Some call it temptation, p.15
Some Call It Temptation, page 15
It felt foolish at the time, but now I was glad I did it.
I dialed his number and he picked up after a few short rings.
“David Sterling.”
“David, it’s Stella.”
“I was hoping you’d call.”
“I’ll do it.”
There was silence down the line. Maybe he didn’t think this was such a good idea anymore.
“That’s fantastic. You won’t regret it. I promise.”
“I have a few conditions before we make it official.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t have expected anything less from a Connor.”
“Can you pick me up, and we’ll talk?”
“Absolutely. Text me your address and I’ll come and get you.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
I hung up and texted him the address before I chickened out again. I wasn’t sure I was doing the right thing, but at this moment it was the only thing I could do.
I wasn’t going back to my mother’s, and the only way she would leave Nora alone was if I went along with her plans to marry David.
It would be fine. Everything would be fine. It was just marriage. People did it all the time.
“You sure about this?” David asked me the next morning. “This is a five-year deal. You’d be giving up a lot. But also gaining a lot.”
“Yes, I’m sure,” I lied, unsure of what in the world I was doing. But I hadn’t come up with a better plan, and I didn’t have much time before my mother would suck me back into her world.
We were standing in front of my family’s front door to talk to my mother. After David picked me up, we went to his place and drew up a contract. We agreed on most points, but this last one I had to talk David into. Because it meant that I would move in with him immediately. And we were here to tell my mother what we’d agreed on.
The door opened and the devil herself stood there. And we didn’t even say her name three times.
“What an interesting surprise. Do come in, unless you plan on standing out there like you’re ready to rob the place.”
I didn’t roll my eyes or make a snarky comeback. Someone should give me an award, because that cost me a lot of my self-control.
We followed her into her study, another larger-than-life room. The second story had been taken out to make it a two-story monstrosity that was lined with books. I doubted any of them had ever been so much as opened.
“Coffee?” she offered David, who nodded. She ignored my presence and I was glad to draw as little attention to myself as possible. We sat down, my mother in her big chair behind her desk, David and I in front of her, our chairs lower to the ground and much smaller. Everything was a power play in her world and my mother was its master.
“Talk,” my mother commanded, and I leaned forward in the uncomfortable chair.
“David and I have come to an agreement.”
“Did you now? And what would this agreement be?” She leaned back, knowing that she’d won.
“We will get married, where and when you want, but I’m moving in with David today and you promise to leave my friends alone.”
My mother took a sip of her own coffee and studied us. The silence stretched for a while and I was growing restless, not to mention uncomfortable in the hard chair.
“Seems like you learned something from me after all. I agree to your terms.”
That seemed too easy. She never gave in like that. Why didn’t she come up with ridiculous terms? What was happening? Is this the end of the world? Are we all going to die? Does this mean I’ll never get to watch the Lord of the Rings again?
“You may get your things while David and I talk,” my mother said, dismissing me from their conversation like I was a child.
I didn’t even care that she just insulted me by wanting me out of the room while the adults talked. I got up and all but ran out of the study, grateful that I wasn’t going to destroy anyone else’s life today. David seemed all too happy when I told him my conditions, and he always liked working with my mother. I guess like attracts like, and those two were similar in their relentless drive to succeed.
Once I closed the office door behind me, I started running, darting up the stairs, only slowing down once I was in front of my room. I rushed inside and closed the door, leaning my back against it.
This time there was no way I would ever come back, so I had some serious packing to do. I should have packed everything the last time I moved out, since I wasn’t planning on coming back then either. But that departure hadn’t been a well-planned operation and more like a hastily thrown-together escape while my mother and Leighton were in Barbados.
I pushed away from the door and went into my walk-in closet. This time I got all my suitcases out and started throwing clothes and books inside. I was forced to leave half my shoes and nearly all my heavy winter coats behind. But nevertheless, I still had five big suitcases that were too heavy for me to carry. I had to look the part of a politician’s wife and the clothes I had been forced to wear all my life would be perfect for my new one.
My desperate need to get out of the house drove me to push the suitcases to the top of the stairs. I couldn’t lift them up, but I might be able to push them down. The few picture frames I had weren’t in any of the suitcases, so there was nothing breakable in them.
David appeared at the bottom of the stairs just as I was ready to push the first suitcase down.
“What are you doing?” he asked and came up to meet me.
“Debating how much noise it would make if I pushed them down,” I answered and pointed at the suitcase.
“Good to see you haven’t changed,” he said, sounding anything but happy about that fact.
“Do you mind getting them down?” I asked. He nodded and lifted one suitcase in each hand. He grunted and put them back down.
“What the hell did you put in them? Your mom’s silver?”
“Not exactly. But you’ll appreciate what’s in them. I’ve been groomed my entire life for the role of a politician’s wife. And the clothes in those suitcases are a part of it.”
“I like that you are throwing yourself into this wholeheartedly. I think we’ll make a great team,” he said and started carrying them down one by one.
“Not sure how they’re going to fit in my car,” he grouched when he passed me on his way down for suitcase number three.
“One of my mother’s staff dropped my car off, so I can take a few as well. Should be fine between the two of us.”
“Guess that could work.”
It had to, because I wasn’t going to come back. Once I was gone, I had no plans on ever returning.
I opened the front door and pulled my car up. David filled my trunk with two suitcases and put one on my back seat. The remaining two went in his car.
The drive to his house took over an hour since he lived in the hills. At least that’s what everyone dubbed them. It was a new development in the middle of nowhere and overlooked a man-made lake. He pulled into his driveway, and I parked next to him. His place was brand new and looked straight out of a catalogue.
“Don’t know if I can fit all your clothes in my closet,” David joked as he lugged one of my suitcases up his porch.
“Since we’re not staying in the same room that won’t be an issue,” I said and followed him to his front door.
“We’ll see,” he answered and walked inside. If he thought this was going to be anything more than two people helping each other out, he would be sorely disappointed.
The inside looked like it had been surgically cleaned. The smell of paint lingered in the air, and he certainly had a penchant for white since there was barely any color in the room. It wasn’t anything like the bachelor pad I expected to see.
“How long have you lived here?” I asked.
“I bought this place as soon as I got back.”
“It’s very clean.”
He smiled at my comment and pointed at the stairs. “Wait until you see the rooms up there. There’s four rooms on the second floor and they all come with their own bathrooms.”
We walked upstairs, leaving the suitcases near the doors for now. “The last door on the right is my room. You can pick any of the other three rooms. Take as much space as you like,” David said and did something akin to a royal wave toward the rooms.
There were two rooms on each side, all spacious and light.
He showed me his bedroom after he pointed out the three guest rooms. He lied when he said he didn’t think my stuff would fit in his closet, because his clothes hardly took up any room. The walk-in was enormous, and two whole sides were still empty.
“In case you change your mind,” he said and nodded at the empty shelves and hanging space.
I ignored him and went back downstairs to get my suitcases. Or rather, I supervised while David carried all my possessions to one of his guestrooms. I didn’t care which one I stayed in, so when he asked where to put my stuff I just pointed to the room on the left that was closest to the staircase and farthest away from his room.
“I’ll be downstairs if you need anything,” David said and left me to unpack.
The thought of getting all my stuff out made me nauseous and instead of unpacking, I crawled under the cream comforter and pulled it over my head. Sleep sounded like a great idea.
The ringing of my phone woke me from a disturbing dream that included hairy aliens and a tennis match. I fumbled for my bag that I’d dropped on the nightstand. Before I managed to get my phone out, it stopped ringing but started up again.
I finally found the phone and saw it was Willa who was calling. Fucking finally.
“It’s about time you called me back,” I greeted her.
“Are you okay? What happened? Did Mason do something? I told him he wasn’t allowed to upset you or he would be banned from Sweet Dreams. And Jameson talked to him as well. Why are we having a code red? Are you dying? Did you finally find out what that weird spot on your arm was?”
“The spot on my arm is a birthmark, so no, I’m not going to die from it. And I don’t think Mason took your threat seriously. He fired me.”
“He did what?” Willa yelled. “How? What? When? I don’t understand. How? No, start with when. No, wait, tell me what he said first.”
“He said that I was fired. And it happened yesterday. And I really need you to listen to what I have to say and let me finish before you freak out.”
“That doesn’t sound like something I want to do. Should I get Jameson? I’m going to get Jameson.”
She left to get Jameson while I waited and wondered if I should tell her the whole story.
“Okay, we’re back and you’re on speaker.”
I groaned but made the decision to just tell her what I had done. Kind of like ripping off a Band-Aid. At least she wasn’t close enough to lock me in her bedroom until I saw reason. Something she’d done to Maisie last year when she refused to apply for a special design program. It ended with a four-hour long standoff and an application.
“Okay, so just remember to not freak out. Maybe start deep breathing now. Better to get a head start on the right technique.”
“I don’t like this, Estrella. I don’t think you should tell me yet. Maybe don’t do whatever you want to do until I come back. It’s only a few more weeks.”
“It’s already too late for that. I signed a contract that I intend to honor. And besides, there’s a penalty for not honoring my end of the deal, so after you hear me out and still want to talk me out of this, save your breath. It’s a done deal.”
“Stop. I changed my mind. I’m coming back today, and then you tell me.”
“No you’re not. You’re finally doing something for yourself. I’m fine. Things here are fine. Just let me tell you what’s going on. It’s not that bad. At least if you consider the alternatives.”
“Are we talking Vegas bad or missing satellite dish bad?”
“Vegas bad with a few damaged satellite dishes.”
I heard a squeaky inhale but knew that I had to tell her or Willa was going to faint.
“Okay so you know how I moved out of my family’s house six months ago?”
I had already lived with Maisie during the semester but my mother insisted I come back once I graduated. I had no direction and felt lost, so I gave in, thinking now that I had had a taste of freedom I could handle her emotional manipulation. I moved out again two weeks later and she had been trying to guilt me into moving back home ever since, the final move her misguided kidnapping attempt.
“My mother finally lost her patience and wanted me to move back home,” I continued explaining how I got myself into my current predicament.
“Back up the truck, is this why you got attacked? Nora said it was a burglary. You dirty liars. You lied to me and told me some lame-ass story about a robbery.”
“I didn’t want you to worry.”
“Didn’t want me to worry? I was already worried and now you’re telling me that your mother was trying to kidnap you?” her voice was in a high pitch and the yelling would soon follow.
“Not exactly. She just used someone else to persuade me to come home. No kidnapping happened,” I tried to calm her down.
“Only because Mason and Landon were there,” she wheezed, her voice sounding like she’d been sucking on some helium.
“This is not even the main part of the story. It’s just so you understand why I did what I did.”
“Not the main part? Are you trying to kill me? How is you getting kidnapped not the main part? Get on with it or I’m going to pass out.”
“Just remember to take deep breaths. At least until I’ve told you everything. Anyway, so in the end I agreed to marry David.”
Whew, I felt better finally having told someone. And it didn’t sound so bad when I said it out loud. Just a little crazy. But not like there was no coming back from it crazy.
“You got engaged without me? And to a guy who labels his underwear with the days of the week?” Willa yelled and then there was a crashing sound. I guess she dropped the phone.
“Stella? It’s Jameson, we’ll call you back in a few minutes. Don’t do anything else that seemed like a good idea at the time but will come back and bite you in the ass. Just sit down somewhere until Willa stops hyperventilating and I can get her back on the phone.”
He hung up, and I fell back on the bed with a groan. Great, that couldn’t have gone any worse. David wasn’t so bad. He just liked order in all aspects of his life. He had an outfit for each day of the week and probably labeled his underwear. But each to their own. Who was I to judge?
My phone rang again five minutes later. I picked it up from where I had flung it on the bed next to me and sat up.
“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” I said before Willa could get a word out.
“I agree. It’s worse,” she said and released a very long and drawn-out sigh. “But we can get you out of this. Send me the contract, and I’ll get Jameson’s lawyer to look over it.”
“I’m not going to send you the contract because I have no intention of getting out of this. I gave my word and signature and that means something to me. And besides, why not go through with it? I have nothing else going for me except my last name. I have no job, no future, and I’m petrified of making the same mistakes over and over again. It’s an endless loop with my mother and this is the only way of getting myself out of it. It’s a good idea, Willa. Please don’t be mad, it’s not like he popped the question and you missed it. This is a contract agreement, not a romantic proposal. We talked about it, came to an agreement, he gave me a ring.”
A look at my hand confirmed that the ring was still as obnoxious and in-your-face as it had been when David gave it to me when we got to his house. He didn’t waste any time making things official. Not sure where he got the ring from on such short notice but since I didn’t care what it looked like I didn’t care where it came from.
“You’re petrified?” Willa whispered.
Fuck me and my big mouth. Too much honesty, Stella.
“I can’t go back to the person I was when I was living with her,” I said, my voice wavering. This was harder than I thought it would be.
“Estrella, why didn’t you talk to me?” Willa’s voice was breaking on the last word, and I felt tears pooling in my eyes.
“I’m sorry, Wills, I just couldn’t. And this is not something that I want to talk to you about on the phone. Or with Jameson in the room. No offence, Jameson.”
“None taken, honey,” Jameson’s deep, rumbly voice answered.
“I’m coming home,” Willa declared, her voice still wavering.
“No, you’re not. You still have a few weeks left, and I would feel incredibly guilty if you came home early because of me. Please don’t. I’m fine. Things are fine. We’ll talk when you get back. At the time that you’re supposed to come back.”
“I don’t like it. We are so not done talking about this.”
“I know. And we will talk about it. Just not now. Because now I have to go downstairs and figure out how I’m going to pretend to be happily engaged to David.”
“I love you. Always.”
“And I love you. Always. Now go and do something fun.”
We hung up and I swallowed a few times, trying to dislodge the lump in my throat.
I sent another message to Maisie, hoping she would answer. Usually her phone was attached to her hand. Not answering my messages was very unlike her.
It was time to sort out how this arrangement was going to work, and I went downstairs in search of David. He was in his office, sitting behind his large desk, staring at something on his computer screen.
He looked up when he heard me come in. “All settled in?”
“Getting there. What are you up to?” I cringed at the false cheer in my voice. I sure was dreadful at small talk.
“I’m just writing your mother’s victory speech.”
“Isn’t that a bit premature?”
“Not at all. She’s going to win the election.”
Okay, so I guess being a megalomaniac was contagious. He must have already spent too much time with my mother and convinced himself he was infallible.
