Accidental Fiancé (Unintentionally Yours #5)

19. Maggie

Chapter 19

Maggie

A long unpaved road wound through an orange grove to reach the Black family property. When the trees parted from the roadside, I caught my first glimpse of the mansion. It was grand, its architecture reminding me of pictures I’d seen of Greece. Many of California's older mansions were inspired by Spanish style—red terracotta roofs, stucco walls, arched doorways and windows with decorative wrought iron elements.

The Black family home looked like it belonged in Athens, built for the mythological Greek gods.

Surrounded by several acres of private land, the mansion was a testament to the Black family fortune. It was no wonder that when it fell into disrepair, they needed a lot of money to fix it. I couldn't imagine attempting to repair this place with some glue and duct tape—my father’s go-to fix for most household problems.

Everywhere I looked there were columns and arches. The walls gleamed white and the front door was a brilliant blue, similar to the deepest parts of the Mediterranean Sea.

An appreciative whistle came out of me as we pulled up to the entryway where a group of uniformed men waited. “Your mom has a valet?”

“Only for special occasions,” Julian said. “They’ll take the bags for us, too.”

There were details of his world that still astonished me and this was one of them. But I brushed past it to keep the peace.

For the past few days, things had been tense between us though not as bad as when he first brought up the idea of keeping things strictly business. I kept myself in check and so did he. There were no inappropriate incidences of groping, grabbing, or anything else, and we both found excuses to avoid being left alone in the same room with each other.

Here, we would get no such reprieve. Here, for all intents and purposes, we were a couple. An engaged couple, which meant we would be sharing the same room. I was fine with that. I could keep my hands off of him. I just hoped that he could do the same.

At least, that was what I told myself. But days of closeness with no real connection had started to wear on me. Though, at this point, I was afraid to ask him what he actually thought of me. It was strange to play the role of an escort for a friend, and I wondered if he even considered us friends anymore. Things had gotten so muddled in the past week that I didn't know what to think. All I knew was I needed to get a job done, get paid, and get the hell out of here.

Things like friendship and romance could wait. I had bills to pay.

We had a contract in place, and it listed very clear boundaries between us. But we were also adults with urges, and that made things a little less than cozy at home. Here, with one fewer boundary between us, I didn't know how I would handle things. Plenty of people would be around us in the mansion most of the time. I hoped that would be enough to distract us and keep things amiable.

A smiling older woman stood in the doorway. She was generously proportioned and elegantly dressed in red. Her silky salt and pepper hair had been pinned into pretty waves near her face to frame it. When she spied Piper, it was as if her whole being came alive. “There’s my baby girl!”

“Yaya!” Piper squealed as she ran to her, arms wide.

“Pipsqueak!” she replied lovingly as she crouched and hugged her.

I sensed Julian’s anxiety as we joined the two of them at the doorway. I wasn't sure how much of his nervousness was an act but I certainly couldn't blame him for it. One wrong word, and this was all over. Thankfully, Nora had told me to have it written in the contract that if things went tits up with his family, I still got paid for the full month. He hadn't balked at that, adding if things went well, I’d also get a bonus.

He cleared his throat to interrupt their hug. “Hey, Mom.”

“There he is,” she said, smiling warmly and embracing him. “Nice of you to make time in your day to come see your family.”

His lip curled in annoyance at that slight. “We're here for the week. Just like everybody else.”

She lowered her sunglasses and looked me over with the same piercing green eyes Julian had. I knew the first meeting would be tense, and considering who she was, I needed her to like me. I’d done what I could to look as presentable as possible, but I had no idea if I’d pass the sniff test.

I was dressed in a cream blouse with striped navy slacks. Nothing flashy, nothing too trendy. My makeup was minimal, my jewelry simple. I'd even gotten my curls to go in the same direction, so they looked purposefully arranged. It was the best I could do without an army of stylists, which Julian had offered to hire.

But we were here for a week, so unless he wanted all those stylists to tag along, it seemed like overkill.

“Aren’t you lovely. Julian, is this your lady friend?”

“Maggie Bryant, this is my mother, Artemis Black.”

I shook her hand, and it took her only seconds to clock the ring on my finger. She glanced up at her son. “Is there something you need to tell me?”

He kneeled next to Piper. “Sweetie, go find your cousins and play, okay?”

“Okay!” She ran inside.

Once she was gone, he put his arm around me. “Yes, there is, but we’re trying to keep things lowkey for Piper, given the sensitivity of the situation with Britney. So please, no big announcements this week. If people ask about the ring, that’s fine, but I don’t want this week to become about our engagement. This is still new.”

“Far be it from me to want to make a big announcement about my only son’s engagement. You must think I’m a monster for wanting to celebrate such an occasion. If you want to break your mother’s heart by forcing her to keep all of this happiness bottled up inside, I’m not going to stop you.”

I wasn’t sure how, but I felt as if we’d fallen into a trap. But Julian merely laughed it off. “Mom, cut the theatrics. I’m hoping Maggie likes our family enough to still want to join it by the end of the week, and you’re not helping.”

They grinned at each other, and although I wasn’t sure what had just happened, she came in for a hug and said, “Welcome to the family, Maggie. Please, come inside. Julian, show your future bride the house then meet the rest of us in the lounge. Almost everyone is already here.” She twirled around and disappeared down a long hall.

In fact, it seemed everything around me was long halls. The whole building was built like a hotel, complete with a grand dual staircase foyer with black banisters accommodating white marble stairs. Along the back, French doors framed a view of the mountains and a large swimming pool enclosed with a retractable tinted canopy.

“This way,” Julian said, taking my hand as he led me down the first-floor hall. “We’ll be staying on the second floor in my old room—it’s where I always stay when I visit. But I wanted to show you this first.” He opened a set of double doors, and low and behold, I gasped like a movie heroine ready to faint.

This was the real fantasy.

A kitchen as glorious in the truest sense of the word. Appliances I didn’t even recognize lined the walls, both vintage and new. Metal rack after metal rack sat at one end, organized like a library of small appliances. Multiple stainless and marble counters took up most of the open space.

I hardly noticed the staff, and once I realized they were there, I felt terrible about it. “Sorry to gawk,” I blurted upon the realization.

A woman with thick forearms and a happy smile shrugged. “No worries. Fresh tiropsomo will be available in ten, so feel free to come back.”

“Tiropsomo?”

“It’s a Greek bread, similar to focaccia,” Julian explained. “But with feta and more herbs.”

My stomach growled. “Oh, I’m gonna need some of that.”

“We grow our own food here. The olive oil is freshly pressed,” she went on. “If you’re into food, I’d be happy to tell you more.”

“I am. Very much.”

“You’re welcome to visit anytime, then.”

He put his arm around me. “I have a feeling if I don’t get you out of here, I’ll never see you again.”

“Would that be so bad?”

“Come on,” he said, grinning.

“I finally find a kindred spirit in your world and I get dragged away.”

Once in the hall, he explained, “Eleni will talk your ear off, and we have other business to attend to. Sorry. In your downtime, feel free to seek her out.”

“Business. Right.” That word still stuck in my craw. “Where to next?”

“Our room. You need to be able to find it even after multiple shots of ouzo.”

“My liver is not going to have an easy week, is it?”

“I’m afraid not.”

As we ascended the staircase I asked, “So this is where you grew up?”

“Indeed.”

“No wonder you didn’t want me and Mom moving in. It would have been too crowded.”

He rolled his eyes. “I told you—we had to do a ton of repairs back then. Honestly, it’s amazing we were able to salvage the place, considering the mold issue among other things.”

The second-floor hallway had thick, patterned rugs and potted plants to warm the space, but that didn’t change the hotel feel. Doors lined either side, and I half-expected to see room numbers on them.

Julian opened a door at the end of the hall. “Here we are.”

“I’m sure I’ll be able to find the door at the end of the hall regardless of how inebriated I am. Didn’t really need a tour for that.”

He cracked a smile. “Is it so wrong that I want to spend time with my fiancée?”

There was no one around, so I didn’t know who he was pitching this to. But we had talked about it beforehand, and unless we were behind closed doors, we were going to play our roles as best we could.

“I suppose not.” I walked in as he held the door for me.

The bedroom was bigger than my old apartment. A sitting area and bookshelves made up one side while the bed and an enormous fireplace filled the other. Our luggage sat near the books. I glanced outside the window and spotted lemon trees lined up with lush greenery in between. They smelled wonderful.

I faced him. “Was your mom trying to get you laid by giving you this bedroom?”

“I doubt it. This has been my room since I was a boy. I don’t think she had that in mind when she decided this would be my space.”

“I know you call this place home, but Julian, this isn’t a home. It’s a hotel.”

He laughed and shrugged. “Home is where the heart is, right?”

“That’s what they say.”

“We should probably catch up to the others in the lounge and see what terror Piper has wreaked on her cousins.”

“She’s the troublemaker out of the kids?”

“At times.” My body tightened as he came closer. “Before we go, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate you being here, appreciate you doing this for me. I know I’m paying you for your time, but thank you, Maggie, really.”

It felt like the perfect kissing moment, but since we weren’t doing that, I chucked his shoulder instead. “Anytime, pal. Ready to catch up with your family?”

“Sure.”

The lounge was on the first floor in the other wing. As it turned out, the house had three—east, west, and north. The remaining area consisted of the pool. At first glance it did not appear to be anything out of the ordinary. But upon closer inspection, it was enormous. His grandfather had insisted on an Olympic-sized regulation pool for his home, so the house was built around that feature. In addition, there were two jacuzzis, a water slide, and a lazy river. Similar to what Julian had in his home but on a much larger scale.

I was caught up in the grandeur of my surroundings as we walked into the high-ceilinged lounge when a distinct voice cut through the din of people chatting over cocktails. “Oh my God, Maggie, how are you?”

No, no, no.

Talons gripped my shoulder and turned me around. There, smiling like evil incarnate, was Chloe Foster.

My brain shorted out, and I stammered, “Wha-what are you doing here, Chloe?”

“You’re such a kidder,” she said, hugging me. “I’m sure Artemis is thrilled to have such a funny future daughter-in-law. Oops, did I let the cat out of the bag?”

“Chloe,” Julian said sharply. “Why are you here?”

“Don’t you ever talk to your cousins? I’m dating Marcus.” She lowered her voice, “It’s gotten serious, so he invited me.”

I muttered to myself, “What fresh hell is this?”

She laughed. “Come, I’ll introduce you.”

“No, Chloe, that’s my job,” Julian said firmly. “Thanks, but no thanks. See you around.” He whisked me away to a corner by the bar. “Cocktails, then we figure out a game plan, okay? Don’t quit on me now.”

But I wasn’t quitting. There was a difference between quitting and understanding you were outmaneuvered. “She’ll tell. She must know something.”

He leaned in close to my ear. “She doesn’t know shit other than we pawed each other at the reunion. If anything, this sells the story. Can you handle her, or do we need to create a dying relative of yours as an exit excuse?”

From across the room, Chloe’s laughter shot through me. Instantly, I assumed it was about me though chances were probable it wasn’t. That was the trouble with bullies, they made it impossible to stop thinking about the next time they’d attack.

I had decided at the reunion that I had ceded enough territory to Chloe over the years and that was over. I wasn’t going back.

I drew a quick breath. “I’m good. Get me a cocktail, and I’ll be golden.”

He smiled slyly. “On it.”

I hoped I hadn’t lied.