The Arrangement: The Seduction (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Carly Phillips

further.
    And then he takes me to heights that surpass even last night’s.

Chapter Five
    My life isn’t perfect. Never has been. I thought it never would be. One chance meeting, one special man, and one month later, things are different. Life is sparkling and bright. I see everyday images with a new eye. The blue sky and the white, speckled clouds add a lightness to my step, and even the dingy dorm room and my sucky roommate don’t seem as bad these days.
    Maybe it’s because my bodyguard now comes with benefits. I chuckle at my joke as I hang my bag on a hook in the back room of The Tavern.
    “Someone’s happy,” Callie says, joining me. She, too, is placing her belongings in their places.
    “Maybe someone’s getting lucky,” Mark, a busboy who has a bad habit of eavesdropping, says, butting into my business.
    “Go away,” I say to him. I don’t want to discuss my private life with someone I barely know.
    He rolls his eyes. “You two are no fun.”
    “Go find friends,” Callie tells him.
    Until he learns boundaries, I don’t see such a thing happening. But he listens for once and walks out of the room, mumbling to himself about cliquey women.
    “Seriously,” Callie says, studying me with care. “It’s great to see you with a new light in your eyes.”
    “Thanks,” I say. Callie’s a sweet woman.
    She’s older than me, and she has wisdom I’m still hoping to develop.
    “He seems to really be into you.”
    I shrug. “I hope he is.” Because I’m really into him.
    Like, really into him. As in, I think I’m falling hard. A month has passed since we slept together for the first time, and we’ve really bonded. He meant it when he said he liked to cook, and I spend more and more of my off time in his Queens house. Since the area is so small, there’s a lot of hip bumping and grinding, which I know is intentional. It’s fun and sexy, and I feel so good about him, us, and the direction of my life. And it’s about time.
    My classes are almost over. Finals are coming up in two weeks, and graduation looms like a big, shiny beacon. It won’t mean the complete end of my attachment to my parents, but if I can find a job, I’ll be closer than not to self-sufficient.
    I’ve been sending out resumes and applying for apprentice-type jobs in decent Manhattan restaurants. It’s a stretch to think I’ll get one that way. One of my professors knows my goals and promised to talk to some people he knows in the industry and see if they can find me a training position. I hope a connection comes through by graduation. I can work a day job for pay and learn at night. The Tavern hasn’t been helping. I haven’t worked anything except the bar in months, despite Tank’s brother’s initial promise of kitchen training.
    In my most daring dreams, I want to own a specialty breakfast shop where I can cook my own recipes that I’ve been working on and perfecting since I turned sixteen. I have an entire handwritten book of ideas, and I know exactly what I would want the place to look like and what I would want to serve. It would be any breakfast lover’s dream. I’ve even gone so far as to share my hopes and dreams with Zach, and he hasn’t laughed at me. Instead, he encourages me to believe.
    For now, I’m serving drinks though, and I start going through my night. But I’m taken off guard when I find Sean sitting at the bar at The Tavern, staring at me through hooded eyes. All six feet of him dwarf most other men. I used to take one look at his dark hair, blue eyes, and muscular body and melt. Now I prefer one blond, built man who has consumed my every thought. Still, Sean’s here to see me, and I signal to Callie to take over for me.
    Curious and confused, because Sean has no time for anyone or anything, I walk toward him. “What are you doing here?”
    He scowls, as if annoyed that he’s here at all. I suppress a grin and don’t tell him I appreciate him coming out to see me. It’ll just make him