Arranged Love, Page 2

  He typed back:

  I have a lot of work. Tonight isn’t good. I’m sorry if this inconveniences you.

  Love,

  Ryan

  He minimized the window and returned to his work. But he didn’t make it far before his computer alerted him of a new email. He sighed. Usually his mom left him alone, but not this morning. A new message sat there, beckoning him to read it.

  You work all the time. I told them you’d be there. If it’s easier for you, we’ll pick you up on the way. Be ready by 5:30. No excuses.

  Mom xoxo

  He grunted. She wasn’t giving up this time. It looked like he didn’t have much choice but to go along with it tonight. Sometimes he thought his mother forgot he was a grown man in his thirties. He quickly sent her a one word reply of ‘okay’ and returned to his work. But his stress was creeping back up. Where was Tatiana when he needed her?

  * * * *

  “What are you wearing?” Kayla’s mom held a hand over her mouth.

  “What? You don’t like it?” Kayla had taken it a pinch to far…maybe. She wore a hot pink mini-skirt with a white tank top. Five-inch heels, but not a casual pair a heels...the kind with ribbons that went up her calves and tied in a big, pretty bow. She’d styled her hair with big, bouncy curls. And she had to admit, the pink eye shadow might have been applied a bit darker than one would usually wear it.

  “You look…you look…like a…”

  “A what, Mom?” It took everything in her not to giggle.

  “A hooker.”

  Kayla burst out laughing, not able to hold it in any longer.

  “It isn’t funny. You need to go home right now and change. Your father and I worked so hard to arrange this and you’re making a mockery of it.” Her mother was irritated to say the least.

  Kayla glanced at her watch. It was fifteen until six. She could probably go home and change, and be back before six-thirty. While she had thought this outfit would be funny, seeing how upset her mother was made her feel kind of guilty.

  “I’ll change. I suppose I’ll be fashionably late.” Kayla smiled.

  “Thank you.” Her mom sighed.

  Kayla grabbed her purse and headed for the front door. The shoes were killing her feet anyway. Who the heck walked in these things daily? As she opened the door, she heard a car door shut. Three car doors shut to be exact. Uh-oh.

  An older couple walked toward her, their eyes wide as they took in the sight of her. Her mother walked up behind her and mumbled something under her breath.

  “I was leaving.” Kayla scooted past them, but her mom grabbed her arm.

  “This is my daughter Kayla, she just came back from an eighties charity event and didn’t have time to change,” her mother said. “Please come in. Where is Ryan?”

  “He’s on the phone, like usual. He’ll be in shortly.” The woman turned to Kayla. “I’m Jennifer Newell, and this is my husband Joseph. Our son, Ryan, will be in shortly.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.” Kayla shook their hands. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to run home and change.”

  “Hurry back.” She heard her mother say as she left.

  Having the Newells gawk at her hadn’t been as fun as she thought. She was rather embarrassed at the moment. Hopefully, she could get to her car before this Ryan guy saw her. She did her best to sprint in the heels, but as her foot came down in the grass, the damn spike heel went right into the soft dirt. The next thing she knew, she was sitting on her butt.

  “Ma’am, are you okay?” someone said from behind her.

  She turned slightly and looked up. Oh, this night had gotten worse. “Doug.”

  Chapter 3

  Ryan stared at the woman on the ground who looked like she’d fallen out of an eighties movie. “Tatiana,” he managed to say.

  She gazed at him, her eyes wide, and her cheeks a light shade of red. He wasn’t sure how long they looked at one another, but finally, he realized the gentlemanly thing to do was to offer his hand.

  “Let me help you.”

  She took his hand, and he lifted her back on to her feet. “Thank you.”

  “Uh, do you live here?”

  “No. I was actually leaving. It was nice to see you again, Doug.” She walked away quickly toward her car. Before he could tell her he wasn’t actually named Doug, the door was shut, the engine cranked, and her tires squealed.

  Ryan raked his hands through his hair, took a deep breath, and headed for the house. As he walked in, he received a warm welcome from his parents and the other two adults.

  “This is our son Ryan. We are so proud of him.” His mother put her arm around him.

  “It’s so nice to meet you.” The other woman grinned. “I’m Valerie Ames, and this is my husband Bob.”

  “You have a lovely home.” He wasn’t quite sure what to say. What he really wanted to know was why Tatiana had been here.

  “Please, come take a seat in the living room as we wait on Kayla to arrive.” Mrs. Ames led them into a spacious living room that was decorated in a contemporary theme. Mainly white with black and silver accents around the room.

  His parents sat right away, but a large photo caught his attention. He walked over and picked it up. It was Tatiana.

  “Isn’t she lovely?” Mrs. Ames said from behind him.

  He nodded and cleared his throat.

  “Kayla is even more beautiful in person. Hopefully you didn’t get a good look at her in that awful costume.” She rolled her eyes.

  Ryan pointed at the woman in the photo. “This is Kayla?”

  Mrs. Ames stepped close to him and leaned over his shoulder. “Yup, that’s her.”

  Tatiana was Kayla. Small world. He’d known it had been a fake name, but he never would’ve guessed he’d see her again, at least not as a set-up between their parents.

  Ryan grinned at Mrs. Ames as he put the frame down. He made his way over to a spare chair and took a seat. He did his best to suppress the chuckle he wanted to have as he remembered Kayla from the night before. She’d been amazing, and she lit up his world in a way he never imagined. He half regretted not getting her number. But he’d convinced himself it was a one-night stand. Only now she was back, and he was going to be forced to act like he didn’t know her. That he hadn’t explored her body with his hands and enjoyed the way her body felt wrapped around his. He’d have to stare across the table during dinner and pretend like she hadn’t satisfied him far more than any food would.

  His mother tapped his shoulder. “Ryan, dear. Mrs. Ames asked you a question and you’re being rude.”

  “Oh, sorry. I was thinking about work.”

  “Like always. It’s why this one is still single.”

  “Mom,” he groaned.

  “It’s true.”

  He gave her a stern look. Now wasn’t the time to get into it. He’d been in love before. He’d had his heart ripped to shreds as well. And he swore he’d never do it again. He’d get married when he found a woman he could tolerate, but he’d never fall in love again and leave himself that exposed to hurt.

  Perhaps this arrangement that his parents and the Ames were wanting was a good idea. He already knew Kayla was awesome in bed. Even though he didn’t know her, she didn’t seem like anyone he’d fall in love with. Maybe this set-up would work after all.

  * * * *

  Dang it, the phone was ringing again. Kayla pressed the answer button and didn’t even get the chance to say hello.

  “Where are you?” her mother demanded to know. “We’ve been waiting on you for over an hour now.”

  “I’m not coming back.” She couldn’t…not with Doug there.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “I’m really sorry. But I started puking.” Her mom would believe that, right? “It must be the food I ate last night. I’ve got to go, Mom. I need to get back to the bathroom.” She fake coughed a few times for added effect.

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “Gotta go. Sorry!” She ended
the call and tossed the phone on the bed.

  Kayla stared at the device and waited for it to ring. Her mother would never let her out of it this easily. But it didn’t ring. And five minutes later, her mother still hadn’t called back.

  Score one for Kayla! It was probably the first time she’d won in her entire life.

  She began to peel off her clothes and exchanged them for sweatpants and a t-shirt. In the living room, she grabbed the remote and put on a sappy, overly dramatic Lifetime movie. Before taking a seat, she opened the cage for Bunny, who hopped out right away.

  After grabbing a bag of pretzels, Kayla plopped onto the couch, and was ready to chill out—just the way she had originally intended for her Saturday to be.

  Two hours later, her movie was over and shame was kicking in. Her mother hadn’t called back, and as much as Kayla hated to admit it, she felt bad about not showing back up. She’d met those nice folks and she could only imagine how much she’d embarrassed her parents. But what they all didn’t know was that she’d been between the sheets with Doug the night before. Though at the moment, she wasn’t certain his name was Doug. Her mom had called him something else, but it wasn’t coming to her at the moment. Besides, she couldn’t have made it through dinner with him. She’d been so wanton the night before.

  Somehow, she was going to have to squash this guilt and move on. Perhaps tomorrow she’d go apologize to her parents and find something they could do as a family. The aquarium. That might be fun.

  She groaned, annoyed with herself. She was a grown woman, but didn’t feel that way. No, this was a good thing. Her parents had to cut the cord and let her live her life. And maybe tonight was the wake-up call they’d been needing.

  Leaning forward, she grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. It was early still and since she wasn’t tired, sleep wasn’t an option. She could go out again. Maybe call a friend to go to a club or something. Or she could go back to the bar from last night. No, no she couldn’t.

  If she went out though, she’d have to change. And she was really comfortable. She grabbed the remote again, and as the TV turned on, she swore she heard someone tap on her door. Was Bunny chewing on something she shouldn’t be?

  Kayla got off the couch, but saw the rabbit had taken a corner and was lying there, far away from the front door. She peeked through the peephole and, to her surprise, she saw Doug, or whatever his name was. Why was he here? And what was he carrying in his hands?

  Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. “Hi.”

  “It’s nice to see you again.” He smiled an oh-so-sexy grin. “Your parents sent me with food. They insisted I get this to you right away.”

  “They did, huh?”

  He held the bag out to her and she took it. “Could I come in?”

  She sucked in her bottom lip and weighed her choices. Send him away and be done with this, or see what he wants. What did she have to lose? “Sure.”

  Doug brushed past her into her house. She stood back a moment, watching him as he glanced around and then finally took a seat on her couch. Kayla joined the mystery man in the living room, tossing the bag of food on the coffee table as she sat on the love seat opposite of the couch he was on. Her stomach rumbled as she inhaled the aroma from the bag now sitting on the coffee table.

  “So, what brings you by, besides the food?” she asked, and quickly added, “Please tell me your real name as well. It’s only fair since you know mine.”

  “Kayla, and it’s a lovely name. Mine is actually Ryan. Ryan Newell.” He took a moment to rub his temple and proceeded. “Obviously, our parents are interested in us hooking up.”

  Hooking up…they’d covered that already. “I’m sorry. My parents are a bit over the top.”

  “I’d have to agree. Yours are a little worse than mine. Usually my parents leave me alone, but with your folks, it was like they were double-teaming me. They feel very strongly about you and I getting to know one another.”

  “Figures. I’d say we accomplished that in a way they probably weren’t wanting.”

  He grinned again. Her heart fluttered. She needed to pack this man up and get him out of there.

  “Why don’t we give them what they want?”

  What did he say? He couldn’t really want to go along with them. “Excuse me.”

  “Let’s date, for them. It’ll get them to leave us alone.”

  She laughed. He wasn’t serious, was he? “Brilliant plan, but I’ll pass for now.”

  “Just hear me out. I’m not looking to fall in love. But if we pretend to be dating, our parents won’t try to set us up anymore. We don’t even have to see one another. We can discuss our dates and be on the same page with our stories.”

  “Wait.” She held her hand up, staring at the dark-haired man that made her stomach do summersaults. “You’re saying we aren’t going to actually date. We never have to see one another. But our parents will think we are.”

  He nodded.

  “I’m in.” Kayla shrugged. “What could go wrong?”

  “Exactly.”

  “How do you suggest we communicate?”

  “We can talk on the phone or email.”

  “Email. A whole lot less personal.” She got up from her chair and crossed the room to her small desk. She removed a business card from a drawer and returned to where Ryan was, handing him the card. “All my info is right there.”

  He studied the card a moment before pulling out his wallet and removing one of his own.

  “Guess that settles it. As you saw, I’m an editor. So I spend much of my time at the computer. Getting a hold of me won’t be hard.”

  “I’m connected to my email twenty-four seven as well.”

  “I guess there is nothing left to do. Now onto making the parents happy.” Kayla grinned.

  Ryan stood and headed toward the front door. “We’ll chat soon.”

  After he left, she stared at his business card. Would this work? She supposed so. They’d take it one day at a time. But maybe with this news, she no longer had to go to the aquarium with her parents. Score two! She was on a roll.

  * * * *

  Ryan closed his office door. He’d spent all day Sunday going over his research and today he was ready to get into the lab. But first, he had to meet with a few colleagues to discuss his findings and get their opinion. He didn’t want to overlook anything again.

  He didn’t feel like dealing with his computer for now, so he grabbed the tablet he’d left charging all weekend. He turned it on and set it down. He needed coffee.

  He left his office and bumped into Max in the hallway.

  “Hey. Good weekend?” Max asked.

  “Oh, yeah. Wait until you see what I worked on. I’m grabbing some coffee and then I’ll meet you guys in the conference room.”

  “Cool. I’ll tell John.”

  Ryan nodded and continued to the kitchen area. Once he had his coffee, he hurried back to his office to grab the tablet. He took a drink from the Styrofoam cup and saw he had several new email messages already. He’d just cleared out his folder a few hours ago.

  He scrolled through the list when an odd message caught his eye. The subject was a smiley face. He clicked it.

  Morning Ryan,

  I hope this week is good for you. I just wanted to touch base with you and let you know my parents were thrilled to learn you stopped by and we’re having dinner this week. Hope that’s okay. When you get a chance, let me know what day works best for you and this fake dinner.

  Later,

  Kayla

  Ryan quickly opened his calendar app and scrolled through the days. Wednesday was pretty free. He then stopped himself and chuckled. Why in the world was he checking his calendar for a fake dinner?

  He went back to the email message and replied.

  Kayla,

  Wednesday will be good for me.

  Ryan

  After he hit send, he wondered if he should’ve made the message a little more personal. He shrugged and decided
what did it matter? It wasn’t like he had to actually impress her. With his tablet and coffee in hand, he got ready to leave his office to meet with Max and John. The tablet dinged. A new email from Kayla. As he walked down the hallway, he read it.

  Awesome! Can’t wait to see you. *wink wink.*

  K

  He closed out the program as he entered the conference room. He set his coffee down on the table and hoped that after they collaborated, he’d be spending the rest of his day in the lab working hard. Not daydreaming about the brunette bombshell he was fake dating and all the things he wanted her mouth to do.

  * * * *

  Kayla pushed away from her desk. Her day was done. A headache decided to make an appearance, which meant she’d been staring at her computer screen for far too long.

  In the kitchen, she took a few headache pills and chugged down a bottle of water. Hopefully, within the next thirty minutes she’d feel like herself again.

  In her back pocket, her phone vibrated. Pulling it out, she saw it was her mom. She groaned. Her headache was going nowhere. “Hey, Mom.”

  “Hi, dear. I was calling to see if you were nervous about your date tonight.”

  “Date?” She paused. Then it dawned on her what day it was. “Oh, yeah. Sorry. My head is pounding. I almost forgot.”

  “Take some medicine. You don’t want to cancel. That wouldn’t look good.”

  She rubbed her temple, hoping it would help ease the ache. “I’m not going to cancel. What did you need? I’d like to rest a bit before this evening.”

  “Just to see how things were going with Ryan.”