The Pretend Fiancé (7 page)

She went and flopped down on the couch he'd just vacated, squeezing her eyes shut and chafing at them with the heels of her hands. Aiden looked at the door, his stomach tightening as he saw his window of opportunity slide shut.

"How did it go?" he asked, his guilt roiling inside him. He went and sank down into one of the chairs opposite the couch.

"Okay," Gwen said, "I don't think mom and dad are going to have any more public screaming matches, at least. You should have seen them when I first got there. Dad actually called mom a vampire and a monster! And mom! She tried to make such a big deal out of the engagement ring..."

"Sounds like fun," Aiden said.

"You know, if this wasn't my life, it would actually be pretty funny. But it is my life. And that isn't going to be enough, is it? For Judith, I mean."

"No," he said, "It won't be." That brought him back to his thoughts of going and telling Judith he quit. The words were on his lips. He wanted to tell Gwen that he should go do it. That they would be all right. Except he couldn't make himself say them. They refused to come out.

Because if he did say them, he knew that Gwen would win him back over to the finding-another-way side.

"I need you over here." Gwen said, sitting up straight and then patting the cushion beside her.

Aiden sank down at her side and she leaned her head on his chest. It was times like these he treasured most with her. These quiet moments where they could just be together, in each other's company. It felt right.

He wished the rest of the world could simply drop away around them and leave them in that one eternal instant, but it couldn't. They couldn't resist, no matter how hard they tried.

"This is nice," Aiden said, brushing a few stray hairs off Gwen's forehead. Her eyes drifted shut, and she looked almost peaceful there, for a few heartbeats.

"Hmm," Gwen replied. Then she lifted her head up off him, leaving a cold spot behind. "This really has me remembering all that stuff with Henry."

"I've thought about it a few times, too." He didn't want to, but he did. He often tried to not think too much about his father. He wanted that chapter of his life firmly ended. Henry had been a poor father to him, and a ruthless businessman at Carbide Solutions. Both still messes that Aiden tried to work through every day.

Judith was a constant reminder of all that.

"Things almost felt simpler then, somehow," Gwen continued, "We had our contract. Henry had all his creepy spy stuff. We knew where we stood. Although I guess Judith wins points for not accusing me of being an expensive hooker."

"And we don't know where we stand now?"

Gwen didn't hear him. Her eyes brightened, and a small smile started on her lips. "What? What is it?" Aiden said, sensing her excitement.

"The contract!" Gwen said.

"There isn't a contract anymore."

"I know, I know. But what about a new one?" She pushed herself off the couch and began pacing, pausing now and again and looking out at the mountains.

"A contract for what?" Aiden said.

"Between Judith and me and my parents. It will show her that we can be polite and civilized and nice and all that. And, if we have it down in writing, it will mean that she can't keep changing the rules on us. Not without losing, that is."

Aiden also stood up. He went and stopped her pacing, making sure that he held her attention. She quivered in his grip, the excitement of her harebrained plan coursing through her.

She grinned at him, but when he didn't return the expression she stopped. "What? You don't like it?"

"It's not that I don't like it. It's that I don't think it will work. You're looking at all this from the wrong angle. Judith doesn't like you because she doesn't think you're a good match for me. Your parents play into that, yes, but they're pretty much a scapegoat. I still think the best way through this is for me to quit..."

"No! You're not quitting. We've had this talk already," Gwen said, pulling away from him.

Aiden sighed. He could see now the way through this. Let her exhaust herself. Let her see for herself there was but the one way out. "Okay, we can speak with her about it."

"Great!" Gwen said, heading for the door when Aiden stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"But you have to promise me that when this falls through, and it will, you'll stop all this and let me do what we both know I have to. Okay?" He leaned down and caught her eyes with his.

"Okay, yeah, right. Let's just go get it done!" Gwen said.

***

T
his time, Aiden and Gwen met with Judith in the arboretum attached to the hotel. Paths of packed dirt wound their way around the enclosure. The scents of sap and flowers hung heavy in the air, and dozens of different birds chirped up a cacophonous racket.

At least, they did to Judith's ears. She never knew how some people could become so engrossed in the annoying noises made by birds.

Still, the doctors always told her that some air and sunlight were good for both body and soul, and she tried to spend a little of each day outside the confines of the indoors.

Today she held court at a small bistro set up at the center of the arboretum. The furniture was all black wrought-iron chairs and circular tables. She wore a broad-brimmed hat to keep some of the sun off her skin. And she had to admit the light breeze coming down with all that fresh mountain air wasn't unpleasant.

Aiden pulled two of these tables together to give them enough room to sit.

"My parents won't be a problem anymore," Gwen said. The girl looked excited about something, and mischief glinted in her eyes.

However, it was Aiden that Judith found more interesting. He looked subdued somehow. Resigned might have been a better word. But resigned to what?

"I'm glad to hear it," Judith said, "However, I also have a difficult time believing it to be true."

"Actually, that's kind of what we wanted to talk to you about," Gwen said.

"Go on, then."

Gwen and Aiden exchanged a glance. Yes, there was definitely some sort of tension between them. A disagreement? An argument, maybe? Judith couldn't tell for certain. She did take some pleasure from it, though.

Gwen wasted no time. "So earlier you said you know all about the contract between Aiden and me?"

It sounded like both a question and a statement. Why did young people have such a difficult time expressing themselves?

"Yes," Judith supplied.

"Well, what if we had a contract? Between us. I'll get my parents to sign it, too."

Aiden gave the slightest shake of his head. He probably didn't even realize that he'd done it. But Judith noticed. Noticed and noted.

"To what end?" Judith said.

"Well, I was thinking that if they agreed to be civil and all that, you would see that they're actually pretty nice people. And that since they are nice people, maybe, by extension, I'm a nice person, too?"

The girl really was desperate, Judith knew. She so badly wanted Aiden to hold onto Carbide Solutions. And it was pretty clear she'd do just about anything to make that happen. But just how far would she go?

Judith intended to find out.

Again, Aiden shook his head a little. His lips tightened momentarily when he glanced at his fiancé.

He's frustrated with the girl. He knows that I would never allow something as silly as this contract.

"That is acceptable to me," Judith said. Aiden jerked in shock, and a huge grin spread across Gwen's face.
First you divide
, Judith thought,
and then you conquer
. "However, I do not find the terms of your contract acceptable, and I offer this one and only alternative. In addition to this vow of civility, your parents will also agree to not finalize their divorce until after you and my grandson have been married for at least a year."

Gwen made a choking sound. "What?"

Aiden stood up from the table, shaking his head in earnest now. "See? I told you this is all a game to her. I think we've endured enough. Are you coming?"

The tension crackled between the two of them again. Judith sat back and enjoyed it, reaching up to bend the brim of her cap to block an errant ray of light that dared to caress her cheek.

"Gwen?" Aiden said.

She ignored him. "If we sign this contact and follow through on it, you'll stop this whole thing with trying to split us up?"

Judith bowed her head slightly, trying to keep the corners of her mouth from twitching up and betraying her true feelings. "If you and your family follow through on your end of the agreement, I'll not meddle anymore. You and Aiden will have my blessing. In fact, I'll transfer my controlling share of Carbide Solutions to him."

For a second, Judith thought that she'd gone too far. That she'd blown the ruse and that Gwen would lift her blinders for a moment and see what was really going on.

"Okay, we'll do it," Gwen said.

"I'll be back in the suite," Aiden said, the irritation in his voice plain. It was music to Judith's ears.

She waited for Aiden to storm out of earshot. Gwen started leaving as well, before Judith stopped her with a clearing of her throat.

"I'm glad you find the first part acceptable," Judith said.

"The... the first part? There's another?" Gwen said, suspended between sitting and standing, unable to decide which course of action to take.

Judith had originally been intending to leave it at the first ridiculous deal, but just as Aiden marched off in a huff this second part occurred to her. After all, why not have a bit of fun with this?

"Yes, another agreement, between you and myself," Judith said.

***

"W
hy did you stay behind?" Aiden said.

Gwen shut the door behind her and found Aiden sat on the couch, watching the mountains. For some reason, Gwen felt like it should start getting dark. As though it had been a long, arduous day.

A quick glance at the clock on the wall told her that it was really only noon.

"She just wanted to really make sure I understood the consequences of our deal," Gwen said. The lie rolled off her tongue more easily than she thought it would.

"And do you?" Aiden said.

"Yes," Gwen replied. Of course Aiden didn't know about the second deal. And she thought she was ready for it. She hoped she was.

***

G
wen didn't know how, but Judith somehow got the contact written up by that afternoon. When she opened the door to the courier, a wave of déjà vu passed through her.

Before handing it over to Aiden, she quickly confirmed that the second and secret contract was not in the same package. It wouldn't do to have him see that one.

He scanned through the papers quickly, making sure that Judith hadn't stuck any extras in there.

"It looks good. As good as something like this can look, in any case. Are you really sure you want to do this, Gwen? This place must have a paper shredder in it somewhere."

They both smiled at the memory. Aiden had so gallantly "borrowed" a paper shredder from a tax place across the street from Gwen's old apartment. They used said shredder to destroy a contract sent by Henry, which led to a confetti snowball fight in the lobby of the building.

"No. But I will take a pen, if you have one handy."

He nodded, and Gwen knew that the gesture really signaled his support. She knew he didn't agree with this, that he didn't think it was going to work. But he still threw his lot in with hers, and that was what mattered.

Aiden produced a heavy sterling silver ballpoint from his jacket pocket. He signed along all the dotted lines first, then handed the weighty writing implement over to Gwen. They double checked everything.

"I think that's it, then," Gwen said, kind of wishing it had taken a little longer. She wasn't exactly looking forward to the next component of her little scheme.

"I'll come with you," Aiden offered, standing and tightening his tie.

"No, that's okay. I think it will be better if it's just me."

"They're your parents," Aiden said.

Just the thought of asking them to go along with this whole thing made her stomach tighten. She remembered when her old roommate back in New York, Janice, had left her in the lurch for all that rent. Both her mom and dad had talked a big talk about helping her out, but in the end neither of them had been willing to pony up the cash she needed to get her back on her feet.

"Maybe just have some champagne ready when I come back," she said, "Or possibly vodka."

"It's a vodka kind of day."

"Don't say that around Beatrice," Gwen said, attempting a chuckle. It died out in her throat. All those butterflies battering themselves against the inside of her stomach left no room for jokes.

T
his time, thankfully, David did not answer his door in his housecoat and slippers, greeting her instead in some jeans and a polo shirt.

"Trying to look younger, are we?" Gwen said.

"What? Oh," David said, looking down at himself, "I suppose. What do you have there?"

"Just some papers," Gwen said.
So far so good
. Her dad seemed to be in a good mood. "I need to talk to you and mom again."

"Why? What did she do now?"

"Nothing, nothing. You guys have been great. It's just that I have sort of a big favor to ask you guys. Sort of a really big favor," Gwen said, digging the toe of her shoe into the carpet.

David started to speak, but realized that they still stood in the doorway to his room, where anyone walking by might hear. So he motioned for her to come in, then leaned in close. Gwen became aware of how cramped the space was.

"Is it money again? Because if it is, you know I'd love to help. But your mother really has sucked me dry... Besides, Aiden is pretty loaded, isn't he? I mean, he flew us all out here..."

Gold digger, gold digger
. Gwen could hear Judith's voice in her head, taunting. She lifted her hands up as much to silence her farther as it was a barrier to separate them. "No. Money is fine, dad. But this involves you and mom equally."

"You know that no matter how we feel about each other, what with the divorce and all, we'll help you out any way we can," David said.