"No one has to get married, Sterling. Why don't you just tell me the truth?"
"Because the truth makes me sound like a terrible person."
"Gosh. Color me surprised," I said.
"Archer."
"Luna." I shook my arm out of his grap. "This is ridiculous."
A calculating look came over his face. "You never answered why you were here."
"For the truth. You've known that woman for less than three weeks and two weeks ago, you wanted to make out with me in a dark room in public."
Heat began to color his cheeks. "It was the moon cycle, I'm afraid."
"Liar. The full moon is next week."
"What do you want me to say, Archer?"
I sipped my coffee and stared a moment before I finally spoke the truth. "There's something between us. I'm not sure what it is. But it's there. So I'm here to ask you why you don't want anything to do with it. With this. Whatever it is. Why Cherry?"
Sterling moved a step closer to me. "I don't want a wife."
"Okay. I'm not asking you to marry me."
"But aren't you? Isn't that why Portia is setting you up?"
I nodded. "Of course. But I don't need to get married right away."
"But I never want to."
I threw my free hand up in the air. "Then why are you getting married right now?"
"Because if I don't, my parents plan to enforce an arranged marriage to someone in Italy."
I sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "Why are you marryingher, Sterling?"
He tilted my chin to look at him. "Because she won't get involved in my life. She just wants someone to take care of her."
The confession made me want to sink to my knees. "This is what you want?"
"I want freedom. She's the best bet for it."
"This is insane."
Sterling didn't argue. "There is something between us, Archer. But I'm not going to see what it is. I can't afford to."
"One date," I blurted.
He blinked at me. "What?"
"Go out on one date with me and then you can decide."
"I've already decided. I can't go out with you. I'm already engaged."
"As a friend. We won't even call it a date. You can tell Cherry."
"I am not going to tell my fiancee that I'm going out with another woman."
