MaryMaryI watched Peter go off in search of my ring with a racing heart. He had been like this ever since the man kissed my cheek, taking me by surprise. His lips were warm, while his hand held my face, gently caressing my cheek. His breathing close to my skin gave me goose bumps. It made me wonder how he would act in a more... intimate situation. When he pulled away, my face was completely flushed. What was I thinking? This whole marriage thing is a farce, he is still just my boss and I can't have that kind of thinking about him. We have to keep it as simple as possible. I let my body collapse in my chair, trying in vain to concentrate on work. My headache had increased considerably and my body felt very tired. I needed to get some sleep, maybe if I leaned over the table I could... " What was that? " Halley questioned, bursting into my office like a hurricane. " What was what? " I muttered, even though I knew what she was talking about. " You and Pyotr! " She exclaimed, "Mar

MaryI felt my body come back to consciousness without the damn headache and the bad mood. Great, a few hours of sleep was all I needed. I slowly opened my eyes, bumping into Allie's Jade-colored eyes and platinum hair, causing me to pull away as quickly as possible without screaming, falling out of bed in the process. " Damn it Allie," I shouted, getting up, "are you trying to give me a heart attack?”" I didn't want to wake you up," she justified herself by sitting up. " And then you come into my room, lie down next to me, and watch me sleep? " I questioned. " Your mother allowed it," she shrugged." Why doesn't anyone else respect my sleep? " I widened my eyes. " Come on, I thought you'd never wake up to tell me all the details.”" Allie, there really isn't much to tell," I took a deep breath. " Your mother told me about the immigration problem.”She couldn't have known, could she? " What did she say? " I tried to sound disinterested. " That you surrendered everything in des

MaryMaryWe started discussing some details of our story while Pyotr was driving me home after our double date. We agreed to tell them that we have been together for seven months, got involved after a conference we went to together in Miami and have kept everything a secret ever since. After getting all the simple stuff sorted out, we were missing the details that would make all the difference in whether people would believe our story or not. We hit some traffic on the way around Central Park to my parents' house, which gave us some extra time to talk, but this subject was far from being finalized. " Mary, it would be better if we could get this over with. We can't put it off any longer, I think this dinner was proof of that," he argued. " We did well, they believed us.”" Because they didn't pay attention and trust what you say," he retorted, "If they were suspicious, as many are, they would have found our behavior strange.”" What do you want to do, go out for a drink? " I fina

Mary I got up, took a shower, and put on my pajamas, getting ready for bed. But this time I didn't Sleep, I stared at the ceiling for a long time remembering the feeling of kissing Peter. I shouldn't have enjoyed that kiss so much, and just thinking that it won't be the only one my stomach churned with anxiety.Peter is right, our kisses will be quick, just to convince whoever is watching. Nothing more than that. We don't need complications in our lives. I kept waiting for the man's call, but obviously today that I have been up all night, he decides not to call. What's the fun in not waking me up? I slept a little before dawn and ended up being late the next day. I spent a few extra minutes putting on my makeup trying to cover up the effects of the sleepless nights I had that week. I arrived at the publishing company almost at eight o'clock, ignoring the curious looks on the way. A year ago I was gossiped about because I was working as a personal assistant and now because I was en

PyotrI tried in vain to concentrate on work. The lack of sleep, Mary, the stress and all the changes of the last few days were affecting me. I couldn't focus on anything and as lunchtime approached, I decided it was best to go home and not deal with it until tomorrow. Mary looked confused to see me leaving, but I needed this time to get my head on straight. Especially with the engagement dinner approaching, I have no idea what Mr. Navruz might be planning. I headed home in order to calm my mind a little. I slept, caught up on my reading and managed to totally disconnect from all that during the afternoon. I was playing with Libby after dinner when my cell phone rang. I noticed Mary's picture there. I wondered if she had arranged another surprise dinner. " Hi Mary.”" Hey Peter, you're missing " she looked worried. " Sorry, I had some things to take care of," I blurted, trying to hide how much I needed a little distance from her. “How was your day?”" It was ok. I didn't have mu