The Arrangement Read Online Free Page A

words to finish his question.
    “It’s the easiest solution. We’ve talked about getting married when you finish with school anyway. If we do it now, I can live here with you and the guys. You have a car we can share so my parents can take the Beemer back. And I’ll work part-time to provide money for food and gas,” she explained.
    She had no idea what kind of job she could get or if it would pay enough to provide food and gas, but it sounded good. Evie tried not to think about the sweet taste of the strawberries and cream the French restaurant served that she wouldn’t be able to afford anymore. She pushed away the wind-in-her-hair freedom of riding through town in the spring with the top down on her cherry red convertible. She ignored the certain demise of her perfect manicure from cleaning the apartment and doing dishes. She dismissed the nagging thought that she failed to really plan any of this out with a flip of her hair. She needed to focus on saving her relationship with Ben—even if it meant giving up everything else.
    Ben took careful steps toward Evie and placed his hands on her shoulders. “You know I love you,” he said calmly, “but marriage is a big deal. You can’t just get married to get away from your parents.”
    Evie frowned. She had spent the entire weekend working out various plans, and this one seemed to be the only one that would work. “That’s not why we would get married. It just speeds up the process a bit.”
    “No, Evie,” he repeated sternly. “I can’t let you pull yourself away from your parents like that. You’ve been too close to them. If we get married, they’ll never speak to you again.”
    “But…”
    “Maybe we should take a little a break.”
    His words seeped deep into Evie’s already tender heart. Tears brimmed. “They can’t do this to us,” she whimpered into his chest as he embraced her. His shirt grew damp.
    “Okay, so maybe we don’t really have to take a break. We only need to make it look like we did,” he offered.
    Evie sniffled back a sob.
    His eyes softened, and he planted a gentle kiss on the end of her nose. “We’ll pretend we broke up and see each other secretly. Nobody has to know. When your parents see how hurt and sad you are, they’ll come to their senses.”
    “Do you think it will work?” she whispered, her hope surging at the thought of keeping Ben and punishing her parents with her secrecy.
    “We’ll have to be very careful,” he warned her. “No talking on your cell…they can look at the bill. No being seen anywhere in public where someone your parents know would see us. Maybe I can find some out-of-the-way places so we can meet.”
    The plan Ben laid out for her sounded fun in addition to workable. She wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a heavy kiss on his lips. “I knew we’d come up with something,” she gushed, feeling lighter than she had in days. Excitement over the looming secrecy raced through her veins.
    “We haven’t pulled it off yet,” Ben cautioned. “First, we have to break up. It should be something public so the word gets back to your parents, and they really believe we are done.” He met her eyes directly. “Then you’ll have to start dating again.”
    Evie backed away until she held him at arm’s length. Did he realize how close he stood to falling into her parents’ plan? They would be thrilled to see her going out with someone. “But I don’t want to see anyone else,” she whined.
    “I know. The idea of you going out with some other guy drives me nuts. But they won’t believe you are actually trying if you don’t go out with someone else. And it can’t be just anyone else. You have to go out with someone they choose.”
    For the first time since she entered his apartment, Evie’s mind slid back to the vision of Eli sitting comfortably at her feet on the end of the porch swing. She could not tell Ben she already had the guy. It seemed wrong to be so ready to jump into the