8. William

Jane's call came in at exactly two p.m. on Sunday. I sat in my penthouse, working which was a normal weekend for me. I worked whenever I could because there was always work to be done.

My eyebrows furrowed as I stared at her name on my phone. I told Jane to give me a reply on Monday. Was the fact that she was calling a day earlier a good sign or a bad one? I didn't know.

I answered the call and walked away from my desk. "Hi."

"Hi." I could hear the uncertainty in her voice. She didn't really want to do this but she was desperate.

That made two of us. If I had any choice in the matter, I wouldn't be marrying anyone at all let alone marrying Jane. But despite our differences, I felt like I could trust her. Jane was many things—annoying, rude, slightly bipolar, the list went on—but she wasn't a liar or a thief. I could trust her to make this deal with me and keep her end of it. I could also trust that she wouldn't try to outsmart me by demanding more than we agreed on.

"Jane?"

"Sorry, I'm just… I'm freaking out about this," she said.

"I understand."

She sighed over the phone and somehow I knew she was running a hand through her hair. "I'll marry you."

It was what I wanted, but something about hearing Jane say the words aloud filled me with a sense of foreboding. The memory of my father's death and the pain it brought my mother washed over me. I never wanted to be the reason anyone felt that much pain.

I took in a sharp breath and reminded myself that that would never be the case. My mother grieved because she loved my father. Jane didn't love me and she never would. This marriage was a mutually beneficial arrangement and that was all it would ever be.

"Hello?" Her voice was soft and tentative. Strangely enough, I found that it eased the turmoil in my mind.

"Right, sorry."

"I just said I'd marry you and you didn't say anything." She gasped suddenly before speaking again. "Unless you don't want to marry me anymore. Shit! This is so embarrassing. I called you to accept without even asking if you still wanted to marry me. I should have—

"Jane!" That was enough to cut her ranting short. I'd never heard her sound so nervous. Jane was one of the most confident women I'd ever met. In fact, when she wasn't smearing my suit with icing, I actually admired her confidence. "I still want to marry you."

"Oh."

Once again, it felt like I could see what she was doing. Somehow I knew she was biting her lip.

Silence lapsed between us for a moment before she spoke again. "So what now?"

"You'll have to meet my grandfather. If I just show up with a fiancée then he'll know I'm up to something. I have to introduce you as my girlfriend first."

"All right."

Silence again.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked.

"Sure."

"What made you change your mind?"

Several minutes passed before she answered and when she did, I couldn't make any sense of what she said. "My cheeks hurt from smiling too much."

Bernard Aldaine was a suspicious man. He'd spent most of his life looking over his shoulder, waiting for the moment someone would try to take his company away from him. It never happened but he remained just as suspicious of everything and everyone. He was always on high alert as though he expected everyone he met to end up betraying him.

I knew he was like that. Everyone knew he was like that so seeing him take an instant liking to Jane was shocking, to say the least. He treated her like his long-lost granddaughter. Fawning over her like she was the most incredible person he'd ever met.

"Are you enjoying your casserole, dear? I asked Mary to make it, especially for you," he said with a warm smile. I hadn"t seen the old man smile in years. Either I'd gone crazy or my grandfather was on a new medication.

"Yes, it's lovely. Thank you so much," Jane responded, her smile equally warm. She'd never smiled at me like that.

We were sitting in the dining area of the manor. The last time I came here it was covered in dust from lack of use but today the place shone. I knew Mary must have instructed the maids to make the dining room spotless. The long wooden table was decorated with fresh flowers and untouched flatware. Beside us, the lit fireplace cast a warm glow over the room. It was Monday evening so the sun had gone down. The fire and the chandelier hanging above us brightened the room.

The corners of my grandfather's eyes wrinkled as his smile widened. "I'm glad you like it. I wish my grandson here had brought you over sooner. William, where have you been hiding this lovely lady?"

Lovely lady?

I'd like to see if he still felt the same way after his prized Tom Ford suit gets covered in icing and red velvet cake. Why was he being so nice? I knew I should be happy about it. Bernard accepting Jane was a good thing but for some reason, it bothered me how quickly he'd warmed up to her.

Jane kicked me under the table and I winced. I glared at her and she smiled sweetly at me. "My love, your grandfather asked you a question."

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that. You asked where I found this lowly lady?"

"Lovely," Jane corrected through gritted teeth as she kicked me again. I winced and she smirked.

"Are you all right, William?" my grandfather asked.

"Yes," I said as I placed my hand on Jane's shoulder and squeezed. "My girlfriend here just can"t keep her hands to herself. She's so in love."

He smiled in response to that. "Well, I'm happy to hear that. How long have you two been dating by the way?"

"About five months," I answered and Jane nodded. My hand was still on her shoulder. I'd gone from squeezing it in retaliation to stroking it lovingly.

What was I doing?

Even as that question crossed my mind, I still couldn't bring myself to take my hand away. Plus Jane wasn't complaining. She even lifted her shoulder and tilted her head so her cheek was closer to my hand.

What were we doing?

I told myself we were only putting on a show for my grandfather's sake. That made more sense than the other answer brewing in my mind.

"That's quite some time," my grandfather said. "Not to push things but have you both thought about marriage?"

"We have, actually, but we're just trying to take things slow."

I didn't want my grandfather to have any suspicions about us. We needed to make our relationship appear as real as possible. That was why—even though it was the last thing I wanted to do—I suggested we go on a date. Jane also seemed less than pleased with the idea.

Days after our trip to the manor to see my grandfather, we walked into Louis Brasserie. I knew it was a bad idea to come to Louis' restaurant. He won't shut up about this for weeks, and the last thing I needed was to see him gush over Jane like my grandfather had done. But I knew his restaurant was the best place to make our relationship public.

Louis' restaurant was visited by only the most elite members of society. Coming here with Jane would let everyone in my circle know that we were together. News would get back to my grandfather and he'd have no cause to doubt our relationship.

"Stop fidgeting with your dress," I whispered to Jane as we walked into the restaurant. She glared up at me.

"Maybe if you hadn't bought me this uncomfortable death trap, I wouldn't have to fidget with it."

I'd bought Jane an exquisite red gown to wear for tonight. Unfortunately, I'd made a small miscalculation with her size. I could have easily returned it or just bought another one but she waited until the last minute to try it on. By the time she realized it was too tight, we were already at the door to Louis' restaurant.

"You know some people would be grateful to have received such a magnificent gown."

"I'd feel more grateful if I could breathe properly," she bit back. Jane glared at me even as she gripped my hand for support.

"We could leave now and get you a new dress," I said, suddenly feeling slightly guilty. She looked like she was really struggling.

"No, it's fine. We're here already so let's just get this over with."

Louis walked up to us with a wide smile on his face. I sighed as I anticipated what he would say. "So you're the lovely lady he ordered food for last week?"

"Yup, that would be me," Jane said with a smile. Then she snapped her head to me. "Unless you're seeing someone else, Willy?"

"And she's funny too," Louis said with a laugh. "Anyone who calls him Willy is a friend of mine. I'm Louis."

"Jane."

They shook hands. "Well, Jane, welcome to my restaurant. I assure you that you'll leave here fully satisfied."

Louis led us to our table. He pulled Jane's seat out for her and she smiled at him. I felt a strange sensation in my chest that I ignored. When Louis walked away, Jane leaned in so she could whisper.

"I won"t be able to eat anything in this dress. One bite and it will rip open like a banana."

"Bananas don't rip open."

She glared at me. "Was that the point of what I said?"

"Relax. I'm sure the dress won"t split." Her glare intensified when she heard my banana joke and I couldn't help the small laugh that left my mouth. "Nothing will happen. Just remain calm."

Jane and I spent the evening eating and making small talk. It wasn't awkward but it wasn't exactly easy-going. There were moments when neither of us spoke. We just ate in silence until we were done.

As we stood up to leave, Jane's purse fell to the ground. She bent to pick it up and a loud ripping sound filled the restaurant. I didn't need to check to know where it came from. Without thinking I took off my jacket and threw it over Jane's shoulder.

I picked her purse off the ground and led her out of the restaurant. She seemed too shocked to speak. Once we were in the car, she buried her head in her hands. "That was so humiliating."

"It wasn't that bad," I said.

Jane lifted her head, the fury in her eyes almost made me back up. "You! I told you this would happen but you said it won"t. And now everyone in that restaurant has seen my underwear." Her head fell back into her hands.

"I'm sure no one saw your underwear," I said as I pursed my lips to keep from laughing. Jane was being more dramatic than I knew her to be. I placed a hand over her shoulder to comfort her and she rested her head on my chest.

We remained like that for a while before her head suddenly snapped up. "Wait, what are we going to tell Ryan?"

I was fifteen when I met Ryan Hart for the first time. He was a scrawny kid who had the highest score in every game in the arcade and I wanted to be his friend. I approached him and asked him to ‘teach me his ways'. Ryan gladly accepted me as his student. I called him Sensei for the first five months of our friendship. We would meet up at the arcade and spend hours playing various games.

"You have become a master, young pupil," Ryan said as he patted my shoulder. His prepubescent face was kept in a serious expression that made my simple feat seem like a huge achievement.

I stared at the screen of the game in front of us. My high score stared back at me and I smiled. "Thank you, Sensei," I said as I turned back to face him.

Ryan shook his head, never losing his serious demeanor. "No more Sensei. You can now call me… friend." He smiled suddenly. "Or just call me Ryan, dude."

"Thank you, Ryan dude."

"That's a terrible joke," Ryan said but he laughed anyway.

The arcade was one of the only normal parts of my life. I stayed home for most of my life. I was home-schooled throughout my childhood and teenage years. Various teachers came in to teach me a variety of subjects, languages, instruments, and sports. It felt like my parents were trying to mold the perfect child.

But when I was at the arcade, I was a normal kid. One capable of failing and making friends and laughing loudly. I'd never felt particularly caged in my life as the Aldaine heir. I knew my responsibilities and I was happy to live up to them. Still, it felt freeing to not be the treasured Aldaine heir even if it was just for a few hours.

It was my mother's idea for me to go there on weekends. She thought it would be good for me and she was right. Thanks to her I met someone who had become like a brother to me. My friendship with Ryan grew over the years.

We went from meeting up at the arcade to meeting up at diners to meeting up at bars. Now, we sat in silence at our usual place as I prepared to deliver the news that would probably end our friendship. I wasn't delusional enough to think that Ryan would be delighted by the news of me marrying his sister. He'd sent Jane over to me so I could give her a job, not so I could propose to her.

"What's up, man? You look like you've swallowed a fly," Ryan said. He gulped his beer before setting the glass back on the table. It was Friday evening, happy hour at the Maven Bar. Ryan and I came here every once in a while to catch up. The Maven Bar was a small establishment that sat on the outskirts of the city.

When Ryan and I came here, he wasn't an engineer and I wasn't a CEO. We were just two guys who needed a break from it all. I struggled to find the right words because the last thing I wanted was to ruin our friendship in any way.

"It's about Jane."

Ryan gave me a suspicious look. "Did you rip her hair out?"

"It's not that."

"She ripped yours?"

"No. That's not it either," I said. I took a large gulp of my beer for liquid courage. "We're getting married?"

"You're what?"

"Jane and I are getting married."

"The hell you are!" Ryan was on his feet a second later. He was extremely protective of Jane so I expected this. Ever since their parents passed away. Ryan has had to step up and take care of her. He would never let anyone hurt her.

"Ryan, I—

"I don't give a damn what you have to say, Aldaine. You are not marrying my sister. The fact that you would even consider that is crazy. You're supposed to be my best friend."

"I am your best friend. I didn't mean for this to happen but—

Ryan didn't wait for me to finish my sentence. He simply stormed out of the bar, leaving me sitting there while strangers stared. I stared back until they looked away.

For a moment, I just sat in the bar, not quite sure where to go from here. My grandfather had already met Jane. He loved her and so did my mother. Plus an article about us dating was published in the news recently. There was no going back now.

And deep down, I realized I didn't want to go back.