Free The Arrangement by Simon Smith-Wilson Page A

the
corridor from his office, the one with the bad hair, and worst dress
sense known to humanity, even she was looking doable to him.
    ‘Emma…’
her name echoed within his head.
    She
was gorgeous, but worst than that she knew he fancied her.
    He
had done well this last month ignoring Scarlett’s advances and
attempting to focus on his work. He had avoided all other women and
refused to give into the tempting urges within his soul, but the
question upon his mind was how long he would be able to maintain this
self-control with such a tempting forbidden fruit working with him
each and every day.
    ‘Lucas?’
a sleepy eyed Scarlett flowed into view beside him.
    She
was still wearing her beautiful dress, but her eyes were hardly open.
It was like she had used only will power just to stop herself from
falling to sleep. Even now, as he looked at her, he could almost hear
the creaking sound of the eyelids closing shut.
    ‘Hey,
baby.’ He held out his arms towards her.
    Moving
on autopilot, she squeezed onto the deck chair and cuddled into him.
    Lucas
kissed her softly upon the top of the head.
    ‘Where
were you?’ her voice sounded dreamy and far away.
    ‘I’m
sorry. I was stuck behind work with meetings,’ Lucas lied.
    ‘I
made you a special dinner.’
    ‘I
know you did. I am so sorry I ruined that. You went to such great
efforts for me.’ He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her
petite body to him.
    ‘I
wanted to do something special for you.’ Her breathing was so
shallow that it wouldn’t be long until she slipped into the
world of dreams. ‘I know I have been making you feel
uncomfortable by trying to make love to you.’
    ‘You
don’t make me uncomfortable.’ Lucas was quick to correct.
‘It is just…’
    This
was it.
    It
was his opportunity to tell her the truth.
    ‘I
just wanted to wait until the wedding day to prove my love to you.’
    Lucas
felt like kicking himself. He wanted deep down within his soul to
confess the real reason he couldn’t make love to her, but that
nagging thought of Mr Mills lingered in the back of his mind. He had
promised his soon to be father-in-law that he could do this. He
wanted to prove that he was a man Mr Mills could trust and be a
person he could be proud to have in his family.
    ‘Do
you love me?’ she asked.
    ‘Of
course I do.’ There was no doubt in his mind at all. ‘I
am madly in love with you. Every day we spend together I love you
more and more.’ He confessed. ‘This is just very
important to me.’
    ‘Is
it?’ Scarlett turned her ocean blue coloured eyes up towards
him.
    ‘What
do you mean?’
    ‘Is
it important to you, or is this more important to someone else?’
    Lucas
broke eye contact with her.
    Scarlett
let out a long weary sigh.
    That
pretty much confirmed what Anne had said. Her dad had intervened. He
had said something to Lucas to make him not make love to her. The way
he couldn’t look her in the eye was all the proof she needed.
    ‘It
is fine,’ she spoke before he did. ‘If you want to wait
until the wedding, then we can wait until the wedding.’ Her
fingers stroked gently down his forearm. ‘This is more than
enough for me tonight.’
    And
with that she cuddled into him and closed her eyes.

 
     
     
     
    Chapter Three: The Next Level

 
     
     
     
    His
warm breath immediately crystallised into a white mist, as it came in
contact with the cold morning air. Lucas slammed the car door shut
and headed up the steps towards the house. He pressed his finger
against the doorbell and promptly returned to rubbing his hands
together in an attempt to generate some heat. It was a chilly morning
with a heavy breeze. His thin shirt didn’t do much to keep him
warm. He was quickly regretting not wearing his coat.
    The
front door opened.
    ‘Good
morning.’ Emma greeted him with a smile.
    Lucas
could feel his mouth becoming very dry.
    She
was wearing nothing but a short white skimpy towel. Unconsciously, he
found himself looking her up