The Tie That Binds: A Marriage of Convenience Novel

I’m exhausted by the time I get home and slightly tipsy from the sangria. Much to my surprise, Daniel is hanging out with Dominic and Lucy in the sitting room. Hell must’ve frozen over. He’s changed out of his suit, so he must’ve been home for some time at least. It’s unfair that he looks even hotter in jeans and a tee than he does in a suit.

Dominic sees me and his eyes linger on my body for a couple of seconds. He rarely sees me in work clothes, and he’s obviously startled. Startled in a good way, I guess, since he blushes when I catch him staring.

“Alyssa, you’re home,” he says, waving me over. Usually the first thing I do is go to my room and change into comfy clothes, but today I walk over and plop down on the sofa right next to Daniel.

“How was work?” Daniel asks. I lean into him subconsciously and he raises his arm to wrap it around me, side-hugging me. The two of us have gotten more comfortable with each other over the last couple of weeks. He’ll usually throw his arm around me if we’re sitting next to each other and he’s taken to brushing my hair out of my face randomly too. It’s not much, but it’s a big change from the distance we used to keep from each other. We aren’t as formal and polite anymore. I guess that’s only natural since we see each other in our private time too now.

“It was fine. They’ll pay full price, but we need to move the timeline up and deliver sooner. Liam said they’ll sign the implementation contract this week.”

Daniel looks at me in disbelief. “You’re kidding me,” he says, and I shake my head.

“Nope.” I smile at him, unable to hide the pride I feel. Even I wasn’t sure I’d get this done so quickly. I thought it’d involve a lot more negotiation.

“Liam Evans?” Dominic asks, sitting up. He pulls away from Lucy and looks at me through narrowed eyes. I nod and Dominic rolls his eyes. “That guy has had a hard-on for you for years. If you told him you wanted to raise the price, he probably would’ve agreed. Let me guess. He asked you on a date in return?”

Daniel tenses, his grip on my shoulder tightening. “Did he ask you out?” Daniel asks. I freeze. I was going to tell him, but I didn’t expect to be telling him like this.

“Yeah. We should probably discuss that later,” I whisper. I glance at Lucy, who’s staring at us with interest.

“Holy shit,” she whispers. “Liam Evans is wicked hot. I hope you said yes to that.” Dominic glares at her and she looks at him sheepishly. I feel awkward and stand up and excuse myself, telling them I need to get changed. Truthfully, I just want to escape.

“Wear a cute dress,” Lucy tells me. I stare at her blankly. “Tonight is the annual bonfire, remember?”

I sigh, finally remembering. I’ve had such a busy week at work I totally forgot I agreed to go with them. No wonder Daniel is hanging out with them.

I change quickly, not wanting to keep them waiting even longer. I reapply my lipstick and change into a cute spaghetti strap dress paired with my comfy slippers and rush back to the sitting room. I’m usually excited to attend the bonfire. I can’t believe I actually forgot about it.

“We’ll get the driver to drop us off in mum’s soccer van. We’ll probably all be drinking anyway,” Dominic says. I nod and follow them quietly.

Daniel glanced at me once and has been ignoring me since then. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but he seems a bit off. Usually he’d smile or make some small talk, but it’s like I’m not even there. He remains quiet throughout the journey, typing away on his phone. Every time he smiles at his screen, I wonder who he’s talking to. It’s late, so it’s probably not a client.

He jumps out of the car and walks to the beach without waiting for any of us. I’ve gotten so used to him offering me his hand when we get out of a car that I sit there for a couple of seconds, startled.

I’m not the only one who notices his odd behaviour. Dominic laughs as he looks at Daniel’s disappearing form. “Does he have a hot date or something?” he asks.

I frown. Surely not. Is it that girl, maybe? The one he said he can’t get off his mind. This bonfire is attended by almost everyone we know. The location is kept secret and only those with an invite are told where it’ll take place. If the girl he’s after is of a similar social status as us, she’ll be here tonight.

The three of us follow Daniel at a leisurely pace. Lucy and Dominic are already in their own little world, but oddly enough it doesn’t make me feel as awkward as it used to. I guess I’ve gotten used to their PDA now.

I watch Daniel disappear in the crowd and run after him, scared to lose him. With the amount of people present, it’ll take me forever to find him again. I push through the crowd and when I finally catch up to him I find him embracing someone.

“Kate?”

She turns and smiles at me. “Hey, Alyssa! I didn’t know you’d be here too.”

She comes over and hugs me. “Did the boss invite you too?” she asks. Why is she even here? Why would Daniel invite her?

I shake my head. “No, I’ve attended for years. I was invited,” I tell her.

She nods and looks around, her eyes twinkling. I’ve never seen her in anything other than work suits. Her figure looks great in her shorts and crop top, but it definitely doesn’t leave much to the imagination. She looks as wide eyed as I was when I first attended. The annual bonfire isn’t actually just a bonfire. It started as one, but it slowly turned into an event with live music, food stalls and plenty of games to play.

“It’s even better than I imagined. I haven’t been out in forever. Now that my divorce has finally come through, I’m so ready to just celebrate and let loose,” she says.

I glance at Daniel, whose eyes are firmly pasted on Kate. He’s smiling at her and it irks me.

“Divorce? I didn’t know. Congrats, I guess?”

She laughs. “Congrats indeed, thank you.”

She grabs Daniel’s arm and hooks her arm through it. “They have cotton candy, should we get some?”

I freeze, my eyes zeroing in on where she’s holding Daniel. My heart feels funny and I’m filled with irrational anger that turns into fury when he smiles at her instead of brushing her off. He lets her drag him away and I’m left to follow them, feeling like a third wheel.

I get even more angry when he buys cotton candy to share with her without even asking me if I want any. He’s the one that insisted on the no dating rule, so what is happening here?

“God, this reminds me of that time we went to the carnival in San Fran. Except they had that pretty blue and pink cotton candy, remember?”

Daniel nods at her indulgently.

“When did you go to San Francisco together?” I ask, my voice harsher than I intended. Daniel glances at me, his expression blank. It’s almost like he forgot I’m even here, or like he’s surprised I’m still here. If it wasn’t clear that I’m intruding, then it is now.

“Ah, we did our MBA together at Stanford. That’s how we met. Didn’t you know? Daniel offered me a job as his executive assistant when we finished. We keep things professional at work but we usually manage to hang out every couple of weeks at least.”

My heart twists uncomfortably and I take a step back from them. Recently divorced and they did their MBA together? It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. I inspect Kate and laugh to myself. Tall, skinny and long hair. What a surprise. My stomach clenches with jealousy and my heart aches. My marriage to Daniel isn’t real and I shouldn’t be feeling the way I do, but that doesn’t mean I’ll stand here and watch my husband flirt with someone else.

“Guess I’ll be buying you that Aston Martin, after all,” I snap, failing to hide the anger I’m feeling. Daniel’s eyes widen slightly, like he’s surprised I figured it out. I glance at their joint arms and turn around, in need of a drink.