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Maybe I’m still feeling a bit off from this hangover, that’s got to be it right? I’m hot, I’m rich, and I’m damn fun to be around; anyone would be privileged to be my fake fiancé.
So I make my rounds through the corral and slowly peruse and walk the deck, looking relaxed and like I belong there while I scope out some potentials. Sure there are loads of attractive women there, but there aren’t actually a lot that are my type. And while I know that this whole engagement fiasco is only going to be a pretend engagement, I’d at least want them to be my type.
Is that too much to ask?
Apparently because my luck —what’s left of it, anyway— immediately runs out, and my heart starts to beat faster in my chest as panic sets in when I set my sights across the deck on a pair of familiar faces. Just there across the bow are the Wilmingsdale twins, and I curse under my breath and avert my gaze so that they don’t see me.
The Wilmingsdale twins (Hugo and Royston) are friends of my brothers, and they would definitely realize that I’m up to something. Not only because they know my brother quite well, but because they know that I am in fact not him, nor do I have a fiancé named Emily. They’re nice enough people, don’t get me wrong, but they’re a bit goody goody and the last thing I need is for them to strike up a conversation and wonder why I’m here and Robin is mysteriously nowhere to be found, despite the fact that he’s showing as attending on the guest roster. They’re also a couple of gossips and can never pass up a good laugh or joke, constantly drawing attention with their loud guffaws and good natured teasing.
As if on cue, Hugo lets out a belly laugh that echoes across the entire deck and everyone looks up, and I realize that if I don’t get out of here fast and out of their line of sight, I could make my situation about ten times harder to maneuver.
I don’t want to risk them finding out I’m here because there is absolutely no way that they could keep a secret longer than about three seconds, so I dart off of the deck and down a corridor just around the corner. I find a cupboard and jump in, closing the door behind me and shutting myself in to enjoy the silence and solitude of escape.
Or so I thought.
I hear sniffling and I whip my gaze around to see a gorgeous redhead, though she’s certainly not been having a good day if her expression says anything. The closet I’m hiding in is dim but there’s enough light to see that beyond the teary eyes and frazzled expression is a gorgeous woman, and I can’t help but feel pulled towards her. She’s got fiery red hair that’s cropped short and beautiful, bright green eyes, hiding behind the frantic look on her face as she clutches a small child to her front. I can’t help but wonder what they’re doing hiding in a closet of all places, but I can tell already without her saying a word that the situation clearly isn’t a good one.
If there’s something that pulls at my heart and makes me swoon more than a damsel in distress I have yet to find it, so I just know that I’ve got to get to know this girl a bit.
I give her a reassuring smile and press my finger to my lips in a silent gesture to keep quiet, nodding as I lean slowly towards the door I’d just rushed through. Before I strike up a conversation I’d like to at least get out of the cupboard that we’re all huddled into, but I can’t do that until I know that the coast is clear.
I carefully and slowly push the door open, peeking my head out after making sure that there was no one immediately outside. I could still hear the faint obnoxious sound of the voices of the Wilminsdale’s, so I looked back over at the cutie and smirked, holding my finger up. It won’t take longer than a minute or so for the twins to decide that they need to move on to the next crowd of people to please, and then we can make a break for it.
Sure enough not long after that the sound of their laughter trails off as they move further away, finally bringing silence down the corridor. I breathe out a sigh of relief and then open the door all the way and step out, checking both ends of the hallway. I nod and smile back at the mystery beauty and the toddler in her arms, chuckling.
“Coast is clear, folks. Now, why don’t we get out of here and sit down and relax? I happen to have a room here where we can get away, without having to hide in another closet.”
I wink at the two of them and then lead them down to the guest cabins, ushering them inside with a smile and closing the door behind us. It’s not hard to tell that the girl is obviously out of place on the cruise, and I can’t help but wonder how someone as young and frazzled came to find herself on board of a luxury cruise liner and hiding in a cupboard. With a toddler, no less.
Though I suppose I shouldn’t judge, given the fact that I’m currently impersonating my brother and trying to find a random woman to pay her and pose as my fiancé.
I sit down onto the bed with a sigh and smile, shrugging my shoulders and patting the bed next to me in an offer to sit down as well.
“So, why don’t we all take a breath and relax, and then you can tell me how you ended up hiding in the closet, hmm?” And,” I add with a chuckle, smirking. “I’ll even tell you my side of things too. You never know, maybe we can help each other out of our interesting conundrums.”
She sits down and starts to talk to me about her day, and how it spiraled out of control, making me feel a little less like my story was the most unlikely. But then I had a thought that maybe this woman being stuck on this ship wasn’t such a bad thing, for either of us. She needs a way off without getting in trouble and I need a beautiful woman to spend some time with me.
Well, I think with a smile, maybe this isn’t going to be such a stretch, after all.
Six
Jess
Its just too much for my poor brain to take. I can’t process.
One second I’m hiding in a fucking closet—a closet, I mean, talk about the irony—and freaking out hard core about getting out of this jam. The next thing I know I’m in this amazing, luxury suite and Alex is stuffing his face with these huge chocolate chip cookies. The great big fancy ones that cost like eight bucks each in a café.
Talking about great, big and fancy, everything is. From the scrollwork on the ceiling to the gold fittings. I’m hoping that I’m not standing in the middle of the room gaping like I fish, but I fear I’m failing miserably.
Alex is having no such difficulty. He’s plonked himself down on the huge, soft lounge. Expensive cookies disappear into his mouth rapidly and he just grabs the remote and starts flicking through channels on the TV as if he’s lived here his whole life.
For a second, the floor seems to breathe under me. What am I doing here? I can’t be here. I’m not meant to be here. Any minute now that gorgeous woman—Ashley—is going to laugh in my face and kick me out. She’ll hand me over to security and tell me she was just entertaining me until they arrived.
Keeps everyone cool, I guess. Less scenes in front of the high paying customers.
Of course, this beautiful woman found me in a closet because she was trying to hide in it herself. A big grin stretches across my face as I think about that. Maybe, just maybe, she’s a bit of an oddity, like me.
There is a part of my heart, a very small one, that flares to life. Its like an ember that breathes and glows. I can’t help it. I know its stupid but… She’s hot. Her eyes are so genuine and warm. She’s amazing with Alex. They’ve known each other five seconds but he adores her, clearly.
