Haley Slater was taking his suggestion that the two of them remain married seriously. Not only that, she was leaning towards saying yes. It was more than Deacon could have hoped for when he had first introduced the matter. So, whatever it was that she was going to say, he was going to make sure to listen intently and answer her as best he could.
The fact that she still wanted to ask him a few questions was a bit worrying. Were she any other woman making such a demand? Deacon would have been one hundred percent certain that her questions would be more focused on the financial aspect of things. But just like him, Haley Slater came from money. Her family did not want for anything, and though she had chosen to walk away from that, she was still well connected, and should she choose it, she could also have access to the Slater money.
So, whatever it was that she was going to ask him would most definitely be something that Deacon did not have an answer ready for, and that made him nervous. But even so, he sat still, and waited for Slater to start speaking. When she finally did, her first question took him completely by surprise.
"All right, Roth, should the two of us continue with this and carry on acting as though we are married because we love each other? Would that mean that I have to leave my photography, that I would have to mold myself into a role that would better suit Mrs Roth?"
What?! Deacon felt his mouth fall open and shock. What on earth would make her ask such a ridiculous question?
"Slater, the days of such things are long past, you are your own independent person, just as I am my own person. Of course, you can carry on with your work. I would not expect you to change such a huge aspect of yourself just to better fit me," Slater nodded, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips.
"Thank you for the honest answer, Roth. You would be shocked just how many people, especially amongst the super rich, do not actually hold that view, but I am glad to hear that you are not one of them,"
A flower petal fell on Slater's dress, and instead of flicking it off, she picked it up and began running her finger gently over it.
'All right, next question then. What about my dress sense? Would you expect me to change it to dress more modestly in subdued colours. Grey and black, like you seem to favour?" Once again, Deacon was thrown by her question.
Why on earth would he ever expect Slater to dress in a manner similar to him? For as long as he had known her, her fashion sense had always been very loud, bright colours, and jewelry that just screamed, look at me. She was wearing a bright yellow dress at that very moment, a flower in her hair, and when he had seen her in the club, she'd been wearing bedazzled jeans for crying out loud.
There was no taming that.
"Slater If anybody were ever to try to change your dress sense, it would be a waste. I can see that it is one of the ways you express yourself. So I would not even dare try to do such a thing," This time, Slater's smile actually showed fully,
"Good to know Roth, and just so you are aware, I too will not try to stop you from dressing like a wannabe grim reaper all the time," The words were serious, but her tone was teasing, and there was a sparkle in Slater's eyes that let him know that she was only kidding.
"Oh please Slater I will have you know that you are missing out. If you knew just how awesome my fashion sense was, you would be jumping to get on the black and white bandwagon," As though to contradict him, a soft breeze carried some yellow rose petals right onto his lap. The splash of colour very vivid against his suit. Deacon instantly swept them away, only to look up when he heard Slater laughing softly.
"You should have left them there, they made you look good," She told him. But then her face turned serious again, and he knew that they were about to get back onto the topic that they had been discussing.
"So you do not mind my career, and you also don't mind my dress sense. What about behind closed doors? Will I be expected to act as a proper wife?" Deacon stared at her quizzically.
What did she mean, proper wife? And why were the tips of her ears so red when she said that,
Proper wife, proper wife, oh, oh,… his own face heating Deacon shook his head vigorously from side to side, his cheeks burning.
"Of course not, Slater. I would not touch you in such a way without your consent. Would you touch me?" She shook her own head. Her hair obscuring her face every time she did so.
"I would never Roth," He nodded. "Exactly. So there will be no forced intimacy from either of us,"
The two of them once again lapsed into silence, their faces going back to normal, as the panic and the embarrassment faded away. To him, Slater's questions were odd, but thinking on it Deacon had heard more than a few unsavoury rumours about Prince Victor.
When she had mentioned dating him he had been shocked. But Deacon now recalled hearing such a thing back then. But to his knowledge, the man's relationship with Slater had been brief, but it seemed that the prince had left a mark. Knowing that made Deacon unexpectedly angry, and his hands balled into fists only loosening when he felt something settle at the backs of them.
Looking down he once again found yellow flower petals, but this time he did not push them onto the ground. Instead he let them stay, turning his attention back to Slater.
"Is that everything that you had in mind?" Slater nodded. Instead of asking her, whether or not she'd made up her mind. Deacon decided to add in a few thoughts of his own.
"I want this arrangement to last for a year, It will be enough time to convince our families that we are truly attached. Then when it comes time to divorce, there should be no problems, and we won't be forced to move on too soon after that. They will be too worried that we will make even worse choices,"
"Will you be alright to not have any other relationships for a full year?" Slater nodded almost immediately.
"I have been single for three years, Roth. Trust me, another year is nothing,"
Three years, so that meant the last person that she had been in a relationship with was Prince Victor. The thought left a bitter taste in Deacon's mouth, and he decided to just move on to the next point.
"Even after we leave here, I still intend to keep the circumstances of our marriage as secret. From the way in which we actually got married, to the reason why we are staying married in the first place, can I trust you to do the same?"
Slater nodded.
"Trust me, this is not something that I will to be sharing with anybody,"
So far so good.
"One more thing, at the end of all of this, you and I will still part ways without taking anything from each other, despite our lack of a prenup,"
Slater nodded without putting up any resistance.
"Agreed,"
"Then I have one final question for you. Haley Slater. Will you remain as my wife for a year?"
Pulling out her phone, Slater switched it on and then looked at him meaningfully.
"The only way I will agree to the marriage is if you agree to take a photo with me, a proper one,"
It was a ridiculous request, but Deacon decided to grant it. What followed was a few seconds of the two of them moving around. As Deacon walked towards the rose bushes, Slater fiddled with the camera, then she set the phone down, and sprinted towards him. Unable to help himself,
Deacon could not help but feel his lips stretch into a smile at how ridiculous she was being. The next thing he knew, she had slipped beneath his arm with a blinding smile on her face. The expression had him turning his attention back to her phone, and then there was a flash of light.
"There done," Slater said, and then she slipped out from beneath his arm and rushed back to her phone. Deacon followed her at a more sedate pace, and when he finally reached her, he leaned over to stare at the picture that she had just taken.
It seemed that the camera had caught the soft smile that Deacon had been giving her, Slater herself was beaming in the picture, looking like the happiest woman on earth. They made quite a pair, her in her colourful dress, and him with a rare smile.
He rarely ever gave any genuine emotion in photos, yet Haley Slater had managed to capture one from him.
"What is the picture for?" He asked.
Looking up at him, Slater smiled, (She did that a lot, was she aware of it?)
"That was our first official picture as a couple, and it means exactly what you think it means. Yes, Deacon Roth, I will remain your wife,"