Page 25 of The Maverick (WaterFyre Rising #7)

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

VANESSA

The next day, Attikus shoved the last suitcase into the trunk of his Maserati SUV, closed it, and looked at me. “Is that all?”

Most men would ask me why I had three suitcases if I were only staying at his place temporarily with the option of going home to retrieve more items when necessary, but he didn’t.

“What’s wrong with you?” I asked.

“What are you talking about?” He walked me to the passenger side door and opened it for me.

“I just gave you three large suitcases and two duffle bags. Aren’t you going to ask me why I need so many when I could just drive back to my apartment to get what I need?”

His lips twisted into a sardonic smile that did something strange to my stomach. “You haven’t seen my mother or my sister travel yet. I’m used to it. This is nothing.”

“I should drive my car there.”

“Why?”

“Because I might need a car to go places?”

“You can use one of mine. It’s best to keep your car parked here.”

Now it was my turn to ask, “Why?”

He leaned in. “Because I want to give the impressionyou’re still living here. People will cause trouble when they think the apartment is empty.”

I knew he was right. Still, I didn’t want to depend on him for everything.

He probably saw my frustration. “I have a lot of cars and use only a few. I don’t mind my wife using any of them.”

I wasn’t going to win this argument, so I slid into the passenger seat. “Why do you need so many cars if you don’t use them?”

“Why do people buy art?” He reached for the belt buckle. His cologne slithered into my nose, making me want to grab him for a longer sniff. “They just like it. It’s a collectible item.”

I supposed he was right again, or I was too exhausted to debate with him.

We remained quiet on the drive to his house. I appreciated a moment to catch up on things. I’d been through a whirlwind of changes. It was probably drastic for him too. He went from an eligible bachelor to engaged in only weeks. Now I was moving into his house.

I stole a glance at him. His eyes were trained on the road, but his features appeared more relaxed than days ago. The more I studied him, the more I wanted to touch him, explore him.

So I stopped and looked out the window. He started to whistle. Surprised, I turned to look at him again.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

He met my eyes with amusement and curiosity. “Why do you keep asking me that?”

“You’re acting strange.”

“Me?” His eyes gleamed. “I should say that about you.”

“Me? I’m not acting strange.”

A small smile crept onto his lips. “Says the person who keeps staring at me and asking weird questions.” He stopped at the red lights and turned to me. “I know why you’re nervous.”

“I’m not nervous,” I said as a new series of nerves skated down my spine from the way he studied me. How could he know I was nervous when I was trying hard to shove that emotion aside?

“You cross your legs and tap your foot a lot when you’re nervous.”

Shit. It was that obvious? They were annoying traits, but I didn’t realize others noticed them.

I was relieved when the lights turned green and his attention swerved back to the road. I didn’t like that he could see right through me. How could I not be nervous about moving in with him? My attraction to him had increased tenfold. I feared I’d do something to ruin this arranged fake marriage.

“Are you okay?” He repeated my question, but there was no sarcasm in it like I’d expected.

“Why are you so calm? You have a stranger coming to live with you. Aren’t you nervous?”

“You’re not a stranger, Vanessa. You’re my fiancée. Before that, we were acquaintances. I was a business investor who admired your talent.” He turned down a street with extravagant homes. “And your beauty.”

I froze at that comment. Was he flirting with me?

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Are you trying to make things difficult while I’m living at your house?”

“No. Just playing the role of a man who’s extremely attracted to his gorgeous fiancée. You should try playing that role too.”

Oh. He was only acting.

“It’ll make the next few months fly by,” he continued.

“I know you can’t wait for the contract to end so you can resume your life.

” He turned down another road where a beautiful home sat by itself, surrounded by flowering trees.

A set of deciduous trees created a peaceful backdrop.

It must be mesmerizing in the fall when the leaves turned to various shades of orange and gold.

I had expected a mansion surrounded by luxury fencing and a security gate to keep curious people out.

But this modern home wasn’t intimidating.

It had lovely curb appeal. The entrance, marked by a wide front door and flanked by Japanese maple and dogwood trees, made the location warm and welcoming.

The doors just needed a floral wreath for the final touch.

But that was subjective. If I had a home like this, I’d have a wreath for each season.

“I want to get back to my life too.” His words cut into me, yanking me back to reality.

Unease bloomed in my body. “Don’t worry, I’ll make it as painless as possible.”

“That’s not what I meant.” He pulled into the driveway and parked in front of a garage with four cars beside it.

What was wrong with me? I had to rein in my emotions so we could both survive this marriage.

“I’m sorry. I’m just anxious. You’re doing me a huge favor, and I should be grateful and not take things too seriously.”

He reached over and brushed a knuckle down my cheek, surprising me. “You want to resume your peaceful life. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’ve lived alone for a while, so this is the first time I’ve had someone here.”

“No one has stayed over?”

“No.” He got out of the car.

I stood next to him as he opened the trunk. “Not even your mom or sister?”

“They only visit.” He dragged out my luggage. “They prefer their house like I prefer mine.”

I didn’t know what to think about being the first person to stay at his house. He must’ve been feeling uncomfortable too. But he was better at keeping calm than I was. This was going to be interesting.

“Are you sure you’re going to survive sharing your house with me?” I grabbed the third piece of luggage and followed him into the house, which had marble flooring.

Out of habit, I stopped at the mat and kicked off my sneakers.

“You don’t have to do that,” he said.

“I prefer it. It keeps the house cleaner. My mom used to make me sweep the floor whenever I forgot and trekked in dirt from outside. You should try it. It’s good feng shui.”

“You know feng shui?”

“Only a little. But it’s common sense. If you bring nasty things into the house, most likely those nasty things will breed negative energy.” I glanced around his home and saw some plants, but not enough. “Having plants in the house would help transform that heavy energy into something better.”

“I see my fiancée already knows how to improve my living situation.” He left the luggage, walked back to the doormat, and kicked off his shoes, placing them next to mine.

The act surprised me. I didn’t think he would adopt my preferred way of entering the home this quickly.

“This is your house. You don’t need to change it for me.”

“I’m not.” He walked to me and grabbed the handle of the suitcase, pulling all of them down an eggshell-colored hallway. “I’m an open-minded person. I can adapt to a new environment with ease, especially when it makes sense. Who doesn’t want more positive energy in their home?”

I didn’t know if I could adapt to things the way he could.

He came to a door, opened it, and walked in. “This is your suite. There’s a compact bathroom, a living room, and a small kitchen here.”

I gaped at the lush living room and modern kitchen with appliances that still gleamed. “Has anyone lived here?”

“No.”

“Why do you have a suite when you never have guests over?”

“It came with the house, and I didn’t need to change it.” He shrugged. “I had a feeling it would be useful one day, and I was right.” He stepped closer and tipped my chin up. “Are you ready to play the role of my beloved fiancée?”

“I’m not an actress,” I murmured, struggling to think clearly. “But it seems like you’re good at it.”

“Sometimes, we have to wear a mask to survive,” he breathed into my ear, the warmth of his breath making me shiver. When he drew back, his brown eyes had darkened to a lustful chocolate.

“I’m afraid I might forget who I am if I wear a mask.”

“Or you might find a part of yourself that was dormant.”

Was there a hidden message woven within his statement? Probably. But my brain cells were all frozen. How many masks had he worn to survive? What did he discover about himself?

“Try it for a few weeks and see. You have nothing to lose. It could be fun.”

I was in a fake marriage. When I stepped out in public, I had to play my role correctly, or the news media would start rumors.

Then again, I saw how they could start trouble regardless of what people did.

Attikus was doing me a favor. The least I could do was make this situation easy for both of us.

What harm would it do to pretend to be his fiancée? It could be fun.

My inner voice wanted to retort with sarcasm, but I shut it down before it could form. A part of me wanted to see how far we could go—or rather, how far I could go with this fake relationship.

“So you want me to call you by a pet name and flirt with you?”

His eyes sparkled. “That would make this situation interesting. Wouldn’t you agree, Lily Pad?”

“Lily Pad?” I asked, my heart racing for no reason.

“Do you remember the dark purple water lily painting?”

I sucked in a breath. “That was my first oil painting. I sold it to an old couple at a farmer’s market.” I’d loved that painting, but I needed money to pay bills, and the couple had offered me a thousand dollars. That was a lot for a new artist like me. “How do you know about it?”

“I own it now.”

I didn’t know what to say. “How? I sold it years ago.”

“I bought it at an estate sale.”