Never break us apart

4 - The contract

The waitress set down the tea and I continued to stare at Taron, confused.

"What do you mean?" I blurted out the second she left.

He took a deep breath "My relationships are a PR nightmare ever since Emily. My agent suggested I hire somebody to be my pretend wife. I just don't want anyone to do that. I want to do this with somebody I feel comfortable with" he stared at me.

"And that's me?" I laughed. "I have a job and a life here"

"I know that" Taron said instantly. "And I don't ask you to leave your life behind. You just couldn't work as an escort anymore. Or rather you'd be working for me" he smiled.

"Well what would I have to do?" Was I seriously considering this?

"You would have to move to London with me and we would have to act as if we were in love" Taron shrugged.

"Meaning...?" I smirked.

"Holding hands in public, picking out an engagement ring, wedding preparations and so on" He seemed to have thought this through.

"Wedding?" I gasped.

"Yes we would have to get married. We could get a divorce after a year though" Taron seemed unsure. "Sorry about all of this. I understand if you don't want to do this"

"I'll think about it" I said before I took a sip of my tea.

Taron put his hand on mine next to my cup "I would love to spend more time with you"

I sighed "This means everybody will know who I am though"

Taron looked down "Yeah that's the downside of my job"

"People would probably hate me for taking you off the market" I joked.

Taron smirked "Nobody will hate you. The most important thing is that I love you. That's what we have to make people believe"

My heartbeat picked up, but of course he hadn't meant what he said. "Sure" I gulped. Was I in this too deep already?

"Think about it and call me" Taron looked up at me from under his lashes. I loved when he did that.

"We would have to set some rules though" I asked

"What are your conditions?" he asked as he had a sip of his tea.

"We couldn't continue having sex. I feel like the whole situation might derail, especially if we live together. And you know I don't kiss on the mouth"

"We will have to figure it out. I accept your terms" he said nonchalantly.

"You do?" I raised his eyebrow. He accepted not having sex? "Cause it's not like you can have sex with other women out there when we are married" It felt so surreal.

"Yeah" he shrugged "I don't want to force you into anything"

I wanted to laugh out loud. As if he had to force me into having sex with him. Quite the opposite actually.

"Alright" I said "I will let you know"

We said our goodbyes and Taron kissed me on the cheek. I was so sad to leave his side, I didn't know what was happening. If I didn't agree to this, I would probably never see him again. Could I deal with that? Or should I rather deal with our so-called engagement?

I took a stroll through the park and tried to calm down a bit. It was no use though. I petted Tim as I got home. He would have to come for sure if I was doing this.

I lay down on the couch and picked up my phone to call Jen.

"Hi Madeleine. I'm so glad you're calling" Jen answered.