Chapter Seven #3
He took the glass she poured him, noting with a particular satisfaction that she gave herself the same three-fingered pour she’d given him.
They clinked glasses, the room otherwise silent.
As they sipped at their drinks, a calm settled over the room, over Jace’s hyperactive visceral response to Aurelie.
It was comfortable, despite the gravity of what loomed over them.
Jace finally pulled himself away to change, kissing her atop her head on his way out of the room. He was apart from Aurelie for only a few seconds, and his body already ached to be next to her again. Jesus. He was in deep shit. Not that he was complaining.
Back in front of Aurelie, his breath lodged in his throat as he laid eyes on her again.
He ran a shaking hand through his hair, leaving it tangled in his curls so it kept him from reaching for her, kissing her into oblivion.
But he couldn’t do that, and she deserved to know his shortcomings before she tethered herself to him.
He owed her honesty if she was giving him her future so willingly.
“Damn, this is harder than I thought,” he started, taking a long pull from his glass.
“But I need to tell you something before we do this.” Aurelie pursed her lips, but instead of having the effect of showcasing her concern, it only made Jace want to pull that bottom lip of hers into his mouth to nibble on it.
Not conducive to what he had to say next.
“I know we said we’re doing this because it’ll help us both out, but honestly, Aury, I feel something for you I can’t put a finger on. ”
“Me, too. It’s a little unsettling, to be honest.”
“Yeah, agreed. But—”
“Ah, the but.”
He sighed. “It’s just that I could have married anyone in Hollywood who needed a leg up to help my image.
But I never wanted that. I’m not sure I do now, just like I’m not sure I’m going back to California or to my career.
Still, I also don’t know if I can do anything more than physical intimacy in this.
I like you, think you’re amazing, but a relationship was always going to be off the table for me. ”
He finished his speech, winded and pulse racing. But he’d done it. He’d been honest with her, a more auspicious start to their unconventional relationship. She didn’t move, and fire engulfed his cheeks.
Shit, shit, shit. He’d blown it. Again.
“I don’t need you to be anything more than what you are, Jace. Even that feels like a lot right now, but may I ask why?”
He didn’t overthink it, but instead shot from the heart. They could always renegotiate the terms later.
“Suffice it to say, I had a shitty start to life, and not much after that showed me that partnership is the path for me. On the other hand, I know I love being around you, and I don’t want this to be difficult. For either of us.”
Aurelie stood and paced. She tossed back the remainder of her drink and walked calmly back to the bar, where she refilled it. He walked over, and she gazed up at him with the same determination she’d had etched on her face at Paige’s house the night before.
He had a feeling he’d come to be pretty familiar with that look.
“So, fake marriage, good sex, but no real feelings?”
He shrugged. “Can you do that?”
“On one condition.” He steeled himself. “You can’t live in a hotel while you’re renovating. First of all, it’s too far from your project. Second, if you want this to look real—and I need it to look real—then you’ll have to move in here until your house is built.”
Damn. She got right to the point, didn’t she?
He laughed, then followed her lead and took down the rest of the rum in one swallow, only a little bummed not to be able to spend the time sipping it. Still, he enjoyed the warmth as it spread to his limbs.
“Okay. That makes sense. Anything else?”
“Do you have any pets?” she asked, looking around her place at all the fine things she wouldn’t want broken. Shit. He’d forgotten completely about Max in this whole mess.
“Um, yeah, a mutt of dubious pedigree.”
“Probably not unlike his owner, hmm?” She winked, and he laughed again. If only she had any idea how close to the truth she’d come with that statement. “Is he housebroken?”
“Only on good days. Again, kinda like his owner, so I’ll talk to Brad and see if he can slum it with Penske outside.”
Penske was Brad’s farm dog who lovingly chased all trucks, especially the brightly colored Penske moving trucks.
“Okay. And I knew your father, but I never saw him with anyone. Where is your mom?”
“She died a long time ago.” The alcohol swirled with the truth in his throat and burned.
“I’m sorry to hear that. We can work out the rest of the details later.
I’m sure I’ll be forced to answer questions about you from the immigration officer.
” She swallowed the last of her rum. How was she so steady after drinking more than two shots in a matter of minutes?
More importantly, how long would this woman keep surprising him?
One thing worried him. He hadn’t considered how much of his life would be under a microscope if he did this with Aurelie. He’d have to be careful he didn’t let the dirt from unearthing his past bury any new growth.
She went to the back room and left him with his thoughts.
He glanced out of the window and recognized the edge of his new property along the right side of the panorama.
Otherwise, he was overtaken by the vastness of the land spread in front of him like a bounty.
Movie stars like Clint Eastwood and John Wayne had both lived the lifestyle they portrayed in their films. Maybe if he’d have landed more of those roles, he’d have found a way to bring his upbringing to the screen and not feel like an impostor on both ends.
Then again, maybe not. When he was acting, he was someone else’s avatar.
Out here, he was master of his own design.
He hoped he could hack it.
Aurelie returned in a turquoise shawl over the dress that already stopped traffic. The pop of color against her year-round tanned skin was enough to make Jace’s mouth run dry.
“Again, wow.”
“Shall we?” she asked, a corner of her lips pulled up in a sultry half-smile. Maddie was still asleep in her car seat, none the wiser to the looks that passed between Jace and Aurelie.
“Hell yes.”
Helping Aury to the car, he was treated to her backside right at hand level.
It was all he could do not to reach out and cup her perfect curves, but the time for that would come.
He shuddered with lust thinking about post-wedding celebrations with Aury.
At least they could enjoy that part of their union.
The drive to the courthouse was quiet, and maybe Jace was misreading it, but he didn’t think it was an awkward silence. Stealing a glance, he caught a contented smile on her face, giving him permission for one as well.
Until his phone rang loud over the speakers, disrupting the moment. Cammie’s name flashed across the screen. As much as he wanted to let the call go to voicemail, she’d just call back.
Aurelie nodded and smiled. They were already able to communicate wordlessly, something he’d always wanted with a partner. He hit the answer button on his steering wheel.
“Cammie. What’s going on?” He smiled back at Aurelie and mouthed my agent. She nodded again.
“You tell me, Jace. What the actual fuck are you thinking?”
Jace was stunned silent. He was pretty damn sure he understood what she meant, but the bigger question was how she knew what he was up to when he himself had just figured it out. Also, she’d never in all the years he’d worked with her spoken to him like that.
He pushed the button on his media screen, sent the call back to his phone, and held it up to his ear.
“Not sure what you mean, Cammie,” he said, playing dumb in the hopes she’d change her tone with him so he didn’t have to address how inappropriate it was.
“Funny, Jace. I never pegged you for an idiot, but now I’m not so sure.”
Or maybe not. “Careful, Cammie,” he cautioned. His blood pressure spiked. This conversation was about to irreparably change his relationship with his agent. And probably not in a good way.
“Are you about to marry someone, Jace? Like, walk down the aisle and commit to them for life? Tell me a wire was crossed somewhere, and I’m wrong.”
“You aren’t. I’m about to do just that.”
“Have you lost your fucking mind?”
He hissed out a slow breath. She’d gone too far. “Not at all. I’m doing what my agent said I should to repair my playboy image.”
“I sure as hell didn’t mean to marry the first hillbilly you met up there. I meant for you to find a Hollywood leading lady who could catapult you to the top of the stratosphere, not land you on the front page of the gossip magazines.”
“Cammie, you have no idea what you’re talking about.” He seethed, his blood a boiling inferno. He might not be able to love Aurelie the way a husband loves a wife, but he sure as hell respected her. Anyone who didn’t was at the top of his shit list.
“And how, pray tell, did you meet this woman? Because last time I checked, Harley still had her talons dug so deep in your heart, you wouldn’t even fuck anyone else.”
Jace cringed. He’d trusted this woman with his image, his career. She’d been professional, but was this lingering beneath the surface the whole time?
“I almost ran her over with the hot rod you sent me. So, I guess I should be thanking you for bringing her into my life and helping me forget all about Harley.” He was playing with fire now, but he couldn’t stop.
She’d crossed the line a few minutes ago, and bordered on belligerent now.
“How’d you hear?” he asked, curious, but no longer concerned.
“The goddamn internet. It was picked up on every major gossip site. You had the audacity to tell a florist in bumfuck Montana, but didn’t think about telling me? Are you happy? Because you’re finished, Jace.”
“I don’t know by what standard you think I’m finished, not when some B-list celebrity will do something far more asinine in the next five minutes and erase this from the history books altogether.”
“I’m on the next flight up. Don’t do anything stupid before I get there.” The phone clicked off, and as calmly as he could, Jace placed it on the seat next to him. His hands shook, but, luckily, he had a firm grip on the steering wheel to forcibly regain his composure.
What the hell was Cammie thinking with that approach? Sure, from an agent’s perspective, what he and Aurelie were about to do was a career-changer. But screaming obscenities at him? That shit was below the belt. Christ, what was he going to do now?
“Are you okay?” Aurelie asked him. He stilled, as if a weighted blanket had landed square across his chest and abdomen. For whatever reason, both the sound of her voice and the feeling of her hand bridging the gap between them, landing firmly on his thigh, made it so that yes, he was okay.
“I am. I’m glad you’re here.” He was, too.
“Did she mean what she said? That your career is finished?”
“So you heard all that, huh? Nah. She’s been a great agent, but this is probably just throwing her for a loop. What you and I are doing is actually none of her business.”
“But you are her business. Her only business. We don’t have to do this, you know.”
Jace’s heart sank into his stomach. Aurelie was right, but on the other hand, something deep in his chest said that if he were faced with the loss of his career or giving up Aurelie, he’d trade in acting without a second thought.
This partnership, even if unconventional, was the right thing for him, right now, just like ranching was. He knew it.
He pulled the car over to the side of the road, glancing at the sleeping infant in the center of the bench seat with a smile tugging not just at the corners of his lips, but at his heartstrings as well. He faced Aurelie, taking her hands in his.
“But I want to. I am not sure what life has in store for us as individuals, but I can’t wait to have you beside me while we figure out our dreams and what comes next. Real relationship or not, I promise you this: I won’t ever let you think I regret this. I’m damn sure I met you for a reason.”
Jace ran the heel of his palm along Aurelie’s cheek, drying the tears that spilled over her full lashes onto her cheekbones.
“Those sound like pretty good vows for this fake marriage, Jace. Maybe you aren’t the worst actor there is.”
He laughed.
Okay, so she could give as well as she took. “Fair enough. Words are just words until I prove them to you. Got it.” He brought her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it, grazing his lips so lightly over her soft skin it was as if he was kissing silk.
Putting the car back in drive, he drove them to the courthouse, running around to Aurelie’s door to let her out. When her hand touched his, sparks ignited between them, so much so that his hand warmed in hers as if actual flames closed the millimeters between their skin.
Everything felt right when he touched her, a phenomenon he couldn’t wrap his head around. He didn’t believe in fate or any of that nonsense, but he did feel like this woman was sent his way for a reason.
Whatever that was, he couldn’t see just yet.
Reaching as quietly as he could, Jace unlatched the car seat from its base and retrieved a lightly snoring Maddie. With his other hand latched in Aurelie’s, his arms were full, but that was nothing compared to his heart.
He’d had to work at everything he had, sometimes twice as hard as those he was up against. But none of that mattered anymore.
He was holding the hand of the most beautiful woman he’d ever met, about to make her his wife, and he was back home, a word that no longer felt like a four-letter curse.
As they walked through the doors to Banberry City Hall, Jace squeezed Aurelie’s hand.
Something in the deepest part of his chest told him to be careful, to not get too excited, because this could all be taken from him as easily as it had been given.
That a piece of paper might not be enough to save her or to keep his heart at bay.
The danger her father and Isaac Puckman presented was still so ambiguous, so unknown, they were ghost-like shapes in his imagination.
He’d sworn not to fall for anyone, lest they be taken from him, and he’d somehow agreed to marry—fake or not—a woman who posed the greatest of all risks of loss.
Swallowing hard, he shoved the thought into the pit of his stomach. He’d promised himself he wouldn’t ever let anything come between him and the rest of his life. Nothing.
Not even a woman as alluring as Aurelie.
Now, if he could just get his racing heart to understand that directive, maybe this fake marriage could be the start of him figuring out what to do next.
If it doesn’t kill us first.
Yeah, he thought. That, too.