Page 53 of The Arrangement

“I’m not …no,” I say, shaking my head fervently. “I’m not pregnant, Mimi.”

She tilts her chin so she can see Jason’s face. “You two would make beautiful babies.”

“Stop it,” I say, blushing.

Jason’s amusement is written all over his face. “While that isn’t our news, we would like to tell you that we’re getting married.”

She clasps her hands together and looks at the sky. “Oh, thank you, sweet Jesus. Thank you so much.” She turns to my “fiancé” and pats his face with both hands. “I couldn’t be happier about this. I really couldn’t. I was praying you came to see me about something like this and Chloe interrupted us when she got home. I just knew something was going on. I knew it.” She looks at me, pointing. “You can’t hide things from your grandmother. I always know.”

Glad one of us did.

“When I married my husband, we had sex like rabbits for a full year,” she says, shrugging. “Sometimes several times a day.”

Jason’s eyes connect with mine over Mimi’s head. We exchange a secret grin that somehow feels like the most intimate thing we’ve exchanged all day.

“That being said, I’ll take the guesthouse,” she says, chuckling.

“But are you sure you can live alone?” I ask, snapped back to reality. “You fall and?—”

“Chloe.” She speaks my name as a full sentence. “I’ll be fine. I’m certain there are no broken tiles for me to trip over in that cute little place.”

Jason pats her hand. “If anything isn’t to your liking, you say the word, and it’ll be fixed. I want you to be comfortable. Whatever you need or want, all you have to do is say the word.”

Well, I guess that answers that …

“Can you walk me in?” Mimi asks Jason. “I really need to sit down.”

“Absolutely. Let’s get you inside and then you can direct the movers where to put your things. Chloe and I can help you get it all put away.”

She waves a hand through the air. “I’ll let them know where to put it all, but let’s put it away later. This old woman needs a rest.”

“I’ll be right back,” Jason says, moving slowly across the driveway with my grandmother clinging to his arm. He’s unrushed and comfortable, chatting away with her like they’ve known each other for a lifetime.

Whether he knows it or not, I think he just stole my heart.

He’s definitely stolen Mimi’s.

But what about when she finds out it was all a lie?

Chapter 13

Chloe

“Welcome to our humble abode,” Jason says from my side.

I flush at the use ofour—as in this is my home now too—and step beneath the oversized ferns hanging from along the edge of the patio.

The patio is bigger than four of my apartments put together. Ceiling fans swirl silently overhead, and a sauna is seamlessly tucked into the back corner. An outdoor kitchen complete with a built-in grill is nestled along the other side. Sitting out here in the evenings, looking across the pool and hot tub while reading a book, must be so relaxing.

I glance across my shoulder at Jason.Or doing other things…

My heart thumps steadily as he reaches ahead of me and opens a door into the house. I try not to breathe in too deeply so the scent of his cologne doesn’t trigger my body’s automatic response to him. I need to keep a clear head.

“Humble?” I ask, giggling. “With all due respect, there’s nothing humble about this.”

The door closes softly behind us.

“This is magazine-worthy.” I turn in a circle, taking it all in. It feels like I’ve stepped out of my world and into another universe. “Did you design this?”