Arya
I frowned at her. “I’m not asking you to be my fake girlfriend. I’m asking you to be my fake fiancée.”
“That’s even worse. How can you even suggest such a thing?”
“Why is it worse?”
“Because that’s lying to your parents.”
“Look, I’m not going to marry you. I’m not going to have children with you. I’m not going to completely lead my mother on. However, I do want…” He paused and looked at me for a few seconds, and I looked back at him. His lips twitched slightly, and my eyes narrowed.
“What is it?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“I do want to know. That’s why I asked.”
“Well, are you even considering my suggestion?”
“No,” I said and then paused. “Well, maybe.”
“Really?” His eyes lit up.
“Why do you sound so surprised? If you thought I wouldn’t be interested, then why even suggest it in the first place?”
“Because I was hopeful. I wasn’t sure if I had reason to hope, though.”
“You don’t have reason to hope. I’m just saying—”
“No, no. You can’t take it back now, Arya. You’re interested.”
“So maybe I am. So what were you going to say?”
“I was going to say that I think that we could both enjoy…” He paused again and his lips twitched.
“Okay, you know what? I don’t think I want you to finish that sentence.” I knew exactly what he was thinking. I mean it wasn’t hard to figure out, seeing as we were lying in his bed and I was already mostly naked.
“What? You’re the one…”
“I think I know how that’s going to end.”
“How do you think it’s going to end?”
“I think that you’re going to ask me…” I shook my head. “Anyway, I should go back to my bedroom now.”
“Wait.” He grabbed my hand. “Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”
“I don’t know anything anymore.” I shook my head. “I feel like ever since I’ve been on Horseshoe Ranch that people are just…”
“They’re just what?”
“People are just confusing me.”
“What people are confusing you, Arya?”
“You. You’re confusing me, okay?”
“Oh, really? In what way am I confusing you?”
“You know in what way you’re confusing me. You flirt with me. You’re angry with me. You try to control me.”
“I’m not trying to control you.”
“Well, it feels like you’re trying to control what sort of job I have.”
“I’m not trying to control what sort of job you have. I just don’t think it’s a good idea for you to live on top of a bar. Who’s going to look after Eloise when you’re working?”
“I already told you that your mom said she would help me. And Olivia and Sadie and—”
“Come on now, Arya. So they’re going to drive to your place in the middle of the night to go and look after Eloise and then go back home? Is that safe?”
I pressed my lips together. He had a point. It was something that I’d thought about as well, but I hadn’t wanted to dwell on it because I knew that that arrangement couldn’t last forever. But I just needed to build up my savings, and then I could hire someone more professional, someone who wouldn’t mind working until the bar closed.
Chet pressed his lips against my forehead. “Say yes, Arya, you know you want to.”
I moaned softly as his fingers brushed my breast. “Fine,” I conceded. “We can do it, but only for a few months. I don’t want this whole thing going too far.”
He grinned triumphantly then moved closer to kiss me. I melted against him. It wasn’t long before we were both naked, and he was kissing and touching my body in ways it had never been touched.
I reached over and ran my fingers down his chest, loving the way he reacted to my touch. He groaned and grunted and called out my name in a deep raspy voice, and the way he looked at me when he brought me to a climax with his fingers made my heart leap in joy. He positioned himself between my legs and I stared up at him, feeling an intense emotion. I wanted to whisper to him how handsome he was, but his lips crushed down on mine before I could say anything. His cock rubbed me gently and with one gentle thrust he was inside of me, deep and hard, and I heard myself screaming his name. This seemed to excite him because he moved even faster and as our bodies writhed on the bed, I found myself close to climax again.
He reached down to rub me gently as he increased his pace and I panted desperately against his shoulder, close to orgasm again.
“Come for me, Arya.” He blew into my ear and that was all it took for my entire body to shudder with the most intense feeling I’d ever had. “Fuck, yes!” he grunted as he increased his pace even more. My breasts bounced against his chest and then he stilled and thrust one last time before collapsing next to me.
“You’re fucking beautiful,” he whispered as he lazily played with my breasts.
All I could think was that I was falling for this man. There was no way I could pretend to play his fake girlfriend or fiancée. It would break me too much inside to pretend to be something I wanted to be real.
* * *
Early in the morning, I slipped out of bed and put my nightgown back on, careful not to wake Chet.
I couldn’t believe that we had made love. My body was still humming from the way he touched me and the way he made me feel, and every single part of me wanted to crawl back into bed with him. But I knew that I couldn’t.
I had to get away from Horseshoe Ranch. I didn’t want Chet to think that I needed him. I didn’t want him to think that he was responsible for me and Arya. I didn’t want him to feel obligated to take care of us. Eloise was my responsibility. As much as I loved the Hamilton family, and as much as I knew they cared about us, I didn’t want to take advantage of them. I was going to have to find a job. Maybe the job at 12 Point Buck Bar had fallen through, but that didn’t mean there weren’t other opportunities in town. I didn’t have high standards when it came to a job. I would do what I had to do. I had to make money. I couldn’t let us be dependent on anyone else.
I walked into the kitchen to find Amelia there making tea. “Morning,” I said.
She looked up and smiled. “Good morning, Arya. Sleep well?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“And Eloise, did she sleep well?”
“Uh…yes,” I stammered. I’d forgotten to go to the bedroom to check on Eloise. “In fact, I left Eloise in the bedroom by mistake,” I said quickly and hurried out of the kitchen.
I wondered if Amelia knew that I’d spent the night in her son’s room. I was already slipping. I was already putting my own needs before Eloise’s.
I hurried back to my bedroom and opened the door. Eloise was lying on the bed, reading a book. She smiled as I walked in.
“Morning, Auntie Arya,” she said.
“Morning.” I rushed over to her and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. I was just reading my book about Spot.” She showed me a page with a picture of a dog, and I smiled.
“And did you sleep well?”
“Yes, Auntie Arya. Did you sleep well?”
I wondered if she knew I hadn’t slept in the bedroom with her. I didn’t want to say anything. I didn’t want her asking questions. “Very well. Thank you,” I replied.
“What are we going to do today? Are we going to bake cookies with Amelia?”
“Um, I’m not sure what the plan is. Why don’t we head into the kitchen and see?” I needed to ask Amelia if she’d look after Eloise today. I was going to drive into town and search for jobs. I would take Eloise if I had to, but I didn’t want any potential employers to think that I had an issue with childcare.
Eloise got out of the bed and stretched. “I’m hungry. Can I have pancakes for breakfast and scrambled eggs?”
“I’m not sure. Let’s see,” I said, not wanting to promise anything. Of course, if we were in our own place, I would make her scrambled eggs and pancakes without thinking. But I didn’t want to go into Amelia’s kitchen and make a mess. It wasn’t my place to do so. Just one more reason that it was so important for us to get our own home.
“And some orange juice, please,” she said as we left the bedroom.
“We’ll see,” I said as we made our way toward the kitchen.
“Morning, Eloise,” Amelia said with a bright smile as we walked in.
“Morning, Grandma Amelia.” Eloise ran over to her and gave her a quick hug. Amelia’s face glowed with happiness. Their bond really was something special.
“Amelia, I was wondering if you had any plans today,” I asked.
“No, not really. Why, dear?”
“I was hoping to go into town to look for a job, and I was wondering if you could look after Eloise for a couple of hours for me?”
“Of course. You don’t even have to ask.”
“I mean, I do, but thank you,” I said.
“Oh, you’re welcome. And what would you two like for breakfast?”
“I’d like blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes,” Eloise said, “and scrambled eggs and bacon and orange juice that’s freshly squeezed, please!”
“Now, now, Eloise. That’s a bit much. I’m sure Amelia has better things to do than to cook you up such a breakfast.”
“No, that sounds absolutely delicious,” Amelia said with a smile. “Would you like the same thing as well, Arya?”
“Actually, I’m just going to have some toast and get ready. Want to hit the streets and see if I can find a job.”
“It’s so sad about what happened at the bar,” Amelia said, shaking her head. “My apologies for my son. I know he meant well, but…”
“It’s okay,” I said quickly. “I understood where he was coming from, but you know, I kind of need a paycheck.” I looked down at the floor slightly embarrassed. I didn’t want Amelia to think I was begging for money or a handout because I really wasn’t and I’d absolutely die if she offered me any money.
“I know, dear. Don’t worry. Do you want to go get ready? I’ll have some toast and coffee ready for you in a couple of minutes.”
“That’s perfect, thank you. Eloise, I’m just going to go and change. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay, Auntie Arya. I’m going to help Grandma Amelia.”
“Sounds good,” I said as I headed out of the kitchen.
I walked back down the corridor and stopped dead when I saw a Chet standing outside my bedroom door. “What are you doing?” I hissed as I hurried up to him.
“What do you mean what am I doing? I woke up expecting to find you next to me and you were gone.”
“Well, I had to go and check on Eloise.”
“You could have woken me up and said goodbye.”
“I don’t think so, Chet. Last night was a mistake.”
“Last night was a mistake?” he cut me off, raising an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Yes, it was.”
“So you weren’t pleasured?”
“That’s got nothing to do with it. It was fun. But—”
“But what? Aren’t we going to tell my mother that we’re engaged?”
“No,” I shook my head quickly. “That’s not a good idea.”
“What do you mean? I thought it was a perfect idea. You seemed to agree with me last night.”
“I wasn’t in my right mind. I don’t want to lie. I’m not going to tell your family we’re engaged when we’re not. It’s not cool. I don’t want to get their hopes up. I don’t want to get Eloise’s hopes up.”
“Hmm,” he said, pressing his lips together. “But I want you in my bed.”
“Just because you want me in your bed doesn’t mean I’m going to lie to your family that we’re engaged.”
“Is this because you don’t want to be in my bed?” His face darkened.
“Oh, honestly, Chet!”
“What? Last night, you seemed to be all for it. And we made love and you seemed to be all for it. And now this morning, I wake up and you’re gone and you’re telling me that we’re no longer engaged.”
“We were never really engaged. It wasn’t going to be the truth. And I don’t feel comfortable lying. I need to get a job. I need to figure this out for myself.”
“What do you mean you need to get a job? I already told you, you can help me out at the ranch and we can pay you.”
“I’m not taking money from you or your family.” I shook my head. “That’s not cool.”
“What do you mean it’s not cool? We’re not just going to give you money. Obviously, you’d work for it and—”
“No,” I said vehemently. “It’s not going to happen, Chet.”
“Why are you so stubborn, Arya?” he said, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me in towards him.
“Don’t do that,” I said, pushing him away. But he held onto me tightly.
“I missed you this morning,” he said, brushing my lips with his.
“Chet, anyone could walk out and see us.”
“So?” He smirked and squeezed my ass.
“Chet!”
“What?” he said, grinning.
“We cannot be making out right here.”
“Hey, it’s not like we’re making love in the corridor.”
“Chet!” I said louder than I’d intended.
“Are you trying to wake up everyone else in the house?”
“No, I’m not. You need to go back to your room so I can go into my room and change.”
“Can I come into your room with you?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “You’re really too much.”
“What? I think you’re sexy, and I think you think I’m sexy and, well, I’m feeling pretty hard right now. Wouldn’t mind a repeat—”
“Stop it!” I said, cutting him off.
He frowned and pretended to cry. “You don’t want to be with me, huh? Was I that bad?”
“No,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Obviously not. I’m just…” I sighed. I grabbed his face and kissed him hard and then pulled back. He stared at me with a dazed look on his face. “Look, what we had last night was fun, but that’s not my priority right now.”
“Will it be your priority tonight?”
“Chet, really?”
“What?” he said. “I’m hoping it wasn’t just a one-time thing.”
“I don’t know, but I really have to get ready. Eloise and your mom are waiting for me in the kitchen.”
“Fine,” he said, holding his hands up and taking a step back. “You go and do what you got to do, and I’ll see you when you get back.”
“Okay,” I said. “Thank you.” I slipped into my bedroom door and closed the door behind me. I took a couple of deep breaths and walked to the bathroom and splashed my face with cold water.
Chet was a rascal.
He was absolutely the most charming and irresistible man I’d ever met. Rugged, handsome, obstinate, obnoxious, and incredibly sexy. I was in over my head.
Last night had been absolutely marvelous, but as much as I wanted to sleep with him again, I was scared to. I knew the more I was intimate with him, the harder it was going to be for me to walk away. Chet wasn’t ready for a serious relationship, and I couldn’t get into anything with anyone unless it was going somewhere. I couldn’t do that to Eloise.
And I couldn’t do that to myself, either.