GUY

It was ten in the morning.

My body weighed a ton. The houses passed by me in a blur and I felt like Maya's huge acrylic nails were scratching my throat.

I wasn't completely sober yet. The car smelled of alcohol and cigarettes. If the cops stopped me, I was done. Even though I drove, because I couldn't sleep on the street or it would lead to another scandal.

Within minutes, I arrived at my condo and headed to the white-walled mansion. It was small compared to the others. I had the money to buy a bigger one if I wanted, but I've never been a fan of exaggerated things. I was born in a rich house and having too many things was tiresome.

As soon as I entered the house, I almost tripped over a pink suitcase that definitely didn't belong to me or anyone I know.

I frowned. What the hell was that?

I went to the living room and Daisy Lynton was sitting on my sofa, working on her laptop, relaxed and comfortable in my house as if she lived there for years.

"You don't know how easy it was to get here. Maybe you should rethink the security of this place" she said, without taking her eyes off the laptop screen "Your doorkeeper simply let me pass without question."

I smiled.

"It must be because I told him to let in any hot girl who was looking for me."

"Oh, shit, you mean he wasn't being polite when he helped me to get my bags out of the car?" Daisy frowned, finally looking at me.

She adjusted her glasses on her face and her expression sank for a few seconds. She tried to hide it, looking away at her computer, but it was too late. I must look like shit.

"No," I said, walking over to the liquor display on the other side of the room, which was already empty except for a half-empty bottle of Xellent.

I poured some and drank it quickly to help my body's synapses work. At least until I understood what Daisy was doing here. Afterwards, I would take a shower and sleep in my bed for a few hours — I still have to attend the studio tomorrow.

"So, have you reconsidered the proposal?" I asked, sitting on the other sofa.

Daisy closed her laptop and sighed twice as if she was preparing for a big speech.

"Yes, I considered it" she stated. "I will marry you, Guy Carver."

"Really?" I pulled my body to the edge of the sofa, in order to see her better.

"Yes... Well, you're clearly desperate and, unfortunately, I'm more desperate than you" she explained, running her hand through her brown hair.

Because of the lights coming in through the glass wall on the other side, her brown hair stood out. They were lighter than usual and contrasted with her dark skin.

Her skin was darker than mine as if she had spent all her mornings in the scorching California sun.

Daisy looked much better than the last time I saw her — after the mess with her asshole boyfriend — her eyes had a certain glow and the tips of her lips were slightly curved upwards.

" I did a lot of research on the subject. There's a topic on WikiHow, but I'm not going to get into this." Daisy shook her head. "First we need to establish some rules."

"Ok...?"

Rules? I tried to remember if this was really worth it.

A voice in my head replied: Yes, Guy, it's worth it, you don't want to go back to England. You know who's there, just waiting for the moment you would fail at everything and come back. I took a deep breath and motioned for her to go ahead.

"For this to work, we need to know each other, but not just the things that are in the gossip magazines, because everyone knows that."

"You really thought this through, hum?" I noticed, resting my back against the leather sofa that came with the house when I bought it.

It was awful. The leather stuck to every part of my body and the years of spilled drinks were starting to give it a distinctive smell to it.

"Let's just say I wouldn't want to be arrested at twenty-five" she replied in the same serious way she did in the cafeteria, but I could hear a hint of irony in her voice.

"You won't be arrested." I assured.

"In any case, they will also look for witnesses like you said" she said, scratching the back of her head. "My brother Cole can help."

"Did you tell him?"

"Yes, of course, it's my brother." she shrugged. "You also have a brother, right? I saw it on Wikipedia." she frowned as she said it.

I had, but I hadn't seen him in... like two years? I had no idea. I sent him a birthday card last month.

"I can convince Thatcher to testify. I mean, we're going to need to convince him anyway, because I can't tell him the truth."

"Okay" she sighed once again. "When will we get married?"

"Tomorrow?" I asked uncertainty. "There is a City Hall nearby."

"Perfect."

No, it wasn't perfect to get married in the same place where people ask for a restraining order, but she said it herself — we were desperate.

"Now, I need some favors in advance."

"Yes, you can take my credit card." I said, pulling my arm away from the sofa.

"Actually..." Daisy looked at her legs and I followed her gaze to the short skirt she was wearing this morning. I didn't want to look, but it was stronger than me.

"I need a place near Los Angeles for an indefinite period of time" she bit her lower lip, looking at me sideways.

"You can stay here. I have three rooms in this place."

"Won't that be a little weird?"

"I spend most of my time away from home, so the place will basically be yours and we can get to know each other better that way" I stated, shrugging my shoulders. "For the interview" I completed when I noticed her gaze in my direction.

I was being sincere. Except for a party here and there, the house was empty during the day. Daisy didn't have a place to stay in the city and I wouldn't mind sheltering her here.

Also, I felt a bit responsible for her current situation. I wasn't the one who betrayed her, obviously, but I made her lose her job by accident. On the same day, she was left without a job, a boyfriend and a house. It must've been quite a shock.

"Well, I can pay some bills to help, except for the water, because you've a pool" she said, pointing to the backyard "What's the cheapest bill in this place?"

"No idea. Someone do the math for me" I opened the top button of my shirt.

I noticed that Daisy looked in the direction of my body when I did this. Ah, look, she's not as immune to me as she claimed to be. It's hard to find someone who is, really.

"Then I'll make coffee"

"I not a fan of coffee"

"Tea?"

"Not all English people like tea and Harry Potter"

"Well, that was my general idea of England, to be honest" she muttered, adjusting her glasses on her face.

"Stay here as long as you want, Daisy. Don't worry about paying anything, okay? I don't care" I said and got up from the couch. I need that shower now.

"Okay, but I'll leave soon as I get a job, I swear. My brother is coming here any day and we will live together in LA."

"Ah, yes, the job" I murmured, a little groggy from the drink I had just now. "I can get you the interview with Lorelai."

"I'd prefer you talk to Stacker and give me my position back. You got me fired in the first place."

"I can get you a much better job, where you'll have a real chance to stand out."

"No, Carver. I worked hard to get the internship with Stacker, and in the same way, I will get a better position. I don't want to depend on someone's charity to progress in my career".

I nodded. Even though it was a very stupid decision, I understand. I'd probably do the same in her situation. I mean, that's what I did when I moved to America, to get out of my father's wings, to rely only on my talent.

"Is that all?"

"We still need to talk about the rules."

I rolled my eyes.

"There are only three, so calm down" she said with the same authority she used to speak to her ex-boyfriend about four days ago. "First: no parties while I'm here."

Well, it was not like I was allowed to do any more parties after my neighbors submitted a complaint about me.

"Second: if possible, let's keep this out of the tabloids."

"I already intended to do that."

"Perfect" she repeated for the third time that day. "The third is..." she held the suspense and I waited impatiently. "No physical contact."

I squinted my eyes.

"What?"

"That means we won't sleep together."

"We're not even going to consummate the marriage?" I asked, showing her my best indignant face.

"Argh! No!" Daisy exclaimed, making a disgusted face that I didn't see on many girls when we talked about having sex with me.

"Is it because of your ex-boyfriend?"

"It has nothing to do with Cliff," she said, but I've already learned to read her eyes. It had everything to do with her ex-boyfriend. "This whole situation is already strange, we don't need to complicate it any further with sex."

"Sex never complicates things, but you do you" I raised my shoulders. "Just for you know, I have a pretty good track record of making girls forget about exes."

"That's great." Daisy smiled. "Actually, let's make this the main rule."

I rolled my eyes again. I laid my head against the back of the sofa. Not that I expected Daisy to sleep with me. It was obvious that her feelings for the ex-boyfriend were still too strong.

"It'll be a rough couple of months"

"I second that"