The Arrangement by Thayer King Page A

grey. Ash thought that his mother’s death and his subsequent bad behavior were the likely cause.
    “Dad, I wanted to marry her.”
    “But she hates you,” Tara sputtered.
    “ Hate is a bit harsh.” He grinned. “At any rate, that’s in the past.”
    Tara eyed him with suspicion. “A sham marriage would be worse for your father than no marriage.”
    “Then there’s nothing to worry about. It’s a real marriage.” Asher told the lie with a straight face. He didn’t blink or look away. His father was a good man. Their law firm had a larger load of pro bono work than any other that Ash knew of. Ash didn’t consider himself to be a good man. His greatest talents were picking up women, drinking to excess, and being able to lie without anyone being the wiser. So maybe he didn’t deserve Ariadne, but she was his for the moment and he intended do everything in his power to keep her. In that sense, he supposed their marriage was very real and he wasn’t lying.
    His father gave him a slow smile. “Congratulations, son. This calls for champagne.”
    “I’ll get it,” Terri volunteered.
    “You should have consulted me before doing this,” Tara said. “Now I have to perform a background check on her.”
    “No, you don’t,” he stated firmly. “Nothing you find is going to change my mind about Ari.”
    She pursed her lips. “That may be so, but I need to do it so that I’ll have that information before any possible opponents do.”
    He shrugged. “Do what you need to but know this, I am going to stay married to Ari. I’m not giving her up.”
     
    ***
     
    Ariadne paced as she watched Asher hang his clothing in her closet. In order to make room for his clothes, she’d had to put away her winter clothing and store it in the guestroom.
    “You’re going to wear a path in the carpet,” he said in a casual tone as he placed a shirt on a rack.
    It was uncomfortable, Ash, her nemesis, invading her personal space. His suit jackets were brushing up against her blouses. His male scent was already commandeering the room, dominating the delicate potpourri she had housed in glass bowl in the walk in closet.
    “This is weird,” she said at last. “Don’t you think this is weird? I’ve never lived with a guy before.”
    “Don’t worry. I stopped peeing on carpets in college.”
    She’d like to think he was joking. She eyed him with disapproval. “When we go to the reunion, I forbid you to get drunk.”
    “I don’t do that anymore either.”
    “Keep it up, and I’m going to think you’ve become positively dull.”
    He grinned and went back to unpacking. She watched him for a moment before saying, “I’m going to go fix dinner. Any preferences?”
    “Anything you cook will be fine with me.”
     
    They were digging into their plates of lasagna when she heard the key in the lock. Her mother didn’t see the sense in bothering with the doorbell or with knocking. She simply let herself in. When Ariadne had pointed out that it was possible that her mother could one day walk in at an awkward moment her mother had scoffed at the possibility. As yet, it had not happened, but still…
    Her mother drew to a halt at the archway to the dining room. “Well, who do we have here?” She entered the room like a whirlwind, the impression aided by the layers of lavender chiffon in her dress. She was all smiles as she pulled out a chair next to Asher and sat down.
    “Mom, this is Asher.”
    “Oh, the little white boy you married while on vacation.”
    Ariadne frowned. Aurora knew exactly who he was. She’d called her mother from the beach to inform her about the marriage. At the time, she thought Aurora had taken the news well. But when she came home, her mother had come over to return her mail and then rushed off to have her nails done without even bringing it up. Ariadne braced herself for possible drama. Her mother was outspoken and often outrageous. She’d been embarrassed by her on any number of occasions. The