Chapter Three
I stared at the two men with complete and utter shock. Nick was still kneeling before me and Justin stood a few feet away, looking very amused.
"You've gotta be joking," I blinked, looking down at Nick. "There's no way in hell I'd marry you."
"I could say the same about you, but desperate times call for desperate measures sweetheart," Nick snapped and stood up, looking slightly pissed off.
Justin cleared his throat, gaining my attention."See, that's where you're wrong Tessie. I think that you will in fact marry Nick. I think you'll do anything I tell you to, with a smile on your face."
I scoffed. "Oh really?"
"Really. How else are you going to find a job and support your poor, old mother? The marked these days..." He gave a low whistle. "It's rough. Especially for a woman your age."
"My age? Justin, I'm 25, not a freaking dinosaur! You're older than me!" I protested.
"I'm just telling you like it is Tessie, don't blow up on me." Justin said.
"I'll show you blowing up, Justin, you lying, manipulative-" I yelled, advancing towards my cousin with every word before Nick grabbed my shoulders and stopped me. His piercing blue gaze was mesmerizing.
"Easy there Tessa, it's not as bad as you think. You won't actually be marrying me, of course, we're going to fake the whole thing. You just have to pretend to be my wife, that's all." He reassured me.
"That's all?" I scoffed, escaping his grip. "That's all?! Do you have any idea that what you're asking me to do is crazy? I can't just pretend to be your wife!"
"Tessa," Justin warned. "You can and you will. Because if you refuse, I'll send you packing back to Oregon faster than you can say your own name. I'll also have a word with each and every one of my associates and make sure to let them know what an extremely unreliable and terrible employee you are. I have a lot of friends, Tessa, all around the world. Are you willing to remain unemployed for the rest of your life, just because you wouldn't do me a favor? That's not a very smart career move..."
I clenched my fists at my side. There was a reason why I didn't want to come here! I KNEW it would end badly. With Justin, it always does. "Are you threatening me Justin?" I asked him, positively furious.
"I prefer the term 'persuading' Tessie, but call it what you will." He replied smugly.
"Don't call me Tessie," I hissed, but Justin ignored me, once again. I glared at him and he glared back, neither of us saying a thing.
"So what do you say Tessa? Will you become my fake wife?" Nick interrupted our stare down.
I tore my angry gaze away from my cousin and focused on Nick. He looked hopeful, and maybe just the tiniest bit amused. I wondered why this job was so important to him, why he would take on a fake wife just to keep it. He really was a mysterious man...
Justin wasn't really giving me much choice in the matter. I could refuse to help him, of course, but then I'd lose my apartment, my car, everything, and I wouldn't be able to continue helping my mother.
I sighed and my shoulders slumped with defeat. "I guess," I told Nick, glaring at Justin with as much hate as I could muster. "Since you leave me no other choice...I have to accept."
Nick's face visibly brightened. "Thank you Tessa," He said, slipping the ring onto my finger, and squeezing my hand tightly. "I owe you one."
Our eyes met, his dazzling blue against my plain brown, and he took my breath away with his beauty, once again. I shook my head slightly, to clear it, and returned my arms to their folded position against my chest.
"You owe me a lot more than just one." I grumbled.
Nick laughed. "We'll see about that Tessa," He said jokingly. "Who knows? You may come to enjoy my presence. Most women do."
"I'm not like most women." I snapped.
"No, you most certainly are not." Nick said, and a strange expression crossed his handsome features. It was gone within a few seconds, and he returned to his usual charming self. "But that's what I like about you, Tessa Martin, you're different. So headstrong and independent. Yet, I feel sorry for the guy who marries you someday, he's in for a wild ride."
"What kind of a compliment is that?" I asked him, feeling my face flush once again.
"Who said that it was a compliment?" Nick countered, a smile playing on his perfect lips. He eyed the clock. "Well, it's getting late, shall we go plan our wedding, my bride?"
I froze. Did he just say wedding?
"W-Wedding?" I asked him.
Nick gave me a funny look. "Well, you can't fake a marriage without a fake wedding, can you?" He said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Follow me, Tessa, I'll show you the way to my apartment."
My eyes widened. "What do you mean, your apartment? I can't live with you!"
Nick smirked. "Do you have anywhere else to go?" He asked me, though I'm sure he already knew the answer.
Sadly, I did too.
Justin had promised to put me up in a hotel until I could find an apartment here. It was becoming increasingly obvious that he didn't intend to follow through on that promise either. I looked back at him and he waved goodbye, an evil smile on his face.
"Fine, lead the way." I told him, retrieving my luggage from its place by the door. Nick relieved me of the weight, ignoring my protests otherwise, and opened the door. Justin was there to see us out.
"You jerk," I said. "I can't believe that you're making me do this."
Justin smiled devilishly. "Love you too cuz." He replied and slammed the door in my face.
I was fuming, but I followed Nick down the driveway. It was best to put some distance between Justin and I for a little while, otherwise, I'm sure he'd end up with a black eye.
"My apartment's not far from here," Nick said. "I hope you don't mind walking."
"Would it really matter if I did? You seem very fond of taking other people's choices away from them, Nick." I snapped, but I couldn't deny the fact that I liked the way his name felt coming out of my mouth.
He chuckled, and I felt a shiver run down my spine. "You're right, probably not."
We fell into silence, walking down the street, side by side. Nick, carrying my luggage and me empty handed. We passed the last house in Justin's rich neighborhood, and entered a shopping complex, amidst several skyscrapers. It was dark out, so there were hardly any people here anymore and most of the shops were closed for the day, it was just Nick and I. I couldn't stand the silence anymore, there were so many things that I was aching to ask him.
"Hey Nick," I said. He turned to look at me, giving me his full attention. "I have a few questions that I want to ask you."
"I'm an open book," He said. "Ask me anything you want."
"You don't seem to be someone who has trouble finding a girl," I said.
"You're absolutely correct." Nick cut in, arrogantly. I punched his shoulder.
"Shut up, I wasn't finished." I said, exasperated. "What I meant was: why did you chose me to be your fake wife, when you had virtually any woman you could ever want at your disposal?"
"That's an excellent question, Tessa," Nick said. He pondered my question for a while and then replied, "I didn't want our arrangement to go from just that- an arrangement, to reality."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked him, intrigued.
"I didn't want someone who would want to stay after this whole thing was over." He said. "I wasn't looking for someone to become my real wife, I just needed a temporary solution to my problem, and you don't look like you would be too clingy."
"Well, at least you have one thing right." I replied sarcastically.
"I'm sure that, after dating plenty of beautiful women, I'll marry someone like you someday." Nick added, throwing me a little off guard.
"Oh really?" I said.
"Yes, after a while, I'll realize that people aren't all about their looks and I'll go for a dependable woman like you."
I was offended, what kind of a person would say those kind of things? Did he want me to punch him? "Dependable huh? I'll show you dependable-"
"What's your next question?" Nick asked, cutting me off.
I just stared at him, speechless.
He laughed. "Did you forget it already Tessa? You said that you had a few questions to ask me, and so far, I've only heard one. What's the second?"
I decided to comply to his request because I was really curious. "There are a ton of schools in the state of California," I said. "Why is Oakwood so important to you?"
That got him. Nick stopped walking and stood, dead in his tracks, staring straight ahead. I touched his shoulder and was about to say something when he slowly turned around to look at me.
"Tessa..." He whispered, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me towards him.
"N-Nick," I stuttered, suddenly tongue-tied. "W-what are you doing?"
"Just be quiet and stay still." He ordered softly.
I thought that he was joking with me at first, but the serious look on his face told me otherwise. He leaned closer to me, resting his forehead against mine. I felt his wavy hair brush my forehead. His handsome face was so close to mine now.... Was he going to kiss me? My heart started racing at the thought and it made me angry at myself. Nick was a douche, I didn't really want this, did I? Nick looked down at me.
"Don't stare at me like that." He demanded.
Nope, definitely not
Realizing I had been caught red-handed, I blushed. "Don't flatter yourself." I countered weakly.
He let out a low chuckle. "Put your hand on my waist."
"Excuse me?" I said, yelping as he grabbed hold of my wrist and guided it to his waist.
"Act more natural," Nick ordered quietly. "Like you love me more than anything."
I was starting to wonder what the heck he was doing all this for, when I heard a voice and everything made sense.
"Mr. Brady?"
Nick slowly turned his head to look at the source of the interruption, a short man with dark beady eyes and balding gray hair. Nick's eyes widened just a little too much to be genuine. "Oh hello, Mr. Harrison, I didn't expect to see you here so late. How's the wife?"
"She's actually the reason why I'm here." Mr. Harrison replied. "The woman's got me running errands for her, day and night. I'd warn you not to get into the marriage business yourself, Mr. Brady, but it seems that you already have." Mr. Harrison focused his beady eyes on me now, judging me.
"Indeed," Nick said with a perfect smile. "This is my lovely fiancé Tessa Martin. Tessa, this is Mr. Harrison, the Vice Principal of Oakwood High." He gently nudged me forwards and I shook hands with Mr. Harrison.
"Nice to meet you." I said politely.
"Likewise." Mr. Harrison told me, then turned to Nick. "Pardon me, Mr. Brady, but I was under the impression, a few months ago, that you would be marrying your fiancé soon..."
Nick seemed to be prepared for a question like this. "You are absolutely correct, Mr. Harrison. Tessa and I were actually supposed to get married a month ago, but she got sick just before the wedding, so we had to reschedule. She's only now just recovered." Nick nudged me and I coughed unconvincingly. "I actually have an extra wedding invitation on me, if you and your wife would be interested in attending."
I was shocked. Justin and Nick had known, all along, that I would agree to help him with his problem. In fact, they planned on it. My fate was sealed before I even knew about it.
Mr. Harrison looked surprised as well, but he quickly recovered. "We'd be honored." He said, accepting the invitation.
I craned my neck to catch a glimpse of the date and a feeling of dread enveloped me. It was May 1st, exactly a week from now. I suddenly felt lightheaded, and my legs didn't seem to want to support me anymore. Nick noticed and grabbed ahold of my arm, stabilizing me.
"Well, it's been nice visiting with you, Mr. Harrison, but my fiancé seems to be feeling ill again, I should take her home and let her rest." He told the Vice Principal.
Mr. Harrison looked at me and nodded. "I understand. Good night Mr. Brady, it was a pleasure meeting you Tessa."
"You too, Mr. Harrison." Nick smiled, shaking the man's hand. "We look forward to seeing you at the wedding," We parted and he threw his arm over my shoulder as we walked away, and held onto me tightly. To Mr. Harrison, it probably looked like he was comforting me.
To me, it felt like he was trying to keep me from running away.