Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Avril
With Kir at my side, there was no way I’d not get the promotion. He was a good guy, the best I’d ever met. Honestly, it was amazing that he’d taken care of my sister, and I wouldn’t say no to him with that. The bills never ended.
But I knew better than to depend on him forever. Kir was a short-term solution, and I needed to be smart. So, I would get the promotion and work six months and, if my life was stable, change jobs then.
We finished our wine and flan, and I gazed at Kir one final time as he paid the bill. He was a true gentleman and handsome and smart. I doubted I’d ever meet anyone like him. He was one of a kind. For however long our ruse lasted, I was lucky he was with me.
As we stepped onto the sidewalk, he had his arm gently on my back. My heart stirred, and I asked, “Ready to go meet my friends as my boyfriend?”
His eyes widened. “Already?”
So far, I wasn’t being a very good partner in anything. I nodded and looped my arm with his. “They don’t count exactly, but they don’t know anything about our discussion… and if Hope doesn’t know first, Charlie will be suspicious.”
His lips curved higher. “True. I work with your friend, and Charlie’s my brother.”
I took another huge whiff of air. He made the cement and car fumes smell like the woods. “So, it’s a good test to see if people buy… us.”
His driver pulled to the front. “The limo is here.”
My heart thumped. He must never do anything without staff. I tugged his arm. “Can we walk? It’s not too far, and we need to talk without people hearing.”
He spoke to the driver then offered his arm. “Let’s go, then.”
Walking as a couple down the street seemed strangely normal. I glanced around. “So, kissing on the cheeks is your customary greeting, but we need to promise to be friends when this is done, so let’s not do too much.”
He stiffened his spine. “I will only kiss you in public, unless you want me to kiss you in other places.”
I raised my eyebrows. A part of me wanted to kiss him right then and there and find out for sure what he tasted like. I gazed at his lips. “Me, huh?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah.”
I took a deep breath and imagined the moment, at either my party or his family wedding, when I would walk into his arms and his lips would meet mine.
At some point, I would find the answer to my fantasy-life questions.
I let out a sigh. “We’ll probably have to kiss in front of people and be convincing. ”
He pressed my hand. “I promise you that you’re the only woman I’ve wanted to kiss in a long while.”
My heart leapt as if he was being honest and wasn’t just flattering me. I shook my head. “That can’t be true, but I like that you’re in character already.”
As we turned the corner, he said, “I’m not. You’re not a gold digger, and in my world, that’s rarer than panning for gold on a beach.”
I laughed. If he’d been just another analyst or even a supervisor or business partner of my friend, I’d have maybe tried harder for us to be more. Or at least I would have shut up because babbling wasn’t going to convince anyone of anything.
I shrugged. “I’ve never panned for gold, but I’ll take your word for it. And it’s true. While I appreciate you helping my sister more than you’ll ever know, the reason I spilled my guts to you was because your money makes me nervous.”
His gaze narrowed. “Why?”
Adrenaline rushed through my veins, but I had nothing to hide. “Because I’m not sure I’d be anything like you if I didn’t have to work for a living.”
“Like me?” His voice was calm and nonjudgmental.
I tilted my head and decided to be honest. “You’re calm, responsible, and reassuring by nature except when you dare yourself to do something that makes you feel alive, like when you went into a cage for a great white shark to chew on for that crazy story you told me that night in Hawaii.
And if I wasn’t always figuring out how to make money to survive, I’d…
probably be more daring—maybe reckless—and uncaring and make horrible decisions. ”
“I doubt that.”
“You don’t know me.” I let out a laugh. He had no idea, but I filled him in. “After my parents died, I wrecked the car, drank underage, refused to do homework for a year, and pretty much caused my sister a lot of problems.”
“That was grief.”
My therapist from when I was still in high school had said the same thing and that I needed to forgive myself. I smiled. “I had no limits. It was a bad look for me.”
“It’s hard to imagine.” He reached for the door.
I liked how he saw me. I walked past him into the crowded bar. He wrapped his arm around my waist.
“Well, let’s see if anyone is going to believe us,” I said.
“I’m sure they will.”
My heart raced, and it wasn’t just from touching him. I swallowed and directed him to a back table. As we approached, I waved. “Hey, we just finished dinner. Sorry I’m late.”
Miley grabbed another chair, and everyone pushed in.
Britney asked, “Dinner?”
I met Hope’s gaze and hoped she would forgive me for lying. “Our second night out together.”
Kelly asked, “ Together together?”
We sat, and I gazed at Kir. He nodded. “Yeah. I would say… we’re dating.”
My lips curved, and I took his hand. “You’d label it that, Kir?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Are we eating at the same table tomorrow night too?”
A server brought us glasses. “No. I like that you've made it official so easily,” I said.
The music changed. Kir gazed across the table. “I’m not Charlie.”
Charlie and Kir stared at each other as Charlie said, “Hey, now. I’m happily engaged.”
Kir laughed and told Hope, “And we all thank you for taking him in.”
Hope smiled. “Your mom keeps me in the family loop because Charlie doesn’t seem to. Are you taking Avril to Connecticut this weekend for Elon and Clarissa’s wedding?”
I tensed. This weekend. My heart beat faster as Kir said, “Yes, she’s my plus-one.”
Britney said, “Aww, congrats, Avril.”
Miley laughed. “And you were just saying ‘we’re friends.’”
I met Kir’s brown-eyed gaze and sighed. Part of this felt real. “To be honest, it’s been a whirlwind.”
Charlie said, “And I’m happy you’re following through on your personal challenge.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What challenge?”
“Kir said he wasn’t going to call you because you’re a good woman, so it’s good he’s breaking that promise.”
Kir shook his head and held me closer. “That’s absolutely not what I said.”
My stomach clenched. It seemed like there was a secret to why he’d agreed to be with me. I raised my eyebrow. “What was it, then?”
Kir shrugged. “I don’t want anyone’s help finding a date. And speaking of that, Bernadette’s in town and looking for Michael.”
I blinked. Clearly, there was a story there.
Charlie quickly said, “I’ll text Fuller.”
The British woman, Bernadette, must have had some history with Charlie. I picked up no romantic vibes from him, but if I was part of a secondary romantic ruse, I needed to know.
Hope asked Charlie, “What’s going on with our butler?”
Charlie said, “He’s been avoiding his family for years now, and it’s not our business to interfere.” He put his phone away.
Britney said, “How did we get start talking about Michael? It’s time for us all to drink to Avril and Kir.”
My heart lifted. My friends believed me. “Thanks, Britney.”
Britney laughed. “Hey, it’s only champagne. It’s up to you two to make the rest of it work.”
An hour later, we left the bar as it was getting late. Kir promised to drive me home. I’d settled in the back seat with him, and my head was all bubbly. It would be amazing if I shared this life with him.
As we drove closer to my street, Kir said, “This isn’t a good neighborhood, and you said you were about to stay with Kelly. I have a better idea. I’m taking you to my home.”
I sat straighter, and the world stopped being fuzzy. “That doesn’t make any sense. My neighborhood is perfectly safe.”
He took my hand. “If we want people to think it’s real, you can room at my place.”
“I’ll be fine. We can see each other tomorrow.”
“Until a week from now, and then you’ll prefer a couch to my penthouse?”
I lowered my head, unsure what to do. “It’s the plan I have for my life right now.”
“That was before we were dating.”
I glanced up. “Two dates don’t equal a moving-in situation.”
“For us it does.” He shook his head as the limo stopped.
“There is no way my girlfriend would live here. Look, I’ll keep my word to you that your honor is safe.
I promise you’ll have your own room, and you can lock the door if you want.
I won’t be able to sleep if I think you’re sleeping in a room above a restaurant. ”
I took a deep breath. This was more than I’d been expecting to have that morning. I met his gaze and nodded. “I’m mostly packed to move, and Kelly probably thinks my request is canceled now because she thinks we’re dating.”
His eyes widened. “That’s a yes?”
That weekend, I would get a truck and move my boxes as planned. I smiled at him. “Yes, and I’ll need the month to get myself a new place anyhow.”
“We’ll figure it out together,” he said and then directed his driver to take us home.
Home wasn’t the right word for the place, but I would consider staying with Kir a vacation from real life. There was no way being near him all the time would ever be anything else.