I went on the stupid boat.

And the worst thing was that Kyle had only invited Amelia along as well. I couldn't think of worse company.

Amelia did everything in her power to get Tobias alone, but I was surprised to see that he kept refusing. Maybe he was just being polite in front of me.

After last night I knew to try and avoid Kyle completely, something easier said than done. My best solution was to wedge myself in the corner of the couch with Tobias beside me to block him from sitting next to me. I put my arm in Tobias's to make sure he didn't get up.

But Kyle just came and sat on the arm of the couch, brushing his arm against mine every now and then.

I tried to ignore him whenever he spoke to me, but Tobias gave me a warning glance after Kyle started getting visibly frustrated.

So I only responded with one-word answers. No one could say anything about that. But I knew responding angrily to his constant flirtations would encourage him.

When Tobias left to do God knows what, Kyle took the opportunity to take his seat. He put his arm around the back of my seat, leaning in closer and closer slowly until I could feel his breath on my neck.

He started playing with my hair. I yanked my head away quickly, feeling a shooting pain in my head when he didn't let go of the strand.

Don't get mad, don't get mad, I chanted to myself, but it was getting more and more difficult.

"Stop. It," I growled from between my clenched teeth.

"Tell me you're not enjoying this."

"I'm not."

"You don't need to lie to me, sweetheart. I know it must feel good to get some attention."

"Excuse me?"

"Well we both know you're not getting it from your husband and I'm just trying to help out a woman in need."

"Don't worry about me. My husband is giving me all the attention I need. Maybe even too much sometimes." The lie came too easily.

"You don't need to lie to me."

"Oh trust me, I'm not."

He looked away and frowned. Success! Maybe he would leave me alone now.

When Tobias came back Amelia was following him like a lost puppy, looking dejected.

Had he rejected her? Ha!

As he was about to sit down, his phone started ringing. He glanced down at the name on the screen and excused himself to answer it. I could see him looking angry through the window, and if my lip-reading skills were any good, I believe he said the words "stop calling me". Either that or "stump jingling baby" but that didn't seem realistic.

I wondered who he was talking to. Julia Steinway, I hoped.

Probably not. If those texts I saw were any indication, whatever they had was still going on strong.

When he returned he looked kind of pissed off and I took that as an opportunity to get away from Kyle and his groping hands.

I pulled him over to the other side of the boat into one of the many rooms, happy to finally be away from the other two horny passengers.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"None of your business," he snapped at me.

"No need to be rude. I was just asking."

He sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm just annoyed. I can't handle much longer with that girl following me around."

"That girl? You mean Amelia?"

"Is that her name?"

I burst out laughing. "Did you seriously not know her name?"

"Was I supposed to?"

"Well she basically gave you a handjob under the table yesterday so I think it's common courtesy."

He stared at me and I stared back into his obsidian eyes, not knowing what was happening. He frowned like he was trying to figure something out and I wondered what he was thinking.

When he finally looked away I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in, trying to get my soaring heartbeat back to its original pace.

"We should probably go back," he said, turning away.

"Wait. Kyle is onto us."

"Onto us?"

"He thinks – he knows our marriage is fake."

Tobias sighed in frustration. "Great job, Talia."

"Me? I'm not the one blatantly taking other women to bed."

"I'm not the one flirting with him."

"You told me to!"

"I didn't tell you to throw yourself at him."

"I didn't! Don't you dare blame this on me."

"Fix this. If people know our marriage is fake it can really affect business."

"You fix it."

"It's not my problem to fix." That sounded familiar.

"Well in a marriage the two parties work together to solve problems."

"We're not really married."

"Wow thanks for the reminder." I rolled my eyes.

"Come on." He took my hand and pulled me back to where Kyle and Amelia were waiting expectantly.

Tobias sat down and pulled me next to him, wrapping his arms around my waist. I stiffened at his touch but knew better than to pull away.

He leaned in close. "Act natural," he whispered quietly.

Kyle and Amelia were both frowning at us.

I stared at Kyle with a smirk on my face. See? I wanted to ask him.

I snuggled into him, leaning my head on his shoulder, really playing it up. All I had to do was to pretend he was Jason and I was confident it would be believable.

But had our previous coolness towards each other been too much to make it seem like we could actually be a couple? I really hoped not. I didn't want to do anything too drastic to make this marriage convincing. Would I have to kiss him? Ew.

So we just sat there, everyone looking awkwardly at one another. Kyle and Amelia looked a little confused. There was no way Tobias and I were so detached from one another that me snuggling into him was confusing.

How bad were we at this fake marriage thing? It had never occurred to me that people would suspect it wasn't real and that that could harm the business I gave up my freedom for.

I sighed inwardly. Would Tobias and I have to be all touchy feely from now on? Perfect. A jerk faking affection to me. Just every girl's dream.

When the boat finally made it back to the dock, Tobias and I left as fast as we could, his arm around my waist.

He opened the car door for me as we waved to Kyle and Amelia still standing on the landing.

As I was getting in I felt someone smack my butt.

What. The. Hell.

Tobias closed the car doors before I could turn to yell at him, the tinted windows hiding my angry reaction from the two dumbfounded spectators.

Once Tobias was in the car, I turned to him angrily. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"You know what!"

"If I did I wouldn't have asked, Talia."

"Don't touch my butt. Ever."

He rolled his eyes. "What are you, six?"

"I'm sorry I don't feel comfortable with a strange man's hand on my private area."

"Your husband," he corrected me.

"Seriously? You were just the one reminding me how fake our marriage is."

"Calm down. It was just for show."

"Right."

"Well someone's full of herself."

I glared at him angrily. "Don't do it again."

He ignored me and kept driving and I decided that was as close to a confirmation that I would get.

Only one man could touch me like that. And he happened to be buried in the ground.