It Started with a Bang by Piper James

Chapter Seventeen

Annabelle

Ilooked down at the ring on my finger for the two hundred and thirty-sixth time since last night. I’d worn it to work, but no one other than my assistant had noticed. But he was completely loyal to me, so I knew I didn’t have to worry about Dad barging in to demand answers. And even though my plan hinged on him believing I was in love and getting married, all I could feel was relief.

I wasn’t ready to share my “big news” with anyone at work yet, much less my asshole of a father. I needed a little time to process and figure out why I reacted the way I did when Ryder gave me the ring.

Because I’d reacted like he was actually proposing. For real.

When he slid that box across the table, my heart had stopped for several seconds before beating back to life at a too-fast tempo. Fear and anticipation coursed through me, mixing together in a way that made me feel like I was going to puke all over my pizza.

And when I got my first look at the ring? I’d been dazzled. Fuck, if Ryder didn’t see the hearts in my eyes, he was a blind man.

The round diamond was set in a silver band, brilliant in its simplicity. The overhead lights refracted through the stone, bouncing off its facets to make it sparkle like the Fourth of July. I’d been mesmerized, and it was all I could do to remember it wasn’t real.

None of this was.

I slipped the ring onto my finger—it was somehow an exact fit—and pretended my lungs didn’t collapse at how perfect it felt there. Drawing on everything I could remember from high school drama class, I picked up a piece of my pizza, took a bite, and pretended to be wholly unaffected.

So, I was officially engaged, and Ryder and I were eloping to Las Vegas in four days.

I picked up my phone to check my messages. I’d sent out the bat signal with an extra nine-one-one alert to the girls, telling them I needed them to meet me at The Watering Hole after work. Sage had already replied that she’d be there, so I was just waiting for Ember to get back to me.

As if I’d conjured her, the screen flashed and a new message popped up in the group chat thread.

Ember: I’ll be there, but you better have some explicit sexy-time details to give us about your weekend.

I rolled my eyes, opting to send back a thumbs-up emoji rather than try to explain to her, once again, that my relationship with Ryder was strictly business.

Strictly business. I was really beginning to hate that fucking term.

I looked back down at the ring, and it dazzled me just as much as it had the first time. Ryder had exquisite taste. And the fact that he spent his own money on it instead of insisting I buy the ring? It confused me just as much as my reaction at seeing the damn thing.

I needed my girls. They’d help me sort everything out so I could look at this whole situation with fresh, pragmatic eyes. They’d help me get my priorities back in order.

* * *

“Wait,he bought you a ring? Let me see?”

“So, you didn’t sleep with him? What’s wrong with him? What’s wrong with you?”

I rolled my eyes at Ember as I gave Sage my left hand so she could get a better look at the ring. I’d kept it hidden until I finished relaying all the details of my weekend and last night when Ryder moved in. I’d sworn them to silence until I got everything out, and those were their first questions. Sage’s was expected, and Ember’s…was also expected.

“No, I didn’t sleep with him, hussy. We have a deal, and that deal does not include sex.”

“Why not?” she shot back, one blonde eyebrow arched dramatically.

“Because…” I said, my words trailing off.

I didn’t really have an answer for that. It seemed logical, that the arrangement between Ryder and I would remain cut and dry—one million dollars for one year of marriage. The thought of complicating things with a personal relationship scared me.

“Because this is too important,” I said finally. “If we have sex and things go sour, it could ruin everything. I can’t take that chance.”

“Can I have sex with him, then?” Ember asked, her face a mask of pure innocence.

“Ember!” Sage exclaimed, the shout accompanied by a loud thump.

“Ow! Shit, Sage, I was only kidding,” Ember howled, bending over to presumably rub her shin.

“It wasn’t funny,” Sage chastised.

“Sure, it was,” Ember said, straightening. Then her eyes flashed to me. “We saw the photos, Belle. The chemistry between you two was obvious.” She looked back at Sage. “I was just trying to make her admit she wants him.”

“She is sitting right here,” I deadpanned. “And there was no chemistry. We were only pretending.”

“Bullshit,” Ember barked with a fake sneeze before daintily dabbing her nose with a napkin. “Oh, excuse me.”

“Ha, ha,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“I’m sorry, Belle, but she’s right,” Sage added.

“What? Traitor!” I yelled, balling up the paper from my straw and tossing it at her head.

Sage dodged the missile with a laugh before her expression grew serious. “Listen, I know what’s at stake, and I know you have this whole plan, but it’s pretty obvious you’re attracted to your future fake hubby.”

“I am not,” I argued, but there was no fire in the words.

“Puh-lease,” Ember droned. “That man is a total beefcake with a side a Boston cream pie. Everyone is attracted to him.” I narrowed my gaze at her, and she held up her palms in surrender with a husky chuckle. “I’m just saying, there’s no reason to lie about it. Not to us. Not to yourself.”

“Maybe he’s not as irritating as I first thought,” I admitted, taking a long sip of my whiskey sour. “And Thanos loved him at first sight.”

“Thanos loves everyone,” Sage said, rolling her eyes. “He’s a terrible watch dog. If someone broke in, he’d probably lick them to death.”

“True, but Ryder loved Thanos at first sight, too,” I said quietly.

“Oh, shit. That’s serious,” Ember said, her eyes wide. “He plays Scrabble, defends your honor with your dad,buys you sparkly presents, and loves your dog? You’re totally going to sleep with him.”

“Not. Helping,” I bit out between clenched teeth.

“Are you sure?” she asked, cocking her head. “Seems to me like I’m being super helpful. You called us here with a nine-one-one, went on and on about how awesome he was all weekend, and told us you’re getting married—in Vegas, without us—in four days. You’re practically asking us for permission to sleep with him. Well, permission granted. Go after it, girl.”

With that, she lifted her drink in a toast and tilted it back, drinking down half of it in one long gulp. I narrowed my gaze at her, but she remained shamelessly unapologetic for that totally off-base assessment. I looked over at Sage.

“A little help?”

“Do you want to sleep with him?” she asked.

“Oh, Sage. Not you, too,” I groaned.

“That’s not an answer,” Ember sing-songed with a tinkling giggle.

My eyes pleaded with Sage, but she only stared at me silently. I threw my hands up into the air.

“Fine. I’ll admit…I’ve thought about it.”

“Well, that was never in question. Of course, you have,” Ember said, her voice filled with certainty. “You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t. The question is, will you act on it?”

“I don’t think I should,” I said, my shoulders slumping. “Besides, he probably doesn’t even want to.”

“Oh, bullshit,” Sage grunted, shocking me with her vehemence. “You’re a gorgeous, successful, wonderful person. Besides, didn’t you say he tried to reassure you after your dad spouted off all that nonsense about your body?”

I nodded, my mind replaying Ryder’s words.

“I know you felt how hard I was for you yesterday. That’s not something I could fake if I tried. I find you incredibly attractive.”

Were they right? Was my stubborn mindset the only thing holding me back from sleeping with Ryder? What was the worst that could happen if I went for it? I shook my head.

“If I sleep with him, and things go sour, I could lose the company,” I said.

“You have a signed contract, Belle. If things don’t work out, you go back to cohabitating and pretending to be married. They say the first year of marriage is the hardest, so if people sense some tension, they won’t think twice about it,” Ember said.

“And spend a year living like that?” I asked.

“What’s worse?” she shot back. “Spending a year with a roommate you know for a fact you don’t like or want, or spending a year wanting him and torturing yourself by not letting yourself have him?”

“Oh, God,” Sage hissed, her body tensing. “Hide me. Hide me.”

She hunched her back and leaned over to duck behind me. My eyes darted from right to left, searching for the cause of her panic, but I didn’t see anyone I recognized. Ember looked around curiously, then shrugged and took a long drink from her straw.

“Who are we hiding you from?” I asked in a low voice.

“Over by the bar. Green shirt. Don’t look!”

Ignoring the order, I turned my head to search for the person making my friend act like a paranoid psycho. A man in a green button-down stood near the bar, sipping on the end of a long-neck bottle. He appeared to be minding his own business, not even sparing a glance in our direction. It took me a second to place him, but when realization dawned, I turned to peer at Sage over my shoulder.

“Why are you hiding from Matt Garner?”

“You know him?” she hissed, ducking even lower.

“Everyone knows everyone in this town, Sage,” Ember interjected in a bored voice.

“He works at the company as a low-level executive,” I answered as if Ember hadn’t spoken. “Seems like a decent guy, has a good job, and is pretty easy on the eyes…so why are you hiding from him?”

“He got divorced last year,” she murmured. “His daughter Angelina was in my class, and she spent most of the schoolyear talking him up to me.”

“She was trying to play matchmaker?” Ember asked. “That’s so cute!”

“Yeah, real cute until Matt decided she was onto something and asked me out,” Sage groaned.

“And you didn’t want to go out with him, why?” Ember asked, turning to study the man in question a little more closely.

“Because I don’t date parents of my students. It’s just asking for trouble, especially when people start questioning things like favoritism and leniency with grades.”

“But she won’t be in your class this year, right?” I asked. “What’s the harm, now?”

“I might’ve considered it if the dude hadn’t come on so strong,” Sage answered, finally straightening as Matt finished his beer, threw some money on the bar, and walked out without even noticing us.

“Wouldn’t take no for an answer?” Ember asked, frowning. “Gross.”

“He got rather pushy,” Sage said. “Plus, my school is moving me from second grade to third this year, so there’s a fifty-fifty shot Angelina will be in my class again.”

“Awkward,” Ember sang in a falsetto voice.

“Anyway, back to Belle,” Sage said, turning in her chair to face me. “I know this whole marriage thing is a hoax, but you shouldn’t close yourself off completely to the possibilities. We all know Red River doesn’t have a lot to offer in the eligible men department.”

“Amen,” Ember yelled, lifting her glass in the air in solidarity.

“We all know you want him,” Sage when on, tutting me when I open my mouth to object. Then in a firmer voice, repeated herself. “We allknow you want him, so why not have a little fun? If you’re scared of getting in too deep, have a conversation with him, first. Agree that it’s just sex and nothing more.”

“Add a sex clause into your fucking contract, if it’ll make you feel better,” Ember added.

“Ew, Ember,” Sage yelled, throwing her balled-up napkin at her.

“You guys really think it’s a good idea?” I asked.

“Yes,” they said in unison.

“Get that ass,” Ember threw out, wiggling in her chair.

“It has been a long time, Belle,” Sage added, giving me a knowing look.

“Time to water the horse,” Ember added.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Sage asked, her shoulders shaking with laughter.

“Dry spell. Water the horse. He’s thirsty. Duh,” Ember said, ignoring Sage’s mirth at her expense.

“Okay, Ember,” Sage said, shaking her head.

They bickered back and forth for several minutes, but I didn’t hear much of their argument. I was lost in my own thoughts, having an internal debate that could alter the course of the next year for me.

Did I want to sleep with Ryder? Definitely. That man was sexy as fuck when he wasn’t being an asshat. Okay, fine, he was always sexy.

But did I think it was a good idea? That, I wasn’t so sure about.

Could I survive the next twelve months without jumping his bones? Maybe, if I stocked up on batteries and told him he had to wear a shirt at all times.

And now that my best friends were encouraging me to go for it? I knew it was only a matter of time before I did.

And the anticipation was killing me.