Hired Love

Stacy could only stare. He hadn't been lying. He not only told her family who he actually was but turns out, he's rich and popular too. Stacy almost groaned. Just her luck. Why, oh why hadn't Grace found her someone who was normal and ordinary? Why had she gotten the one person she absolutely didn't want?

What was going to happen when everyone found out they weren't going to get married? Her mother would freak. Her favorite aunt would hate her. Claire would be delighted.

It was no wonder he'd declined payment. If he'd requested for money, she probably wouldn't have been able to afford him. The ring he'd bought her had probably left an inconspicuous dent in his bank account.

Her mother smiled pleasantly, looking from him to Stacy. "Then maybe you could paint me one day."

"I'd love to paint you, Grandma." Olivia piped up with her mouth full. She called anyone she considered too old 'grandma' or 'grandpa' and you didn't even have to be related to the family.

Laughter rippled across the table, her mother's the loudest.

Olivia was offended. "Why are you laughing, Grandma?"

"No reason, my dear. I'd love for you to paint me."

The little girl smiled cheekily. "Okay. But I'm not that good though."

"No shit." Benedict chuckled, leaning forward and ruffling her brown hair. His brother slapped him on the wrist and Stacy laughed. Benjamin had been trying to get Benedict to stop cursing in front of his daughter and for good reason too. Olivia was too smart for her own good.

Her mother laughed again. "That's no problem, my dear." She turned back to Roman. "And how did you two meet?"

This time Stacy wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Uh.. One of the clients at the firm invited a bunch of us to an art exhibit." "Which one?" Claire asked.

Stacy was going to reply but then remembered she didn't know the first thing about art exhibits. Trust Claire to put her on the spot and make her look stupid. Her eyes pierced her sister's and Stacy actually felt like slapping her across the face. What the hell was her problem?

"One of the few I organized. Thank God she came and thank God I saw her. I haven't been able to take my eyes off her ever since." Roman said, hooking his fingers through hers and raising it for all to see.

The women at the table with the exception of Claire cooed and giggled and the men oohed and ahhed. Stacy didn't tear her gaze from her sister's. More than anything, she wanted to know what it was that she'd done to Claire to make her hate her so much. She wanted to know where everything had gone wrong.

She turned to Roman when he lifted their intertwined hands to his lips and kissed it softly, looking her dead in the eye. "The day you said yes to me was the best day of my life, and I'll spend the remainder of my years showing you just how much I love you."

Woah.

If she hadn't been sitting, she might have melted to the floor. The man had candy for a tongue. He'd managed to fool her entire family and he was this close to fooling her too. She sat very still, like as though she'd scream to the heavens that yes, she'd indeed marry him if she as much as moved. Then his lips were on her lips for a few moments before he pulled away.

"Ah, young love." Aunt Emma sighed dreamily, staring out into space. "I miss the old days."

What was happening? It felt like everyone had completely moved on and she was barely keeping up. Why was it coming about so quickly? Slow the fuck down!

Stacy didn't need to look at her mother to know that the woman was beyond the roof with happiness. She figured everyone at the table could see her cheeks burning and so she didn't bother making eye contact. The congratulations flew around again and not for the first time, She wished it were actually real. Would've saved her a lot of trouble.

She raised her glass up to her lips and mistakenly locked eyes with Matt. He didn't look too good in her opinion and he could die if he wanted to. She didn't mind. It wouldn't be close to what he deserved fit being the dick he was. His eyes pierced her skin, and it didn't take long for the contact to unsettle her. What was he thinking, Stacy wanted to know? She wanted to go step by step through the minds floating around in his mind. Was he angry? Repentant? Did he feel like he'd lost something good?

For the longest time, Stacy thought there was something wrong with her. It was either her boyfriends woke up one morning and decided they didn't want her anymore, or she got a text saying they'd moved away of the country. In Matt's case, he'd decided to move into Claire's vagina, which wasn't all that different if you thought about it.

Roman on the other hand... When his hands were on her, she felt rejuvenated, like she could take on the world and win. His touch left her frustrated with want, made her yearn for more. His smile was intoxicating, and she wouldn't mind getting high off it every day for the rest of her life. And when he stared into her eyes, she thought she could feel the vibrations from his body reverberate through her, leaving tingling sensations in its wake. The only problem? They'd only just met.