Promise

"When do you plan on telling your friends about us?"

Mila stopped folding her jeans and looked over at Drew, suddenly remembering he was there. Her mind wandered when she started packing. She thought the engagement ring on her finger was nerve wrecking, but actually packing and moving to a city where she knew nobody was enough to send her anxiety through the roof.

"Soon."

"Soon?" Drew asked as he dropped some books in a box. "We're leaving for Miami on Saturday."

"I know." She picked up a stack of folded clothes and placed them in her suitcase. "I'm just trying to figure out how I'm going to tell them I'm marrying a man I don't know and moving across the country. They're going to be concerned and have tons of questions."

"I can be here to tell them with you if you want." He offered. "If you just leave and then send them a wedding invitation out of nowhere, they're going to be confused."

"I'm going to tell them. I wasn't going to leave without saying goodbye."

Mila zipped up her suitcase and pushed it off the bed and onto the floor. She picked up the empty one by her feet and tossed it on the bed. Her apartment was slowly, but surely emptying out. She had thrown out old pieces of furniture she didn't need and knew nobody could get use out of. Other pieces she had sold online and the buyers had come by to pick them up. Drew had movers come and take a few boxes to be shipped off to Boston. All that was left were some of clothes that she still needed and some of her makeup and shoes. Her bedroom set had been sold already and the buyer was going to be by tomorrow afternoon to pick it up.

"It sure looks like it."

"No, I'm going to call them tonight and ask them to meet me for lunch." Mila said. "I know one day isn't a lot of time for them to adjust, but I've just been scared of telling them. After my grandparents passed away, they're the closest thing I have to family. Besides," Mila shrugged, "I didn't have time to tell them. I met you last Saturday. We went out to dinner Monday night, got engaged, went ring shopping Tuesday, and started selling off and shipping my things. I had no time to tell them."

Drew taped the box shut and labeled it. He pushed it along the wall next to the others. His movers were going to be by in a couple of hours to pick up her things and have it sent out.

"You're not procrastinating, Miss Hollywood?"

Ever since she had told him she moved out to California to be an actress, he had been teasing her every now and again.

"I think you still need to work on the nickname."

Mila walked past him and over to her closet. She started pulling her clothes off the hangers, gathering as much as she could in her arms.

"I'm just teasing, no harm meant." Drew said as he sat on her bed. He watched her drop the pile of clothes on the bed next to her suitcase. "Was there anything else I could help with?"

"Actually, yeah, speaking of my failed acting career." Mila smirked. "I have some old scripts from local plays I did. They're in the bottom drawer of my dresser. Can you just put them in the box we left in the hallway? I think they can fit in there."

Drew got up and opened the bottom dresser drawer she had nodded to. He grabbed the scripts and left her alone to pack them for her. He dropped them in there and taped the box shut. He labeled it and then pushed it against the wall. He would grab that one later.

"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings." Drew apologized when he joined her again. "I really was just joking. It takes a lot to leave everything you know and go to a strange place to chase your dreams."

"Drew-"

"My father built his entire business doing that, it takes guts."

"Guts, but no brains." Mila sighed. "I fell flat on my face and gave up so fast. It's how I wound up shilling makeup in a department store."

Drew pushed the shirt out of her hands and turned her around to face him. He wrapped an arm around her waist and held her to him. His free hand smoothed her hair back.

"You're stronger than you know. It takes a strong person to do what you've been doing. You discovered another talent and perfected it and you've done wonders with it!"

While he had been packing earlier, he came across an album of pictures she had taken of different clients she's had over the years. Drew didn't know anything at all about makeup, but just one look at the effort and detail she put in, he knew she was great.

"Please, don't take everything so serious." Drew whispered. "I like to tease. Even if we aren't marrying for love, I still promise to protect you."

Mila rested her hands flat against his chest and raised her eyes up to his. "I'm still sensitive about it, is all. I moved here for one thing and ended up doing something totally different. Now, I'm getting married to a man I don't know and moving to a place I've never been to and I'm just nervous about what is going to happen."

"You have nothing to be worried about." Drew cupped the side of her face, his thumb gently running along her lower lip. "I promise to give you anything you want. I promise to protect you."

"How are you not the least bit nervous? If not nervous about getting married, aren't you the least bit nervous if someone finds out what we're doing? You could lose everything your father left you, Drew. I'd feel awful if you lost it all because I got caught."

"I'm not nervous because I have a beautiful, sweet girl, that is willing to help me out." Drew reassured her. "I know somewhere underneath all this anxiety, there's the fun loving, free spirited girl I met nearly a week ago."

Mila snorted at the thought. "Yeah, free spirited."

"Had your friends not gotten you out of the club, you would have left with me." Drew reminded her. "Not back to my hotel, but to the beach to see the sunrise."

Now Mila laughed. "I had more than that on my mind and you know that, Drew..." She paused. "For fucks sake, Drew, how can I marry you? I don't even know your last name!"

"Andrew McLean McIntyre the Fourth." He laughed. "Mila, we have time to learn about each other. I need you to stop freaking out about every little thing. Be that girl I met last Saturday. I know she's here somewhere."

"Andrew McLean McIntyre the Fourth." She repeated. "A native of Scotland who is on the verge of inheriting the family business. That is all I know."

"I know you're Mila. An an aspiring actress turned makeup artist from Chicago. You've got a heart of gold. That's what I know and for now it's enough."

"Madden."

He scrunched his brows together in confusion.

"Camilla Maisie Madden the First." Mila teased.

"All right, wise ass." Drew laughed. "We could both use a break from packing. Let's go get lunch somewhere and when we come back, you're going to call your friends and set up a lunch date to tell them."

Mila wrapped her arms around his neck. "Mmm, do you take charge like this in other places?"

"Is that something you want to find out?"

"Maybe." Mila shrugged. "For now let's go eat. You don't promise a girl food and then not come through."

"You're going to tell them through a text?"

"No, I sent them a group text and mentioned I had big news I'd like to tell them over lunch tomorrow." Mila set her phone down and then sat back in her seat. "I'm bracing myself for their reactions. They've been my rock for the last four years. I know this is going to come as a shock to them."

"I can be there with you when you tell them."

"No, no. They're going to grill you right in front of me." Mila shook her head. "You don't know enough about me to pass their inspection. I'll tell them about the wedding and that will be the end of that."

"I think I can handle your friends."

"No, you can't." Mila smirked. "Believe me, they're handfuls and I love them all. You'll get to meet them at the wedding or possibly tomorrow if they don't invite themselves over and make me call you."

"I'll be prepared for that call."

Drew paid the bill for their lunch and soon they were on their way back to her apartment.

"I'll be by tomorrow morning to help you with any last minute packing." Drew said when he pulled up in front of her house. "Was there anything you needed me to pick up on my way over here?"

Mila looked at her apartment building and the back at Drew. "Did you have any plans for tonight?"

Drew shook his head.

"Would you like to come upstairs? We can watch a movie and hang out."

"I think we packed all of your movies and DVD player away." Drew mused. "Did you pack your bathing suit?"

"I don't think I did."

"Perfect." Drew said, shutting off the car. "Come on, you'll pack your bathing suit and some clothes and we'll go back to my hotel. We can go to the pool and then hangout and have room service. I'll bring you back later tonight so you can prep for your lunch with your friends."

"Even better plan." Mila said as she took her seatbelt off. "I could use a little break."

Drew had to admit that he was happy he invited her back to his hotel. All they had been doing the whole week was packing and shipping with lunch dates thrown in. When he left her at the end of every night, he did feel a little hollow inside. He sure didn't look forward to the silence waiting back here. There was always the easy solution of finding a woman for a one night stand in the bar downstairs, but he was well known all around. Even if Mila didn't realize it now, he couldn't have her find out this way. Especially, after assuring her that she had nothing to worry about. Even if this was a sham marriage, he didn't want to hurt her.

"Okay, I'm ready." She announced as she stepped out of the bathroom.

His heart started thumping hard when he saw her. This was the first time he had seen her in very little clothing. The black two piece bikini fit her beautifully. Every curve was out in plain view for him to see.

"Is something wrong?"

Mila felt self-conscious under his gaze. Chewing on her lower lip, she turned away from him to search for something to throw over herself.

"No, no, there's nothing wrong." Drew got up and walked over to her. He turned her around to face him. "I was just debating if I should take you out of this room. I don't think I'd like it if anyone else was staring at you."

Mila rolled her eyes. "Even in private we're going to make this real?"

"We might have to." He admitted, unable to take his eyes off her. "I don't think I'd be able to keep my hands off you."

She pushed his hands down to his sides and took a step back. With a smile on her face and shake of her head, Mila willed him off. The only way they were going to do anything was if they both wanted to.

"Tease."

She found a t-shirt to put on over her swimsuit. "I hardly know you, Drew. I'm not going to jump into bed with you right away."

He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. "This coming from the woman that wanted to go to the beach with me the night we met to have sex there."

"I was incredibly hard up and drunk that night. Usually, those two things together are a bad mix."

"You're not hard up anymore?" He asked.

"No, agreeing to marry a total stranger has a sobering affect on you." Mila took hold of his hands and pushed them away from her. "We better get going if you don't want to stay in here all day."

They made it downstairs to the pool with their hands at their sides and their eyes in their heads. Mila would be lying if she said she wasn't attracted to Drew. Given their situation and what they were doing, she felt she had to be extra careful. The last thing she would want to happen is to fall in love with him and then at the end of the two years just leave with his feelings being this was a business transaction.

"At some point we are going to have to touch each other." Drew whispered as she dropped her things on the pool chair. "It's what any normal couple in a relationship do. You know, hand holding, kissing, all that girly stuff women want."

"If it's so girly, then why are you the one asking for it."

She pulled her t-shirt over her head and folded it.

"I'm just reminding you is all." Drew shrugged. "If we're going to make this look real, then we need to start now. Especially, before we head off to Boston and I introduce you to society."

"Do I get a coming out party and big poofy pink gown?" She sarcastically asked.

Mila pulled the suntan lotion out of her bag and squirted some into her hands. She started applying it to her arms, massaging it into her skin.

"No, poofy pink gowns. I'm not marrying the Good Witch of the North."

She sat down on the pool chair and stretched her legs out in front of her. She went on applying the lotion as if he hadn't said anything.

"Ignore me all you want, but you know I'm right."

"About the witch thing?"

Drew got up, leaning down to take the suntan lotion out of her hands. He grabbed it from her and sat down behind her. He squirted some into his hands and started rubbing the lotion onto her back.

"No, about the displays of affection." Drew replied. "I do like you and I do have an attraction to you. I'd be lying if I didn't."

Her teeth sank down into her lower lip while his hands drifted lower down her back. Every fiber of her being wanted to take him back up to his room and let him have his way with her, but she had to fight that urge. She couldn't just crawl into bed with him. Drew was already getting more than enough from her.

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

"To get you to loosen up." Drew got up and pulled his shirt off. "To get you to stop being afraid."

Her breath got caught in her throat when she turned to look at Drew. Up until now she had never seen him without his shirt on, she could only wonder what he looked liked under his clothes, and so far her imagination hadn't done him much justice.

"I-I-I'm not afraid." Mila said, trying to regain her composure. "I don't have to loosen up."

Drew handed her the lotion and turned her back on her. "Prove me wrong."

With shaky hands, she took the lotion from him. "You're going to need to sit down, Jolly Green Giant, I'm not going to be able to reach your shoulders."

With a laugh Drew sat down. "Better?"

"Extremely. Now shut up. I want to get in the water at some point."

Taking a deep breath, Mila squirted some lotion into her hands and started rubbing it on his back. She slowly moved her hands down his back, enjoying the feel of his skin under her fingertips. She smiled when she felt him shiver underneath her touch. The effect she seemed to have on him filled her with glee. When she was done, she pressed herself against his back and brought her lips to his ear.

"Am I loosening up enough for you?"

Getting up, Mila gave him no time to respond to her. She walked to the pool, turning her head only once to see if he was following her. A smirk tugged on her lips when she saw him looking over at her as if for the first time. She winked at him and then dove into the water.

Drew got his wits about him and followed Mila into the pool. He swam towards her, turning his head away when she started splashing him. Taking a deep breath, he disappeared under the water and swam around to get behind her. He was quick to grab her under water when she tried to make a break for it. Coming back up for air, Drew was quick to turn her around to face him. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to him and being sure to have a good hold on her.

"Not quick enough."

"Drew, let me go." Mila said.

"No." Drew shook his head. "I like you here, close to me."

Her arms wrapped around his neck as they floated around the pool. Her legs scissored around his waist and she brought her lips to his ear.

"Close enough?"

"Mhmm." He muttered. He pushed them closer to the wall of the pool, pushing her back against it. "This I could get used to. I meant what I said before. I really do like you."

"You don't know much about me. You're going based off looks."

"As are you." Drew countered. "Look, I don't know what's going to happen in the next two years, but I want us to be on some stable ground. We need to be able to make this work. We need to do as much as possible to make this real."

Mila sucked in her lower lip as she mulled over her next thought. It was never going to be about anything else, only his inheritance. If this didn't go back to her anxiety over this, then it was him reminding her it was only a business deal. She knew this going in, but there was something about him that she did like. When he came off cocky, he also came off charming. She shook her head, reminding herself to be careful. Usually men like him were dangerous, she would need to guard herself around him. Even if he was attractive and charming, this would only spell disaster for her in the end.

"I need to be careful."

"Why's that?" Drew asked. "We're both going to have it good."

"Because in the end, I'm going to get hurt."

Drew leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. When she kissed back, Drew deepened it, slipping his tongue in between her parted lips. Their breath grew heavier as they both put more passion into the kiss. Her legs tightened around his waist. She couldn't help herself. With one embrace he was able to set her veins on fire and send her heart racing. For just a moment she felt safe.

He broke the kiss and pressed his forehead to hers. "That won't happen."

A/N: Do you think they're going to make it? Thank you for reading and reviewing, guys! I really appreciate it!