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The groan that tumbled from her lips was loud and almost mournful.
From the phone pressed tightly to her right ear, Amy’s best friend laughed fondly at her. “Come on. It won’t be that bad.”
Amy groaned again. Her eyes remained fixed on the too-cheery email displayed on her computer screen. Mountain Grove High School Ten-Year Reunion. “Easy for you to say.” She could admit that her voice sounded sulky. “You have something to show for the last ten years.”
From across the line, Amy could practically hear Lily roll her eyes at her. “So do you,” she insisted, the same way she always did whenever Amy was too hard on herself. “You have a great job. Friends who love you. An amazing apartment with a beautiful view –”
“And no one to fu–…” A polite cough stopped her from continuing. Amy lifted her eyes from the computer and felt her desire for the earth to swallow her whole intensify as she met the amused gaze of her boss and his impossibly handsome arched eyebrows. “Um,” she said dumbly, fumbling to clear the computer screen, “I have to call you back.”
Adrian Raines stood before her, tall and imposing as ever, arms folded across his broad chest with his perfectly tailored suit pulling where it was stretched across those fucking shoulders of his. His kind eyes gleamed as his mouth twisted into a wry smile. “My twelve o’clock ended early,” he said unnecessarily.
Amy sighed, rubbing at her forehead. “I’m really sorry,” she rushed to explain, still hoping the floor would open beneath her desk and drag her down to hell, “I was just – my friend and I have our ten-year high school reunion at the end of the month.”
Adrian nodded politely. It didn’t look like he was as desperate to be somewhere else as she was. “I take it you’re not looking forward to it?”
She winced. “It’s going to be pretty embarrassing to show up without a date.” The words left her mouth before she could hold them back, but she felt lighter for having said them. Why should she pretend that wasn’t her biggest concern?
She’d kept up with most of her class on social media. It seemed like everyone but her had moved on with their lives spectacularly in the last ten years. Everyone she knew had magical college experiences, partners they’d met at school or work or in a bar who’d proposed to them in Italy or moved into their sprawling homes.
Even Lily had a serious girlfriend, after a string of bad dates. Someone perfect who cared about her and was accomplished in her own right, a gallery owner downtown.
And Amy was somebody’s secretary.
She knew it was much more than that – she basically ran Adrian’s entire life. He would be lost without her, something she was well aware of after she’d taken a trip last memorial day and woken up on Monday to dozens of frantic text messages from both Adrian and the colleagues that were supposed to have meetings with him; without Amy around to run his calendar, Adrian hadn’t made it to a single one.
But it was hard not to compare her life to everyone else’s and be disappointed when she found she’d come up short.
That she thought something was missing must have been displayed across her face, because Adrian’s eyes softened where he was watching her, his expression suddenly turning boyish and earnest and sweet.
The next words out of his mouth were the last she’d been expecting. Adrian shrugged one sexy shoulder at her and casually said, “I could be your date.”
*
“I don’t know what you’re so worried about,” Lily said from where she was sprawled across Amy’s bed, both helping her pack and talking her down from off the metaphorical ledge she was teetering on the edge of. “It’s just one weekend.”
“One weekend with my boss pretending to be my boyfriend,” Amy reminded her, staring hard into the floor-length mirror on her wall. She flipped back and forth between two dresses and then flung them both towards her open suitcase with a sigh. “This is a recipe for disaster and we both know it.”
“No we both do not,” Lily argued, reaching over and folding the two dresses neatly before adding them to the growing pile in Amy’s bag. “This is, like, the opposite of a problem. You know that, right? Adrian is sexy, rich, polite, and thinks the world of you. Plus, he offered to come.”
“Because he feels bad for me and my pathetic problems,” Amy sighed, kneeling down to rifle through the shoes under her bed. Lily leaned over and kicked her in the side. “No one is going to believe he’s my actual boyfriend.”
“They will,” Lily said confidently.
Amy lifted her head and scowled at her. “How can you be so sure?”
“Dude. Remember when I came to your office holiday party? The guy barely left your side all night. He likes you.”
“He does not,” Amy said, rolling her eyes. “I’m his assistant.”
“You’re his girlfriend, as of three o’clock.” Lily grinned widely at her, seemingly enjoying her predicament. “At least try to have some fun with it.”
“Easy for you to say,” Amy muttered bitterly, stuffing shoes into her overnight bag. Lily didn’t have to pretend to date the hottest guy in the world this weekend. And that guy didn’t just so happen to be Lily’s boss. And Lily wouldn’t have to go back to her own boring life once this was all over and try to forget it had ever happened.
She should have known Lily would see straight through her. They’d been best friends since they were pre-teens; Lily could read her mind after catching just a glimpse of the expression on her face. Which meant she knew exactly how deep the complex range of what she was feeling went.
Lily’s eyebrows pulled together with concern. “You know it’s going to be fine, right? Like, seriously. I’ll eat those girls alive if they say shit to you. Adrian will probably help me.”
“Adrian doesn’t need to be involved in my high school drama.” But even she knew she was sulking. Slowly shaking her head to clear the cobwebs from it, she resumed packing her bag as quickly as possible, glancing at the clock on her bedside table.
Speaking of Adrian, he’d be by to pick them up any minute now. Amy bit down on her bottom lip, leaning over on the bed to rearrange the items in her bag. She was starting to second-guess herself. Again. “Do you think I’m overthinking this?”
“Oh my god, yes,” Lily said, smacking her in the side with a pillow from Amy’s bed. “You would think we’re headed to your execution. A hot billionaire wants to play house with you for a weekend. This is literally the best scenario I could ever imagine for you.”
Maybe Lily was right. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. She’d worked for Adrian for years, now, and getting along with him was practically second nature. For as long as she’d known him, he’d always been easy to talk to and even easier on the eyes, charming and intelligent and kind.
He’d make the mean, accomplished girls she’d gone to school with regret ever assuming she was the loser she felt like without even breaking a sweat.
Amy’s confidence flew out the window as quickly as it’d come as she saw a shadow appear in the street out of the corner of her eye. She and Lily turned towards the window behind her bed to look down and found Adrian parked on the curb and smiling, waving from behind the windshield.
“Oh my god,” Lily said gleefully, reaching over and punching her arm, “He brought the Porsche.”
*
The drive upstate passed too quickly. Amy’s mounting sense of dread seemed to reach a critical peak as they checked into the hotel and split from Lily at the elevator, Adrian’s arm bumping lightly against hers while they walked to their room.
To his credit, Adrian had been a model fake boyfriend since he’d first picked them up at her house. He let Amy control the radio during the drive and hadn’t complained once, even though Lily had asked for four rest stop breaks on the short two-hour trip.
And now, he didn’t miss a beat when they opened the door to find there was only one bed in the suite. If he noticed the way Amy was screaming on the inside he didn’t say anything about that, either. Adrian only smiled gently at her and said, “We should change for the cocktail reception,” before ducking into the bathroom with his overnight bag.
Mechanically, she found herself going through the motions of unpacking, pulling out her dress and trading the comfortable clothes she’d donned for the car with the garment she’d saved up for weeks to be able to afford, all in the interest of looking like slightly less of a mess in front of the eyes of her classmates.
Adrian stepped out of the bathroom while she was touching up her makeup in the dim mirror over the desk. “You look nice,” he said kindly. Without even turning around, she knew he’d look unbelievably gorgeous.
So she steeled herself for the inevitable and spun slowly, trying to keep her face composed.
As expected, he was as put-together as ever, casual in a suit without a tie for once, his shirt open at the collar. Amy cleared her throat, willing her brain to reboot faster. “Thanks,” she said finally, lips curving up into a smile. “You do, too.”
“Have to impress your friends somehow, don’t I?” If Adrian was at all close to the crisis she was experiencing, it wasn’t obvious in his voice. How was he not having a crisis?
“Please, Lily already thinks you’re the greatest thing since the Sega Genesis,” Amy assured him, waving a hand dismissively. She had to look away as the comment made Adrian’s smile widen, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “She’s the only one that matters. Anyway, we should go.”
They were quiet in the elevator ride back down to the lobby, though Adrian swung out to reach for her hand before the door opened, gently lacing their fingers together.
Right. They were a couple, at least for today. They should try to act like it.
At least for today.
She could feel eyes on her as they both made their way into the reception, but steered Adrian towards the bar without stopping or looking, desperate to get at least one drink down before the chaos truly kicked off.
“So,” Adrian said cheerfully, passing her a glass of sauvignon blanc as he had so many times before, “Who should I be on the lookout for?”
Amy lifted her head and saw a group of women making a beeline for them from across the room, almost as if they’d been summoned. She sighed. “Your three o’clock.”
“They don’t look so bad,” Adrian said good naturedly, just as the three women descended on them, shrieking.
“Amy!” screamed Kaitlyn, leading the charge to wrap her arms around her like an octopus and squeeze painfully tight, “You cut your hair!”
“About a thousand times,” Amy joked, forcing a smile. “It’s good to see you.”
Christina and Jessica took their turns hugging her while Kaitlyn stared open-mouthed at Adrian, very obviously having recognized him.
“This is my boyfriend,” Amy supplied helpfully, gently extracting herself from Jessica’s death grip, “Adrian.”
“Pleased to meet you.” Adrian’s voice was warm and polite as he extended a hand that was promptly ignored as Kaitlyn drew him into a hug that bordered on the wrong side of too friendly.
Christina elbowed Amy sharply in the side and said, “You didn’t tell us you were dating Adrian Raines.”
“We work at the same company,” Amy said, faux-modestly.
“You didn’t tell us you were working at Raines Corp,” Jessica hissed.
“Amy is up for a promotion in our marketing department,” Adrian said pleasantly. She did her best not to whip her head around and gape. If she actually was, that was news to her.
“I’m just so glad you came,” Kaitlyn gushed, finally pulling back and releasing Adrian from her grip, “I wasn’t sure if you would. None of us have heard from you in so long. I know we were all wondering what you’ve been up to.”
She opened her mouth with a wince, rubbed the wrong way by the casual fishing in Kaitlyn’s tone. Before she could answer, however, Adrian stepped in smoothly. His hand was warm where it rested on the small of her back.
“I can’t speak for the first five years since Amy left school,” he said, “But everything has been simpler since we first met.” He turned towards Amy, and his charming smile softened into something more private. “Amy has been an incredible addition to the team. Her limitless intuition and quick-thinking still surprise me.”
Amy blinked. Adrian was laying it on a little thick, even for the idiots in front of them.
When she glanced back to see if anyone had noticed, all three of them seemed like they’d swallowed a lemon. “That’s great,” Jessica said dispassionately.
Adrian’s arm wound around her waist, then, pulling her closer. He nodded, either oblivious to the attitude shift that had just taken place or uncaring. “And she’s got a gorgeous apartment on the Upper West Side,” he continued, “I swear we spend more time over there than at my place. I’ve been trying to get her to move in with me, but I see why she won’t give her space up.”
Maybe it was petty and small, but Amy got more joy than she expected to out of saying, “It’s just that Adrian’s penthouse is so big. When he travels for work it feels so empty.”
“Well, I’ve told you a thousand times you should just come to Paris with me,” he sighed, and that, at least, was true. Adrian was constantly needling her into attending the lavish business trips he was forced to attend, and she was constantly declining.
But maybe after this she’d have to take him up on his offer. It wasn’t like there could be any professional lines left between them now.
“Would you excuse us,” Christina cut in suddenly, glancing over her shoulder. “There are some more people we should go say hello to.”
“Of course,” Amy smiled, “It was so great to see you all again.”
“Lovely to meet you,” Adrian agreed.
They made it about ten seconds after the group walked away before collapsing into giggles. Amy turned them both towards the bar to hide their faces and leaned heavily against Adrian’s side, shoulders shaking with laughter. “That felt good,” she admitted, once she’d had the chance to catch her breath.
The smile Adrian sent her way stole the air from her lungs again near-immediately. “Good,” he said, hand warm on her shoulder.
*
Despite the high start to the evening, it didn’t take long for Amy’s mood to turn melancholy, after hours dancing with Lily and shopping Adrian around the room to people she’d been friendly with so many years ago.
It was fun, sure, to allow herself to live in this fantasy – this dream where she lived an extravagant life filled with excitement – but crushing to remember how fake and fragile it all was.
Soon enough it’d be Monday again and she’d be back to her regular life, shuffling Adrian’s calendar around and eating takeout on her couch, alone.
As if he could sense her souring mood, Adrian appeared beside her on the patio off the ballroom, as though Amy had conjured him. He stepped up beside her and stared at the fountain she was glaring at. “Penny for your thoughts?”
Amy sighed heavily, letting her breath out in a slow exhale. “It’s nothing. Thank you for being such a good sport about all of this.”
“Amy,” he said fondly, laughter in his voice, “If I could give you a dollar for every time you bailed me out of one of my own messes in the last five years… I’d be bankrupt.”
That made her smile. Mostly because it was true. Over the years, she’d gotten awfully good at solving Adrian’s problems for him. “Still. You don’t have to be so charming.”
“Maybe I want to be.” Something in the sound of his voice made her turn her head, and she looked over at him curiously, holding her breath when she saw the quiet determination in his eyes. “What’s on your mind?”
She was helpless to do anything but answer honestly, when he looked at her like that. “It’s not that this isn’t great,” she started to explain, “It is, and I’m thrilled. I’m having way more fun than I ever thought I would. But… it’s fake, you know? We’re just playing pretend. Everyone thinks I’ve got this amazing life, and we made the whole thing up.”
Adrian pursed his lips. After a moment, he shook his head. “Amy,” he said again, in the same sweet tone of voice as before, “The only thing I’ve lied about in there is where you’ve been spending the night. The rest of it – how brilliant you are, how talented you are, how much easier you’ve made my life… all of that is true. And I did recommend you for a transfer to marketing.”
Amy blinked. “You did? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Suddenly shy, Adrian shrugged, averting his eyes. “I was going to,” he said, “Even though nothing will be the same without you right outside my door. But I know your talents will be so much better served across the hall. You know the company inside and out. You could be doing so much more than routing my calls.”
“But,” she started again, hopelessly tongue-tied. She looked askance at Adrian, brows knitting together in confusion. “Really?”
Adrian glanced back at her, then, smiling softly. “Really,” he confirmed. “Please know that I think the world of you. I always have. I wish I’d known you felt this way about your accomplishments sooner. I would have made every effort to remind you how amazing you truly are.”
The words were impossibly cheering. Amy felt warmth start to bloom in her chest, slowly trickling up to the top of her head and down to the tips of her toes. Her heart was pounding.
It was far from the first time he’d praised her for a job well done. But there was a thread of sincerity in his voice she hadn’t noticed before, an earnestness that was impossible to ignore.
She beamed at him, gratified when he smiled back. “I take it you’re feeling better, then?”
In the time they’d been inside, the moon had risen high in the sky. The sparkling stars they could never see in the city glinted in the dark depths of Adrian’s eyes.
And something within them called on her to be brave.
Amy shook her head.
“No?” Adrian asked curiously. One corner of his mouth twisted wryly, as though he knew what she was thinking.
“There’s still the matter of… our relationship,” Amy started hesitantly. She had only a moment to fear she’d gotten things wrong before she nervously wet her lips and saw Adrian’s eyes track the movement of her tongue. “I liked being your girlfriend way too much tonight for that to be fake.”
A dimple creased on Adrian’s cheek as his smile widened. “It’ll take a few months for the transfer to go through.” He sounded regretful.
Amy stepped closer on the patio, reaching out for his hand. “So we’ll date casually until then,” she offered, biting back a shiver as Adrian drew her into his arms, large palms spreading out across the open back of her dress.
“I think that could work.” The look on his face was one of wonder and amazement. He sounded a little breathless, and Amy bit back a laugh – she was supposed to be the one who was dazzled this was happening to her, not the other way around.
“For now, though, we should, um.” Her tongue darted out to lick her lips again. “Keep up appearances. You know. As a couple.”
“Right,” Adrian nodded, not even sparing a glance back to the ballroom behind them. “People could be looking.”
“Totally,” Amy agreed, the thought of the tiny window someone would have to be squinting through pretty seriously to see anything going on outside fading from her mind.
Adrian leaned down and kissed her. His mouth was warm and gentle, the hand at her back urging her to dip. She fisted her hands in the lapels of his jacket and gripped them tight, yanking him forward so she could kiss him back.
As far as kisses went, it was only sort of the greatest moment of her entire life. As far as moments went, it was up there, too. Amy wondered if her lips would ever stop tingling and found herself hoping they wouldn’t, surging up to kiss Adrian over and over again.
When they finally came inside, the reception was dwindling. Many of her classmates had left for the evening, though Lily was still there, grinning much too widely at the both of them and their rumpled outfits from across the room.
Jessica and Kaitlyn, who were cleaning up the table that’d held the hors d'oeuvres just beside them, scowled at their linked hands. Their eyes took in Amy’s messy hair with contempt, and when Adrian turned his head and winked at the three of them before leading Amy out of the room and back towards the elevator, Amy was certain she could hear a frustrated scream from behind her back.