The Accidental Wife (Emily and Julian)

When I was talking to Rosie about the lie I made up, I thought she was going to end whatever friendship we had. I thought I was going to lose her forever, but the way she reacted surprised the hell out of me. I couldn't believe that she agreed to fake-date me. The joy and excitement I have inside of me should not exist because, at the end of the day, this is all nothing but an act. To her, not to me. When I look at the whole thing, I see it as an amazing opportunity that life has decided to grant me. Even if this is all nothing but pretending to her, I know that it's not like that to me. It's me getting the chance to imagine that she is truly mine. It's my chance to show her that I can be good for her. I may not be the best one out there to deserve her heart, but I know that I can try to be my best for her sake. I'm willing to do anything to see her smile.

She may have agreed out of boredom, but I will show her that I can be the one for her. I just have to do it all subtly and the thing is, my feelings are never subtle when it comes to Rosie. I have always thought that I had great control over myself, but I guess I lose whatever control I think I have whenever my eyes fall on her. I completely lost it when I kissed her. But how was I supposed, to stop myself from doing that when she looked flawless in that blue dress? How was I supposed to move away from her when holding her felt so right? I think she regrets kissing me, but that kiss is a moment I want to remember forever. She has the ability to accelerate my heartbeats. I'm sure that she knows nothing about this, but she is the only girl who has ever had this effect on me. When I'm with her, I want to stop time because I don't want her to leave. A simple smile from her makes my day a hundred times better. I take a deep breath and ring her doorbell. Today, she's going to meet my teammates for the first time, and I have a feeling that I'm way more nervous than her. She doesn't take long to open the door, and I forget how to breathe when I look at her. She is dressed in a short off-white skirt and a maroon long-sleeved tight top that shows the beauty of her collarbones. Her hair is pulled up in a bun, displaying her long neck and all I want is to kiss that sweet neck of 1/5

hers down to those collarbones.

"Do I look okay?" she wonders, twirling around.

"More than okay. You're absolutely gorgeous," I say as I walk inside her apartment.

"Thank you." Her cheeks redden as she walks by my side. She is too short compared to me, but I love her height. "I'm just going to put on my boots, then we can go." She strolls to her bedroom, and I take a seat on one of the bar chairs. She doesn't take long and comes back within a minute in some high boots that add more to the beauty of her outfit.

"So," I start nervously. "I don't want to take you off guard, but since we're going to act like a couple, expect me to kiss you or wrap my arms around you from time to time."

"You don't I need t to warn me, Silas. I know that this is going to happen," she assures me as she grabs her bag from the couch. "Let's go."

We get in my car once we reach the garage, and I drive immediately to where we will be meeting the guys.

"Where

are we going anyway?" she asks me. I know that we're going to a barbecue, but I don't know whose house we're going to. "Well, there's a house that the team has for those who live far away. We usually gather there every once in a while," I explain to her.

"I'm kind of nervous," she admits, and I notice the way she's fiddling with her finger.

"There's nothing to be nervous about, Rosie," I tell her and instinctively, reach for one of her hands when we stop at a red light. I thought she'd pull away, but she didn't do it. if they don't like me? I'm not exactly a social butterfly." She stares at me with her magnificent blue eyes. How could she think like that? It baffles me 09:37 W 09:37 Sep 18

Wed,

how she fails to see how amazing she is. I don't know who managed to shake her self-confidence, but I'm going to make it my mission to make her see that she's one of a kind.

"You don't have to be a social butterfly for people to like you. You're great without even trying, so I'm going to need you to stop bringing yourself down with doubts that have no basis," I tell her. "Thank you," she says and reaches to kiss my cheek. I'm not sure if she is preparing herself to act like my girl or if this is nothing but a friendly kiss; however, I'm not going to complain about that. "Only stating the truth." I smile at her and start driving once the light turns

green.

After a while, we arrive at the house, and I park the car. Rosie and I walk to the front door and before I get to ring the doorbell, she intertwines her hand with mine. Her hand is so soft, and I can't help but wonder if my calloused one is hurting her.

I don't say anything and just ring the doorbell. I'm a bit nervous, but when I see how composed Rosie looks, my nerves instantly ease.

"Hello there," Aaron says as he opens the door for us. "You must be Rosie." He looks at her.

"I am. It's nice to meet you." She smiles brightly at him and jealousy instantly fills me. I don't want her to smile like that at anyone but me. When did I become territorial? What is she doing to me?

We walk inside and Aaron tells us that everybody is in the backyard since they're all having a barbecue.

When we reach the backyard, all eyes turn to us. I know that they didn't expect me to bring Rosie and they probably thought that I was lying, but she saved my a** and I'm forever grateful for that. I'm not just grateful because she didn't make me a liar in their eyes, but also because she is giving me the chance to live my dream, even if it's just for a short while.

3

"We've been waiting for you!" Knox hollers. "Hey, Rosie," he welcomes her.

"Hi Knox." She waves at him.

"When Silas told us that he was dating you, I personally thought he was lying, but since you're here, it looks like he wasn't," Dave says to Rosie as he approaches us.

"We just like to keep a low profile," Rosie replies with a small smile. you his

"We never thought that Silas would get a girlfriend," Karl tells her. I don't want Karl to talk to her a lot. After all, he wanted to take her out. Surely, he hasn't forgotten about what he wanted.

Are

first

Aaron t girlfriend?" wonders.

"No, he had a girlfriend during his junior year of high school," she replies. She doesn't know I broke up with my ex-girlfriend because of her. When my feelings started to get stronger for her, I couldn't bring myself to be with another girl, so I broke up with her. "Let the girl breathe. She has just walked in," Aaron's girlfriend scolds the guys as she makes her way to Rosie. "Hey, I'm Caroline." She pulls Rosie into a quick hug. Caroline has always been a hugger, and we're all to her. She has been Aaron's girlfriend ever since he was a sophomore and now he's a senior.

"Hello Caroline," Rosie greets her as she returns the hug.

"You have to excuse them. It's just that we're all in disbelief. W that Silas has a girlfriend," Caroline explains to her.

Can't believe

"I didn't know you all were so interested in my love life like that." I roll myAll content © N/.ôvel/Dr/ama.Org.

eyes.

C+

"That used to be nonexistent until a few weeks ago," Justin, the captain of the teams, teases me. "We're starting to think that we may need to give him classes on how to treat girls to make sure that he doesn't mess up since he hasn't dated in a while." GB⚫

"I can assure you that he's doing really well." Rosie laughs, casually leaning against me and I instinctively wrap my arm around her shoulders.

300

"Don't suffocate my girl. I don't want her to run away," I joke as I kiss her hair.

"So did you two start dating after the picture that was posted on the news?" Natalie, Justin's girlfriend, wonders.

"Not exactly. There was nothing really between us when we kissed. It all started when I moved to the same apartment building and we started seeing more of each other," Rosie replies. She easily lies and I find myself wishing that whatever she said was true. "Let's leave the barbecue mission for the guys and let's go inside to prepare the salad and make some fries," Caroline says and Rosie nods. She stands on her tiptoes and gives me a quick peck on the lips, before walking away with the girls.

"You guys got the chicken breasts for her, right?" I ask them once she is back inside the house. Rosie doesn't like eating meat at all except for hot dogs, so I made sure to send the guys some money last night to get some chicken breasts, so she could have more than just some hot dogs to eat.

"This is your third time to check. Yes, we did," Knox replies.

"We didn't expect you to be that whipped," Dave smirks and I flip him off.

I know I'm so whipped and the thing is, as long as it's Rosie who has me wrapped around her fingers, I don't really mind.