“Oh, no, I believe you. I’ve seen your picture everywhere. It’s hard to not recognize you. In fact, I can’t believe I didn’t yesterday,” Daisy said, leaning forward onto her arms, which were crossed over the table. “What I can’t belive is that you’re actually helping me. For seemingly no reason.”
“Your suitor seems to think I’m a low-borne,” Arvil smiled in amusement. “How shocked would you think he would be once he finds out he’s dealing with me? When I think about that, I feel very amused.”
He leaned against the chair, tapping his fingers on the desk.
“Well, perhaps there is a reason,” Arvil shrugged. “With you around, perhaps for a little while, I’ll get a peace of mind. I’m sure you understand what it feels like having people flock around you constantly.”
Daisy closed her eyes and let out a long sigh, nodding her head slowly. “Yeah, I do… That does make sense. As long as you don’t think you’ll be getting anything extra out of this.”
Arvil quirked an eyebrow.
“I don’t have to pretend to be someone’s fiancé to get something extra, you know,” he shot her a grin. “Anyway, give me your left hand.”
Daisy groaned and rolled her eyes. When he asked for her hand, she looked at him, her eyes narrowing. “Why…?”
Arvil held out his own hand, looking at her expectantly. “Come on. I’m not going to chop it off, as tempting as it might sound.”
Raising her eyebrows, Daisy stuck her hand out warily. What in the world was he planning on doing…?
Arvil took her hand in his, taking out his other hand from his pocket, and gently slid in a ring. It was simple, but pretty. Daisy looked like someone who preferred simplicity.
“If we’re going to be engaged, we need a small proof,” he explained, letting go of her hand after he was done. “So here you go. The ring.”
Daisy looked down at the ring on her finger. She had honestly nearly given up on getting married, and here she was with an engagement ring. Granted, it was a fake engagement, but still an engagement nonetheless…
“Ah. I see… Yes, I suppose you’re right,” she murmured.
“I want to know what your boundaries are,” Arvil continued. “Since we’re supposed to be in… love, I want to know how comfortable you are in acting out on that feeling.”
Daisy closed her eyes and let out a slow breath before opening them again. “As long as we’re in private, no more touching me than is absolutely necessary. In public the same thing applies. Hand holding, cheek kisses, hand kisses, anything small but obviously not, like, so small that it’s unbelievable. Those are all okay.”
“Understood,” Arvil smiled, leaning back against his seat. “No unnecessary touches, kisses only on the cheek, hand, forehead?”
“Forehead kisses are fine, too,” Daisy said, pulling her hands into her lap. She spun the new ring around her finger, fidgeting with it. “Anything else?”
“I like neck nuzzles,” Arvil offered her a sly smile. “Anyway, there’s nothing else. As for our story… we’ll say we met at a certain event hosted by my company. You attended to write a story about it, and we bumped into each other. We talked, exchanged numbers and then I finally asked you to marry me. We kept this a secret because of how the media would react. We wanted to have a quiet relationship for a while before coming out of the closet. Is that all right?”
Daisy listened to his idea, nodding along slowly. “That works with me… How long were we dating, though? How long were we friends before that? How long have we been engaged?”
“We’ve known each other for a year,” Arvil answered. “After knowing each other for five months, I directly proposed instead of dating. Five months was enough to realize you were the one for me, and I needed to act before someone tried to take you away from me.”
“All right,” Daisy mused in a mumble, glancing away in thought. “I was probably shocked and needed some time to think, then ignored you for a week. And then you actually came over to talk to me and I agreed…”
“Sounds good,” Arvil nodded. “As long as you don’t try to ruin my wonderful image, I think we’ll be good. Can we order now? I’ve yet to eat breakfast.”
“Yeah, yeah. You could have ordered while you were waiting for me. Then your food would have been cooked as we were taking.”
“I was waiting for you,” Arvil shrugged. “You never told me if you has eaten or not.”
“I have not eaten, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t have just started without me,” Daisy said with a shrug. “Oh, look. There’s a waiter right now.”
Arvil called the waiter over before looking over at Daisy.
“What sort of breakfast do you want?” He questioned. “Do you come here often?”
Daisy nodded slowly. “Every once in a while. I usually get pancakes, but I was thinking French toast today.”
“All right,” Arvil nodded before he began ordering. Usually, he and Noah ate together (though the latter often threatened to poison him). Once he was done, he turned his attention towards Daisy. “Okay, shouldn’t we know a bit about each other?”
“That’s would probably be beneficial, wouldn’t it? All right… How about we play twenty questions?” Daisy suggested.
"You ask first," Arvil tapped his finger on the table. "I'll answer as best as I can."
“Okay… What is your favorite color, then?” Daisy asked.
Arvil thought over it before he shrugged.
“I don’t have one,” he answered. “I don’t have preferences in things like that.”
Daisy hummed, nodding slowly. “Interesting… I like gray and light pink.”
“First date fantasy,” he looked her over, grinning. “Every female has those, no?”