Zane's POV
I watch Aria's face go completely white as she stares at her phone.
Something's wrong. Very wrong.
"Aria? What is it?" I lean forward, trying to see her screen.
She looks up at me with eyes full of hurt and anger. "You have a girlfriend?"
What? "No. Where did you—"
"Maya just texted me." Her voice shakes. "She says you're bringing your new girlfriend to girls' night tomorrow. Someone serious." She stands up, grabbing her purse. "I can't believe I fell for this. You're exactly the player everyone says you are."
Panic floods through me. "Wait. Stop. I don't have a girlfriend."
"Then explain this!" She shoves her phone at me.
I read Maya's text and curse under my breath. "That's not what this looks like."
"Really? Because it looks like you asked me to secretly date you while you already have someone." Tears fill her eyes. "I'm such an idiot. Derek was right. I am broken. I'm so desperate for attention that I—"
"Don't." I'm on my feet, gripping her shoulders. "Don't you dare finish that sentence. You're not broken, and you're not desperate. This is a misunderstanding."
"Then explain it. Now." Her voice cracks. "Or I walk out and we never speak again."
My phone buzzes. Maya's calling. Perfect timing, as always.
"Hold on. Don't move." I answer. "Hey, sis."
"Zane! Finally! Where are you? You disappeared from my party last night."
I keep my eyes on Aria, willing her to stay. "I had some things to handle. What's this about a girlfriend?"
"Oh my God, yes! Mom called this morning. She set you up with Victoria Chen—you know, Senator Chen's daughter? Apparently, you agreed to take her to some charity thing next week, and Mom's convinced this is finally it. Your serious relationship." Maya sounds thrilled. "I know you usually hate Mom's setups, but Victoria's actually cool. I met her at that fundraiser last month. So I figured why not introduce her to Aria tomorrow? Kill two birds, you know?"
My jaw clenches. Of course my mother's behind this. "I never agreed to date Victoria. I agreed to one charity event as a favor to Dad's business partner. That's it."
"Wait, what? But Mom said—"
"Mom's seeing what she wants to see. There's no girlfriend, Maya. Tell Aria that Victoria isn't—" I stop. Can't say too much without raising suspicion. "Just tell her it's not serious. Actually, cancel the whole thing. I'm not bringing anyone tomorrow."
Aria's watching me, arms crossed, still looking ready to bolt.
"Oh." Maya sounds disappointed. "But Mom already told Victoria about girls' night. She's expecting—"
"Then I'll call Victoria and explain. This is your night with Aria anyway. Why would you want some random woman crashing it?"
"Because Aria just went through a horrible breakup! I thought having another girl around might help. Plus, Victoria's super sweet and—"
"Maya." I use my firm older brother voice. "No girlfriend. No Victoria. Just you and Aria having ice cream and trashing Derek like planned. Okay?"
She sighs dramatically. "Fine. But you're getting boring in your old age, you know that?"
If she only knew. "Yeah, yeah. I'll talk to you later."
I hang up and look at Aria. She's still standing there, but some of the anger has faded into uncertainty.
"My mother," I explain, "decided that because I agreed to escort a senator's daughter to one charity event, we're now dating. Maya got excited and jumped to conclusions. There's no girlfriend, Aria. Just my meddling family trying to control my life as usual."
"One charity event?" She doesn't sound convinced.
"One event. Business favor. I met Victoria exactly once at a fundraiser where she talked about her horse for twenty minutes. Trust me, there's zero interest on either side."
Aria sits back down slowly. "You should have mentioned that before asking me to date you."
"You're right. I should have." I sit across from her again. "But in my defense, I didn't think Maya would find out this fast. My mother works at lightning speed when she thinks she's found me a suitable wife."
"A suitable wife." Aria's laugh is bitter. "And I'm definitely not suitable, am I? I'm the packless nobody your sister picked up. Not a senator's daughter."
The pain in her voice cuts deep. I reach for her hand. "You want to know why my mother keeps setting me up with women like Victoria? Women with perfect pedigrees and political connections?"
"Because that's your world. Not mine."
"Because I've never given her a reason to stop." I squeeze her fingers. "Every woman I've dated has been temporary. Surface level. Easy to walk away from. So my mother thinks she needs to find someone appropriate since I clearly can't pick for myself."
"And what am I? Another temporary thing?"
"No." The word comes out fierce. "That's the whole problem. You're not temporary. You scare the hell out of me because for the first time in my life, I don't want temporary. I want..."
I trail off. This is too much too fast. We had one night together and I'm already talking like we're something serious.
But Aria's eyes have softened. "You want what?"
"More," I admit. "I want more mornings waking up next to you. More conversations over dinner. More of watching you bite your lip when you're nervous. More of everything."
She's quiet for a long moment. "Your mother's going to hate me."
"My mother hates everyone. It's kind of her thing."
"Maya's going to freak out when she finds out."
"Probably. But Maya loves us both. She'll come around." I pull Aria closer. "The question is, do you still want this? Knowing it's going to be complicated and messy and maybe blow up in our faces?"
Aria studies my face like she's searching for lies. Whatever she sees must satisfy her because she finally nods. "One month. Like we agreed. But you have to cancel that charity date with Victoria."
Relief floods through me. "Already planning to."
"And if your mother tries to set you up with anyone else—"
"I'll tell her I'm seeing someone. Won't give her details yet, but I'll make it clear I'm off the market."
"What if she demands to meet me?"
The thought of my ice-queen mother interrogating Aria makes my stomach turn. "We'll deal with that when it happens. One problem at a time."
Aria relaxes slightly. "Okay. One month. But I'm serious, Zane. No games. No other women. Even for business."
"No other women," I promise. "You have my full attention. Which, trust me, is a first."
She almost smiles. "I'm supposed to feel special about that?"
"You should. I don't do exclusive. Ever. But for you?" I bring her hand to my lips. "I'll try the whole monogamy thing."
"Try? That's not exactly reassuring."
"Fine. I'll be monogamous. Happy?"
"Getting there." She leans forward. "Kiss me."
I don't need to be asked twice. I kiss her until we're both breathless, until the waiter awkwardly clears his throat to take our order, until Aria's laughing against my mouth.
We eat dinner. Talk about everything and nothing. She tells me about her architecture classes, her dreams of designing buildings that actually matter. I tell her about the hotel business, how I'm trying to prove myself to a father who thinks second sons are basically useless.
It feels natural. Easy. Like we've been doing this for years instead of hours.
When I drive her home, I walk her to her door like a gentleman. Or try to. But Aria pulls me inside, and suddenly we're kissing again, hands everywhere, clothes coming off.
"Your roommate?" I gasp against her neck.
"Gone for the weekend," Aria breathes.
Thank God.
Hours later, I'm lying in her bed, watching her sleep. She's curled against my chest, her hair spread across my arm. This. This is what I've been missing. Not just the sex—though that's incredible—but this. The quiet intimacy. The feeling of rightness.
My phone buzzes on the nightstand. Text from my mother: "Victoria's parents are thrilled about next week's event. Don't embarrass us."
I delete it without responding.
Another text, this time from a number I don't recognize: "We need to talk about Maya's friend. Stay away from her. This is your only warning."
What the hell?
I sit up carefully, trying not to wake Aria. The text came from a blocked number. No name. No context. Just a threat.
"Stay away from her."
Stay away from Aria.
Someone knows about us. Someone who doesn't want this relationship to happen. But who? And how did they find out so fast?
I look down at Aria, still sleeping peacefully, completely unaware that someone's watching us.
Someone who might be dangerous.
And I just promised her one month of trying this relationship. One month that might have just become a lot more complicated than either of us expected.