Chapter 16 Here For A Reason
HERE FOR A REASON
“Don’t worry, Brandi.”
“It’s still planned, right, Eric?”
Natalie had come into the house to go to the bathroom during the cocktail hour while the newly married couple was having their pictures taken.
The last thing she expected was to overhear Arik’s father and girlfriend talking in another room.
It was rude to stand there, but after seeing the dejected look in her fake boyfriend’s eyes when he returned from the father-son talk, she was determined to help.
After all, wasn’t that why he brought her here?
His emotional support girlfriend.
If she was feeling as if she wanted it to be more, she had to lock those desires behind a steel door.
At least for now.
“You promised we’d go to France,” Brandi said, her voice an annoying whine.
“Watch how much you touch me,” Eric said, “or we’ll end up in a room with my dick in your mouth.”
Natalie barely held the gag in place.
How rude!
“That was the plan before you brought us to a room with witnesses. But you know, I wouldn’t have minded someone was watching.”
Oh God. How could Arik be from this man?
Or how well did she really know him?
She hadn’t seen him for over a decade; he pops up on the island for a month stay, notices her and the next thing she knows, she’s at a family wedding hoping to put a smile on his face after interacting with his nasty, disgusting father.
“You’re such a dirty girl,” Eric said. His voice was muffled, but she still caught it. “I love that.”
“I can be dirtier when we get to France. You’re not going to cancel it on me, right?”
She heard the sigh. “No.”
“But you said that you were short of money and needed to push it off.”
Brandi’s voice was almost purring. Like she’d imagine any young gold digger would do to get her way.
“I’ll talk to Arik again. My son has it. It’s not a big deal.”
Her jaw dropped.
Talk about blunt and disrespectful!
Arik’s father wanted money from him to take his ditzy, barely college-aged tramp on a sex-filled rampage.
No wonder why Arik’s eyes looked so miserable. A mixture of anger and disappointment.
She was here for a reason and she was going to make sure she fulfilled her part of the contract.
Because so far he was delivering on the fun part.
Until now!
She turned before she was caught and rushed back to Arik’s table. He was sitting with his grandmother, their heads down, whispering, Sophie’s hand on Arik’s arm.
Dollar to cent, he confessed the conversation to the one person who was in his corner.
He didn’t need her here. He had support.
But she was glad that she had been asked, even if the whole thing was outrageous to her.
With anyone else, she was certain she would have said no, but Arik made her stomach swirl with butterflies, her fingers ache to touch, her heart race like a love-struck melody.
And since when did she have romantic thoughts in her head?!
“There you are,” he said, his hand out for her.
She took it and let herself be pulled close, his arm around her waist again, hugging her to his body. These touches, however much for show, didn’t always feel that way to her.
“I’m back,” she said.
“If you’ll excuse me,” Sophie said. “I’m going to make sure the caterers aren’t destroying my kitchen.”
“Don’t do too much,” he warned. “This should be on Courtney or her parents.”
“I know,” Sophie said, “but they are busy for the moment, then it’s back on them.”
Natalie returned to her chair, then inched it closer to Arik. “Don’t worry about her. I know you know her much better than me, but she comes across as a woman who knows her limits and boundaries.”
He laughed. “She knows them and skydives over them.”
“I doubt that.”
At least the smile was back, even reaching his eyes.
“My grandmother is tough, but she also wants to make sure everything is perfect. Kind of like you.”
“I don’t know that I want everything to be perfect.”
“Sure, you do. The difference is my grandmother doesn’t care how many toes she breaks while she’s marching around and getting it done.”
Her hand landed on his thigh and rubbed. He lifted his eyebrow at her. Just working the show.
“How are you doing?”
“Fine,” he said. “Why?”
“Because there was a part of you that wasn’t fine when you came downstairs after your talk with your father.”
He sighed. “He always surprises me, but I shouldn’t have been.”
“Do you want to share it or is it none of my business?”
He paused. “It’s not a big deal. Maybe it will just give you another example of the joy you’re going to witness. My father seems to have overextended his finances and needs money to make payroll.”
Interesting since she’d heard something different. Should she share that?
“That’s the reason he gave? Do you believe it?”
“Oh, I believe he’s spending money faster than it’s coming in. He said he has a few settlements he’ll get payment for that are ten times what he’s asking. Which was a quarter mil from me.”
“Geez,” she said. “That’s a lot of money.”
He laughed. “Not to me and he knows it. I don’t mean to be a dick about it.”
She had to remember what his worth was.
To her, he was the same kid back in college that was sweet to her.
Made her laugh.
Brought her out of the shell she’d closed tight and wouldn’t let anyone prior open but him.
“Remember the family I’m from, though I don’t have that wealth.”
“I told him no. My grandmother told me a month ago that my father had just bought a new boat. He’s got a twenty-thousand-dollar watch on that I haven’t seen before. Brandi’s tits had to be close to ten thousand.”
She coughed on the drink she had to her lips. “He paid for her boob job? How do you know that?”
“Because my mother let it slip. No, not slip. Made a point of saying my father was now covering medical enhancements for his whores. Her words.”
Good Lord, even the Bond family didn’t have drama quite like this. Or not that she knew of.
“Okay then,” she said.
“You should see your face. I told you to buckle up.”
“I’ve heard and seen much worse in my job. Remember, I’m around wealthy entitled people all the time.”
“Ohhhh,” he said, laughing. “I can’t believe you just insulted guests in your hotel.”
She rolled her eyes. He always had her slipping. “It’s not an insult, just a fact. Wealthy people feel more entitled than the everyday blue-collar worker as a whole.”
He put his arm around her shoulder and nudged her close. “Don’t get prim and proper on me now. I like the side of you that slips out of the cracks.”
“Only you seem to bring it out.”
“Even better,” he said, smacking his lips to hers.
One server came around and she snagged a glass of wine. She was desperate for something to take the edge off the fire he was stoking inside her. Every look, every word ignited a hunger in her body that left her trembling, aching, and embarrassingly almost coming undone.
“How long do you think they will take pictures?”
It’d been almost an hour now. It wasn’t a large party and there weren’t a lot of places on the grounds. She’d seen a lot of pictures taken prior to the ceremony also.
“I hope not much longer. These little bites of food aren’t doing it for me.”
He lifted his arm for the server with some of those bites to come closer, him snatching a few to put on his plate. Natalie did the same since she was getting hungry.
Sophie returned. “They are running out of most of the appetizers and the caterer went to find Courtney’s mother to say they were going to set the food up for the buffet in twenty minutes, for them to get the reception started.”
“Are they running behind?”
“Seems it to me. These are things a wedding planner would have taken care of. The sooner this show is on the road, the faster everyone gets the hell off my property.”
“Grandma,” he said. “That’s mean and you know it. It’s your grandson. Would you say that about me?”
“Yep, I would,” Sophie said. Arik’s grandmother shifted her glance to Natalie. “Sorry. But this grandson of mine wouldn’t have put me in this position.”
“Arik is very considerate. It’s one thing I like about him.”
“Hey, Grandma. There is one thing she likes. Are you making a list?”
Natalie playfully slapped his arm. “Don’t be foolish. I like a lot of things about you.”
He turned and caught her stare, holding it with a heat that pinned her in place, his eyes roaming over her face like a slow, deliberate touch.
She picked her wine up and downed half of it in one gulp.