Page 32 of Vicious Arrangement (Alpha Billionaire Daddies #7)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

ARIA

He’s gone when I wake in the morning. The whole place is quiet, no staff today except for the girl who does the laundry, and I decide to go for a run with Angus before I go into work.

The clock in my head ticks, and I adjust the run to a shorter one so I can get home, let Angus rule his terrace and the room, and get to work.

Imagine my shock when they’re shocked to see me. Admin calls me over.

“We appreciate you wanting to make sure your shifts are covered for the next week, but they are. Your husband made sure we could get someone in.” Judy rubs two fingers together, denoting he paid them. “Take the time to enjoy the honeymoon.”

Horrified, with my chest tight and cheeks burning, I leave. When I’m a block from the hospital, I don’t know what to do.

What I should do is call Noah and berate him for this, but I don’t want to. I love my job, but even I can see having a little time to breathe is good, and… shit… I don’t want to fight anymore.

It’s too exhausting.

I want to find a better path. I have hope. Even if I’m still upset from last night, I have hope.

Me: Busy for lunch?

Katie: Don't you have work?

Me: Do NOT get me started.

Katie: My crystal ball says N-O-A-H.

I don’t disabuse her. I text her again. The little Thai place in the East Village.

Katie: You’re pregnant.

Me: It’s not a problem. They can make it mild, too.

I roll my eyes at her concern, but I’m also touched. I walk to the East Village, and when I get to the restaurant, Katie’s already there.

She takes one look at me, gets up and hugs me. “What’s wrong, Ari?”

I sit down and have a tea to her glass of white wine, and it all comes out, his discovery of a brother, how my help devolved down into another fight and how upset I am that his general MO is to just avoid, avoid and have sex, then avoid.

We place our orders, and I lean forward. “Every time things seem to be better and we make progress he just retreats again and throws up walls. I just wanted to help.”

“I know.” She squeezes my fingers. “And I agree he shouldn’t have shut you out, but Ari, I don’t think he’s had anyone.”

“He’s had Asher.”

She smiles. “Yes, but they’re friends from the beginning, and since they’re the same age, it’s different to a parent, and it’s different to the person they’re falling for because love makes someone vulnerable.”

“He’s not in love.”

“With Asher, definitely not, so with him, he’s safe. He knows whatever he does or says, he’s not losing Asher. He doesn’t know if he might lose you.”

She’s so wrong. He isn’t in love or falling, as much as I’d like him to be. “He wants me around because I’m key to his inheritance. I’m also having his kid, so…”

Katie snorts. “Oh, come on. I mean sure, but Noah would shut you out and set up boundaries of friends with benefits with you, worn a little tight cap to bed, if you know what I mean, if there was nothing, and he wouldn’t put up any walls because you wouldn’t know a thing.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works,” I say.

“It’s totally how it works,” she says, waiting until her papaya salad is served and I get my prawn and pork wonton soup with greens.

It’s peppery but not spicy, and I take a spoonful of the liquid, letting the wholesomeness sink down in me. “No it isn’t.”

She sighs. “Aria, he tries to let you in, but even I can tell from everything you told me he’s scared. He doesn’t do this.”

“Are you team Noah?” I ask.

“No. I’m team happy Aria, and I think that means including him on that team.” She sighs and forks some shredded papaya. “This is all overwhelming for him, you, this brother from the ether, all his ugly memories. And he’s someone who usually avoids dealing with feelings.

“I know I said he was a player, but I think that was just a way to keep from being vulnerable. His life sounds… horrible, and his grandfather was an ass. But I see him look at you, and there’s no one else in the world around him when he does. Fuck boys don’t do that.”

“You called him that, not me.” I really can’t remember if I did or not, but I know she did.

Ari, Noah’s doesn’t deal with feelings, he hides from them. He’s been so closed off in the past, at the beginning of everything. I saw it at the wedding, how much fun he was having, how he also held back. To go from the smug guy you met at the bar to wedding guy to someone real, that’s big.

“The fact he even told you what was going on and that he has a brother turn up is a huge step forward for him.” She picks up her wine and sips it. “Don’t you think?”

“Maybe.”

Katie pushes back her chair and stands. “That’s my line, Ari. Don’t eat my last half of the salad. I need to go the restroom.”

I watch her go. She’s right. I stare at my soup and sigh. I know she’s right, but deep down I wonder if I’ll ever reach him and if he’ll let his guard down enough for me to know how he truly feels about me.

All this talk of Noah’s making me want to check in on him. I’m little heartsick knowing he’s dealing with it all on his own. I dig out my phone. I don’t text, I call.

Miraculously, he picks up. “Guess you know about your time off from your job.”

Shit, I forgot about that. “Well, I wish you’d asked, but…”

“Would you have said yes?”

“Probably not.” I sigh. “But that’s not why I called you.”

The guardrails come up in his voice. “What’s up?”

“I just… just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine,” he says. “I’m sorry.”

I hold my breath a moment because his apologies usually come with a mess of words. “For what?”

“Hurting your feelings last night.” He pauses. “I’m just used to looking out for myself.” He pauses again. “Aria, it’s been a while since someone other than Asher has been in my corner, and you… you’re different.”

I want to push on that, I do, but I hold back, shaking.

“And it means the world to me.”

I smile and whisper, “I am in your corner, you know. Always. I’m glad you can see it. Have you decided what you’re going to do about Aaron?”

“You know, I got you a week off work to relax, so don’t worry about it, Aria. It’s all taken care of, okay?”

I frown and grip the phone tighter. “What does that mean?”

“It means I was right,” Noah says. “Aaron’s bad news. He’s involved in some shady shit, but he won’t be bothering us anymore.”

A frisson of something cold passes through my bones. “How?—”

“Aria,” he says gently. “I’m not cutting you out, I just… we’ll talk later when I’m not at work and can be easily overheard.”

“But—”

“Be ready at six, okay?” he says suddenly.

This time I’m suspicious, and I frown. “Ready for what?”

He laughs, and in my head I see his dimple, a wave of desire hitting me with that laugh. “Oh man, Aria, you sound like I’m up to something, and you know what? I am.”

“I knew it.” There’s a tease in his tone that wraps around me, making me smile. “So why do I need to be ready. I’ll need clues, like… what to wear.”

“If I said nothing?”

“I thought you were concerned about work.”

And he laughs again. “I’m taking you to dinner. I think it’s about time we had a first real date and one where I picked you up from your home like a gentleman.”

My heart stutters. “A first date?”

“Yes.”

“I think it’s a little too late for that,” I say with a delighted snicker. “Don’t you think?”

“Just be ready and wear something nice. I’ll reimburse you.”

“What,” Katie says, sliding back into her chair, “did I miss? Because you’re blushing.”

I slap a hand to my cheek. “Noah’s taking me out on a date, a real first date, and I told him it’s a little late for that.”

Katie squeals, practically jumping up and down in her seat. “Oh my god, let’s eat quickly and go shopping! I’ve been looking for an excuse to annoy Dave today, and this is it.”

“I have nice things.”

“No, you have a wedding dress, the black dress, and the red dress you hooked him in. Time to get some more. Can we go shopping after lunch? Please?”

I cave. “Okay.”

I’m exhausted when four comes around. Katie, with bags of clothes for herself, has to go back to work for an actual meeting, so she gets a cab and jets.

Our last stop was SoHo, so I don’t have that far to go. Lucky, too, since she forced me to spend about three month’s worth of nursing wages on clothes, bags, lingerie, and shoes. I’m loaded down.

But the violet, romantically sexy dress I got with pretty silver strappy sandals will be perfect for wherever we go. It’s on the dressy side, but now that I know that Noah owns a thousand suits plus the mysterious velvet one, I don’t think we’re going to a diner.

When I’m a block from the penthouse, I suddenly feel faint and I stop at a coffee shop for a matcha smoothie and a croissant.

I get it to go. Just something to have to keep me going while I put things away before I shower and get ready.

As I wait for my name to be called, my back starts to burn, as if someone’s staring at me. It’s so disconcerting that I actually look around. But there are just people in here waiting, looking at their phones or chatting, and outside, no one suspicious or watching me.

“Aria?” the barista shouts.

I give myself a mental shake, take my goodies, and head home.

When I’m there, I manage to get the key in to open the door and struggle into the foyer with my bags.

“Let me.”

The neighbor with the baseball cap.

He picks up my bags and puts them in the elevator. “There’s room,” I say.

With a smile, he gets in and pushes three. “Do you need help getting the shopping into your place.”

I blush, the heat rising fast. “I can do it, but thanks.”

After he gets out, I drag everything out and sit with Angus on the terrace, sharing the croissant. Then I feed him and put fresh water in his bowl and lay out my outfit.

I shower, put on some make up, the lingerie and then pull on the dress. It’s perfect and it shows off my cleavage and my curves, such as they are.

I slip on the shoes, and head downstairs with my phone and lipstick to where I left some of the bags, including the one with the handbag that matches my shoes. I’m almost at the bottom when Angus flies by me, barking up a storm.

“Angus!”

He stops mid-bark and I get down and hurry down the hall, turning into the kitchen.

My world wobbles. “Angus!”

He’s lying on the kitchen floor, not moving, and there’s a man over him.

In a baseball cap.

“Now calm down, Mrs. Templeton,” he says. “He’s sleeping, though he took the knockout juice meant for you.”

“Who are you?” What am I doing? I start to run to the elevator, pressing the button. I can see beyond the elevator down the open hall to the right, there’s a door I’ve never noticed, propped open. I start to run toward it, when something grabs my hair and smashes my head into the wall.

I rip myself free and hurl my phone at him. It bounces off his shoulder and smashes to the ground.

The elevator dings, and I shove the man grabbing at me, and for that, I’m nearer.

Before I can do a thing, something heavy slams into the back of my head, and everything turns to black.