I break into loud laughter.
“Shut up!” She swats at my arm.
I lean in close to her and kiss her cheek. “It’s not ideal, but I have other ways to take care of myself.”
Goosebumps break out on the part of her shoulder and neck that are exposed. “Well, so do I. So that part’s settled then,” she says in a businesslike tone.
“Great.”
“I mean, we both need this, right?” she says. “We’ll be on the same page.”
“Exactly. It’s a win-win.”
“But how do you know you can trust me? NDAs, security, fame—you live in a completely different reality than I do, Declan. And you should make sure you trust the woman you bring into it.”
“I already did decide that when I brought you home last night.”
“To have a one-night stand?” she says. “You barely knew me.”
“Here’s the thing, Mia,” I say. “I don’t bring women home to my place. I always thought that if I did, I’d feel compelled to have them sign an NDA to avoid any sort of future concerns. So, I didn’t think it was worth the trouble. But you—you were worth the trouble.”
She smiles. “And the NDA?”
“I guess I must have trusted you enough that it never crossed my mind.”
I get why she’s asking me. Because she’s right—technically, I should have been more careful. But last night with Mia, I threw all my rules out the window.
She’s watching me intently, and something about my expression settles her because she lets out a deep breath.
“Okay,” she says. “I’ll do it. I’ll marry you.”
First, I’m relieved that she’s agreed to marry me and not somebody else. But then, the reality of what we’ve agreed to do hits home.
I hate the feeling of utter frustration that shoots through me at the thought that this is all fake. I always thought my first marriage would be my last and that it would be fucking real.
Mia looks down at our hands so close to each other on the couch. “You know I’ll have to sign an NDA if we marry. It wouldn’t be smart for me not to.”
“I know.” But I feel awful making her do that.
“I don’t feel bad about it at all,” she assures me. “It’s smart business. Just like this arranged marriage, right? You’re doing this for your future career. And I am too.”
“Right.”
But as we sit and look at each other, neither of us giving anything away in our expressions, it sure doesn’t feel like just business.
Chapter Ten
As soon as I say goodbye to Ned and Mia and drive away in my truck, I do what I’d like to put off but know I can’t. One of the things I learned early on about being a public figure is that if I want to make sure my family knows something before the world does or they read about it online, I have to tell them. And I have to tell them quickly.
My brother is my first call.
Cameron picks up on the first ring.
“Hey, Dec,” he says. “What’s up?”
“Are you at home?” I ask him.
“Yeah. Why?”
