning my desire for him. Oh, he had my full attention too.“From now on, I will be at the helm off all your actions. You are not to make move in respect to our arrangement without my explicit approval. I don’t want you having side missions like the one you pulled off today.”That was the kind of attention he meant. I felt a sting of disappointment, and then irritation at myself for feeing that way.“I’ve told you already Ethan I didn’t plan for this.” I answered curtly. To my indignation, he smirked. “Moving forward, what adjustments were you talking about?”God I wished he would back away from me He was so close I could feel the warmth of his body on my skin. I crossed my hands over my breasts, to put an extra barrier between us.“For one, you’re quitting your job. I can’t have my future wife waiting tables, it’s unseemly.”I blocked the word ‘future wife’ from my mind, and focused on the problem. “You can’t make me quit.”“and why

Plates clanked against each other as we took generous portions of the different dishes. Grace took the first bite. Her brows lifted in surprise when the flavors of the carprese burst on her tongue.“Mae, this is absolutely delicious! You mean to tell me you make food like these every day in the restaurant?”I twirled pasta onto my fork. “Basically, although, I have to say that the food was so much better when my dad was in charge, he had a touch no one could replicate.”“Why isn’t he running the place anymore?” Benjamin asked as he chewed.“About two years ago, He had his first heart attack. We…started meds , that sorta thing and uhh… the heart attack triggered a heart failure, and then he got cardiac arrest which scared the living sh-we were terrified.” I laughed sadly. “We made it so that he would stay at home more, get enough rest, so he doesn’t do much nowadays.”I was such a Debbie Downer. Everyone looked at me with sympathy. My cheeks heated.“I think he should still cook.

I paused for a second, rethinking my decision. Was it important that I looked her up? What was the advantage of knowing about her, vs. remaining in the dark? At the end, my curiosity won.Silently I typed Ava’s name into my phone and hit search. The pictures that popped up forced my jaw to drop. Ava Williams was not simply beautiful; she was super-model stunning, which made a fitting career for her. Popular brands popped on the screen the more I scrolled. I felt a pang of jealousy when I saw a picture of her and Ethan during a red carpet event. She was smiling up at him in a breathtaking dress that matched her skin tone, giving the illusion of bareness. A delicate hand was resting on his chest, as she smiled at the camera. The headline had called them the power couple of the century. I didn’t understand why Ethan did not just wed her. They both came from the same social class, she had a thriving career and complimented his good looks with hers. Independent- Right...that was it. Ava Wi

A driver was outside the door early the next morning just as Ethan promised, but so were a few reporters. I don’t know if they were there of their own accord or if Ethan had dropped an anonymous tip. Either way they were outside when I left the house, and they took several photos of me in my red waistcoat and matching pleated skirt before the driver opened the car door. Contrary to Ethan’s believe I had good looking clothes, I had spent the most part of my high school, making outfits I dreamt I could wear to a fashion school.I greeted the driver politely just as I slipped into the back seat. Only when he had turned , gotten into his side of the car and pulled away from my home, did he answer me,“Good morning miss Ricci. My name is Gideon and I was instructed to take you wherever you need.” He finished looking at me in the rearview mirror.“It’s nice to meet you, Gideon.”“Would you like some recommendations? I’ve driven lots of celebrities to fashion stores before I started wor

I was disappointed by Ethan’s reaction to my dress when he picked me up in the evening. He took a hard look at me and then frowned as if my very presence was going to ruin his entire evening. I mean I didn’t expect him to fall head over heels in love with me, but the dress…It deserved a little bit of attention. I would have settled for a backhanded compliment too but none was forthcoming. He remained silent the entire drive, making me more nervous.When the driver stepped out to open the door for us, he spoke for the first time.“They will be more than a dozen eyes on us tonight. There won’t be any cameras on the inside so we can relax a little. But people will be watching. A few of them will report to my grandfather by dawn tomorrow.We have to give them a good show.”“Nice pep talk. I don’t feel nervous anymore.” I answered, sarcastically.“Then it’s a good thing we’re not here to please you.”He got out first, and then extended a hand to me in the car. Here goes nothing, I si