Page 57

Hayley stepped out of the elevator.
"Isabella. Oh! You look wonderful!" Hayley beamed at me.
"Thank you," I beamed back, enjoying the compliment.
"So you're meeting him now?" Hayley wanted to know. She looked at me curiously.
"Yes. But I'm terribly late. We can chat in detail another time. I'll come by your place and we'll cook something nice. Or at my place. Or we'll go out. I still owe you for your help." With Carter's money, I would soon be able to treat my friend to a fancy night out as a thank you for her support. The idea felt good.
"That's not necessary," Hayley waved off.
"We'll talk about this later," I called out as I squeezed past Hayley into the elevator. I had to leave quickly, otherwise Carter would probably be raising hell downstairs. And rightfully so. Or he might drive off annoyed.
This thought caused a strange twinge in my stomach.
When I stepped out of the elevator a little later and opened the front door, I was relieved to see that Carter's red Ferrari was still parked in front of the building. He was double-parked, earning the ire of numerous other drivers. But that didn't seem to bother him. As soon as he saw me coming out of the building, he got out of the car and gallantly held the passenger door open for me. He was wearing a suit. And sneakers. Just like last time.
"Hello, fiancée," he said in that deep voice that made my skin tingle again.
"Hello, fiancé," I replied, smiling at him. His bright blue eyes bore into mine.
"I'd kiss you like proper fiancés should. But then we'd probably be blocking traffic even longer." Carter looked at me steadily. His promising words sent another shiver down my spine. I quickly got into the Ferrari before Carter could notice what I was thinking.
What I was thinking about.
His kisses.
Our night together.
"I'm sorry I'm so late and you had to wait," I apologized when Carter was seated next to me in the car. "I had to look for a few things. Someone broke into my place yesterday and it kind of messed everything up." It was only half the truth, but Carter didn't need to know that. I didn't have to tell him right away that I was often late because, in my absentmindedness, I rarely found all the things I needed for an appointment immediately. And I certainly wouldn't tell him that I couldn't find some things at all because I had completely misplaced them.
"Someone broke into your place?" Carter probed. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?" The concerned undertone in his voice made me feel good.
Isabella! Remember everything you discussed with Hayley. This is just about fun. And Carter is probably only asking so concernedly because he wants to make sure you can play his fiancée and keep your part of the agreement.
"No, no, everything's fine," I assured him. I quickly changed the subject. "So you were able to pick up the Ferrari from the shop?"
"Yeah, it wasn't a big deal," said Carter, who nevertheless wouldn't be deterred from the topic. "So nothing happened in your apartment except for a bit of a mess?"
"Nothing valuable was stolen," I answered, touched despite myself by how much Carter cared about me. "It's just in complete disarray."
"It's the same at my place," Carter admitted at that moment. My eyes widened in surprise. Had I found a kindred spirit? Someone who found it as difficult as I did to keep things tidy? I wasn't like this on purpose, but actually wanted to put everything back in its place. I just couldn't manage it.
"Really? There's chaos at your place?" I marveled. Carter's penthouse hadn't looked messy at all last night. It had seemed quite tidy. Spotless, even.
"I ordered a new kitchen and the furniture was supposed to arrive and be installed the day before yesterday. But some part was missing and now the stove couldn't be properly connected. It's just sitting loosely in its place. My housekeeper is pretty upset about it."
"Oh," I said. New kitchen. Stove not properly installed. I wish I had problems like that. And above all, I wish I had a housekeeper. Then my place would look spotless too and I wouldn't misplace anything anymore.
Housekeeper.
That could take a while.
Maybe when I had my own boutique hotel.
That dream was in the distant future.
First, I needed to find a new job. Playing Carter's fiancée only gave me a reprieve. I couldn't forget that. It felt so good and natural to sit here next to him and drive through the streets of New York that the problems I had in my life seemed to disappear completely.