Evelyn
Dinner was to say the least...awkward.
Imagine eating spaghetti on a table for 6 with only two people, them being your mother and the person you hate the most.
It also didnt help if the rest of the party was having most of the conversations while you were left simply watching them laugh.
"I can't believe you kids are hanging out, I'm glad you decided get over your silly problems."
Oh, little did she know our problems had only increased.
We both looked at each other at the same time and immediately looked away at the same time, noticing mum watching us we both faked a smile.
"He isn't that bad."
I felt him glare at me, but being the quiet person that he was he didn’t comment anything about me.
And so it went like that, mum asking us questions me answering in sentences and him in one or two words. However our dinner plates were soon replaced with desert and then mum and Adrian had left for the living room while I went to my room to grab the papers I had been working on the previous day. I reached the bottom of the stairs with the documents clutched in my hand and saw the both of them laughing about some incident that had happened today at mums work.
However once the story was over and mum glanced at me I cut to the chase, "Well mum we need to talk about some...business stuff so I hope you dont mind excusing us." I said after a while a bit hesitantly.
"Oh," she seemed suspicious for a minute before breaking into a small smile, "Of course, it's near midnight anyways I should be retiring to bed now, you people dont stay up too late. Goodnight kids!"
She waved at us as we replied and disappeared behind the room to take the stairs.
"Business stuff? She definitely knows we're hooking up."
I was so shocked that at first I didn't believe he said that. I pivoted around to stare at him questioningly but he just stared with the same impassive face.
"Did you just say something?"
"You do realize I'm capable of joking?" He asked, his face still unbelievably stoical.
I chuckled unsurely, "Well I didn't until now, you can't blame me, you say everything with a pokerface."
"That might be true." He shrugged, looking away.
"It is true, and by the way what else was I supposed to tell her? That we're going to be planning our fake love story? Yeah I don't think so, now, I don't want to waste more time, follow me."
I turned to the side to go towards the french windows and started walking, I forced myself to continue walking in spite of the fear that was beginning to crawl up my chest, I was going to be alone with...someone who wanted to and could easily murder me, I tried bracing myself when I heard the heavy footsteps following suit.
The night air brushed my face as soon as I opened the windows, leaving them open I walked outside to the gravelled path leading to the small garden. Adrian followed me silently.
I could see his eyes glance at the myriad of flowers and trees surrounding us.
By this time we had reached our destination the tiny but comfortable gazebo with plush seating around its inner boundary, candles, and its wooden pillars covered in fresh primroses.
"Well lets get down to business," I commented, mounting the stairs of the gazebo and grabbing the lighter for the candles.
He took off his coat plopped down on the sofa, his biceps bulged as he leaned forwards with his hands intertwined together and his hair fell over his forehead as his dark blue eyes waited for me.
Shit. Why did he have to do that?
He's an asshole. He's an asshole. He's an asshole.
"Here are the contract papers that we'll go through later first we need to check out the plans. Starting from day one, that is tomorrow, to the engagement, marriage and divorce." I said as I sat down as far away from him as possible.
"How much time did you have?" His eyebrows shot up in surprise but I could sense he was mocking me.
"I'm risking my life marrying an arrogant prick just for my mother, I think I'm allowed to make time for this."
I needed to control my tongue unless I really wanted to die this soon.
"Fair enough." He nodded at me to continue. Well that was a surprise he didn't even glare at me?
"Okay so did you read todays tabloids?" I asked slowly.
"Unlike you, I didn't have time to waste."
"A simple no would have been sufficient." I grunted.
I fingered throught the stack of papers before coming across the three magazines and newspapers Kate had shown me. "Here check these out, apparently it just took one, er two, actually three visits to your office and pictures of us at the café for people to start speculating."
Before I could stop him he was reading the title aloud, "Hm...The infamous billionaire playboy's new fling."
He scoffed at that and shook his head after reading most of it in silence.
I snatched the papers after he handed them to me and threw them to my side. "at least they're calling you by three words, not fling."
He didn't reply so I hesitated before starting to talk, "Ok...so here's the plan, there are five layers here, first is the pre engagement, the proposal, the engagement, marriage, and divorce...we'll come to the others later, for today let us focus on the pre engagement part, especially since it starts tomorrow!"
"Tomorrow?"
"In case you havent noticed, I dont have time, my mum's dying." I flinched as soon I said it.
I noticed I wasnt the only one, a grim expression had come over Adrian's face too but thankfully he didnt chide me or ask questions.
"Before we begin Gallagher, I want you to promise me one thing."
He was beginning to look annoyed, "What?"
"This arrangement is confidential. We two will be the only ones knowing about it and of course my lawyer. But promise that under no condition should this reach my mothers ears."
He looked amused, "I want nothing but the same."
Satisfied, I took out the file and informed him about the plan.
"So this is our story, we met accidentally at my mothers café, we wont say when which is not exactly a lie, we exchanged numbers and have been speaking since, you already knew my mother because of your frequent visits to the cafe, they already know about you coming to the house which makes it look like you were here to visit me not her, next step is to go on two more public dates over the course of two weeks by the third week you'll have to propose also publicly-"
"We suddenly start doing everything publicly after hiding our relationship for months? Wont it seem fishy?"
"Can't believe I'm saying this but you're right, okay then we wont do the public proposal, do you have any kind of social media?"
"No." He answered.
"Great." I groaned.
He seemed to think for a moment, "Just after the two weeks of our supposed 'dating' why dont we go to meet my family, they'll be having the summer ball where there will be guests and photographers."
I was taken aback by his suggestion, "Wont your parents mind? They'll be meeting me for the first time, you cant spring a proposal on their face."
"Trust me they wont give a shit, maybe Arthur will, but it will be another reason for 'The Thornton ball' to be talked about in more papers, Ill run it through them before hand."
I nodded unsurely, "Well if you're okay with it..."
He simply shrugged and waited for me to say something.
"So after that we can throw an engagement party in NYC itself, so that more people can be invited, we can have it at one of your fancy hotels. And then the wedding."
He absorbed the information before nodding, "Well seems to me, you've done all the planning, on any other day I'd be annoyed but lucky for you I'm in a good mood."
There he goes again being vague and cryptic, I shifted in my place nervously, "Lucky for me."
The mysterious look in his eyes was gone, "So, where's the wedding venue?"
"I didnt think about that yet..." I muttered.
"We also need to visit the family before the wedding." His deep voice resonated into the night.
I was confused, "Um...didnt you just say we'll be doing the proposal at your family's place?"
He chuckled and the pleasant sound made me glance at him, "No, I meant the family, meaning my grandma who's the reason why I'm marrying you, meaning Sicily."
My eyes widened, "You mean we have to go to Italy? To meet your grandmother? How big is your family?"
He simply looked at me, "Pretty big."
Suddenly an idea struck. In retrospect, a very bad idea. But I voiced it out nonetheless.
"What if...What if thats where we should get married?"
I felt him turn towards me in surprise and could sense he liked the idea, "Sure, they'll love it."
"Getting married in a ancient cathedral, mom will be on cloud nine. Lets do it." I smiled unknowingly.
He simply nodded.
"So the contracts, why don't you go through them?"
He didnt say a word and quietly took the file I handed him.
"You didn't prepare a contract of your own?" I asked already knowing the answer.
"No."
God, I hated when he answered in monosyllables.
My eyes widened, "Why not? Arent you afraid I might get the better end of the deal, and rob your empire with the alimony money?"
"I know you wont do that." He replied arrogantly, before going back to reading.
"How? What if thats the real reason I agreed?"
"Hmm, I dont think so, you are too stuck up to steal anything and smart enough to know the consequences of it."
My mouth clamped shut in surprise, Just because he didn't speak much didn't mean he wasn't observing everything around him, he had known me for days but already had me figured out. Damn it, I needed to stop being such an open book.
"But dont you feel uncomfortable not having a plan?" I squirmed simply at the idea of it.
"No." He answered without a care in the world.
"Why?"
"You want me to read this or not?" He asked, and I could detect the annoyance in his voice.
"Ugh, fine." I groaned and leaned back to the comfort of the cushioned seat.
Minutes passed. Crickets chirped. I was beginning to fall asleep.
"Both parties are allowed to partake in any form of intercourse with other partners?" He read aloud slowly, making sure he was reading what he thought he was.
"Yeah, I mean we wont be actually married, I just want to get it across that it wont bother me what you do in tour personal life as long as you keep it quiet."
I could see his jaw shaking, but for what I had no idea.
His eyes were glinting with the crazed look I had caught in them sometimes, and I became alarmed, "Look I dont know why you're getting pissed off, nobody wants to be tied down in a loveless marriage, I didn't want it to be a reason to hold you back from your way of leisure."
He scoffed and didn't even glance at me, "Does this actually say I'm not allowed to touch you without your consent? Severe Violation of the following results in an immediate seperation."
His voice was calm and his eyes steely. And by the way his titlted head was staring down at me, I was scared shitless.
I wiped away the sleep from my eyes and once they cleared and focused on Adrian's furious glare, I shrinked away."Uh..."
"You really think I'd do something like that?" His tone was not harsh but still accusing, and the way the veins in his hand popped told me he wasn't exactly pleased.
"Well Gallagher, I have known you for less than a week, I dont trust you."
"Yes or no?" The calmness in his voice was beginning to fade.
"What do you mean?" I asked nervously.
"You know what I mean," he gritted his jaw, "yes or no?"
"Yes." I whispered.
He nodded slowly as if deliberating something, and then in a quick motion shut the file he was holding, got up from his place, roughly grabbed his jacket and the other file and began walking away.
"Gallagher! Wait!"
He didn't stop and I knew I had fucked up.
Great.
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