The Boyfriend Arrangement. Andrea Laurence

The way Harper curved against his body and opened her mouth to him was proof of that. He wanted to take it further, to see how powerful their connection really was, but this was neither the time nor the place, so he pulled away while he still could.

      Harper lingered close, a rosy flush highlighting her cheeks. “Listen, I’ve got to go. Would you care to walk me to my apartment? I don’t live far.”

      “I can’t.” He wanted to—quite badly—but he got the feeling it was an invitation better declined at the moment if they were going to spend the next week together. Things could get weird before they even left.

      Harper pulled away just enough to let a chill of air rush in where the heat of her body had been. “Why not?”

      He picked up the wallet he’d set down on a display when he’d spoken with Quentin. “I still have to buy this.”

      A light of amusement lit her eyes. “You’re so literal. I can wait while you check out.”

      It would be so easy to say yes. He took a deep breath and thought up another valid reason. “I also have some things to take care of if I’m going with you on Monday.”

      Harper pouted for a moment before she nodded and covered her disappointment with a smile. “Okay. Well, I’m going out with my girlfriends tomorrow, but how about we get together on Sunday night? We can get to know each other a little better before we get on the plane.”

      “At your apartment?”

      “A bar is probably a better idea. Being you’re a stranger and all, right?”

      He breathed a sigh of relief. He could avoid temptation in a bar. Once they got to Ireland, he wasn’t so sure. “That sounds good.”

      “Give me your phone.”

      Sebastian handed over his cell phone and Harper put her information into his contacts.

      “Text me so I have your information, too. We’ll get together Sunday.”

      With a smile and a wave, Harper handed over his phone and disappeared from the store. Sebastian watched her walk away and, with every step she took, was more and more convinced that he was making a big mistake.

      * * *

      “I know that we’re leaving Monday and I should probably be packing or getting ready, but I really needed one last girls’ night before we go.” Violet eased back into the sofa cushions with a large glass of wine in her hand. “Why didn’t any of you tell me how stressful weddings could be?”

      “Well, Oliver and I eloped, so it wasn’t stressful at all,” Lucy said. “Besides, in the end it’s just a party. Now, nine-month-old twins...that’s stressful.”

      Harper chuckled at her new sister-in-law’s observation. The twins—Alice and Christian—were little darlings, but the minute they started walking, she got the feeling they would be tiny tornadoes of destruction. Especially Alice. She was a little spitfire, like her namesake, their great-great-aunt Alice.

      “No one said you had to fly all your friends and family halfway around the world to get married,” Harper pointed out, taking a sip of her wine. “You could’ve had a ridiculously expensive and over-the-top affair here in Manhattan like Emma did.”

      Emma came into the room with a frown pulling down the corners of her flawlessly painted rose lips. “My wedding was not over the top. It was small and tasteful.”

      Harper arched an eyebrow and laughed. “You may have only had thirty people there, but I’d hardly classify it as small and tasteful.”

      “I had a beautiful reception.”

      “You had an ice vodka luge,” Harper challenged.

      Emma twisted her lips and sighed. “That was Jonah’s thing. He insisted.” She settled beside Violet on the couch. “And it would’ve been ten times bigger if my mother’d had her way. You saw what she did with my baby shower. But seriously, don’t stress too badly about the wedding, Vi. It’s in Ireland. In a castle! It will be beautiful, I promise.”

      “It will,” Lucy chimed in. “You’ve got an amazing wedding planner who has it under control. The best in the city. All you need to do is show up and marry the love of your life. That’s easy.”

      Violet smiled. “You’re right. Aidan has told me the same thing a dozen times. I just can’t stop stressing out about every little detail. In a week from today I’ll be Mrs. Aidan Murphy! Have I forgotten something?”

      “If you have, it doesn’t really matter. As long as both of you show up, say I do and sign your license with a qualified officiant, you’ll be married at the end of the day. Everything else is just details,” Emma said.

      Violet nodded. “You’re right. I know you’re right. I just need to say it until I believe it. What about you guys? Are you packed and ready to leave yet?”

      The women around the coffee table nodded. “Everything is ready. Just a few more things to throw in the luggage before we go. We’re leaving the twins with Oliver’s dad,” Lucy said. “That’s the biggest stressor for me. I haven’t been away from them since they were born, but there’s no way I’m flying overseas with twins at that age.

      “Knox is older than the twins, so I’m hoping he does okay on the flight. It will be his first,” Violet explained. “I couldn’t leave him behind, though. It seems wrong to marry his father without having him there.”

      “Of course. I’m sure he’ll do great. Georgette is staying with my parents, but they’ll have her nanny with them, so I’m not worried.” Emma turned to Harper. “What about you? Are you ready to go? At least you don’t have men and kids to wrangle before the trip. I almost forget what it’s like to just have to worry about myself.”

      “Yep,” Harper said. She took a deep breath and prepared herself to tell the story she’d come up with after talking to Sebastian. Her intention was to tell them as little as possible, but she knew she had to fill the girls in on her new beau before the trip. They were the only ones who would really care. If she sold the story to them, everyone else would take it at face value.

      Including Quentin. Hopefully. If he didn’t buy it, there was no point in continuing the ruse. This whole ridiculous scheme was designed with the sole purpose of making him believe she had someone in her life. That she wasn’t pathetically single and still pining for him. Because she was anything but pining. She was glad to have Quentin out of her life. He was just too egomaniacal to see her single status as anything other than a reflection of her wishing they were still together.

      Selling it to her friends wouldn’t be so easy, though.

      “I’ve got the dress, the passport and...uh...the boyfriend all ready to go.” She said the words quickly and then waited for the inevitable response.

      Emma, Violet and Lucy all paused as anticipated and turned to look at her. The questions came too fast and furiously for her to respond to any of them.

      “What?”

      “Your boyfriend?”

      “Am I missing something, here?”

      Harper winced and nodded when they finally quieted down. “Yeah, um, his name is Sebastian.” She got up to refill her wine and stall the conversation a moment. She was going to need some alcohol to get through this conversation. When she came back into the room from the kitchen, the girls were sitting frozen in place with expectant looks on their faces. “He’s the guy I’ve been seeing for a few months.”

      “Months?” Violet wailed. “You’ve been seeing a guy for months and didn’t think to mention it to us?”

      “You guys have all been busy with your own lives. Babies, weddings...” Harper explained. “And, to be honest, I didn’t want to jinx it. It wasn’t that serious at first and I got tired of mentioning guys to you all and then we didn’t get past the third date. Things were going well,