Chapter Eighteen

Harry

I rolled my head to the side to look at the clock. It was almost seven. At least we hadn’t slept as late as we had the first time she’d spent the night. Still, I had a feeling that in the bright light of day, Amber wasn’t going to be all that pleased to find herself in my bed again.

“Amber,” I whispered.

“Hmm,” she groaned.

I rolled to my side and trailed a finger down her exposed arm.

“It’s seven. Do you need to get up?”

She groaned. “I don’t want to.”

“Good. Then stay right here. I’ll make you breakfast in bed and then eat it off you.”

Her eyes popped open. “Oh shit. I fell asleep in your bed again?”

I laughed. “Yes, you did.”

“I have to stop doing that.”

I leaned forward and kissed her. “I wish you wouldn’t.”

“Stop. I have to get going.”

“Will you please be my fake fiancée?” I asked one more time, hoping my performance last night would give me some leeway.

She heaved a long, dramatic sigh. “Fine, if it means you’ll quit asking me. It’s really getting annoying.”

I chuckled and kissed her again. “If you would have said yes the first time, I wouldn’t have had to keep asking you.”

“Whatever.” She rolled to the side and sat up. Her slender, naked back was begging me to touch it.

I reached out and stroked my hand over her soft skin. “Good. I’m going to tell my parents tonight.”

She turned and looked at me, giving me a view of her marvelous side boob. “I guess I better tell mine in case your parents take out a front-page ad.”

I laughed. “I don’t think they’ll do that, but it would be a good idea.”

She stood and walked naked through my bedroom. I leaned my head back on my pillows and watched the show.

“You know you’re beautiful.”

She groaned and kept walking.

“You better get some clothes on before I throw you down on this bed and make you really late for work,” I yelled loud enough for her to hear me in the living room.

I heard her mumble something under her breath. I laughed and quickly pulled on some clothes so I could drive her home.

“I’ll take a cab,” she said when she saw me go for my car keys.

“No, you won’t. I’m not that much of a dick. I’ll take you home.”

“Fine, but we need to go. I cannot be late.”

“I’m going, I’m going,” I said, slapping her ass as I walked by to open the door for her.

I was going to like being fake engaged. She was fun, and if we got to have sex, that was going to be a huge bonus.

That night, I went to my parents’ house for dinner again. Two nights in a row was rough, but the sooner I told them about the engagement, the better. I didn’t want them to try to set me up or make a move to cut me off.

When I arrived, I half-expected William to be there. Thankfully, he wasn’t. This would all be much easier to sell if he wasn’t there to try to dispute my story. Of course, if he wanted to dispute it, he was going to have to fess up to sleeping with the help. I didn’t think he had the balls, but then again, I had seen the way he looked at her.

“What’s going on?” my mother asked once dinner was served and we were left alone in the dining room.

I took a deep breath and hoped I looked properly nervous, even if I was nervous because I was lying and not nervous because of what I was about to tell them.

“I’m engaged.”

“What?” they said at the same time.

“To who?” my mom asked.

“Amber.”

“The woman from last night?” my dad asked, as if that couldn’t be right.

“Yes, Amber Bradley. I wanted to tell you last night, but we decided not to steal Tiffany and William’s glory.”

“Well, congratulations!” my mom said, clapping her hands together. “That’s great news! I like her. I think she’ll be good for you.”

“Are you sure? I mean, yes, it will improve your image, but it would be better if you chose someone of a higher social standing. She works for us. That seems a little beneath you,” my father said, surprising me.

He was usually the one to be less pretentious. I guessed he’d been faking it all along.

“Dad, yes, I’m sure, and I don’t care about social standing.”

“But one of the McCleary girls would be a better choice,” he argued.

I wrinkled my nose. “No. They are forty something. Not interested.”

“They come from a good family,” he insisted.

“Dad, if they were such a great catch, someone would have married them already. They are unattractive, spoiled, and obnoxious. How could you think I would ever want to marry one of them? Don’t you want me to have children someday?”

“Of course we do,” my mom answered for him.

“Then marrying a McCleary girl isn’t going to work. I think the oldest one is well past her childbearing years,” I quipped.

“You can always adopt. That’s the thing to do nowadays. It isn’t like you need to produce an heir. William’s children will inherit the company,” my father said.

I shook my head. “You’re unbelievable.”

“Bob, that’s enough. Your son is happy, and that’s what matters,” my mother scolded.

I couldn’t believe she was defending my choice. It was always my mother who had been the uppity one who looked down her nose at anyone who didn’t meet her criteria for good people.

“Well, he could be happier with a woman more fitting of his position,” he shot back.

“I like her. She seems very smart. I like that she isn’t flashy,” my mom added.

I smiled. “She is smart, and she doesn’t need to be flashy because she is naturally beautiful.”

My mom was beaming. “Yes, she is. I’m so excited for the two of you. I could see the chemistry between you.”

I smiled and wondered if William could also see it. I had a feeling he was not going to take the news of our engagement very well. Jealousy could make a man do crazy things.

“Well, I still think it would be better for you to consider marrying within your social class. Will she continue working for the company once you’ve married?” my dad asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. We haven’t talked about it. I don’t see why she wouldn’t. She likes her job.”

“Is she expecting a promotion because she’s marrying into the family? You know how I feel about dating or sleeping with anyone who works for us. It makes things messy. You are opening the company up to lawsuits. We need to get a prenuptial agreement drawn up right away before this thing gets too far.”

“Dad, slow down. You’re moving too fast. And trust me, the last thing Amber wants is your money. She is not like that. If you get to know her, you’ll see that,” I said, defending her honor.

“Money changes people. Even the thought of money makes people act differently. How do you know she isn’t after you because of who you are?” he asked.

I laughed. “Trust me, my name was more of a deterrent than a help.”

“Can we change the subject now? I’m very happy for you. I do hope you’ll wait to have the wedding after William and Tiffany’s. I would hate to have competing weddings. As much as I like Amber, William’s wedding is very important for our family and the business. It needs to be spectacular, and we can’t afford to have your impending nuptials detract from it,” my mother said.

That was the mom I knew, always keeping her eyes on the prize. She would be happy for me, but she didn’t really care who I married because the golden boy’s choice in a wife was all that really mattered. I should have been glad and relieved. I didn’t want her planning a wedding that was never going to happen. Despite what I should have felt, I couldn’t help but feel the familiar hurt I had grown up with. The hurt came from being the second best and second in line for their love and affection.

When I arrived home, I was desperate to hear Amber’s voice. She was supposed to be telling her parents about the engagement as well. We had agreed it had to be real. We wouldn’t admit to anyone it was only for show.

“Hey,” I said when she picked up the phone.

“Hi. How’d it go? Did they disown you for hooking up with a commoner?” she teased.

I laughed. “My mom was surprisingly happy about it. My dad on the other hand—well, he would have preferred I was engaged to someone from one of his chosen families.”

“I’m glad I have a healthy amount of self-confidence. I have a feeling your family would make me feel like trash if I let them.”

“Don’t let them. You are perfect the way you are. You did great with Tiffany. Just keep it up. I don’t think they’ll be nearly as bad as she was.”

She laughed. “I don’t think anyone can be as nasty as that woman. I hope I get the chance to tell her exactly how I feel one of these days.”

“My money is on you in any catfight. I would like to see it though, so if you’re going to scratch her eyes out, give me advance warning.”

She laughed. “I don’t fight with my claws; I fight with my words.”

I smiled. One more thing I liked about her. “How about your parents? What did they say?”

She groaned. “They weren’t thrilled.”

“Why not? I’m a hell of a catch!”

That made her laugh. “My mom thinks you are handsome enough, but she knows about the William situation. She thinks I rushed into this way too fast, which I would agree with if it were real.”

“Are they going to give you a lot of grief over this? I don’t want to cause you any excess trouble. We can call it off it is too much for you.”

“It’s okay. They’re going to support me. They’ll always have my back. I don’t want to turn back now. Then they’ll really think I’m wishy-washy.”

I laughed. “Good. Thank you. This only has to be for looks. I don’t expect you to be exclusive with me. I know you had a life before me.”

“Okay. How is that going to work? What if someone sees me?”

“It would probably be best if you were discreet,” I said, realizing the problems it would cause if she were caught out with another man. “I don’t think my parents are planning to announce our engagement anytime soon. They don’t want me overshadowing their golden boy,” I quipped.

“Well, that’s probably for the best. I am sorry, though. I hope our fake engagement makes them realize you are worthy.”

“Thanks. I should let you go,” I said, not really wanting to get off the phone, but I knew she was tired and had to get up for work in the morning.

“All right. I’ll talk to you later. Good night.”

When we hung up, I thought about her dating someone else. I didn’t like it. I told her we didn’t need to be exclusive, but I had no desire to date anyone else. Any woman I met would pale in comparison to Amber. Plus, it would complicate matters. I had to sell this engagement. The slightest hint of me screwing around on my fiancée would put my dad on alert. He could still change his mind and cut me off from the family money.

For now, I was content to be Amber’s fiancé.