Boyfriend for Hire: A Stand-Alone Contemporary Romance (Escort Files Book 1) (22 page)

He wrinkled his brow at her. “What?”

She huffed out a breath and said, “What I mean is, I want to be with you. We love each other. But I have nothing to do. I mean, zero. I’ve gone from working a hundred hours a week to sitting around in my pajamas till dinner time. I’m so bored I could scream when I’m not with you.”

“Really?” he asked. “I figured you were working out what your next venture would be. I mean, you never said you were bored and you always seemed to be doing stuff.”

“Trivial stuff and the truth is, I don’t want to do what I was doing anymore. It was hard and disheartening and showed a very ugly underside to the world of pharma research. I went into it with all this idealism about helping people, but the truth is, it runs on money. It’s about money, for money, and every single decision is based on the potential return on investment. If there was a discovery today that would end all cancer, it would be held up in secret for years while they figured out if curing cancer would be more profitable than treating it. I’m serious.”

He frowned and said, “That’s disgusting.”

Her eyebrows rose and she nodded, “It is. I can’t go back. I just can’t go through that again. I don’t know what I want to do. I’m trained for one thing, but that doesn’t mean I can’t train for something different, something useful. I’ve been thinking about being on the front lines, about those who
really
helped my dad. Nursing, maybe.”

He seemed to be looking her over, re-examining her. He smiled and said, “Yeah, I can see that. You’d be good at that. Not a doctor?”

“No way. Do you know what a residency is like? Forget that. But do you see what I mean? I’m utterly free and I can go anywhere. Staying here means running into people who ask me what I’m going into next or whatever. Except for my friends, I have nothing to hold me here and I can fly back to see them.”

His eyes roamed the room as he thought, his expression flitting between a frown and something else that wasn’t quite so dour. “You mean this? You’re not just doing it for me?”

“Well, both of us really.”

He gathered her up in his arms and gave her another of those ridiculously tight hugs, then bent his head to kiss her, making her body clench with the sensation of it. When he let her go, he pulled the phone out of his pocket and said, “I suppose I should make a call then.”

She smiled and clapped her hands. “Yes, make the call.”

Epilogue - The Next Spring

“Okay. Now you want to snug that into the wound so that it feels comfortable in there. Then we’ll wrap it and put it in the recovery ward.”

Mike backed away as Amy took the tiny whippet of branch, the end now covered in the hormone that would help it join up with the rootstock to create a tree made of two individuals merged into one. She smiled at the thought and then placed the powdery end into the notch she’d just made for it.

“There,” she said, holding the branch steady with gentle fingers.

Mike leaned down to inspect it and nodded his approval. “Nice. Perfect.”

They wrapped the small tree and then carefully ported the pot over to the side of the big nursery they called the recovery ward. It was a hat tip to her returning to school.

She’d been surprised that her college degrees and courses transferred so well and she was taking classes so that she could fill in the small gaps before going into the real nursing portion of it.

They stood back, Mike’s arm around her shoulders, the dirt on both of them smelling rich and of life. The new building was big, but not so big that they couldn’t handle it together. Part nursery, part storage, it was where they were grafting the stock that would one day cover the groves. The giant wheels of pipe for the micro-irrigation systems and all the other water saving devices she wasn’t entirely clear on were sorted and waiting for the next load of baby trees to be ready. They were taking their time and doing it right, enriching the earth with native plantings while they waited.

“Your first graft,” he said, planting a kiss on the top of her head. “So proud of you. We’ll have to be sure we plant that one in a special spot.”

She nodded and breathed in the scent of hundreds of tiny trees. Apricots and almonds. A perfect match. Just like the two of them.

Mike jumped a little and smacked his head. “Oh, I forgot something!”

She watched with delight as he jogged over to the section where they were propagating drought tolerant native plants for the property. He was an amazing sight and, as always, she squeezed her thighs together almost out of reflex. He returned carrying a spiky plant that looked almost dangerous.

“Good grief! What is that?” she asked, reaching out to touch one of the sharp leaves.

“It’s a good one for anchoring the soil, especially over where that slope is. You know where I mean?”

“Yep. I’m glad you’re not going to grade it. It’s so pretty there.”

He shrugged and said, “We don’t have to change everything.”

She agreed with that sentiment wholeheartedly. They hadn’t yet gotten to the point where Mike was ready to build a house, but each day found him a little more comfortable here. He’d started telling her stories of happy times without getting sad afterward and looking toward the clearing where his house had stood. It was progress.

He held the pot out for her and said, “Anyway, check out the way it grows. It’s like a circle. Isn’t that cool?”

She peered down at the center and saw what he meant. It was sort of neat how plants did different things. This one was like a series of concentric circles, very eye-catching. A glint caught her eye and she said, “Hey, there’s something in there.”

He looked down into the plant and said, “Really? I don’t see anything. Can you get it out?”

Reaching down into the center, she moved aside a long, stiff leaf and saw a ring around one of the stiff spines that were just beginning to shoot up from the center. She carefully pulled the ring off and then held it up. It was a plain gold band, clearly someone’s wedding ring.

“Where did you get this plant? We should call them, because somebody’s going to be in trouble when they come home without this.”

“I would never get mad at you for losing your ring,” Mike said.

“That’s nice,” Amy said, inspecting the ring. Then it hit her. She looked at the ring, then at him. He had a giant grin on his face.

“Will you marry me? And this plant, because it’s totally got a stake in it at this point.”

She took the pot from him and set it down on the ground next to them, then stood back up and held out the ring to him. His smile faltered a little, so she said, “Yes, you idiot! Of course I’ll marry you!”

When she finally broke their kiss, she nudged the potted plant with her foot and looked down at it. “And I’ll marry you too, but no sex for you. I’m scared of your spikes.”

Mike snorted and then slipped the ring on her finger. There were no fancy diamonds, no flashy stones at all. Just a simple wedding band, the kind that was perfect for a nurse and an almond grower.

Also apricots, of course. Amy couldn’t forget the apricots.

*****

Marion took a swig of her wine and then reached for the bottle on the table, sloshing in another half-glass and then sighing because the bottle was empty.

“I hear you,” Charlie said, sitting next to her at the table. They were both watching Amy and Mike accept congratulations from a variety of friends and acquaintances, getting the post-dinner personal chatting sessions out of the way before the engagement party really kicked into gear. They were so adorable it was disgusting. So much in love.

“I’m so disgusted,” Marion said, taking a hefty swig.

“Again, I hear you. They’re so…so…”

“Cute?” she offered.

“Exactly. If they really do get married they’ll just ruin everything.”

Marion sat up straight and set her glass on the table with a little more force than was strictly necessary. She leaned closer to Charlie and said, “That’s what I tried to tell Amy! I mean, once you put paper to it, then it’s just a countdown until something really awful happens.”

Charlie nodded, sliding his beer bottle onto the surface of the table. “Like kids.”

“Right!”

Marion screwed her face up a little and bumped Charlie with her elbow, “You think they’ll dump us?”

Over the past nine months, Charlie and Marion had gotten to know each other. Being best friends with a pair as tight as Mike and Amy meant they had to. Once the news of the engagement came out, they’d been talking more, both of them dreading wedding duties and generally commiserating with each other over the permanent change in status of their best friends.

Charlie swiveled on his chair and narrowed his eyes at her. “No. Do
you
think they’ll dump us?”

Marion shook her head, one of the coils of hair in her up-do flopping out of place as she did. “No. She’s stuck with me. Like Hep C, I’m here to stay.”

Charlie snorted, picked up his beer, then said, “They can cure that now. Better choose a worse one.”

Marion thought for a moment. “Herpes. Like herpes. I will be herpes, embarrassing and impossible to get rid of.”

He’d been tipping back the bottle for a drink, but he shot forward and choked, foam coming out of his nose when he did. Several people turned to look at the commotion, but Marion waved that they were fine and hoped Charlie wouldn’t die during the party, because that would put a major damper on things.

Marion slapped Charlie on his back and grinned out at the guests like it was no big deal. Mike and Amy were both looking, but instead of concern, they were both shooting warning looks her way. They knew the pair of them far too well, Marion decided.

When he recovered, he took the wad of napkins she shoved at him and said, “Jesus, that burns. Beer is not a good way to clear out your sinuses. Am I bleeding?” With that, he lifted his head so she could look up his nose.

“Nope, just snot.”

He wiped his nose and then blew, rolling up the napkin into two others before tossing it onto the table.

“You should throw that away,” Marion said, eyeing the bundle. “You could start a plague or something.”

“This coming from the woman who just called herself herpes.”

“Metaphor! It’s a metaphor!”

They got up—nasty napkin in tow—and wandered toward the trash can. The night was beautiful, much warmer than the current rainy weather in North Carolina. She sighed as they reached the edge of the clearing. The young trees beyond the lighted area were rustling and full of tiny nubs that would become fruit. She’d spent time listening to Amy go on and on about every facet of the place. She had to admit, it was a pretty great place to land for her friend.

“It’s nice here,” Marion said, linking her arm in his.

He patted her hand and said, “Yeah, but don’t tell Mike I said that.”

“Mum’s the word.”

They stood for a few minutes, the sounds of laughter and music behind them. Suddenly serious—which despite what others might think, they were both perfectly capable of—Charlie asked, “You really okay? I mean, about Jason and all.”

He had broken up with Marion—via text, no less—right after she told him about Amy’s engagement. She’d always thought he was kidding when he said he would never date anyone whose friends were getting married. Apparently, he was not kidding.

“Yeah, he’s a dick,” she said.

“Total dick,” Charlie agreed.

“And how are your ladies?” she asked.

“All very lady-like,” he answered with a rakish grin. He did have that going for him, Marion decided. He was as hot as a firecracker, but oh so bad. Which made him even hotter.

“That’s good,” she said and left it there. He didn’t kiss and tell, even when she needled him mercilessly. He’d only laughed when she said it was better masturbation material than porn.

Charlie cleared his throat and said, “Hey, Marion, I gotta ask you something.”

“Sure,” she said, enjoying the warm little breeze that had just kicked up. It made her dress flutter around her legs and she loved the way that felt.

He put his hand over hers where it lay on his arm, then said, “How do you feel about
not
dating me?”

“What?”

He turned to face her, blocking the breeze with his body and almost looming over her, but it felt different, a little tense in a good way. This wasn’t like when he tried to distract her during ski-ball or that time he helped her to start a fire when the group went camping last fall. This was closer. She gulped.

“Okay. I mean this. What if we…as in you and me…tried not dating for a while? You know, going places together and doing stuff and hanging out.” He tucked that piece of hair that kept falling out of her hairdo back into place and then brushed his hand across her cheek, leaving goosebumps in the wake of his fingers. “And maybe other stuff that isn’t strictly dating. You know what I mean?”

“You want to date me is what you’re saying. You want to go out on a date with me.”

He made a face and said, “I don’t date.”

“Uh huh. I see.”

“Don’t be all lawyer-like on me.”

She considered it for all of one-tenth of the second, then took him by surprise when she grabbed him around the back of his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. A serious kiss. She felt her toes curl in her sandals, then let him go and took a step back. He looked dazed.

“Okay. I can go for that. Let’s not date and see what happens.”

Thank You

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Fiancé for Hire
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