Chapter Twenty-Five—Lidia

When the sun rose Saturday morning, it hit my eyes and I stretched my arms above my head. The heavy feeling of Jace's arm tightened as I squirmed, and it brought back the night before.

Before the realization that Rebecca had been recording our conversations, Jace had touched me in no man's land. The one place I'd guarded like Fort Knox. It'd been … the best thing since spray cheese.

The sun hardly made its way over the skyline when I wiggled my way out from underneath him. I walked next door and grabbed us breakfast and started back on my mural. If I was going to make Rebecca pay for what she did, I needed to finish the mural.

Around nine-thirty, Jace's arm fell against the tile, and he shifted awake. With sexy mushed hair and a heavy-lidded gaze, he took in his surroundings. "Morning, Sunshine," I said. "I got breakfast."

Jace glanced at the table where our doughnuts and coffee sat and then back to me. I bit my lip, waiting on his realization to form on his face.

His mouth dropped opened when it did, and he stood up quickly. "Lidia," he gasped, his eyes scanning the nearly finished mural. "You didn't …"

I dropped my paintbrush, walked him over to the mural, and turned him around to face the opposite wall. "I've already seen it—"

"No," I said. "Look who is going to look at it all day long."

The mural was directly across from Rebecca's desk. I craned my head to look at Jace's face while he stared at Rebecca's desk. A small smile tugged at his mouth and then he burst into laughter. When he turned to look at me, he shook his head. "You're insane."

I shrugged. "I just thought a nice picture up my skirt would be a perfect punishment for Rebecca to look at all day long."

It wasn't as if Houston hadn't seen the picture already anyway. I'd always known making fun of yourself took the pleasure away from bullies. What better way than to paint a picture of Jace Archer carrying me into his town car, lace panties and all.

Jace fingered the back of my neck and tilted my chin upward. "I love it, but you seriously think we should keep Rebecca as the receptionist, Lidia? She has been spying on us, not to mention, invading our privacy."

"For a while. Give her a few days of the silent treatment and she'll come crawling up to your office. Then lay it on her," I said, slamming my fist into my opened palm.

Jace sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're insane," he chuckled, "but I like it. I think we'll make it hard for her to think straight for a few days. I'll give into my urges to touch you, I'll tongue you down right in front of her, give her what she's looking for."

I laughed. "What's she looking for is that we're doing this for your contract." Suddenly an overwhelming sadness hit me. "Are we?" I asked in a whisper. "Are we just doing this for the contract? I mean … I know we said that we like each other but what does that entail now that we're fake married?"

Jace stepped forward and cupped my cheek. His dark eyes didn't look like Satan's eyes anymore; they looked kind and full of emotion. "Screw the contract, Lidia. Yes, we're faked married, but that doesn't stop my feelings. I want to be yours, and you be mine. Even if my grandfather finds out about all of this nonsense and realizes the license is fake, I'll still want you. Will you still want me?"

The irony of the situation hit me deep in my gut. We stood not far from the first place I met Jace. Where his dark eyes seared me in my place holding my tampons and humiliating myself to no end.

Now, he stood with a kindness in those dark eyes. A kindness that I didn't know existed inside of him. I'd broken down his walls and made him feel something other than the burden of a restless job.

Jace Archer wanted more than our agreement. He wanted more than I'd ever wanted to give a man. My past boyfriends had never made me feel so free—so out of control—like Jace did. I let him touch me. And I'd let him do it again.

For the first time in my life, I'd debated on letting this man go all the way with me without marriage.

"I like you, Jace," I whispered. "That's not going to change. No matter what happens with your grandfather. And … I want more with you, but I can't go there without marrying you. I'm not the woman that will pressure you into marriage. I'm young, and I'm not going to do that. But you have to know, my morals and my love for myself will be greater than my lust. Always."

Jace's brows pulled down and his mouth turned down into a frown. "I don't know if I can be a husband, Lidia. I don't know if I can be a good partner in a marriage."

"Why?" I asked in a whisper, keeping the sadness out of my voice. "Why do you think that?"

Jace huffed, running his fingers through his hair. "I've never been the marriage type; we've talked about this—"

"I guess I just thought you could imagine the idea … with me."

The corners of Jace's eyes squinted, as he grew angry. "I'm … I can't change my feelings on marriage, Lidia. I can't force myself to change. I'm sorry. I can date you—you can move in, and we can start a life together but—"

"How is that different than being married, Jace?" I asked, feeling myself become irritated. I'd known this about him all this time, but now that our agreement was ending, I felt suffocated, as if I couldn't breathe without him.

He took a step back, leaving me cold and alone. "It's …

"You won't be tied to me, right?" I asked. "You can leave whenever you want?"

"That wouldn't happen," he shouted. "I told you this from the beginning. I want all of you right now if you'd give it to me, and I didn't think this would happen, but … I can't marry you just to have sex with you."

"That's not what I'm asking," I said, my voice cracking. "I want you to marry me because you love me, Jace."

Jace's dark eyes saddened, and I knew that we hadn't known each other long enough to love one another. "Not now," I said. "But one day. One day I want you to want to marry me, but I can see that won't happen."

Jace kicked the middle table in the lobby, shattering the glass top into pieces. I envied that glass, because it couldn’t feel the pain of being broken into pieces as I could.

"I—I'm going to go home," I said. "Plan the celebration, I will keep true to our agreement because I'm good for my word, but I can't keep letting myself fall in love with you if I'm never going to have what I need for our relationship to work."

Jace reached out and grabbed me, pulling me close to his chest. "I never wanted this to happen, Lidia. I've wanted you for a long time, and I still want you, but I can't promise you something that I don't know if I can keep."

A tear escaped my eye, and all I could think about was going home to Scotty and him thinking … I told you so.

***

Getting through the weekend with Scotty was easy. I pretended to have cramps and hid in my room all day Sunday. When Sunday evening rolled around and Scotty shoved pizza underneath my door like I was a wild animal, I knew things were going to be hard tomorrow.

The only happiness I'd gain would be from the look on Rebecca's face when she noticed the mural. Petty? Yes. Do I care? No. How was I supposed to act? Normal? Seeing his perfect face would hurt me to no end.

I knew being around him, pretending to be in love, when my heart was broken would hurt my heart. But I agreed, and I needed my job, and so did Jace.

When my alarm went off the next morning, I'd been up for over an hour. I went through the mundane routine of getting ready and grabbing my coffee. Scott still snored from his room when I walked out and went downstairs.

My Jeep sat in the parking space, out of place in our parking lot, and my stomach dropped to my butt. He'd bought me that—not because of our deal, but because he wanted to.

I started the engine, tears threatening my eyes as I pulled out onto the street and started toward the gallery. Rebecca's vehicle wasn't there yet when I swerved into the parking lot, which almost felt like a relief since tears threatened my eyes.

Getting myself together, I walked inside, eyeing the painting I almost regretted, and up the stairs. Jace sat in his office chair, his back to me while he glared out at the rising sun over Houston.

I waited a moment, enjoying the silence and the thought of him thinking about us. I cleared my throat, when I heard the sound of the front door opening from below. I ducked, dropping my stuff in the hallway, and crawling over to the railing.

Rebecca hummed almost menacingly—not a care in the world—until she saw it. Her expensive purse slipped from her shoulder and dropped against the tile.

Like my first time in the gallery, her things spilled out, but she didn't look away from the mural. I clutched my palm over my mouth to stifle my laugh.

The look of horror would get me through this awful day.

Her mouth opened and then shut, and her eyes slid to slits before she glanced up at his office. Her heels began to click as she started toward the stairs.

Oopp. I scurried to grab my things, opening the door from the bottom and crawling inside to my feet. I noticed Jace's brown leather boots, his slacks and belt as I crawled to my feet.

He looked delectable in his suit and tie, his dark eyes intently gazing on mine. I swallowed, swimming in the smell of his cologne while trying to gather my things.

He smoothed his palm over his gelled hair and swayed on his feet. "Good morning," he said, eyeing my face. "Having trouble walking this morning?"

I shook my head and pointed over my shoulder. "She saw it, and she's coming up."

A small smile formed on his face, and he gestured for me to sit as I watched Rebecca make her way into our office. Rebecca's eyes drew to slits, and she smoothed her palms down her dress before propping them against her thin hips.

"What in the hell is that!" she shouted, pointing toward the lobby.

I hid my smile behind my travel mug of coffee and watched Jace lean back against his desk and cross his ankles. "What is what?"

She blew out a huff of air. "Don't act like you didn't see that monstrosity on the wall downstairs. Who did it?" Rebecca looked over at me. "Did you draw that? Why would you let her do that?"

Jace glanced over at me and winked. "I approved it. Since someone hired Mervin to spy on us, and take ungodly pictures, we thought it'd be good to beat everyone to the punch. Who can laugh when we laugh at ourselves? Plus," Jace said, pushing off the desk and stopping in front of her. "I could look at that picture all day long myself."

Shock traveled over her face, and she wrapped her arms around her stomach. "Oh—who, I mean, did you find out who hired this Mervin guy?"

Her eyes shifted to mine, but I let my gaze drop to my laptop.

Jace rocked back on his heels. "Not yet, but I'm sure I can get him to talk eventually."

Rebecca nodded slowly and turned without another word. "Oh, Rebecca?"

She stopped at the door with her hand on the handle. "Yes, Sir."

"Be sure to get a good candid of that shot and put it as our cover page on our website when you get time."

She didn't try to hide her disgust. "Sure."

I waited a millisecond after she started down the stairs to bound up and laugh. "That was priceless, so much better than I imagined, and oh, did I imagine it."

Jace took a seat in his office chair and smirked. "She deserved it.”

"Yeah, she did," I said, glancing over at Jace. He dragged his eyes up from my dress, making me bush. "Thank you for that."

He straightened his shoulders. "I wish I knew exactly why she did it. I have a feeling it wasn't just her in on this."

"Meaning?" I asked.

Jace interlaced his fingers over his stomach. "I think my brother put Rebecca up to this."

I tilted my head in thought. "Why would he need her to do that if he's married?"

Jace shrugged. "In case we do get married, he knows we haven't known each other long enough for it, so does my grandfather, so he wanted proof that this was fake."

I hadn't thought about that. "We could ask her."

Jace shook his head. "Nah, my brother probably paid her."

I lifted a brow at him. "And you can't afford to pay her?"

He gave me an easy look. "I'm not giving her my money, Lidia. She gets a paycheck from me every week, and that's all the money she'll get from me."

I sat down, opened my laptop and pulled opened my email. The tension in the room slithered down my spine like a snake. I wanted to loosen up, talk to Jace like I always did, but it felt wrong—forced after what we talked about.

The minutes ticked to hours, and my stomach grumbled the closer it turned to twelve. Jace's voice broke my concentration. "If I order us some burgers, will you run next door and grab it for me?" he asked. "I have a phone call in ten minutes."

I nodded. "Sure."

Anything to get out of the silence of this room.

I stood to leave when Jace stopped me. He blocked my way to the door, his brows folded down in concern. "Also, I was hoping you'd come over tonight for dinner."

His dark eyes lifted to mine. I felt my heart squeeze at the thought of being alone with him. "Okay," I said, tucking my hair behind my ear. "Sure. I'll be back in a bit."

I felt so overwhelmed that I almost didn't enjoy the sour look on Rebecca's face.

Almost.

***

"You're still dating him?"

The look of unbelief on Daisy's face made me question my morality in the world. Would Scotty kick me out if I attempted to smack the smirk off her face?

By his annoyed look at her, I wasn't sure or not.

Dramatically, I snatched my purse up from the dining room table where I'd left it to get ready.

Daisy's quizzically raised eyebrow lifted even higher when she noticed the length of my skirt. It wasn't my normal ankle-length, but right below the knee.

Who was she to judge? Her cheer shorts left little to the imagination. "Why are you here?" I asked.

Daisy looked offended. "Because Scotty is."

Scotty tossed me a please don't get her started look over her shoulder. "Well, that explains the empty toilet paper roll and the wad of air in the shower. Note to you—clean up after yourself occasionally. Guys like a girl that's clean."

I shut the apartment door before she had a chance to react. Good riddance. I'd go sleep in a rundown hotel to get away from her condescending voice.

I drove to Jace's apartment with the corner of my thumbnail in my mouth. I didn't know why he wanted me to come over because to talk about our plans for a celebration, but my nerves had heightened as soon as I drove past the railroad tracks that signaled we were getting close to the nice part of town.

The afternoon air sent a shiver down my spine as I stepped out onto the sidewalk. The elevator crept up toward Jace's penthouse floor. I hurried toward his door and knocked.

Better to get it over with.

The door opened with a whoosh, the smell of pizza wafted from inside, forming water in my mouth. Jace's gaze met mine slowly. "Come on inside," he said.

I walked past him, the smell of his cologne drowning my sense of self-control. I stopped in the foyer, waiting for him to lead the way. He looked relaxed in a pair of jeans, and an old T-shirt, which struck me as out of place.

Maybe my skirt was out of place for this. Was it a date? I had no idea since our conversation over the weekend.

"I ordered from the pizza place downtown that you like," Jace said, his voice closer to me than I realized. I turned and looked up at his dark eyes, wishing I knew what he was thinking.

"Smells great," I said, sitting my purse down on the kitchen counter.

Jace gestured toward the living room where the pizza box sat with his TV pulled opened to Netflix, and an unopened bottle of champagne sat.

Nervously, I took a seat in front of his table, on the floor and waited for him to fill the void beside me.

Jace unscrewed the champagne and poured me a glass. I took a swallow, loving the bubbly burn it left in my throat. "So," I said after a few awkward seconds. "Am I the only one that enjoyed the pure look of horror on Rebecca's face today?"

Jace's laugh broke through and made my stomach clench. "I noticed her staring at the picture several times today. I could even feel the hate of it through the cover page for the website."

I giggled. "You think she knows we know about Mervin?"

Jace leaned back against the couch, stretching his arm around the back of me. "If not, she's probably nervous and can't sleep about it. When you went to grab our lunch, she was kissing butt."

I snorted and snagged a slice of pizza. "Figures."

We ate in silence for a few moments when Jace cleared his throat. I glanced over at him, noticing that he tugged on his bottom lip nervously. "Lidia … I wanted to talk about a few things since we're announcing our marriage this week."

It felt weird hearing him say it, especially after our conversation about him not wanting to be married. I nodded and popped a stray pepperoni into my mouth. "Shoot."

Jace intertwined his fingers into his hair and sighed deeply. "When we announce, my brother is going to do whatever it takes to prove we're not married. Whether it be travel to Florida to search for the proof of the license or … follow us around himself." Jace turned to face me, the worry in his eyes made me nervous. "We're going to have to be a married couple in everyone's eyes."

"Okay …"

"You'll need to stay here, ride with me, dine with me, and interact with me. I know we were basically do this before … before the—"

"Fight," I answered. "If you want to call it that."

Jace's eyes traveled down my face to the frown lingering there. His brows pulled together, and he pressed his thumb against the center of my bottom lip. "I never meant to hurt you," he whispered.

I felt the urge to cry, so I forced a smile and tucked my hair to distract myself. "I'm fine, Jace. You told me from the beginning you weren't interested in being in a committed—maybe one day—married type relationship. I shouldn't have let myself get so attached."

Jace opened his mouth, but I interrupted him. "So, basically, we're diving in headfirst? We're announcing tomorrow, and then … proceeding with this fake marriage?"

He ran his thumb down the corner of his lip and nodded. "Yeah. I was hoping you could spend the night tonight, and us go in together tomorrow. I promise to keep my hands to myself … if that's what you want."

No, I did want that. I wanted to straddle this sexy man in his living room and let him do ungodly things to me. I wanted to wake up next to him for the rest of my life, but I wouldn't do that if he didn't care about me enough to even consider marrying me one day.

I swallowed hard, trying my best to mask the want I had for him. Would staying with him, being with him, and pretending with him work?

Yeah … because I hadn't been pretending for a long time. Now it would work because I did love him, the only person that'll suffer will be me.

Because I wanted something more from the man that won't give it to me.

Jace took my silence and nodded. "I paid off your student loans today," he whispered, eyes drawing to a point at my mouth. "After the contract passes my birthday … you'll be free."

I swallowed the rest of my champagne to wash down the urge to vomit. I didn't want to be free … I wanted to be his.