Page 9 of About That Rule

“Monachos,” he informed her quickly.

“How do you know that?”

“I like Jeopardy. It was one of the answers that stuck with me.”

She made a humming noise. “Maybe because it sounds like food. You always did like nachos.”

Her comment made him crack a smile.

“Back to the rules.” She sounded like she was on a mission. “Rule number two: we need to schedule frequent visits. I love New York, so really, this is a benefit for me. Once a month, I’ll fly out to visit you for a weekend.”

“I’ll do the same and come see you. I make my own schedule, so I can stay a week at a time. My mom and Mark will be happy to see me so much, but it will bring on a shit load of questions. What are we telling people?”

The always chatty Samantha paused. “I didn’t think of that. With Charlotte and Rafe getting hitched, if we tell our parents we got wasted and married each other, they’ll be disappointed. Either that or they’ll think we’re next to actually settle down. Is there any way you can tell them you’re visiting because you’re looking at remodeling and flipping houses in California?”

“That isn’t far from the truth. I can kill two birds with one stone. I’ve been thinking of expanding business to the west coast anyway.”

“Really?” she responded with surprise.

It was happening to him again. There’d been this nagging feeling something was off in his life, and it had been around for months. No amount of business success, one-night stands, or time with his family had fixed the ache. Like something was missing from his life.

No, he dismissed the idea. He had everything he needed.

“Just like you, I love New York, but the market in California is insane. I could flip houses faster out there.”

“Would that require you to move back?”

“Technically, no. I could travel back and forth. Have multiple jobs at once with a foreman leading and do more oversight than all the grit work, which has always been my goal.”

“You’ll get there. Ever since we were kids, you were always building something. I have so many memories of you remodeling my Lego masterpieces because you didn’t like them.”

There was no doubt she was smiling. All his life, she had consistently been one of his biggest cheerleaders. Having her around more in these next three months was bound to put him in a better mood, even with all the stress from work.

“Okay, back to the rules. Rule number three: we don’t tell anyone what’s going on. I don’t think people would even bat an eye to us hanging out more often. Whenever you visit, we always grab drinks, so it will just be more of the same.”

“Agreed.” This situation, outside of no sex, wasn’t that bad. Spending time with Samantha was no sweat off his back.

“Remember, though, you need to romance me. This can’t be the obligatory beer catch up. We need to go out on dates and take cute pictures together. We need to show the judge we tried, but in the end, it didn’t work because we’re better off as friends. Rule number four: we have to do some couple-y crap every visit,” Samantha reminded him.

“Fine,” he rushed out, ready to end talking about this damn marriage. “The final rule, the mother of all rules—under no circumstances do we confuse what’s happening. This is all fake. Neither of us can get caught up in the romance of this.”

Nate had no misconception he was going to fall in love. However, he needed to guarantee Samantha didn’t blur the lines. He refused to lose her as a friend because she thought a kiss on the cheek meant more than a picture for an annulment.

“I’ll be laughing so hard at your lame attempt to be romantic, I won’t have time to be conflicted.”

“Oh, shut up,” he responded jokingly to her snub.

“The last thing I want is a relationship, let alone with you. I promise, these next three months are going to fly by. Before we know it, you’ll be banging all of New York again.”

As always, her attitude made him smile. When they got off the phone, he felt significantly better. One day, Samantha was going to be a great wife. Just not for him.

DAY FOUR OFmarriage, and it hadn’t been too excruciating. Sure, Samantha still felt like an ass for walking down the Vegas aisle for no good reason, but it wasn’t like anyone was aware of it. She cringed at the rules she and Nate had made for the next three months. It was like they were playing Survivor, but their version was to stay faithful.

Pitiful, right?

“Sammy, what’s wrong?” Becca, someone who doubled as a work colleague and best friend, asked while tapping the table to get her attention during happy hour.

She gave a fake smile, as if all was well, as a response. The bar buzzed with chatter, but she heard her friend loud and clear.

Becca wasn’t having it. “Seriously, girl. You just got home from Vegas and haven’t told any inappropriate dick stories. I was expecting some rendition of wild sex with some guy who looked like one of the hotties from Magic Mike. Or a crazy story of public nudity. Instead, all you said was the trip was fun and Charlotte and Rafe got married.”

Those weren’t the only nuptials last week, but Becca had no clue.

“Wait…” Becca’s brown eyes widened. “Is that why you’re off? Did seeing two of your close friends getting married wig you out? I know you don’t like commitment, but this is a bit extreme. Even for you.”

Samantha picked up her beer and chugged the remainder of it. Drinks were supposed to be fun, not a reminder of her current marital status. She was curious if Nate was having the same issue.

“Seriously, what’s wrong?”

She pulled out her wallet and put a twenty on the table to cover her drink and tip. Once this stupid marriage was over, she was throwing herself a damn party. Open bar and everything. “Nothing is wrong. I’m tired from playing catch up with work since I got home.”

“If you don’t come back to work on Monday with your chipper attitude, I’ll continue to annoy you about whatever’s going on with you. It seems like Vegas was so much fun, you’re trying to keep it a secret. You know I’ll badger you until you tell me every yummy detail about whoever is keeping you quiet.” Becca raised her eyebrows in warning.

No way was this secret ever coming out. Samantha said goodbye to everyone at the table and left. She supposed this was what Friday nights were like when you were married.

Lame.