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4

LAUREL

Laurel was in the middle of sautéing half a bag of frozen vegetables and some chunks of tofu while noodles boiled on the back burner when she heard a knock at the door. She needed the break and the food, hopefully, to give her another mental boost for her book because she’d effectively backed her character into a corner and didn’t want to rewrite it.

Kendall’s head popped around the corner.

“Are you expecting someone?”

“I was just going to ask you that.”

“Want me to get it?”

“Maybe it’s the maintenance guy to look at the faucet that drips.”

“Need me to get lost?” Kendall chuckled. “That’s how your smut begins, right? A plumber just magically shows up, and some dragon…”

“Forget it,” Laurel replied, exasperated and embarrassed. “I’ll get the door, and don’t forget that ‘ my smut’ just bought you new school clothes.”

Kendall blew her a kiss.

“I swear,” Laurel muttered, pushing the skillet off the burner, walked over, and yanked open the door – freezing immediately as she met Dustin’s bright eyes.

Kendall walked past her and whispered loudly, “I rest my case. Bow-chicka-bow-wow… ” as she disappeared into her bedroom, shutting the door loudly, followed by a muffled, “I can’t hear you now – I’m safe!”

“Um, hi…” Laurel began nervously, immediately reaching up to see if her hair was down or in a ponytail. She couldn’t remember if she’d bothered to fix it after yanking a ballcap on her head to take Kendall shopping.

“Hey,” Dustin hesitated. “Can I come in? Am I interrupting dinner or…”

“Oh, no,” she replied, immediately opening the door a little more. “I was just tossing something together to try and get some veggies in Kendall… and you don’t care. I’m sorry. I’m blabbing and…”

“If I’m bothering you, I can go.”

“No, you’re here.”

“I’ll be honest, it took a lot to get me here,” he retorted under his breath, looking just as surprised at his own appearance as she was.

“I bet,” she whispered, looking away and caught his double take. “Can I help you?”

“Well, I thought I’d say hello to my neighbor… and my sister’s friend.”

“You… are coming here… to say hello… to me?” Laurel dragged out slowly as her brain chugged along through mental mud, trying to figure out what was going on. “One more time for the cheering crowd, please? Cause… huh ?”

And Dustin chuckled, giving her a nervous smile that shot straight up her spine like electricity. My stars, a man that beautiful should be a sin against nature, she mused silently and sighed.

“I came to say ‘hello,’ and I had a few questions.”

“Oh?”

“What year is your car?”

“Eh?” Laurel blinked in confusion. “My car? You came here to ask how old my car is?”

“Yeah,” he began and then hesitated. “No.”

They stood there looking at each other, the door wide open, yet she hadn’t moved out of the way – nor had he stepped inside yet. It was like they both had no clue what to do next regarding the unexpected appearance.

“Do you want to come in?” she finally asked and saw him shake his head ‘no’ before he stepped inside.

Weird.

“You’ve got a nice place,” he said simply, looking around her condo. She had picked this place for the privacy and security. There was a fob to use to make the elevator work, one of the walls had windows that were treated with a film to keep people from looking inside but gave her a spectacular view of the city, and it was fairly close to shopping – which used to be amazing fun when she had a ton of money to spend and wasn’t watching every dime with Kendall.

“All the floors are the same – except yours.”

“I guess so.”

“You have a balcony.”

“Oh yeah, I guess I do.”

“You don’t use it?”

“Not really.”

“What a shame,” she whispered and saw his sharp look once more as he stared at her, frowning slightly, like he was trying to figure out what she meant by that comment. “I meant ‘what a shame because it’s a pretty view’ – not that you did something wrong or…”

“What’s your deal?”

“Excuse me?”

“You live in a nice high-rise but drive a jalopy. I never see you here until recently, but the office manager tells me you’ve been here for years, and…”

“You asked the office manager about me?!” she squawked, stunned.

“And you have a little sister who I assume is living with you,” he finished, ignoring her question, frowning even more. “Where are your parents? What’s your deal? Nobody will say anything – including my sister – who instructed me to come and talk to you.”

“Wait,” she hissed, rubbing her temple. “You asked the office manager and your sister about me?”

“Yeah. Apparently, I’ve got the entire world pushing me in your direction and…”

“Wait, wait… wait ,” she began again, now rubbing both temples as she yanked her glasses off her face and tossed them on the counter. “My brain was struggling before, but I think it just seized.”

And heard his nervous, quiet laugh once again.

“You sound like me when I got off the phone with my agent,” Dustin admitted in a gentle voice, causing her to look up at him.

“Look, my life’s a mess, but I’m slowly figuring it out.”

“Why?”

“Why what? Why am I figuring it out?”

“No, why is it a mess?”

“If you haven’t noticed, I’m now raising a nearly thirteen-year-old version of me that’s a whole lot smarter and snarkier than I ever was. My dad put the fear of God into me, whereas I don’t think Kendall has met a person she won’t talk to about everything and anything .”

“Hence the dump truck comment?” he smiled, nodding.

“I’m really sorry about that.”

“No problem,” he said simply. “She’s fearless and outgoing, and maybe she should channel that toward something?”

“She is,” Laurel muttered. “Directly into my last nerve.”

“I’m sorry about your parents – or whatever happened,” Dustin began quietly, causing her to look at him. “I should probably know, but then again, I was probably at a game or something and…”

“Thank you,” she interrupted, stunned at the apology.

“So, I’ve got a few more questions, and then I’ll be out of your hair,” he replied, rubbing the back of his head nervously… but Laurel barely noticed or heard him as she gawked at his biceps and realized just how tan and muscled his legs were.

She wasn’t a muscle-y person, nor did she try to focus on physiques unless she was describing it for a scene, but good golly that man had chiseled thighs worthy of any romance scene and…

“… Boyfriend?”

“Huh? Uh, no,” she whispered, swallowing, and fought back the urge to wipe her mouth to make sure she wasn’t drooling. Oh man, her crush of the century was standing in the middle of her home asking her about a boyfriend?

“Well… I guess that makes things easier and less painful than a root canal,” he muttered, shrugged, and then hesitated. “I don’t suppose you’d want to get married tomorrow?”

“Oh my gosh…” she whispered – and it was echoed by a louder, muffled ‘Oh my gosh!’ from Kendall’s room as she stared at him in shock. “Did you just… I mush have… I mean, I ‘ must’ have… eh, well, this is awkward.”

“You’re not kidding,” he said under his breath, watching her carefully as a weird half-snort, half-giggle escaped her… and she shrugged, trying to play it off.

“Yeah, I think I need my hearing checked. For a second, I thought you asked me to marry you tomorrow and…”

“I did.”

“I need to sit down,” Laurel whispered, sitting immediately on the kitchen floor – and noticed a crumb beside her, dusting it away quickly, before tossing a bright, nervous smile at him. “Is this some joke?”

“I wish it was.”

“Did Madeline put you up to this prank, because it’s not funny.”

“Nope. She doesn’t even know I’m here, though, she did suggest I talk to you, if I wanted to know more about you. That woman’s mouth is tighter than Fort Knox – which I suppose is a good thing since she’s been interviewed about me in the past.”

“So not Madeline,” she whispered, her mind racing. “Who else could we both know that would put you up to a prank like this or…”

“It’s no prank – except maybe on me. I’ve got to get married immediately and it has to look somewhat real. I figured since maybe you used to have a crush on me when I was younger…”

“Oh, just kill me now…” she whispered, burying her face in her hands as he continued speaking.

“Then maybe we could fake it for the press for a little bit or at least until they are off my back with the announcement.”

“You’re going to announce marrying me?”

“What? Oh, heck no,” he laughed nervously, tugging at his collar. “I’m gonna announce that I’m taking a different opportunity with a new hockey team. How do you feel about Canada and french fries? I hear there is good food up there and nice shopping. We could have a heckuva view again and… and Kendall could go to the best private schools. I’d handle it. We could live in different wings – yeah – we can live in different wings of the place. I’ll get a three -bedroom instead of two and…”

Laurel raised a hand in the middle of getting to her feet and sank almost like her whole soul was being deflated. She was on her hands and knees – well, one hand kept her from face-planting – while the other was frantically waving to just shut him up so she could process everything he was spewing so quickly.

Looking up, she saw Kendall’s shocked face peeking from her bedroom – and frowned, immediately causing the girl to shut the door. Looking at Dustin’s bright blue eyes and seeing his expression as he worked through what would ‘suit him’ in this travesty-of-a-marriage was… disheartening.

He wanted separate bedrooms?

He wanted to move to Canada?

Her crush wanted to marry her conditionally … for a job?

“You’re serious,” she whispered painfully, staring at him – and he nodded. “You want to marry me to secure a job and move us to Canada , where I would have my own bedroom, and we would pretend to be a couple.”

“Yes,” he smiled brightly.

“No,” she uttered flatly.

“What?” he replied in disbelief – and then chuckled. “Are we negotiating, Laurel? Good heavens, you are smarter than I remembered. Of course, we’re negotiating – and that’s cool. That means you understand and accept, and we’re just working out the details now.”

“Details,” she whispered, horrified and dismayed at this emotionless proposal from the one person she had always dreamed of marrying someday. “Yes, we’re working out the details.”

“I’ll handle everything regarding the move – or rather my agent will. You just need a passport, and we’ll get a VISA rushed for all three of us and…”

“And a new computer,” she breathed, testing the waters. “One for me and one for Kendall.”

“Of course.”

“And I want an office or library space where I can work.”

“You don’t have to work as my wife.”

“I want to work, and what happens when I’m not your wife?”

“Ahhhh,” he nodded, tapping his temple and crossing his arms over his chest. “See? Smart. I wouldn’t have thought of that, but you are always thinking ahead – aren’t you?”

“That’s me,” she hesitated nervously, her brain barely functioning. “Always thinking… right?”

“What else?”

“That you park your car a safe distance from mine.”

“You’re getting a different car,” he frowned. “That thing will never make the drive to Canada from here. I’ll buy you one in Quebec.”

“And we’ll share a bedroom,” she whispered, looking at him and feeling her face flush hotly as she nearly choked out the words. If she was marrying him, then she was going to someday have enough courage to live out her fantasy of touching him or kissing him.

“Absolutely not,” he frowned – and she flinched.

Okay, maybe no fantasy, she thought, swallowing and looking away from him, fighting back the rush of panic and self-depreciation that suddenly flooded her.

Yeah, she wasn’t a supermodel, and sure, sitting at a computer for hours a day probably made her butt spread like warm cookie dough – but really? Was the idea of intimacy between them so abhorrent to him that he’d shut her down immediately?

“Fine,” she hedged as another thought hit her. “No cheating. If you want a separate room from me because you’ve got a girlfriend – you’ll have to get rid of her. I won’t live with someone who cheats on me.”

“I’m not dating anyone… and I agree. That goes both ways. You can’t see anyone, and I won’t either.”

“It’s just me then?” she swallowed, feeling those silent tears stinging the back of her eyes in humiliation.

"Laurel, if we are going into a marriage as friends – I’d like for it to remain that way. I don’t think inviting something personal, like sex , between us would be smart for either party. I mean, we’ve known each other for years. I saw you in a cucumber facemask at my sister’s slumber party. I’ve seen you wax your eyebrows and laughed when neither of you two could pull it off. We’re too familiar… and there’s no intrigue, no spice, no excitement there.”

“Oh gosh,” she whimpered, feeling each word as a stab directly into her soul – and felt him touch her elbow. She couldn’t even look at him right now because it hurt so badly to have this brutal of a rejection from the one person she’d always wanted and knew she could never have… and now she was getting part of him – just not all of him.

“I’ll take care of you,” he whispered gently beside her. “You’ll never worry about Kendall, money, or anything at all. I swear it.”

“I’ll just be alone.”

“We both will be,” he corrected. “We’ll be friends and later on we can revisit this or divorce amicably… and even then, we’ll still be friends.”

“Can I think about this?”

“Unfortunately – no,” he said, his voice full of regret. “I’ll admit I’ve been putting this off, and I must give my answer tomorrow. I’d prefer we simply get married in the morning and start the proceedings with the move.”

“I see.”

“It’s up to you – I would never pressure you or push you into doing something you don’t want.”

No, you would just make sure I was trapped in a loveless marriage with the one man that I’ve always wanted to look at me differently , she thought bitterly and hesitated as it hit her. If she said no, he was just going to find someone else to fill the spot she coveted so much – and then she would never have her chance. Maybe in a few years from now, things might be different… or worse, she realized.

“What time?” she asked hoarsely and chanced a glance at his relieved expression.

“Nine,” he hedged and met her eyes. “I promise you’ll never regret this.”

I already do, she thought silently and nodded.