She had stood on her toes. She had leaned in, and their lips had brushed together briefly. Arvil was ready to respond the second her lips had touched his, but then her father interrupted them and she pulled away.
It took a lot out of Arvil to hold in his growl of frustration. He had wanted to kiss her. Desperately. Why was it that every time it happened, they were interrupted?
Arvil shook his head and turned off the tap, grabbing a cloth and wiping the counter free of water. He sighed.
“We should head back,” he muttered, though all he wanted to do was pull her back for a kiss, however short it would be.
Daisy nodded slowly, letting out a slow breath as she closed her eyes for a moment. She opened them again and watched him, waiting for him to finish.
“Thanks for helping. That went a lot faster with help,” she said softly. “I don’t know why she still thinks I should help her when I’ve moved out already, but I do it anyway.”
Arvil looked at Daisy, setting the cloth aside and walking to her.
“She’s your mother,” he replied softly. “Whatever the situation, help is always appreciated. I wouldn’t mind helping out my mom, or my wife, either.”
Daisy blinked once at his statement. She ignored it this time and just held out her hand for him to take so they could walk out looking like a couple. And not at all because she still definitely wanted to kiss him.
“Of course,” she murmured, nodding slowly.
Arvil took her hand in his, squeezing it gently. He looked at her once, then at her mouth and then sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“I’ll be leaving in a few minutes,” he said with a sigh. “I can’t leave the company unchecked like that for too long.”
“Oh. Okay, sure. Of course. You’ll let me know when you get there, right?” Daisy asked, raising her eyebrows at him in question. “I’m sure my mom will try to keep you here for a while longer, too.”
“Of course I will. I don’t want you getting angry at me again,” Arvil chuckled as he remembered. “Not that I mind. I think I like having you fuss over me. Anyway, I think she will, too. I wouldn’t mind, either, because I would rather wait till that Gabriel whatever leaves.”
Daisy rolled her eyes at his mention of her worrying about him the other day, and a smile tugged on her lips when he mispronounced Gavril’s name. Again.
“I know you know his name, so I’m not even going to bother correcting you anymore,” she declared, amusement in her voice. She shook her head before tugging him out into the living room, smiling at her parents and ignoring Gavril completely. “Arvil actually has to leave now, and I have some work to catch up on, so I think we’ll just get going now.”
Arvil was completely, utterly transfixed by the smile on her face. It was just so goddamn beautiful, just like the rest of her was. Was there any part of her that wasn’t amazing? Even when she tugged him into the living room and was talking to her parents, he couldn’t remove his eyes from her lips. From that wondrous smile that made his own lips quirk up softly.
Then she finished and he cleared his throat, looking at her parents and smiling. “I had fun today,” he said. “Thank you for having me. The food was delicious, Annalise.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize you both had to leave so soon. I would have had us eat earlier so that we could talk more if I had known,” Annalise started, standing and crossing the room to the couple. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for coming.”
“Yes, thank you. It was much welcome from my wife’s constant complaining about our lack of company. I keep telling her that we work too much to have company over regularly, but she always brushed me off,” Thomas chuckled, joining his wife and reaching out to shake Arvil’s hand.
“Well, you know being the CEO has its disadvantages just as much as it has its advantages,” Arvil winced before he turned to Thomas and shook his hand, a grin taking over his lips. “Well, you don’t have to worry about company. When your daughter and I get married, we’ll definitely drop by more often.”
Daisy bit her cheek, refraining from giving him a look. She didn’t necessarily enjoy visiting her parents, but she had to admit that they had definitely gotten better.
“Of course. Drive safely, both if you,” Annalise said with a smile, hooking her arm through Thomas’s once he had pulled his hand away from Arvil’s.
“We will, mom. See you later. Call me about dress shop times,” she said, beginning to tug Arvil away.
Without sparing Gavril a glance, the two walked out. Once they were out of the house, Arvil pulled Daisy to him again, hands on her waist.
“I’ve got two things to ask of you,” he started. “One, an employee of mine is getting married. He invited me. Do you want to come as my date?”
Daisy blinked up at him, surprised by the sudden movement. She placed her hands against his chest, unsure of where else she should put them.
“When is it? I mean, I’ll come if I’m able to, but I need to know the date,” she answered softly. “What’s the second one?”
Arvil stared into her eyes with deep intensity, his eyes burning. They flickered to her mouth before coming back to her eyes.
“Can I kiss you?” He finally asked, his voice raspy. “Not for show.”
The breath hitched in Daisy’s throat as she looked up at him, her lips parted slightly. He wanted to kiss her again… He really did. And gosh, she wanted him to, too… But was it a good idea?
“Is— is that a good idea? I mean… We’re—“ she cut herself off with a glance toward the house, then met his eyes again and breathed, “Yes. Please.”
Arvil’s darkened eyes lookef over her face, taking in each detail, especially the way her lips had parted. All he needed was the permission to cup her cheeks in his hands and press their mouths together softly.
And God only knows how much he had missed kissing her. He had done it once and it was like he was addicted. He just couldn’t get the feeling out of his head, of what it felt like kissing her and what her lips had felt against his.
And that was when Arvil realized it. He liked her. He liked Daisy Riley, his fake fiancée.
Daisy slowly kissed him back, the action sending tremors down her spine. The way he had looked at her before she answered… She couldn’t believe he looked so affected by her.
Arvil kissed her gently, pleased when she kissed him back. Was it cheesy of him to admit that it felt like their lips were made to fit in each other’s? He loved the taste of her. He loved how she responded to him.
Their lips moved slowly, in synch, and one of Arvil's hand moved to wrap around her middle while the other rested on the back of her head. He tugged her closer, wanting to feel her pressed against him. And at this point, if she pulled away, he knew he would let her despite wanting to kiss her more.
Daisy lifted her hands to his cheeks, holding his face gently. She let him kiss her for a moment longer before pulling away slowly.
“I think— I think I should go… But thank you. For today. With Gavril and my parents,” she said softly, speaking just barely above a whisper. “Thank you.”
Arvil breathed heavily, eyes still closed. He pressed his lips together and exhaled through his mouth before opening his eyes and looking at Daisy. At her swollen lips and flushed cheeks.
“Anytime,” Arvil responded, his voice a little hoarse. Her hands on his face sent a shiver down his spine. “You don’t need to thank me for something I do willingly.”
Daisy nodded and stepped away. She didn’t know what to feel about this. She enjoyed kissing him, definitely, he was very good at it, but… Were they just kissing to satisfy their wants? Because they just thought the other attractive and wanted to kiss each other? Or was there something more between them?
“I’ll see you later,” she murmured as she turned around, making her way to her car and sliding inside.
Arvil watched as Daisy walked away, a fond smile on his face. He didn’t remove his eyes from her until she had driven off. Once he couldn’t see her car anymore, he turned back to walk to his own when his eyes caught Gavril’s. The two men stared at each other until Arvil broke the silence, his face hardened and void of any emotion.
“I don’t know what you’re planning,” he started slowly, but each word had a warning. “But if your actions hurt my fiancée in any way, you’ll realize mercy isn’t a word I’m much familiar with. Do not test me, Gavril Ford. I can be your worst nightmare when you least expect it.”
Without another word, the twenty-seven-year-old walked to his car, sat inside and drove off, the feeling of Daisy’s lips still fresh on both his lips and his mind.
[TIME SKIP: A FEW DAYS]
Arvil twirled the ticket in his hand, rotating in his chair. He’d gotten that for Daisy. He felt like she had been working too hard without taking a break, and then taking care of a fake fiancée was even more tiring. He appreciated everything she did for him. She didn’t need to, but she did it anyway.
Daisy Riley. A soft smile blossomed on his lips. He’d really fallen for her, hadn’t he? She was special. She was lovely. It was no wonder he had. Too bad their relationship was created out of lies. He would do anything to make it into the truth, but he knew Daisy didn’t want him. To her, he’d always be a lie they created. To him, she was the reality he could never have.
And Arvil was fine with that. He was fine with simply offering her his support until there was no threat to her happiness.
So now he was waiting for her to come so he could give her the ticket. She deserved it. She earned it, that woman…
Daisy trekked up the stairs with a wide yawn, covering her mouth with her arm. In her hands, she held paper bags with burgers and fries and a drink carrier with milkshakes in it. She’s really wanted a milkshake while she was there, so she had decided to her herself one and got Arvil one just because.
Once she stepped into her fake fiancé’s office, she yawned again and set everything down. “One: this is burgers and fries and obviously milkshakes. Two: I’m exhausted. I was up until two in the morning trying to finish an article before the deadline…”
Arvil looked up at his fiancée and a worried look crossed his features. He immediately put away the ticket so she couldn’t see it, and walked over to her.
“You should have slept in,” he frowned. “You could get sick, love. And you should have told me you couldn’t come. This isn’t important, you know.”
Daisy waved him off, closing her eyes for a moment. She opened them to blink at him, sticking her hands in the pockets of her light pink blazer.
“Let’s eat, and then we can discuss the sleeping habits of a writer,” she chuckled softly. “I’m also starving.”
“All right,” Arvil furrowed his eyebrows again, grabbing her hand and leading her to the couch. “In case dear you passes out or something.”
He pushed her on the couch and gave her a wink. He grabbed the bags and took out one burger and fries and set them in front of her, sliding the milkshake to her as well.
“Eat,” he said softly. “And next time, take a break.”
Daisy snorted and pulled her heels off, then curled her feet under herself. She reached over for the bag with her food in it and pulled out the fries, popping one into her mouth, then the burger.
“I hope you like vanilla milkshakes,” she mumbled around a bite of burger, ignoring his statement about her sleep.
“I like you, so of course,” Arvil shrugged nonchalantly before he stood up. “Actually, I am glad you’re here today. I’ve got something for you.”
