both walk away."
"I'm flattered," I said. The truth was, I was ecstatic. This was much easier than I could have ever anticipated. Emilia's shoulders slumped slightly, obviously expecting me to turn down her offer.
"Listen, you don't have to say anymore," she began. "I completely understand it's crazy. I just ask that you keep this conversation private."
"I was just going to say that I'll agree to the fake engagement," I said.
Her face lit up and she beamed at me. "You will?" she asked.
"Yes. But we need some guidelines."
"Of course. I've already come up with some. It's all included in the contract," she said a little sheepishly. "I just want to make sure all the I's are dotted and T's are crossed. I don't want any misunderstandings and hurt feelings."
"I agree. I want to make it very clear that this is a fake engagement, and there's not going to be the possibility of anything more. The last thing I need or want is to be getting married. As long as we're clear on that, then I'll agree."
"Don't worry about me getting any romantic ideas," she said. "This is strictly business for me. Thank you so much for your help."
"You don't have to thank me. You're actually doing me a favor too," I admitted.
"How so?"
"I was just about to ask you the same thing--to pretend to be my fiancée--before you spoke."
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. "You're kidding."
"Not at all. It's actually pretty funny that we're both sort of in the same boat when you think about it."
"I know why I need one, but why do you need one?" she asked.
"Let's just say I want to teach my mother a lesson."
"And you thought of me immediately?" she asked.
I hesitated before speaking. I didn't want to offend her with my answer. The truth was, she was the last person my mother would want me to settle down with. She wasn't the refined, prim and proper Miss I'm sure my mother preferred. Quite the opposite in fact, which was what made her perfect for the role.
"Sort of," I hedged. "I saw your picture in one of the magazines and remembered our time together. I figured it'd be easier to pull this off with someone I already had a connection to."
She nodded in understanding. "I see," she said.
"Well, I'm glad you called me. I think this can be beneficial for the both of us," she said, a smile playing on her lips.
Her phone rang and she looked at me apologetically before answering. I stood up from my chair and stretched my legs, smiling at how easy it had all been. Hopefully by the time our fake engagement came to an end, my mother would be so relieved, she'd never bother me about settling down again.
"I'm sorry," I heard her say, once she had ended her conversation. "I've got to cut our meeting short. I've got another appointment to go to, but if we're all agreed, I'd like to meet up again in a couple of days at my lawyer's office and get all the paperwork out of the way. I'll send you a copy of the contract we've drawn up so you can look it over."
"Sounds perfect," I said.
Chapter 4: Emilia
He was late. I sat in my seat and fidgeted before shooting back up to pace the well appointed office of my lawyer, Carl Casner. We had agreed to meet today to sign the contracts and begin our fake relationship. Things seemed to have gone smoothly--almost too smoothly. Now sitting in my lawyer's office, I wondered if he had gotten cold feet.
Even though this wasn't a real relationship, there was still a certain amount of commitment involved, and the Rob I knew ran at the first sign of commitment. He was one of those guys that clung tightly, almost defiantly, to his bachelor lifestyle. When we first met, one of the first things he told me was that he wasn't looking for anything serious.
I couldn't blame him and actually appreciated his honesty. I hadn't been looking to be tied down either. My career was just taking off and I had the whole world at my fingertips. Being with Rob was a fun distraction. It didn't hurt that he was
"I'm flattered," I said. The truth was, I was ecstatic. This was much easier than I could have ever anticipated. Emilia's shoulders slumped slightly, obviously expecting me to turn down her offer.
"Listen, you don't have to say anymore," she began. "I completely understand it's crazy. I just ask that you keep this conversation private."
"I was just going to say that I'll agree to the fake engagement," I said.
Her face lit up and she beamed at me. "You will?" she asked.
"Yes. But we need some guidelines."
"Of course. I've already come up with some. It's all included in the contract," she said a little sheepishly. "I just want to make sure all the I's are dotted and T's are crossed. I don't want any misunderstandings and hurt feelings."
"I agree. I want to make it very clear that this is a fake engagement, and there's not going to be the possibility of anything more. The last thing I need or want is to be getting married. As long as we're clear on that, then I'll agree."
"Don't worry about me getting any romantic ideas," she said. "This is strictly business for me. Thank you so much for your help."
"You don't have to thank me. You're actually doing me a favor too," I admitted.
"How so?"
"I was just about to ask you the same thing--to pretend to be my fiancée--before you spoke."
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. "You're kidding."
"Not at all. It's actually pretty funny that we're both sort of in the same boat when you think about it."
"I know why I need one, but why do you need one?" she asked.
"Let's just say I want to teach my mother a lesson."
"And you thought of me immediately?" she asked.
I hesitated before speaking. I didn't want to offend her with my answer. The truth was, she was the last person my mother would want me to settle down with. She wasn't the refined, prim and proper Miss I'm sure my mother preferred. Quite the opposite in fact, which was what made her perfect for the role.
"Sort of," I hedged. "I saw your picture in one of the magazines and remembered our time together. I figured it'd be easier to pull this off with someone I already had a connection to."
She nodded in understanding. "I see," she said.
"Well, I'm glad you called me. I think this can be beneficial for the both of us," she said, a smile playing on her lips.
Her phone rang and she looked at me apologetically before answering. I stood up from my chair and stretched my legs, smiling at how easy it had all been. Hopefully by the time our fake engagement came to an end, my mother would be so relieved, she'd never bother me about settling down again.
"I'm sorry," I heard her say, once she had ended her conversation. "I've got to cut our meeting short. I've got another appointment to go to, but if we're all agreed, I'd like to meet up again in a couple of days at my lawyer's office and get all the paperwork out of the way. I'll send you a copy of the contract we've drawn up so you can look it over."
"Sounds perfect," I said.
Chapter 4: Emilia
He was late. I sat in my seat and fidgeted before shooting back up to pace the well appointed office of my lawyer, Carl Casner. We had agreed to meet today to sign the contracts and begin our fake relationship. Things seemed to have gone smoothly--almost too smoothly. Now sitting in my lawyer's office, I wondered if he had gotten cold feet.
Even though this wasn't a real relationship, there was still a certain amount of commitment involved, and the Rob I knew ran at the first sign of commitment. He was one of those guys that clung tightly, almost defiantly, to his bachelor lifestyle. When we first met, one of the first things he told me was that he wasn't looking for anything serious.
I couldn't blame him and actually appreciated his honesty. I hadn't been looking to be tied down either. My career was just taking off and I had the whole world at my fingertips. Being with Rob was a fun distraction. It didn't hurt that he was
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