Page 20 of What the Doctor Ordered
I smoothed my dress down as I got to the front of the apartment complex and saw Simon’s sleek black car. He was leaning against it, his hands in his pockets. I tried not to blush as I approached him. He was dressed in a dark gray suit with a burgundy-colored tie peeking out. His thick wavy hair was slicked back away from his forehead, making his hazel eyes stand out.
He smiled when he saw me, straightening as I stepped in front of him. “You look beautiful this evening, Kiley,” he said.
This was all just pretend, but my cheeks heated up anyway at the compliment. Lily helped me pick out the strapless lilac dress I was wearing. “Thanks,” I murmured. “You look really nice tonight, too.”
I thought I noticed Simon’s eyes darken for a moment, but they were back to normal before I could be sure. “I have something for you,” he said, reaching into the pocket of his suit jacket.
My heart skipped a beat when he took out a small, velvet box.
“You don’t have to wear it,” he said. “Especially since it wasn’t part of our agreement, but I thought it would make the whole thing more believable if you had one.”
My mouth went dry when he opened the box to reveal a stunning diamond ring with intricate metalwork. There was a square-shaped rock in the center that shimmered beneath the dim streetlight. I could tell from the look of it that it was expensive.
“Did you just buy this?” I asked in wonder.
Simon nodded. “Yes, I just picked it up on the way here,” he said. “I’ll understand if you don’t want to wear it.”
I couldn’t believe he was saying this even though he obviously spent thousands on it. “What would you do with it if I said I didn’t want to wear it?”
He considered that for a moment. “Probably just encourage you to keep it and sell it so that you could pay for next year’s tuition.”
“I’ll wear it,” I said quickly, my eyes widening. Now that I knew this ring must have cost tens of thousands of dollars, I took the box from him carefully. “And just so we’re clear, I will not be selling it because I am returning it to you so that you can get your money back.”
I shook my head in amazement. Just how much money did this guy have?
I swallowed hard before sliding the ring onto my finger, and just stared at it. It was strange to have a ring onthatfinger. I never imagined that I would have one at this point in my life and definitely wouldn’t have been able to predict these particular circumstances either. A large part of me still couldn’t believe that this was real. I was living a strange life, for sure.
“Thank you for the temporary ring,” I joked, dropping my hand. “It is beautiful.”
Simon chuckled. “Thank you for being my temporary fiancée,” he said. “I look forward to this. Shall we go to our first function together?” He opened the passenger door for me.
I smiled and nodded. “Yes, let’s.”
Perhaps it was due to the darkness outside, or maybe it was because I hadn’t been sleeping well since I had been staying up to study for the past week, but a sudden feeling of fatigue washed over me.
Simon had some gentle jazzy sounding music playing in the car, which wasn’t helping me stay awake. My head felt heavy, there was a gentle buzzing in my brain, and my skin felt warm.
I shook my head hard, partially to stay awake but also because I refused to get sick. I had midterms coming up; I couldn’t afford to be sick now. I was probably just tired.
I noticed Simon glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. “Are you feeling alright?” he asked. “You’re awfully quiet this evening.”
I blinked rapidly, trying to will my body to wake up and fix itself. “I’m fine,” I said. “I think I’m just a bit tired from school and work.”
Simon was quiet for a long moment before he made a sound in the back of his throat that I identified as disapproval. “You should be getting at least seven hours of sleep a night,” he lectured. “Have you been eating three square meals a day and drinking enough water?”
His questions were just causing my shoulders to sag even further. “I think so.”
“You think so,” he repeated and his tone was flat. He glanced over at me once we were stopped at a red light and he must not have liked what he saw because he made another unhappy sound in the back of his throat before he made a sharp U-turn.
“Simon?” I asked, my voice rising in surprise. “What are you doing?”
“You’re pale and can barely keep your eyes open,” he said. “I don’t know how I didn’t notice when I picked you up, but you are in no condition to be out right now.”
I was kind of relieved to hear him say that since my body did suddenly feel like it was on the verge of coming down with something, but I also didn’t like how vulnerable I felt. “Are you taking me home?” I asked.
“We’re going to my house,” he said shortly, his hands tightening on the wheel.
“That’s really not necessary!” I said quickly. “My roommate should be home, so I won’t be alone.”
