“Why do I get the feeling that you’ve thought all of this out from the beginning, even before you considered coming to me with your plan,” she observed and raised her brows expectantly.

  He flashed her a smile. “Perhaps I did.” Before he could say more, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Excusing himself, he regarded the incoming notification and smiled wider, the news in his inbox timely.

  “You look pleased,” she said, walking away from the fountain to a bench nearby, the blossoming cherry tree beside it offering shady shelter from the midday early May sun. Brushing the pale pink petals off the bench, she sat down and smoothed her hands over her sleeveless white blouse and down the front of her long, belted, denim skirt.

  Taking the seat beside her, Alwan said, “Definitely pleased. I’m officially a free agent as of this very moment. Which means that nothing’s holding me back from moving forward with my business plans.” Quitting his job had been the last obstacle over the past couple weeks since he and Lulu had returned to Toronto, and now that he’d cleared his exit interview with HR, he could put all his drive and passion into opening the doors on his own practice.

  Just another thing he owed to Lulu. If she hadn’t agreed to this fake engagement, he’d never have considered quitting so soon and so confidently.

  And he was beyond appreciative.

  Maybe that explained what he was feeling now. Because the longer he stared at her, the more a new kind of heat trickled through his bloodstream. He was already leaning in when he stopped himself forcibly, fastening his fingers around the seat of the bench and using it to ground him, his mind reeling from the powerful, mind-numbing instinct to kiss her.

  He didn’t even want to think about what would’ve happened had he not gotten control of himself at the last moment.

  Mistake narrowly averted, and feeling Lulu’s curious eyes on him, Alwan cleared his throat and pasted on a confident smile. He needed to remember that this was temporary. All of it, but most especially his confusing attraction to her. And what better way to remind himself then by diving headlong into the very reason he sought her out.

  “Now that my schedule is freer, how would you like to help me find an office for my new business?”

  * * *

  Lulu was tired and annoyed of being carted all over Toronto to different buildings and venues for a wedding that wouldn’t ever be happening. But she wasn’t upset at all when Alwan had asked for her assistance in scouting an office for his business venture, even though their search entailed much the same thing.

  She supposed the difference was that his goal to establish a business was real.

  Our engagement isn’t.

  It was why she reasoned it was in her best interest to help him. The sooner he set up his practice, the quicker they could end their relationship ruse and move on. Closing this weird, wild ride of a chapter of her life was her sole motivation—

  Or that was what Lulu had tried to convince herself all of this was really.

  If she was being honest though, deep down she’d just wanted to help Alwan. His professionalism was admirable. His passion for his career inspiring. The fact he had left a prestigious law firm and what was likely a fat paycheck spoke to her on a level most people might not have understood and certainly couldn’t appreciate. That she might not have gotten until she’d completely flipped her own life a year ago.

  He was taking a big risk. The kind that could hurt him…and not just his pocketbook.

  Despite their past, and the annoyance that she’d been roped into his engagement scheme, Lulu wasn’t heartless enough to let him flounder on his own. By lending a hand, helping out even in this small way, she could be evening out his odds in his business crashing and burning before it even took flight.

  Don’t lie. You liked him asking for your help.

  Lulu quietly admitted that there was that too. Given their not-so-friendly history and past childhood rivalry, she wouldn’t have ever imagined that Alwan would value her opinion let alone request it for something that he’d made clear was important to him.

  She was still surprised and touched that he had three days and a dozen properties later.

  “Now, I know I said this about all the other places we’ve looked at, but I promise this is the one!” the real estate agent announced cheerfully as he walked them down the short hall to the latest space that he was showing them.

  “Let’s hope it is,” Alwan whispered to her, his fatigue unmistakable.

  She couldn’t blame him. They’d been run off their feet pretend-wedding-planning ever since they’d arrived back to the city together. And if that wasn’t enough, Lulu had returned to her job as a staffing consultant at her old recruitment agency. It was her first time working since her yearlong personal leave.

  Alwan, on the other hand, had picked up work as a volunteer lawyer for a local youth-serving nonprofit associated with their community masjid. He’d had plenty on his plate, and the fact that he was also generously donating his time, knowledge and skills not only impressed her—it left an impression on her. The kind that had her wanting to step up and help him scratch finding an office off his to-do list.

  “Isn’t it something?” the agent asked, all smiles, before launching into his pitch for the space.

  As the agent pointed out key selling points, Lulu admired the large windows and glass partitions on all the three smaller offices, which allowed an uninterrupted flood of natural light into the space. The sunlight was bright on the plain white walls and light gray vinyl flooring, the ceilings high and with exposed ductwork that gave it an industrial feel. The top-notch air-conditioning allayed the heat from the sun’s bright rays.

  If it had been her choice she would’ve signed the lease on the space right then and there.

  Turning his head this way and that, Alwan surveyed the office space slowly, methodically. Until he finally looked back at her with an unreadable expression and then over at the agent.

  “Do you mind giving us a moment to speak?”

  Once the agent’s shiny leather loafers clacked to the exit and the door closed behind him, Alwan asked her, “Well, what’s your honest opinion?”

  “I could ask you the same question,” she said. “It’s not like what I think is the deciding factor.”

  He frowned, looking adorably perplexed. “But it is. That’s why I wanted your help.”

  He stared at her with large, dark eyes, and she was struck by how lost and overwhelmed he appeared.

  Sympathy moved her into gently saying, “Alwan, I can’t make the decision for you. It…it wouldn’t be right. Trust me, you want to be the one choosing where you’ll be working from to get your clients the justice they’re seeking. Not anybody else. You.”

  “It sounds like you’re talking from experience.” He crossed his arms, his eyes piercing through the normal shields she held up to the world.

  Lulu pulled in a slow breath, anxiety clanging loudly in her head as the conversation turned back on her. Her initial thought was to shut it down and move them back onto the subject of Alwan making his own decisions. But instead of doing that, she said, “When I first considered traveling, it was more of a fantasy I’d play in my head every now and again. A fun daydream to get me through the day.

  “After my divorce, the fantasy played nonstop on loop, and that was when I finally decided I’d have to do something about it.”

  “You bought the motor home,” he said with an understanding nod.

  “I’d taken half my savings out to do it, then used the rest to budget my expenses on the road.”

  Lulu swallowed dryly, recalling that nerve-racking moment of her life when she’d put not only money on the line, but all of her hope. It had been one of her toughest choices to leave her work, her friends and family, and everything else she knew and loved in Toronto in the rearview mirror. And she’d had good cause to be concerned because it hadn’t been easy being a traveler. There were skills, like doing light maintenance work on her RV, that she had to learn on the go. Terrifying moments like being caught in a powerful storm current in the wilderness that had her questioning her sanity in choosing that path. And then there was the doubt… That small but loud part of her that wondered whether the RV and road-tripping wasn’t all just an excuse for her to run away from her real-world problems.

  Problems like her failed marriage…

  And any chance of starting my own family.

  Lulu hugged her arms around her middle, her heart as heavy as the thoughts packed in her head. She shook most of them away when Alwan spoke up, pretended like her mind hadn’t been steeped in dark sorrow for a minute there.

  “It must have lived up to the fantasy though, otherwise you wouldn’t have been gone for a year, and you wouldn’t be thinking of going back. You are still going back?”

  Funny. Now that he asked, she wasn’t so sure about her plans moving forward when her motor home was repaired. And considering she’d only signed up to this engagement charade of his to secure the money for repairs, it made that revelation all the more ground-shaking.

  But reminding herself that they weren’t standing around there for her, Lulu forced a smile and nodded, hoping that was enough since she didn’t think she could lie to his face right then.

  “So, the moral is I should trust my gut and go with the choice that’s best for me at this moment?”

  “Pretty much,” she said with feigned cheer.

  Lowering his arms from where they were crossed over his chest, Alwan blew a loud breath, his frustration turning down his mouth and etching frown lines over his brow. Swiping his face with both his palms, he groaned, “I wish it made this easier.” He heaved another long sigh. “I guess the only way over is straight through. I’m just worried about…” He trailed off, turning his head to the windows and the flood of sunlight streaming into the office space. Stroking at his short beard thoughtfully now, he continued, his voice lower, hoarser, “To be honest, I sometimes wonder if I might not have made a mistake. What if nothing comes from any of this, quitting my job, striking it out on my own…even this ruse with you.”

  Lulu’s breath hitched when he looked back at her.

  “What if it amounts to absolutely nothing? What then? Not only will I have let myself down, I’ll have disappointed my family, and…and wasted your time with this partnership.”

  “I can’t make you feel better about anything else, but I can say that not once have I considered our arrangement a ‘waste of my time.’”

  He raised his brows and his smile made a reappearance. “You’re not just saying that to make me feel better?”

  “When have I ever gone out of my way to make you feel better?”

  “Good point,” he laughed, the gusty, unfettered sound of it filling the whole room and fizzing through her. Unable to fight it any longer, Lulu joined in his laughter until his phone interrupted them.

  “It’s my mom,” Alwan said with a small frown. “She and my dad are usually busy with the restaurant this time of day. I hope nothing’s wrong.”

  “The only way you’ll find out is by answering,” Lulu encouraged.

  With a short nod, he did just that. “Salaam, Yumma.”

  The conversation was short, and mostly in Arabic, but Lulu sensed a friction from the one side she could hear. It only grew more pronounced by the end of the conversation when Alwan grunted, “Yeah, okay. Salaams to you and Abu both. Yes, I’ll tell her you said hello.”

  “What happened?” she blurted, too intrigued to even pretend like she wasn’t invested in whatever had transpired between Alwan and his mother.

  “Nothing good,” he muttered.

  Lulu’s chest squeezed, her curiosity morphing into apprehension.

  “First off, my mom says ‘hi,’” Alwan informed her, sighing sharply. “And the reason she called was because tomorrow she’d like us to visit a venue that a friend of hers owns and rents out for events. Apparently, this friend of hers has had a date suddenly open up and is desperate to fill it.”

  “What’s so bad about that?”

  “That date that’s opened up? It’s just about four months from now, on Labour Day.”

  “Oh, I see.” That explained why he’d gotten so worked up about it.

  “Don’t worry,” Alwan assured her. “I already told her we won’t do it.”

  “Why not?”

  Eyes widening and his brows snapping up, Alwan said, “Because four months isn’t anywhere near the one-year timeline we agreed on to do this.” He pointed to the cheap but pretty ring on her finger, prompting her to toy with it.

  “I know that, and I get at the time that it seemed like a year was what we needed, but do we feel that way now?”

  It wasn’t like there were very many obstacles in their path. He had quit his job, and they had spent the last few days searching the city high and low for a suitable workspace for him to run his business from. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before he opened the doors on his practice. And by that point, their fake relationship would’ve come to a natural end. So if that end happened earlier than planned, wouldn’t that be even better?

  Only Alwan didn’t look like he was happy at all.

  His scowl darkened his brooding features, his voice a rumble like warning thunder when he said, “It’s too soon.”

  “Four months is quick, yes,” she conceded, hastening to add, “but hear me out, what if you had your practice ready to go by then?” When she saw his brows knit together, she was hopeful he was considering it.

  That hope died when Alwan suddenly sealed the distance between them in a few short strides. Evidently, he had something else on his mind now.

  With no time to back away, she stood her ground and peered up at him, his sun-bright brown eyes drowning her in their beauty. Every part of her attuned to his larger-than-life presence, only made more prominent now that he’d gotten up close and personal with her. There wasn’t a part of Lulu that Alwan didn’t affect. His musky, spicy cologne poured into her lungs and his body heat had her wondering where the AC that had been working just fine up until that point had gone.

  She stood motionless when Alwan raised his hand and held it hovering by her cheek, the question in his narrowed eyes clear.

  She shouldn’t even be thinking it.

  Should definitely be walking—no, running away from the electrified chemistry sparking between them. A chemistry that absolutely shouldn’t exist, and shouldn’t be wreaking havoc on her senses and driving out all sensibility from her brain.

  We can’t.

  We really, really shouldn’t.

  But she was, swaying into him, following her instincts completely just like she had when she’d impulsively purchased her RV and then again when she had agreed to Alwan’s proposal to be fake lovers. This didn’t have to be any different…

  Not when all the things in her life that had been carefully thought-out decisions—her marriage and dream to have children—had never panned out the way she had hoped.

  If she’d learned anything from her reckless choices, it was that they had worked best for her and ultimately given her the most joy in her life.

  And why should it be different with Alwan?

  So, without a thought or care for anything but wanting to feel him, Lulu leaned into his big palm and closed her eyes, her face as warm as his hand. And when a sigh fluttered from her lips, she opened her eyes and found him staring at her with heated approval, his thumb caressing her cheek, his smile slow and seductive.

  “We’re breaking our no-touching rule again, but it feels good, doesn’t it?”

  She rolled her eyes and mumbled, “Don’t ruin it,” smiling when Alwan’s throaty chuckle set her pulse racing.

  “Fine. Let’s move up the timeline.” He stroked her cheek gently. “But only on the condition that you’ll keep helping me.”

  “All right,” she said, eyes closed again, experiencing his soft caresses more viscerally that way, as if his touch was everywhere at once. Lulu could’ve snuggled her cheek into his hand forever.

  Unfortunately, she only had another few minutes before the door to the room clicked open and familiar-sounding clacking shoes came down the short hall. By the time the agent was in view, the only evidence that anything had happened between them was Alwan’s toothy grin and her sudden fascination with her shoes.

  None the wiser, the agent launched into trying to close them on the property. “The final decision is yours, of course, but I strongly advise that you might not find a better price or a better office—”

  “You’re right,” Alwan cut in, looking toward Lulu and flashing her another sultry smile. “I’ll take it.”

  Chapter Six

  AS DISPLEASED AS Alwan was about his parents pushing for the wedding date to be moved up, he was far unhappier that he had to yet again endure a venue tour.

  Going to one more of these will kill me, he thought, not certain if he was being serious or not.

  But with the way his feet ached in his new slip-on leather loafers, and the summerlike temperature baked him in his lightweight polo shirt, pale blue blazer and tan-colored chinos, Alwan had to assume he might not have been exaggerating completely. Especially when the unseasonably hot wind picked up and it started lightly raining.

  The threat of a storm was all the more reason for him to end the tour of the multi-acreage country estate as soon as he was able.

  “We’ll take it,” he announced to Hawa, their tour guide and the owner’s twentysomething daughter from what he’d gathered at the beginning of the little excursion.

  Recovering from her shock quickly, she smiled brightly and looked between him and Lulu. “Wonderful! If you’re decided on a Labour Day wedding, then I’ll just have you follow me to the back where we’ll fill out some paperwork and accept your deposit.”

  As Hawa forged ahead, likely moving fast so as they didn’t change their minds, Alwan heeded Lulu’s pointedly judgy stare.

  “What? I didn’t see a point of wasting any of our time. It’s not like we’re actually getting married.”

 

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