Page 51 of The Arrangement

My anxiety rises as the movers spill out of the truck and raise the door in the back of it. Before I can gather my wits and explain what’s going on to Mimi, her gaze shifts over my shoulders. And the skepticism in her face turns to excitement.

I know that look. She’s seen Jason.

Her lips part into a smile as he appears, pausing to talk to the movers. He’s changed from his suit into a pair of dark denim jeans and a green polo shirt that matches his eyes. His hair is damp. His face freshly shaven.

Those delicious tattoos are on full display.

Jason laughs at something one of the men says, then he turns to me, his smile growing wider as our gazes meet.

My stomach tumbles as he comes to my door.

“Mimi, will you give me a second? Just sit right here,” I say, unbuckling myself.

“Sure.”

There’s a question buried in that single word, but I don’t stop to address it. Instead, I grab the handle just as Jason pulls my door open.

As I step out, the air is warm and sweet-smelling, filled with the sounds of the moving crew prepping to unload our boxes. I texted Jason and asked about our furniture. He said we could bring it, store it, or leave it.

I chose to leave it. It was junk, after all, and I’ll have the funds to replace it when this is all over.

“Hey,” I say, a lot breathier than I’d like. It’s hard to speak clearly when your heart is racing.

“Hey.” His unabashed smile is one I haven’t experienced before. There’s no hint of our professional relationship. This isn’t a smile you give a friend.

This is the smile a man gives his woman.

Breathe, Chloe.

“What did you tell Mimi?” he asks quietly.

“I told her that I had a surprise that I knew she’d like, but she had to wait until we got here for me to tell her.” I blush. “She’ll take this better if it comes from you. Your charm easily sways her.”

“My charm, huh?” He grins, satisfied with that response. “What do you want me to say? I don’t want to complicate this for you. You’re in control here.”

I’ve been so busy focusing on moving and fighting myself about this whole plan to really think too much about the reality—we’re moving in with Jason.

I glance around, taking in the opulence.Don’t panic, Chloe.

“Well,” I say, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “First of all, do you really want us here? I mean, this all happened so fast, and it really is kind of ridiculous, so if you want to just bail?—”

“I want you here.Both of you.”

I lean against my car and blow out the longest breath. His kind eyes sweep away my second thoughts. His sincerity soothes my nerves.

“If you just need a place to stay, you can stay here,” he says. “But if you want to go through with the marriage thing, I’m in.”

“Really?”

His grin is lopsided. “Do you want the truth?”

“Of course.”

“I think it might be fun, and it’s been a long time since I’ve had any fun in my life. I’ve had something besides bullshit to think about all afternoon.” He pauses. “And I really want to beat Tate and Renn.”

I bite my lip to keep my smile from stretching entirely across my face. I think the last part of that sentence was an afterthought for my benefit. And if that’s true, that means one of two things:either he wants to make me happy and let me feel good about his help, or he wants me to feel good in many ways.

I shudder a breath.