Mel POV
Harry words still hunt my mind, but he had made it clear from the start that he want no emotion attached. Gosh Mel gets it together and enjoys the dinner.
“You must come here often,” she observed after they were seated with the menus in front of them.”They know you well.”
“Mostly for business lunches, I’m afraid.”
“To bad,” Mel observed the wine that they were sharing. “It’s a nice mix.”
“Then we’ll explore it together,” harry said. “Thanks for coming this evening.”
Mel nodded seriously. “I realised that I have a lot to learn about you too.”
“Did you get questions at work today?”
“No. I moved the ring to my other hand and stayed in my office. But I’m sure that word will get out at some point. Particularly once I let my secretary know of my change in address,” she said dryly. “And what about you?”
“Well I left my ring on and I got hassled by my four best mates, but it fine. They just want to see you,” He said.
“Plus you’re right. Word will get out. I’d actually like to host a reception soon, Mel.People would want to meet you once they find out that we’ve married.
“Same on my end, my parents and grans would want to meet you. But we’ll need some semblance of a story, Harry, unless you want to tell people that we met for the first time two days age.”
“Do you have a story in mind?” he asked.
“The truth is always simplest. My sister introduced us.” Harry took a sip of wine. “That works as well as anything. I first met Lilli five months ago at a charity event. So you and I met shortly after that. The only person who can refute that is Lilli. Mel thought about it. “It’s still a whirlwind courtship,” she pointed out, looking up at harry over the top of her glass.
He shrugged. “Five months is better than five days.”
“Before then, we need to get a few important issues out of the way. Like my parents. And my grandmother. I’m not lying to them, harry. I can cope with telling them a partial truth, but I’m not telling them that I’m madly in love with you. They’ll see right through it and worry.”
“So what do you propose, short of telling them the truth?”
“That we met, we both see advantages to being married right now, but that it’s not a real marriage. I want to leave Lilli out of it.”
“Are you worried about her?” he asked quietly. Mel realised that while she was angry at her sister, she was still concerned.
“I am,” she admitted.
“Do you want to introduce me to your family at some point?” he asked.
“Yeah. Probably. But let me tell them first about you first. Gran might have a heart palpitation when I tell her that I married a guy she never had a chance to interrogate, so I want to prepare her. And that’s best done after she’s had a few drinks.
“Interrogation? What kind of interrogation?”
“Mostly whether you know how to make a good martini,” Mel admitted. “But then she’ll want to know what you do for living, whether you plan to give her great-grandchildren, and most importantly how you feel about me.”
The conversation shifted then, as harry asked about Mel’s work, and she asked more about what harry did. They compared childhoods, education, families, dating histories, and what they like to do on vacations. They talked about books and movies. By the time dessert arrived they each felt like they could handle questions posed to each of them about each other. None of it was personal, but the entire conversation was designed to ensure that they could pass as husband and wife-people who known each other for longer than a few days. It was nice to know a little about my new husband but I am still scared because at the end of this three years marriage it would resolved with one situation –divorce.
It was really enjoying our night together when harry asked. “Are you ready to go?” glancing down at his watch. “It’s getting late, and I know you have an early flight.”
“I do. And I am. Thank you for dinner, harry. It was delicious and fun.
“I am glad you could join me,” he replied politely. Mel felt harry placed his hand gently on her back, guiding her toward the door. They strolled through to the parking area until they were standing in front of her car. Mel was surprised to find that harry was holding the door open for her.
“You’re a gentleman.” She observed. “Thank you.
“You’re welcome,” he said as he watched her settle herself behind the wheel. “Have a safe trip. I’ll call you on Thursday night and we can finalise our plans for the weekend.”


Harry POV
It was weird for harry to let Rose go, but he stood and watched as Rose carefully backed out of her packing spot. Shortly after harry was sure that Rose was safety heading home.It never occurred to harry about how empty and lonely his life had been.He was thinking about the chance that he missed; he wanted to kiss Rose to feel the taste of her lips. He was scared of her reaction, but he had made it clear toward her that he didn’t want emotions to be involved in their arrangement. But the question now is does she want more or that I couldn’t be the type of person she wants.
He walked into the room that his house helpers had furnished for Rose’s arrival. Rose was now becoming addiction and he couldn’t wait to see her on Thursday.