We tell no one the truth, was what I wrote.
Except The Wives, I thought to myself. I knew I could trust them, though. And it didn’t seem like a good idea to mention that I’d already told my sisters-in-law about Ford’s original fake-dating proposal. If we got married, they’d likely assume it was an extension of that sham.
Ford and I spent the next thirty minutes hammering out the rest of our agreement, the story we were going to tell people, the way we were going to live our lives, both of us committing to public events to prove that we were the real deal. I’d go to Malone Real Estate Holdings events over the next few months, while Ford would attend fundraisers for my charity.
I was staring down at the remainder of my list, at all the notes I’d made, when Ford cleared his throat.
“As for us…if we’re going to make this seem real, we can’t be getting any side action.”
Ah. So he’d decided to bring up the awkward part. “No, definitely not,” I agreed.
“We should probably discuss how we can make this the most comfortable for both of us.”
“O…kay?” I said, not following. Did we really need to talk about celibacy?
Ford lifted Munchkin off his lap and placed him on the floor. He padded over to his favorite bed next to the couch, plopping down and going back to sleep.
Reaching over, Ford put his hand on mine. Tiny, hot sparks spread up my arm.
“Em, we’re going to have to really sell this,” he clarified, eyes locking on mine.
Oh. It had taken me a second to figure out what he was actually hinting at. My mouth went dry. Meanwhile my face, my chest, my entire body, everything felt like it was on fire.
“We can’t hook up, Ford,” I said. “It would ruin our friendship.”
If the whole fake marriage thing didn’t do that first.
Ford leaned back, still regarding me with that intense, searching stare. “Will it, though? Are you not attracted to me?”
“I don’t like this conversation,” I said, knowing my blush was probably giving me away.
“Because I’m definitely attracted to you,” he went on.
All the air seemed to leave my body at once. It was theworstthing he could have said.
“You are?” I managed to sputter.
My heart was already entering into this contract with foolish hope. Between my brothers’ experiences with their arranged-marriages-turned-real and my unrequited schoolgirl crush on Ford, I was already wondering if things between us might actually shift from fake to real.
Which I knew was only setting me up for inevitable disappointment and heartache.
Which was why we mostdefinitelycould not hook up.
I had to stay true to that conviction. I was undoubtedly going to lose my heart over the course of this arrangement. I didn’t want to lose my virginity, too. The less I lost, the better.
“It’s not a good idea,” I said. “We need to keep things uncomplicated.”
“I disagree,” Ford said with a wicked smile. “I think it’s a very, very good idea.”
It was hard to not just give in right away—right here and now—when he was looking at me that way. After all, hadn’t I waited seven years for Ford to say he was attracted to me?
But I needed to stay strong.
“It’s a no,” I said firmly.
Ford leaned back, still grinning, obviously not taking no for an answer.
“How about we put a pin in it, until we see how things are going,” he said. “We don’t have to decide everything right now.”
