Chapter 6 Orchid
SIX
ORCHID
The morning sun is annoyingly bright when I wake up, slipping through the edges of the blinds like it has a personal grudge against me.
I lie there for a second, listening to the house settle around us.
No alarms. No footsteps. Just the low hum of the AC and the faint sound of Poe breathing across the hall.
For one ridiculous moment it almost feels normal. Then the noise starts.
Laughter. Loud, drunk, mid-morning laughter. Splashing. Music thumping some terrible country-pop song about trucks and heartbreak. I sit up fast, heart kicking up a notch, and cross to the window. I crack the blind just enough to see.
The neighbors. Of course.
The house next door has a backyard that backs right up to ours, separated only by a low wooden fence that might as well be tissue paper.
Their pool is already full of people in neon swimsuits and too much sunscreen.
A grill is smoking like it’s trying to signal for help.
Kids are screaming. Someone’s waving a giant inflatable flamingo like it’s a battle flag.
I can’t believe this is happening. We’re supposed to be in a secure safehouse, not living next to the cast of a bad reality show.
I leave my room, moving to the living room window. A woman spots me. She’s maybe forty, blonde, wearing a bikini top that’s fighting for its life and a smile that says she’s never met a stranger. She waves both arms like we’re old friends.
“Hey! New neighbors! Come on over! Pool party and BBQ! Burgers are almost ready!”
I yank the blind shut so fast I almost rip it off the wall. This cannot be real. Serafina picked this place because it was supposed to be quiet. Isolated. Now we’ve got nosy-ass suburbanites throwing a full-blown pool party at ten in the morning like it is their civic duty.
Poe’s door opens down the hall. He steps out looking rumpled and unfairly attractive in last night’s borrowed clothes, hair still messy from sleep. He hears the noise and cocks an eyebrow at me.
“Sounds like a rager,” he says, voice rough with leftover sleep.
Before I can tell him to shut up and stay inside, the doorbell rings. Actual ringing. Like we’re normal people who answer doors. What the hell?
I mutter a curse under my breath and head downstairs. Poe follows, because of course he does. I open the door just a crack.
The blonde is standing there with another woman, both of them holding red Solo cups and wearing giant sunglasses. Behind them, a man in cargo shorts is waving a spatula like a conductor’s baton.
“Hi! I’m Tammy! This is my sister Lisa! We saw you guys pull in last night and figured we’d be neighborly. Pool party BBQ! You have to come! Bring your hubby!”
I open my mouth to say no, absolutely not, we’re busy, we’re contagious, we’re moving to Antarctica. However, Poe steps up beside me, shoulder brushing mine, and flashes a smile that is way too charming for someone who’s technically my prisoner.
“Sure, sounds fun,” he says, like it’s the easiest thing in the world. “What time?”
Tammy lights up like he just handed her a winning lottery ticket. “Now! Whenever! The more the merrier! Oh my gosh, you two are so cute together. How long have you been together?”
I feel my blood pressure spike. Poe laughs, low and warm, clearly enjoying the way my jaw’s clenched so tight it might crack. He slides an arm around my waist like we do this every weekend. A full riot of butterflies swarm through my core. This can’t be happening.
“Feels like forever,” he says, squeezing me gently. “Doesn’t it, babe?”
I want to elbow him in the ribs. Hard. Instead I force a smile that probably looks more like a grimace. “We’ll be over in a bit. Thank you.”
Tammy claps her hands. “Yay! Can’t wait to hear how you two met! Bring swimsuits!”
They bounce off back to their yard, already yelling to the others that the hot new couple is coming.
The second the door shuts I spin on Poe, narrowing my eyes. “What the hell was that?”
He’s still grinning, eyes sparkling with pure mischief. Which is completely distracting. “What? You said we need to blend in. Can’t have the neighbors thinking we’re suspicious. Besides, it’ll be funny.”
“Funny?” I hiss, stepping closer so I’m right in his face. “If you try to signal someone for help, if you say one wrong word, if you even look at someone too long, Serafina will take it out on your sister. Do you understand? This isn’t a game.”
His smile fades a little, but the spark doesn’t die completely. “I understand. But we are going. You can play the uptight wife all you want. I’ll be the fun husband who keeps you from scaring the neighbors.”
I want to strangle him. Slowly. With my bare hands. Instead I shove a swimsuit and cover-up at his chest that Serafina’s people stocked in the closets. “Get changed. And remember every single person at that party is a potential witness. Don’t make me regret this.”
We head upstairs to change. I pull on a simple black one-piece that is modest enough for a fake married woman but still makes me feel exposed.
When I come out, Poe is waiting in the hallway in board shorts and a t-shirt, looking like he actually belongs at a suburban BBQ. The sight is annoyingly distracting.
“Ready, honey?” he asks, offering his arm with exaggerated charm.
I ignore the arm and head downstairs. “Call me that again and I’ll shoot you in the foot.”
He laughs softly behind me. “Noted, babe.”
The walk across the backyard to the fence gate feels like crossing enemy lines. The music gets louder. The smell of grilled meat hits us. As soon as we step through, every head turns.
Tammy rushes over first, dragging her husband behind her. “You made it! Everyone, this is our new neighbors! Sorry, I didn’t catch your names?”
“Poe,” he says smoothly, sliding his arm around my waist again before I can stop him. “And this is my beautiful wife, Orchid.”
I force another smile. “Hi.”
The group erupts in greetings. Someone hands us plastic cups of something fruity and strong. A kid runs by screaming about cannonballs. Lisa leans in close, eyes bright with curiosity.
“So how long have you two been together? You look so in love! The way he looks at you? Swoon.”
Poe pulls me a little closer, thumb brushing my hip in a way that sends an unwelcome spark through me. “Feels like I’ve known her forever,” he says, voice warm and convincing. “She keeps me in line. Keeps things interesting. Makes sure I obey her like a good little boy.”
My eyes widen, and I laugh, but it comes out tight. “He’s exaggerating. We’re very… normal.”
Mark, Tammy’s husband, claps Poe on the shoulder. “Normal is overrated! Come on, man, let’s get you a burger before the kids eat them all. Orchid, the ladies are dying to know all about you. Have fun.”
I end up herded toward a group of women lounging on pool chairs while Poe gets dragged to the grill.
Every few seconds I glance over to make sure he isn’t whispering secrets to anyone.
He catches my eye and winks. Actually winks.
The bastard is enjoying this way too much.
And can I say I’m sort of enjoying being his.
Like is that weird to think? People don’t belong to other people, but the way this is all playing out I feel like I’m his. I’ve never been anyones before.
Tammy leans in, lowering her voice like we’re sharing state secrets. “So, spill. How did you two meet? Was it romantic? He’s gorgeous, like in a bad boy sort of way.”
I scramble for a story that sounds believable. “Work. We met through work. He was… persistent.”
The women sigh dreamily. One of them fans herself. “Persistent is good. My husband asked me out with a Post-it note. Romance is dead.”
Across the yard Poe is laughing at something Mark said, looking relaxed and normal in a way that makes my chest tighten. He’s good at this. Too good. Playing the doting husband while I stand here pretending not to want to drown him in the pool.
Lisa nudges me. “He keeps looking over here. You two are adorable. When are you having kids? The neighborhood needs more cute couples.”
I nearly choke on my drink. “We’re not… thinking about that yet.”
Poe must have super hearing because he appears at my side a second later, sliding an arm around me again. “Kids? We’re still practicing the fun part first.”
The women burst into laughter. I elbow him discreetly in the ribs but he just grins wider.
The afternoon stretches on in a blur of nosy questions and forced small talk.
People ask how we like the neighborhood, what we do for work (I say consulting, Poe says tech), whether we have any pets.
Every answer feels like walking a tightrope.
Poe plays along perfectly, dropping little touches and pet names that make my skin heat in ways I don’t want to examine.
At one point he even pulls me into the shallow end of the pool, claiming we need to “cool off.”
I stand there waist-deep in water, arms crossed, while he floats nearby looking smug.
It makes my skin prickle. “You’re having way too much fun with this,” I mutter under my breath.
I’m kind of annoyed, and kind of not. I know.
I can’t even figure out who I’m more annoyed at.
Him for being sexy. Or me for thinking he’s sexy.
He drifts closer, voice low enough that only I can hear. “Come on, admit it. It’s a little funny. Nosy Tammy thinks we’re the perfect newlyweds. Meanwhile you look like you want to murder me with a pool noodle.”
“I might,” I say, but there’s no real heat in it. The sun’s warm, the water’s nice, and for three ridiculous seconds it almost feels like we’re just two people at a party instead of captor and captive.
Then reality crashes back in. Serafina. Enley. The hack I’m supposed to make him do. The lie we’re both living.
Poe must see the shift on my face because his expression softens just a fraction. “Relax, Orchid. I’m not signaling anyone. I’m behaving. For now.”
I narrow my eyes. “There is no ‘for now.’ There’s only obey.”
He laughs quietly, the sound low and annoyingly attractive. “Yes, ma’am.”
We stay another hour, long enough to be polite without raising suspicion. When we finally make our excuses and head back through the gate, Tammy calls after us, “Come back anytime! We do this every weekend!”
The second the door shuts behind us I round on Poe. “Never again.”
He’s still grinning, water dripping from his hair onto the floor. “Admit it. You had fun pretending to be my wife.”
“I hated every second.”
“Liar.” He steps closer, close enough that I can see the tiny droplets clinging to his lashes. “You didn’t hate the part where I called you beautiful.”
My face heats. I hate that he noticed. I hate that my body reacted. “Get changed. And stay out of trouble. We have work to do tomorrow.”
He heads toward the stairs, but pauses at the bottom, looking back at me with that same mischievous spark. “Whatever you say, wife.”
I flip him off. He laughs all the way upstairs.
I stand in the living room for a long moment, listening to the distant party noise fading behind the closed door. My heart’s still beating too fast. My skin still remembers where his hand rested on my waist.
This was supposed to be simple. Keep him contained. Keep him working. Keep my own secrets safe.
Instead I just spent half a day pretending to be married to the man I’m supposed to be breaking. And the worst part is, some tiny, treacherous piece of me didn’t completely hate it.
I push the thought away hard and head upstairs to change. Tomorrow the real work starts. No more pool parties. No more nosy neighbors assuming we’re in love.
Just me and Poe in this secure house, dancing around the truth and the tension and the very real threat hanging over both of us.
I can handle that.
I think.
As long as he stops smiling at me like that.
Because that smile is more dangerous than any gun Serafina could point at us.
And I’m not sure how long I can keep pretending it doesn’t affect me.