Chapter 13

#Chapter 13: The Conditions of the Contract

“Fine,” I said quietly. “But I have conditions, too.”

Nathan looked at me for a moment with a raised eyebrow. “Okay…” he said. “What

are your conditions?”

“Well…” I sighed and walked over to the table, and sat down. Nathan looked at me

for a moment with his arms folded across his chest before he finally sat down.

across from me.

“If it’s going to be for a year,” I continued, “and we have to uphold this fake relationship situation for the entire time, then I want to make something clear: we

are not going to be in any sort of relationship other than friendship behind the

scenes.”

Nathan nodded slowly. “Go on…”

“Rule one: all dates, public occasions, facing the media, Alpha Council visits, and

family visits will be faked. Rule two: at home, I don’t want there to be anything else.

going on between us. I don’t want to do anything to destroy our friendship.”

that’s fair,” Nathan said. “But what if either of us wants to look for a romantic

“Well, tha

partner?”

I shook my head vigorously. “I think we can both last a year without romance.

Besides, I’ll be too busy with the pregnancy. It wouldn’t be fair if I was sitting here.

unable to find a partner all of the time when you’re going on on dates or, god forbid,

you’re bringing home other women.”

Nathan nodded in understanding. “Okay. No romantic relationships for a year is

rule three, I guess. Anything else?”

I sat there thinking for a few moments. Without a boyfriend or a husband to help. me through the pregnancy and the first few months of the baby’s life, it was going to

be difficult.

*Rule four: I want help with the baby when it comes,” I finally said. “If you’re going to live here with me, then we should split any work that needs to be done. That

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includes the baby.”

My childhood friend’s eyes widened slightly, but I could see that hint of a smile on

his face once again.

“Alright,” he agreed. “I’ll help you with the baby. In fact, I was already planning on

it.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Really?” I asked.

Nathan nodded and stood. “Follow me.”

I stood tentatively and followed my friend out the back door and onto the back

lawn, where there was a large oak tree. “Look up,” he said, pointing.

I followed his finger, and as I did, my eyes widened. During just the week that I spent in the motel, Nathan had begun rebuilding the treehouse from when we were kids in the big oak tree. My mouth hung open as I slowly walked up to it and

touched the wooden ladder that led up to the unfinished tree house.

“It’s not done yet,” he said, “but I wanted to do something nice for you

and your

unborn baby. I figured that he or she could play up there in a few years. Plus, it was

sad seeing our old treehouse falling apart.”

I couldn’t help but smile. As I looked up at the unfinished treehouse, a few tears came into my eyes. I quickly blinked them away and turned to face Nathan, but before I could say anything, he gestured for me to follow him again.

“Come on,” he said. “I have more to show you.”

We headed back into the house, and Nathan began giving me a tour. I had stayed in the villa for a couple of nights leading up to the wedding, but I didn’t spend too much time snooping around. But now, Nathan decided to give me an extensive tour

of all of the renovations that he made.

“This is the new bathroom,” he said, opening the door to reveal a beautiful bathroom with black and white tiled floors, a large claw–foot bathtub, and big

windows looking out over the ocean. The bathroom smelled faintly of his grapefruit

b*dy lotion, and it made me blush a little as I looked into a space that felt oddly too

private.

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“Here is the master bedroom…” At the end of the hallway, there was a large room that my aunt always kept locked for storage. I only saw into it once or twice and saw piles of boxes sitting around, but now it was opened up.

The room had an airy, comfortable feel to it. There was a large king–sized bed with a canopy and plush pillows and blankets, and a little desk beneath the window. There was also a walk–in closet.

“Is this your room?” I asked, looking around in awe. I sat down on the soft bed and bounced a little. It was incredibly soft, and I imagined that anyone would get the best sleep in there.

“Actually, I haven’t stayed in here yet,” Nathan admitted. “Before the wedding, I stayed at my parents‘ place so that Layla and I could move in at the same time and experience it together. This bedroom was supposed to be our honeymoon suite, but since the wedding… I’ve just been staying in the guest room.”

I felt a little sad. As Nathan spoke about Layla, his face seemed dark and full of sorrow. He seemed so calm about everything during the wedding as he just wanted to protect his fiancee’s reputation, but now it seemed to be hitting him.

“Well, now you can sleep in here,” I said. “You’ll sleep well in here.”

Nathan shook his head. “This is your room now,” he said. “It’s your aunt’s house. It

belongs more to you than to me, so you should get the nicest room.”

“Nathan, it’s really okay-”

“Think of the baby,” Nathan interrupted. “You’ll want a nice room when you’re

further along in the pregnancy. The guest room is just fine for me.”

Before I could protest any further, Nathan led me down the hall. We passed by my

aunt’s old bedroom.

“I noticed that you kept my aunt’s room mostly the same,” I said with a bit of a

smile. “How come?”

Nathan simply shrugged. “I figured your aunt would want that,” he said. “It’s my way of honoring her for letting us spend so much time here as kids.”

My friend’s words made me smile.

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After that, Nathan took me downstairs and showed me the living room. There was at large, plush sectional sofa with a huge television on the wall, and all sorts of game. and movie systems to choose from. There was also a large stereo with an old- fashioned record player attached, and beside it was a shelf that contained a lot of music and movies from our childhood.

Then, he showed me the kitchen.

“Check out the pantry,” Nathan said with a smile, nodding his head toward the large. cabinet. I opened it, and immediately yelled out in surprise.

The pantry was fully stocked with all kinds of baking equipment and ingredients.

“So many baking supplies!” I said excitedly, reaching into the cabinet to pull out a

box of brownie mix.

Nathan chuckled. “I put that cabinet together for you this week,” he said. “I figured

that you would be staying here from now on.”

I felt my heart skip again. When I turned back to face my friend, I noticed that he

seemed to be blushing a bit.

“It’s really all for me?” I asked.

Nathan nodded. “I know how much of a sweet tooth you used to have,” he said with

a smile. “And clearly you still have it, judging from how fast you ate that chocolate

muffin.”

I made a face and punched my friend in the arm. “After you put so much care into your wedding house, it still turned out to be my house in the end,” I teased. “What a

shame.”

Nathan said nothing. I smiled and walked up to him, and wrapped my arms around

him.

“Thank you, Nathan.

Suddenly, Nathan seemed uncomfortable. He quickly walked away from my hug,

almost pushing me away in the process, and left me standing in the kitchen feeling

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confused. Frowning, I walked into the dining room to see him standing and looking out the window with his hands in his pockets.

“I didn’t think you’d ever come back, Olivia,” Nathan said quietly“I thought for sure that you would never forgive me.”

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