When we returned to the hotel, my phone rang.

“It’s Tina,” I said to Caden. “I’m going to take this outside.”

Caden nodded and laid down on one of the twin beds. I left the hotel room and pressed the phone against my ear.

“How is it going?” Tina asked.

I had told her I was on a business trip with Caden. In some ways, it wasn’t a lie.

“It’s going okay,” I said. “It’s beautiful here. The hotel we’re staying at is nice and it feels good to have some time off work in the restaurant.”

“You deserve it. You’ve been working so hard,” Tina said.

I nodded. We were quiet on the line for a moment. It wasn’t very long, but it was long enough for Tina to know that something was up. She knew me far too well to let something like a strained silence between us slide.

“What’s up?” Tina asked.

“Nothing.”

“Harper, I know you. What’s going on? Is it Caden?”

I sighed and sat down. “He’s not being horrible if that’s what you’re asking. He’s actually being amazing.”

“Oh, no,” Tina said. “You slept with him.”

“How the hell did you get that from what I said?” I asked.

Tina laughed. “I can’t believe you slept with him! Was it good?”

“Oh, my God, Tina. I can’t tell you that.”

“You tell me everything. And I’m taking that as a yes.”

I chuckled. Tina was a great friend, not only because she was always there for me despite her busy family life, but because she knew me better than I knew myself.

“I think it’s a good thing that you’re letting your hair down a little.”

“I always let my hair down. Sleeping with people is not the problem, remember? It’s commitment.”

“Is he asking you to commit to him?” Tina asked.

“Not exactly,” I said. “It’s complicated.”

“So, tell me.”

Suddenly, I couldn’t see a purpose in keeping the reason I was here with Caden a secret anymore. At first we had been quiet about it because we hadn’t wanted it to come out. But Greyson knew, and I knew that Tina would never do or say anything to get me into trouble. And maybe she would be able to give me advice.

“I’m not really here for work,” I said.

“Then what? Are you there to elope with Caden?”

It was uncomfortably close to the truth.

“I’m here to pretend to be his fiancée.”

There was a moment of silence on the line as Tina digested what I was saying.

“What?” she asked, obviously confused. “Pretend?”

I was in the hotel lobby, and I didn’t want anyone to hear what I was saying. What if the wrong people were around? I stepped outside the hotel and started walking.

“He is about to inherit a lot of money from a deceased grandmother, but he needed someone to act as his fiancée. So I offered.”

“And you’re taking it seriously by sleeping with him, too?”

“That just happened, it wasn’t part of the plan.”

“Right,” Tina said. “You don’t sound like your plan worked.”

I sighed. “No, it didn’t. We pulled it off fine, pretending that we were in love and all that shit. But when we went back to sign the papers, the contract says that we have to be married within thirty days to be able to claim the money. Marriage, T.”

“Oh, wow,” Tina said. “That’s a big deal. Marriage?”

“Marriage.”

“And thirty days is fast. I assume you didn’t sign?”

“I can’t. Marriage is supposed to be a big deal. I can’t just sign it over like it’s nothing, you know? I know I’m not big on relationships, but marriage is serious.”

Tina thought about it for a moment. “I don’t agree,” she finally said. “If you’re serious about the person it’s a big deal, yeah. But this? This is only for money. It doesn’t mean anything, so why should the ceremony?”

“That’s my point. I feel like it should be sacred.”

Tina had been serious about me finding someone to be serious with for the longest time. This situation was the opposite of being serious. Nothing about what Caden and I were doing was real. Why was Tina so comfortable with that? Everything about this journey and the big step it expected me to take felt like something heavy. It made me realize how I felt about certain things like marriage and relationships when I hadn’t thought about them before.

But my best friend made it sound like it was something that could be shrugged off. That couldn’t be right, could it?

“I don’t know, Tina,” I said. “I feel like it should be sacred or something. Especially with how Caden is being about everything. He’s really sweet and caring, and attentive. He’s making sure I feel special and it means a lot to me. I’m getting to know a side of him I haven’t seen before and it feels wrong to marry him for the sake of money.”

I looked around me. While we’d been talking I’d walked quite far. I turned around and headed back to the hotel so I wouldn’t get completely lost.

“I think you should enjoy it while you can,” Tina said. “It’s a nice break away from work and it sounds like he’s treating you right. You can always get a divorce, later.”

Was marriage as fickle as a relationship where we could sign the papers and break it off again? When I asked Tina, she chuckled.

“Don’t think about it too much. It doesn’t have to be such a big deal. Enjoy him pampering you for a bit. You’ve never talked about another man the way you talk about him, so enjoy it. And when you’re ready, move on. It should be easy for you.”

Her words weren’t supposed to sting as much as they did. Tina was trying to give me advice and she meant it in the best way possible, I knew she did. I was good at moving on, after all. I had done it a million times without ever getting attached. But for some reason, this seemed different.

“Thanks for your advice,” I said, trying to keep the hurt out of my voice.

“Anytime, Harp. You know you can lean on me, no matter what. We’ll talk soon, let me know how it goes.”

We ended the conversation and I pocketed my phone. I made my way back to the hotel, mulling over Tina’s words. I wasn’t sure how I felt about what was happening, or why I felt different about Caden than I had with other men. Maybe it was the change of scenery and how it all seemed surreal. Maybe Tina was right, it was a marriage I could do and get divorced as soon as the money came through. People got married for a myriad of reasons other than love these days, right?

When I arrived at the hotel I went up to the room. I opened the door to find Caden standing in front of the mirror in a nice suit. I stared at him. He cleaned up extremely well. His blonde hair was combed back and he had shaved. His eyes looked bluer than usual without the hair flopping over his forehead and he was confident and upright.

And damn hot.

“Why are you all dressed up?” I asked. My first thought was that maybe he was going out on a date and my stomach sank. It caught me by surprise. I’d never cared about what the men in my life did before.

“Because I’m taking you out on a date,” Caden said.

“Me?”

He nodded. “Who else? I ordered a dress for you from the front desk. Get ready, our reservation is for nine.”

I was stunned. Not only was I surprised that Caden was going to take me out but he was going the distance. He had dressed up, he’d made reservations and he’d found a dress for me.

“Go on,” Caden said, when I didn’t move. He gestured to a plastic dry cleaner bag on the bed. I walked over and unzipped it. My, he had taste.

“This is amazing,” I said.

“I bet it will be more amazing when you’re wearing it.” Caden winked at me before he excused himself and left the room. I locked myself in the bathroom with the dress and climbed into the shower. I washed my hair, shaved, and put lotion on my body when I was done. Enjoy him pampering you for a bit, Tina had said. I was planning on doing exactly that.

I combed out my long red hair and blow dried it before pinning it up. I put on smoky makeup that brought out the green in my eyes and put on a deep red lipstick that looked shocking and rich against my pale skin. I had brought black lace underwear which seemed appropriate for the occasion. Finally, the dress.

It was a sexy version of the classic little black dress. It was entirely made of lace, with nude material along the bodice and where it mattered. When I put it on, it looked like my skin showed through the lace everywhere, but I was actually covered up. The dress fit like it had been made for me, hugging my curves. I turned around, looking over my shoulder.

Perfect.

I unlocked the bathroom door and walked out into the room. Caden was still gone. I found the black heels I had packed and they were great with the dress. I walked to the full-length mirror and checked my reflection again.

The door opened and Caden stepped in. He froze when he saw me. He looked me up and down, his gaze sliding over me like a physical touch, and I blushed. I felt self-conscious when he looked at me that way.

Caden looked me in the eyes again. “Wow,” he said. “When I asked them to send it up I couldn’t have imagined it would look this good on you.”

“You have good taste,” I said.

“I do,” he said with a grin, but his eyes were intense and I had the feeling he wasn’t talking about the dress when he said it. I blushed again and he chuckled.

“These are for you,” he said, holding out some flowers. I took them from him with a smile.

“They’re beautiful,” I said. “You’re really going all out with this.”

Caden nodded. “You deserve to be spoiled a little. Not only for all the hard work you put into the restaurant, but because you’re being so great about the inheritance money. And because I don’t want you ever to feel like you’re just a piece of ass to me.”

I smiled. “I don’t feel that way.” I had been the one to instigate sex the first time after all. The second time had been mutual, but I’d never felt at any point that he was only using me.

“Still,” Caden said, “I want you to feel as special as you are.”

He was laying the compliments on pretty thick. I wasn’t sure why he was being so nice, but I had to admit that I liked the attention he was giving me. I liked the way he looked at me and I was curious about what he had in store for the night.

I had never been treated the way Caden treated me before. I had gone on a few dates, but the men usually either expected sex afterward—which I had been happy to provide before I never saw them again—or they had been complete assholes. Having Caden treat me like this was a breath of fresh air.

In movies, I always saw men treat women the way they deserved to be treated. But I had told myself it was all fiction. It was what made movies so attractive and was something we all wanted but could never have.

With Caden, it was different. It wasn’t a move, which made it all seem even that much more surreal.