Hello again! I'm back with another chapter, and luckily, this one doesn't have to be reformatted (hopefully). Enjoy the budding relationship between Daphne and Simon!

Chapter Two

Monday was stressful. Daphne entered the history building, not entirely sure what to expect. But nothing had prepared her for the stares as she made her way to her office. Everyone was staring at her. Literally everyone. Even the students. How did the students know something was going on with her? She was paranoid.

Nigel Berbrooke's face was blotchy with anger when she passed him. Well, at least he left her alone this time. And that was a happy side effect of this little deal she'd made with Simon. Even if she didn't get to let loose now that she was out from under Anthony's thumb, she would at least not be forced to deal with Nigel.

Her cell phone buzzed with an incoming call. Speak of the devil. "Brother, how are you?"

"I hear you met Bassett." Anthony was always all business. Even when the rest of the Bridgerton siblings shot meme after meme to each other in the group chat, Anthony held back. Some woman needed to loosen him up someday.

"I did. Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't tell me one of your closest friends worked at the same university as I do. I'd have thought you'd want me to have a friend." She didn't, but she did want him to admit he'd been deceitful on purpose in his ever-misguided effort to keep her from "marrying the wrong man". Honestly, she was only twenty-three, she had no interest in marrying anyone right now. She was just out on her own for the first time.

"Why would you care that Simon works there? You two have never met." She could tell Anthony's suspicion was on the rise.

"Yes, but I've never met anyone else here, either. At least we'd have you to talk about." And Nigel Berbrooke. But now, with this façade, they'd have to come up with even more topics to discuss. She wasn't sure if they'd be able to convince people it was real. Because honestly, what did they have in common?

"Simon would bore you. He's not a big talker." Daphne could practically hear her brother snickering. "He's more of a man of action. Which reminds me… don't let him seduce you."

"Let him seduce me?" She wasn't sure if she was faking this outrage or not. She was actually pretty annoyed.

"He's been with everything under the sun. I'm just looking out for you."

"Yes, well, you've done a bang up job so far."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you can't tell me what to do." Okay, now the frustration was real. "I love you, Anthony, but sometimes, you're a real ass."

She hung up before he could respond. So she switched off her phone and leaned back against her desk, closing her eyes against the world. She didn't like arguing, especially not with Anthony. He was overbearing, but he never failed to show her he cared. And she knew he felt a lot of pressure to fill their father's shoes since he'd passed. Anthony had spent years now gallivanting around and not taking anything seriously because he didn't want to face the fact that taking over meant Edmund was really gone.

"It is only Monday morning, you can't be that exhausted yet. You'll never make it through the week." Daphne opened her eyes to find Simon resting his shoulder against her doorframe.

"It is not the week that exhausts me, it's my brother. You know how he is." She waved her hand in his general direction.

"I do. I can only imagine how tiring it is when he actually thinks he can tell you what to do." Simon smirked as he settled into the seat in front of her desk. "Nice office."

She glanced around. She hadn't really done much with it yet. Not unlike her apartment. Or her life. "Thanks. I've just been throwing things everywhere."

"A good strategy, to be sure." He seemed perfectly content to just sit there.

"Did you need something?" She wasn't sure of the protocol of their arrangement. They weren't actually together, so setting up a date seemed odd. But if they didn't go on dates, no one would buy that they were together. It was a catch-22, and Daphne was truly caught.

"I'm going to see a theater department performance with a few of the other professors on Thursday night. I thought it might be a good opportunity to make an appearance. Especially since we know other faculty will be there." He folded his hands, a self-satisfied smile gracing his face.

"You have plans with other adults? Aren't you supposed to be antisocial, or something?" Daphne deflected. She didn't want to admit that she was nervous to take on this fake dating thing. What if she was bad at it? What if no one would think he'd pick someone like her? And then she heard her mother's voice in her head, reminding her that she was a successful, intelligent, beautiful woman who had a lot to offer.

And yeah, it made her feel a little better.

"Perhaps Anthony isn't as smart as he thinks he is." Daphne had to give him that. Anthony was a good brother and a good head of the family. But laid back, he was not. "So, Thursday."

"You might have a point." She pretended to check her schedule. "I can make Thursday work."

That smug smile returned to Simon's face. "Great. Email me your address. I'll pick you up at six."

And he swept out of her office. How could someone manage to look so smug and so charming at the same time? She was sure some of the smugness came from the fact that he knew he was charming. It was rude, really.

And now she had to figure out a way to make people think she was dating a man she'd only spoken to twice.

Thankfully, Daphne only lectured until 2:30 on Thursdays. She had spent the next three hours finally unpacking some of her kitchen items that had remained boxed up since she'd arrived (she'd pretty much been surviving on take out and sandwiches for the past few weeks). It was almost time for Simon to arrive when her phone buzzed. She'd managed to stay out of the family group chat while she settled in, but sadly her luck couldn't last. At least it was only the sister chat.

Frannie Bannanie: Daph where r u? We miss u!

El: is it true u have to wait 48 hours in America to report a missing person?

Frannie Bannanie: Well then it's hopeless for us. She's been missing for three weeks

Daff-o-dil: Calm down, I'm fine

El: she speaks

Hy: *shocked*

Daff-o-dil: Is this necessary?

El: entirely

Daphne shook her head, shifting her fruit bowl around to find the perfect position.

Daff-o-dil: I can't talk now, I have plans tonight

Hy: *shocked*

Frannie Bannanie: Ur not allowed to hide a boyfriend from us

Daff-o-dil: Good, I'm not

El: but there will be boys there

Daff-o-dil: Yes nosy people, there will be male people in the audience at this play

El: hes taking you to a play, I approve already

Daff-o-dil: I'm going now

Frannie Bannanie: Wait! What r u wearing?

Daphne glanced down at her striped button down, worn jeans, and brown heeled boots.

Daff-o-dil: The usual

El: useless, you are

Hy: not *shocked*

Daphne laid her phone on the counter as she heard a car pulling up outside of her apartment building. It was a small building—she heard everything coming and going. Sadly, that often included her neighbor's wife.

As she stood, about to shoe her phone into her pocket, she felt her it buzz one more time to inform her of a message.

Frannie Bannanie: At least put on a skirt. U never know who will be there

The girl really did have great legs, Simon mused as she walked down the stairs of her apartment building. A white skirt hit mid-thigh, stretching across them as she stepped down towards his car. Not that he was looking.

"Nice car," Daphne waved in its direction as she slid sunglasses on. They were those ones that pointed out at the corner, giving her a sly look even though he couldn't see her eyes. He supposed anyone that grew up in a family of eight should be at least a little sly.

"Thanks." He slid into the Jaguar. The worst thing Americans did to the planet is force him to get a car with the steering wheel on the right side. And he definitely would not tell her about the six other cars sitting at his estate in England.

"So, what's this play?" She looked way too comfortable in his car. It was unsettling.

"Kiss Me, Kate." He suddenly realized that, with a title including the word "kiss", people might actually be expecting this fake couple to kiss. Or maybe that was too Hallmark. Either way, he liked his balls enough that it wasn't a risk worth taking.

"Isn't that the musical based on 10 Things I Hate About You?" He couldn't tell if she was serious or not. And he wasn't above being upset if she was. "Relax, Mr. Classics, I know it's Taming of the Shrew. But 10 Things I Hate About You is so much more fun."

He wasn't prepared to argue that with her. "So I guess we should figure out how to play this."

"They've seen us hold hands at the party last week. That should be enough to be convincing."

"You think?" He wasn't sure why he was pushing the issue. It was a perfectly reasonable response.

"Sure. You said you've worked your way through most of the faculty, right? It's not like you've been banging women in broad daylight." She snapped her head over to him. "Have you?"

"No," he choked out. Hearing her say "banging" had really taken him back. "I suppose you're right, then. Hand holding it is."

They sat in surprisingly comfortable silence for a few minutes. "Why are you so opposed to the commitment, anyway?"

To tell the truth or not to tell, that was the question. "It's not commitment I have a problem with. It's the expectations that come with it." She patiently waited for him to continue. "I can't have children. Women expect marriage and kids. It's just easier to avoid the whole thing than know they want something from me that I can't give."

She was quiet for a minute. "I'm sorry you have to deal with that. Does anyone else know?"

"Not here." The implicit request was to keep it to herself. And despite the newness of their relationship, he trusted her to do that. "Anthony knows. A few of my other friends from childhood. Not many people."

"Thanks for telling me." He hadn't seen her look…soft yet. But she did now. "I promise not to push you on it. But if we're going to pretend to be in love, I feel the least I can do is be a confidant. I promise you can tell me about anything."

"Thank you." She lived close enough to campus that they were already turning in to the parking lot. He turned smoothly into a spot not far from the door to the theater building. "Ready?"

"Let's do it." She shot him that smile. Anthony must have spent years beating men off with a stick. She was brilliantly beautiful. Like looking at a diamond in the sunlight.

Simon wasn't sure what he expected when they entered the building, hands held, but it wasn't the blatant stares of…well, everyone in the lobby. The building was small, just a lobby, theater, and bathrooms on the first floor with a few classrooms upstairs. And every single one of the dozens of people clustered in the too-small space was watching them.

"Want to call it?" Daphne lifted herself up on her toes, her mouth close to his ear. They were packed tight, but her words were low enough only he could hear. "We could stage a big public fight. Make everyone think we fizzled out quickly."

He smiled. "Is that what you want?"

"I say stick with the plan for now. We might as well give it a fair chance before we change our minds."

"Works for me." The doors to the theater opened. "Shall we?"

"After you, sir." She did a little curtsey and gestured for him to take the lead. That dulled his mood a bit. He didn't know what she knew about his family or his title—unless Anthony had given her some background, he assumed nothing. But so many women, especially here, had been interested in his title. And he knew she was bred for high society and marriage to a well-off man. It really was a miracle she'd decided to pursue a job at all. Plenty of the women he'd grown up with were perfectly happy to chase the money and the title and live the rest of their life in the lap of luxury.

Simon didn't think Daphne was like that. But they really didn't know each other. And he wasn't good with blind trust.

They took their seats in the third row. Mondrich, who Simon had begged to come so he'd have someone to turn to if things went off the rails, sat on his left. Friedrich St. John had the seat to the right of Daphne.

"Mondrich. Glad you could make it." Simon patted the other man on the back.

"It was either this or sit down with Jake Simpson and find out why he's been skipping intro to geography." Mondrich settled back into his seat. "Who skips a class that's just studying a map?"

"How do you wrangle them?" Simon shook his head. But he tuned Mondrich out when Daphne's melodic laugh hit his ears. He spotted her head bowed next to Friedrich's blonde one. He couldn't see her face, but he could see the grin on the other man's face. Whatever they were talking about, the plan seemed to be working. He shifted in his seat.

The house lights came down, and a hush settled over the crowd. At least that meant he wouldn't be hearing Daphne and Friedrich whispering the whole time. Or, he hoped he wouldn't.

Daphne stood for the leads as they made their way to center stage for their bows.

Friedrich St. John stood beside her, clapping enthusiastically. He'd introduced himself before the show had begun. He'd wanted to give her a warm welcome at the party, but she'd disappeared before he'd had a chance.

She had to admit, he was exactly the kind of guy she was looking for. A classically handsome face, intelligent, his life together… and yet, she felt awkward talking to him. They didn't necessarily have that much in common. He was nice enough. Maybe she should do what she told Simon to do earlier and give it a chance before she gives up. "They did quite well, didn't they?"

"Yeah, it was great." His boyishly handsome face split into a grin. "What was your favorite part?"

"I'm a bit of a sucker for a happy ending, so I think probably the big closing number."

"Ah, yeah. I love a gangster story, so I like that subplot." She nodded. She liked a good danger plot as much as the next girl, but it wasn't like she was waiting on pins and needles to talk to some guy about it.

"Definitely exciting," she agreed, after a long pause.

"Hey, um, I was thinking of trying this new Koran barbecue place." She sent him an unsure smile. She knew where this was going, but she wasn't sure what answer would come out her mouth when he asked. "Would you like to join me? We could go sometime later this week maybe?"

"Yes," she blurted, simply because she knew she had to have an answer. She hadn't always been good at doing things that scare her. But she was working on it.

"Great." He matched her smile with a relieved one of his own. "How's sometime next week? We can talk Monday at work and sort out the details?"

"Yeah, sure." Now that she had actually taken the plunge, it was starting to feel a little better. She was even kind of…excited.

The theater had begun to empty. She noticed Simon stand next to her. He turned down the row with just a small glance back to make sure she was following. It dimmed her enthusiasm a bit, honestly. Their plan was working. No horny grad students or gold-digging assistant professors had hit on him all night. She had already been asked out on a date. Why didn't he look happy?

They spilled out into the lobby. Mondrich turned to the group. "Well, I'm hungry. Anyone else want to grab some food?"

"Sounds great!" Friedrich popped over to Mondrich's side. Daphne didn't get the idea that they were close, but they certainly didn't have a problem with each other. A few others joined them, all famished from two hours in the theater (really, did these people never eat? Two hours shouldn't make anyone that hungry).

Simon glanced down at her. "What do you think? Food or back home?"

She looked at the yeses, then back at Simon. "I think I might actually head home. My brother has an art show tonight, and I'd like to ask him how it went." She tuned back to everyone else. "Thanks for inviting me. Any other night, I'd be there."

"No problem," Michaela Varley chimed in. "If my sister wasn't eighty and in bed by seven, I'd go home and call her right now."

Daphne sent her a grin. "You'll have to tell me about her some time."

"You've got it, my dear."

"I'll drive you home," Simon offered, resting his hand on her back. And suddenly, she needed to put space between them. She knew he was doing it to keep up appearances, but it felt too real. She wasn't sure if it was his honesty on the drive over, or her nervousness to say yes to Friedrich, but she couldn't be in a car with him now.

"No!" It was a bit rushed, and he looked at her, those dark, immaculate, expressive eyebrows pinched together. They really did frame his face nicely. Well, it would be a nice face either way. But they complimented it well. "No need, I mean. I'll call an Uber, you spend time with everyone. Weren't you just telling me earlier that you thought it would be nice to see Mondrich and Friedrich more?"

Okay, it was kind of a dirty play to twist his words against him, but really, he was flustering her. She was overwhelmed by the quick turn of events, and the immediate success of their ruse, and she needed some time to process. And that meant time away from him.

"Alright, then." He stepped closer. She was tempted to back up, but knew it would look—both to their onlookers and to him—like she was afraid. And she wasn't afraid of him. Really, she was afraid of how much she might learn about herself if she spent more time with him. He was already getting her out of her comfort zone.

But then he was right in front of her, brushing her body with his wide, firm chest. The man taught classics, the least he could do was have a bit of a beer belly. "Get home safe. Let me know when you get in."

And he pressed a soft, chaste kiss on her lips. Chaste, but not particularly short. She'd like to say she didn't pull away because she wasn't certain what was happening. But the truth was, she was too taken by the plush lips pressed against hers, the hint of coffee in his taste, the clean laundry scent that floated up from his shirt.

So he was the one who pulled away. It was probably a respectable amount of time that they'd been kissing, but she felt like it had been an eternity. It had been an eternity since she'd kissed someone like that. And she was now very glad she was going home, and very glad she would not have to sit with her shoulder brushing his and her bare thigh pressed against his jeans for the rest of the night.

She waved goodbye to everyone, trying to seem normal. She doubted she actually looked it. But she couldn't spare a thought for what anyone else there, including Friedrich, who she was supposed to be going on a date with next week, when the lingering feel of Simon's lips were taking over her brain.