Hired Love

"When you both said you were coming with your men, I was totally happy. Finally, I would get to see my daughters happy and getting settled with the men they love and maybe have a marriage as successful as I and your father's. But now, I'm not so certain of anything anymore. You constantly bicker and I'd hoped you both would grow out of it and get closer as the years went by but it's getting worse." She blew her nose dramatically into the small cloth she held in her hands. Stacy rolled her eyes. "I just want my girls to be happy and at peace with each other before I go. Is that too much to ask?"

She broke into frightful sobs that shook her shoulders so hard, it looked like she was being electrocuted. "Mom, stop crying." Claire held her shoulders gently, wincing as their mother's cries increased in tempo. "Mom." "Why are you both doing this to me?" She cried harder. Stacy wanted to scream. The woman was exaggerating.

"Alright, mom. We'll stop the arguments. We apologize for this morning. It won't happen again." She said grudgingly, getting on her feet and walking to where the older woman sat. She touched get cheek, pulling her face upwards. "Promise?" Her bottom lip trembled. Stacy had to give it to her. The woman would've probably been the next Jennifer Aniston if she'd decided to pursue an acting career.

"Promise," she concurred though somewhere at the back of her mind, she knew it was just a promise of convenience. So long as Claire was with Matt, she would never forgive her.

Stacy was alone for most of the day. Since her mother had decided to take away everyone's phones in the spirit of 'family togetherness' as she called it, there wasn't really much to occupy herself with. She hadn't brought any work-related stuff with her so that was out of the question.

She took a late afternoon stroll through the garden, as she reminisced her childhood. Her parents had always been well off. Her father had been a surgeon before he'd died. Growing up, life hadn't been difficult. She'd literally had people to do everything for her. Her parents had provided for them as much as they could, and the much they could afford was seriously much. She'd tried as hard as she could to get out from under her family's shadow and make something of herself by herself and she was doing pretty good herself considering.

She stopped near some daffodils, admiring their vibrant color. Her conversation with her mother and Claire resurfaced. Was she really changing? It had just been a week. All her life, she'd laid down for Claire to walk all over, taking it all without a word of complaint. Was it so hard to believe that she was finally standing up for herself?

So maybe Roman was to thank for discovering her tougher side, but in reality it'd always been there on the inside, dull and dormant.

There wasn't much she could do about certain things in life, but if there was an opportunity to stand up for herself and not be okay with the shit she used to be okay with any longer, then she was going to take it.

She longed to see Grace, to speak with her. Her best friend was probably the only person who told her the truth as it was, without sugar coating anything or treating her like a child who couldn't handle the truth. However, she didn't want to find out what Grace would say when she found out that she was in love with her cousin. It was just too much drama.

Roman.

He'd looked so dejected in the morning when those words had flown out of her mouth. She shouldn't have said it anyway; his parents were obviously a touching topic for him.

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He probably didn't want anything to do with her again. He'd said he wasn't going to touch her again. Stacy sighed, reaching the Jacuzzi. She traced a finger around the ceramic material, recalling the night they'd both in it together. That was where it had begun; the stupid need she felt anytime he was near.

To be honest, she wanted him to touch her as much as he wanted. Roman made her feel things she'd never felt before. Less than three days until they went back to their different lives. Less than three days to love him more, ultimately dooming herself to love him forever. She cursed her knack for being such a pathetic romantic. She'd romanticized the idea of being with Matt for so long that when the opportunity presented itself, she'd refused to see what was staring back at her square in the face.

How long had Claire and Matt been fucking? She'd asked her sister if it was alright for her and Matt to be together. If Claire was in love with him, why hadn't she just said so? Stacy would've stepped aside. "What are you doing out here alone?" She turned her head to see her Aunt Phoebe walking towards her.

Her second aunt was a beautiful woman. It didn't matter that she didn't look a day over thirty. Even if she'd been fifty, Stacy was sure she still would've been a real neck-breaker.

"I just needed some air, Aunt Phoebe. What about you? I thought you'd be with the baby."

"She's asleep, thank God. I'm up to my neck in diapers."

They fell in side by side with each other. The cool afternoon breeze blew past them, and Stacy relished in the feeling of tranquility that surged through her.

"So what's the matter? I can tell something's going on with you." Her aunt said, looking at her.

If there was one person she knew she could talk to it, it was her aunt. They'd always been the closest and somehow, her aunt had taken the place of Claire in her life. "Just... It's all overwhelming, you know? Being here what with mom's sickness and the family all together."

"And Roman?"

Stacy's head snapped to her, and she immediately recognized the knowing look in her eyes. "Aunt Phoebe, what is it you think you know?"

She shrugged, looking ahead. "Not much, honey. But he's not really your fiancé, is he?"