Clark's POV

My brother's boisterous laughter travels down the hallway as I adjust my shirt in the mirror.

Christian told me he was back in town to handle business, but all I've seen him do so far was lounge around my house like he pays the bills. I head into the kitchen sporting a frown, mildly annoyed because I'm not in the mood to have this conversation with him, despite it being necessary.

"Hey, we need to talk," I announce, stepping into the kitchen. "Well, I was going to ask if you have a minute to spare, but I can see you have plenty."

"Ouch. That was definitely shade." Christian is sitting at the island with a half-eaten sandwich in one hand, and his cell phone in the other, looking utterly at ease in my space. "What's up?"

"I think you already know."

"Do I?"

I roll my eyes. "Do you know how much longer you'll be in town?"

"Oh..." He finally glances up from his phone to give me his undivided attention, his smile faltering as he catches the edge in my voice. "Are you getting ready to kick me out, brother?"

"It's not like you can't afford to stay at a nice hotel until you wrap up..." I gesture with my hands. "...whatever business you're supposedly handling."

"Okay, but why waste money on a hotel when I can stay with my lovely brother for free? It's not like you're raising a family here." He sets his phone down, his expression shifting to mock hurt. "I always crash here when I'm visiting, Clark. What's the big deal this time?"

That much is true. It's become a habit of his to stay at my place whenever he's in town for business. Normally, he doesn't stay long, so I don't mind. But this time, with Elias now in the picture, things are different.

I have to be twice as careful about what I say, what I do, and who I keep in my circle. I've already sacrificed my privacy in public to maintain my deal with Elias, but I'll be damned if I do that in the comfort of my home. It's the one place where I don't have to fake shit.

So, my brother has to get the hell out of here.

"I'm sure you've already seen the articles, but I have a boyfriend now. It's getting serious." I sigh through the lie, rubbing my temples in frustration. "I can't invite him over if your ass is lounging around like you own the place. Can you please start looking for somewhere else to stay?"

Something flashes in Christian's eyes that makes them darken for a split second before he plasters on another smile.

Without argument, he fishes his keys from his pocket and slides off the spare to my house.

"Out of respect for your promising new relationship with Elias, I'll be out of here by tonight," he says, tossing the key on the counter. "Happy now?"

"You know his name already," I state. "So you have seen the articles about us?"

"Regarding our family, little brother, I see everything." He smirks, then picks up his phone and resumes eating his sandwich. "Anything else you need from me?"

"No. Thanks." I pocket the key with a smile that's more genuine than his looks. As I head out, I call over my shoulder, "And clean up your damn mess before you leave!"

Walking outside to my car, I can't ignore the feeling that something is off about Christian's visit.

Whenever he gets into a new business venture, he loves to run his mouth about it to anyone who will listen. This time around, however, we've talked more about me and Ashford Technologies' impending downfall than who or what's brought him back into town.

Then again, Christian has always been a bit of a wild card. I've learned not to question his motives too much, so for now, I cast my suspicions aside. I can't dwell on them tonight.

I have the cooking date with Elias, and I'm determined to make it a good one...for the sake of strengthening our chemistry to further fool the public. Not because it pleases me to see him happy and smiling. Definitely not because of that.

The car purrs to life and I pull out of the driveway with the hope that Christian keeps his word and will be gone by the time I get back.

When I'm a block or two away from his place, I text Elias that I'll be pulling up soon. I'm not sure I'll ever get used to the nervous energy that always finds its way to me whenever he's around, something that has only gotten more intense since we kissed.

I drum my fingers against the steering wheel after parking in his driveway, my mind threatening to wander on topics that are forbidden.

Elias comes outside seconds later and hops into the passenger seat with his bright and familiar smile.

"These are for you." He waves the stack of papers in his hand before placing them into the glove box. "I signed our contract. And I also included proof of my termination from Rent a Partner. I'm officially all yours."

Something flutters in my chest at his words, but I quickly push it down before saying something inappropriate.

"I know I've asked a lot of you, but I promise you're making the right decision." Before I pull off, I hand him a credit card and a slip of paper with contact information scribbled on it. "That's the building owner's contact information for the space you wanted."

"You remembered?" His voice softens when he looks at me. "Thank you, Clark. I really appreciate this."

"Of course. And the credit card has no limit. Whatever you need until our arrangement ends, be it personal or otherwise, please don't hesitate to use the card."

"Clark, I—"

"Please, Elias," I insist, pressing the card into his hand. "It's the least I can do, considering how much you've already sacrificed to help me."

We sit staring at each other, my hand clasping his as too many things cross my mind at once. Do I lean in and kiss him to end the conversation? Hell no. Should I drop his hand and turn cold, pretend like he doesn't affect me in the craziest of ways? No.

"Ready to go?" I offer him a smile instead and drag my hand back to the steering wheel.

This isn't a real date. This is work. We're working...

"Y-yeah. Yes! Let's go." The crack in his voice betrays his emotions, and I swallow a laugh. He breaks eye contact to place the card in his wallet, then fumbles with putting his seatbelt on.

I back out of the driveway and crank up the music, needing a distraction before I do or say something ridiculous.

***

"Doesn't look like it'll be a full house tonight," Elias comments after scanning the parking lot. "The point was for us to get noticed, so I hope we didn't set this up for nothing."

When we pull up to the quaint little cooking studio tucked away on a side street, a knot forms in my stomach—the good kind that anticipates something exciting is on the horizon. It's almost funny. I never thought cooking in a class full of strangers would be enough to lift my sour mood, but here we are. The bar is indeed low.

"On the bright side, we get free food," I reply.

He laughs. "You're in a good mood tonight."

Because I'm getting my house back and will be able to invite you over—"I, uh, got out of the office early today."

Stepping out of the car and into the studio, we're immediately met with curious stares from our classmates. Murmurs run through the crowd as Elias and I take a table in the front. We lock eyes after hearing the unmistakable click of someone snapping a picture.

"Perhaps I spoke too soon about this being a waste of time," Elias chuckles softly.

"Don't worry. They'll settle down." I instinctively move closer to him, my hand finding the small of his back. A distraction. "What do you think we're cooking tonight?"

"An easy starter meal, probably. That's usually how they kick these things off, right?" He smiles and leans into me instead of away. "Do you have any ideas?"

My grumbling stomach answers for me, and we share a laugh. "I don't really care at this point."

After the last couple shows up, the instructor introduces himself before laying out the evening's menu. He removes a table full of vegetables and meat from the refrigerator and sets them all out on a massive table for us to examine.

"Definitely not a starter meal," I tease Elias. "Have you ever tried Vietnamese food before?"

"Nope." He shakes his head. "I'm looking forward to it, though. Try not to burn anything, okay?"

"Me?" I chuckle. "Didn't I tell you I know my way around the kitchen? Shall we revisit that conversation?"

"How about we just let our skills speak for us?" He laughs, playfully rolling his eyes.

It isn't long before Elias and I are elbow-deep in ingredients. He works on boiling the noodles and chopping the vegetables while I focus on cooking the meat. The other couples fall into their own little worlds alongside us, including our anonymous photographer.

We achieved what we came here for—to be seen and gossiped about—so I decided to lower my guard and enjoy the rest of the class I paid for.

"You did season all that, didn't you?" Elias nods toward the frying pan I've been manning. "Because I didn't starve myself tonight to come here and eat bland food."

"You wound me," I joke. "Of course I seasoned it. Here. Try a piece and see for yourself."

I pluck a fully cooked piece of meat from the pan with a fork and hold it up to his mouth.

Our eyes lock once more while he blows on it to cool it down. The sounds of utensils clanking and food sizzling in pans fade into the background as he opens his mouth to claim the steaming piece of meat. I nearly lose my composure when his eyes close and he moans.

"Good, right?" I ask, licking my lips as if I can taste what he's tasting. "Not too salty?"

"No, no." He shakes his head and opens his eyes, one hand reaching out to grip my arm. "You shut me up," he laughs. "It's perfectly seasoned and tender as hell. You did good!"

"Told you I knew what I was doing."

"Yeah, well, I seem to have a natural talent for... chopping and boiling water," he teases, and I can't help the laugh that escapes me. "Now, if we were baking shit, then it'd be another story."

"What's your favorite thing to bake?" I ask.

"Uh-uh. That question is a trap." He laughs. "I have way too many answers for that. You?"

"I'm not crazy about sweets, but I do love a good fudge brownie from time to time."

"I can handle that."

I throw out the invitation before I can stop myself. "You'll have to come over to my place and make them for me sometime."

"Deal," he replies, eyes shining nearly as bright as his smile. "And you know, sometimes the best things in life happen to you when trying something new."

"I feel like there's a hidden message in there somewhere..."

He laughs. "Just keep stirring the meat."

The rest of the class goes by in a blur of movement and laughter. We don't take ourselves too seriously at all. But while finally digging into our finished meal and feeding each other food off our plates, it once again dawns on me that our simple arrangement has rapidly developed into something far more complex.

I wonder if he feels the same.

"Honestly, that went better than I thought it'd go," Elias says after climbing into the passenger seat with our food two hours later. "We definitely have to do this again. It was fun."

"Yeah, it was..." My phone pings with a new message. I take it off the charger to see that it's a text from Ava. I skim through it. "I've got good news."

Elias immediately sits up in his seat. "What kind?"

"Ava invited us to a charity gala that she's hosting next week," I relay, showing him the text. "The good news is that she wants to feature Unchained Hearts at the event."

"Oh my God! Kahlan and Remy are gonna lose their shit when they hear about this."

"I bet," I chuckle. "I can't wait to meet them."

The drive back to Elias' place comes with the occasional rumble of distant thunder. It worsens by the time I pull into his driveway and park, the rain now pouring down heavily.

"Oh, no." He reaches into his pocket for his keys but comes up empty-handed. "Damn it," he mutters, expression frantic while searching his other pockets. "I forgot my house key."

"Do you guys keep a spare outside?" I ask.

"Right! Yes. Let me go check."

He hops out of the car and runs up to the door to look under the potted plants. I assume he doesn't find the spare because he pulls out his cell phone and calls someone, I assume, one of his roommates. He returns to the car minutes later, drenched and visibly annoyed.

"Perry lost his house key the other day, so he took the spare," he says, looking defeated. "No one's home right now. I'm so sorry for holding you up."

A loud crack of thunder echoes overhead, signaling a nasty storm is on its way to wreak havoc at any second.

"You can come back to my place for the night," I offered without hesitation, surprising even myself with the ease of the invitation. "It's better than being locked out in a storm like this."

"Clark..." Elias hesitates for a moment, his eyes searching mine. "Are you sure about this?"

Not really.

"Absolutely." I try to sound chill about it while backing out of the driveway, but on the inside, I'm anything but. "I've got plenty of space. It's no trouble at all."

"Okay," he agrees, voice barely audible over the intensifying downpour. "Thanks for this."

"You're welcome," I reply, focusing on the road ahead while a different kind of storm brews inside me.