Chapter 15

Dinner was a disaster. Vicky's father forbid the family to give Urs a cross examination They had to wait till after dinner. Vicky sat opposite the devil in person and didnt look at him nor did she speak to him.

After dinner she wanted to speak to Urs separately, but her nieces beat her to it. They offered to show him around the house and Seb followed them.

"You know, when I met Faith we were always fighting. And look at us now." said Carlos.
"I don't want to hear it." Vicky mumbled.
"Admit it. You like him." David teased.
"No I don't! He's an arrogant pest!" She started to clean up the table and furiously walked to the kitchen.
David looked at Carlos. "She likes him."
"Si. I think there will be another Harper marriage soon!"

Vicky brought the plates to the kitchen and had just one thing to say to the man she loved all her life. "I'm not marrying him and that's the last thing I want to hear or say about it."
"What ever you want, sweetheart. But please, go outside if you're gonna yell at him again."
She kissed her father on the cheek and went to look for Urs.

"Everybody out." She looked icecold at Urs. "Except you."
Quietly her family left the room although you could see they would rather stay.

"I understand what you are trying to do, Bühler." she started calmly. "But honestly, I rather marry Spike."
"Spike? Maybe your great-aunt was worried for a reason." He frowned and pulled his hand through his wavy dark hair. "Is he your boyfriend?"
"Not exactly."
When he sat down on the couch he looked more relaxed than a man in a 2000 dollar suit should. She walked to the hall and took his coat.
"Get out of here." she said, throwing the coat next to him on the couch.
Calmly he crossed his legs, put an arm on the back of the couch and waited.

Why did he get to her so easily?
"Aren't you gonna be sued for this? Surely this is a matter of contrary of interests."
"Probably." he said joyfully. "But I'm willing to find a way out."
"Why?"
"Maybe because it seemed like you belonged in the house of your great-aunt."
She snorted. "You seem to belong there a lot more than me." After she said that, she started to get suspicious. Expensive clothes, expensive car, living in a clients' house... "Is this some kind of rip-off?" She looked suspicious at him. "Are you wearing fancy clothes to disguise that you're broke and do you want to marry me because you want to get your hands of my aunts' house?"

He was death silenced.
He stood up, put on his coat and walked to the door.
"Oh, now you are leaving?"
"No, WE are leaving. Grab your coat."
"I'm not going anywhere with you." she sputtered.
"John, I'm bringing Vicky back in half an hour." he yelled before turning towards her. He pressed his lips together and looked coldly at her.
"Ok, Urs. It was great to have you tonight." Her fathers' kindness tore her apart.
"Get your coat."
She obeyed. She feared that she had said things she was going to regret. And all that because she was scared.

It was freezing outside and she almost slipped on the pavement. He didn't help her to stay up. He didn't even look at her when she walked to his expensive car.
"Nice car." she mumbled when he opened the door of the car for her.
"Shut up." As soon as her legs were inside, he slammed the door.
He got behind the wheel and she felt the cold atmosphere between them.
"Look, maybe I..."
"Not a word, Vicky."

Chapter 16

Carefully Urs drove the streets. Vicky folded her hands in her lap and felt like a schoolgirl, waiting at the principals' office.
10 minutes later they drove through an expensive neighbourhood on the northside of the city. In a street with office buildings and stores, he stopped at some kind of quay and let the motor running. While he got out and walked around the car, she didnt wait for him. She got out and closed the door. The next moment Urs pushed her through a fence. The construction they where looking at, had 2 floors and was covered on the outside with working platforms.
'Such a building costs at least 2 million.' Vicky thought.

Urs body felt as a brick wall behind her. He put one hand on her shoulder and with the other he pushed her chin up, forcing her to look at the building.
"This building is mine." he said with a tensed voice. "My office will be on the ground floor and on the floors above, I'm gonna live. I'll send a courier tomorrow, so you can see the certificate that it is really mine."

'If you mess up things, you have to do it right.' she always said. She sure did it this time!
"Can I say something now?" she asked.
To her surprise she heard him laugh. "Sorry. I forgot I forbade you to speak."

Vicky turned around. When she looked at him, she was well aware of the closeness of their mouths. Time to behave as adults!
"I'm sorry. What I said was rude and didn't make any sense. When I said it, I knew it wasn't true."
Their faces were so close, that she could feel his warm breathe. He didn't let go of her while she had turned around and she noticed her hands lay on his forearms.
"So, why did you say it?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. One way or the other you bring out the worst in me."
He laughed again. "Too bad I don't have a refined influence on you."
She looked away. This was ridiculous. She so wanted to kiss him. "I'm really sorry, Bühler."
"There will be a day you're gonna call me by my first name." he said before capturing her mouth with his. Her hands went up and she let them slip around his neck. She opened her lips and her tongue searched his.

She felt the fence move when she leant on it. But she didnt care. The only thing she was well aware off, was the passion of the kiss.
His other hand entangled in her hair and he pulled her head back a bit so he could kiss her neck.

When she felt the ice in her pants, she jumped away from him.
"Hey!"
Urs had unbottened her coat and his hands slid under her sweater but she didn't mind it. But now that she felt the snow in her pants, she wasn't so enthusiastic.
"Snow! Snow in my pants!" she yelled while jumping around, trying to get the snow out. But the snow only slid deeper. She turned her back to Urs, zipped her pants open and got rid of the snow. When she pulled her pants back up, she heard a choking sound from behind her.
"If you laugh, Bühler, in 2 seconds you will know how this feels like! I promise!"
Before she could turn around, he had his arms around her. "I wouldn't dare." he whispered in her ear. The next moment he turned her around quickly and pushed her against the car. "Where were we?"

She pushed him away. "We were making a big mistake."
He tried to pull her back. "No, we weren't. I'm the wise one here." He pushed his hips against hers and suddenly she felt like she was on fire. "You're the one who can't control her impulses."
"You're the lawyer." she said, trying to avoid his mouth and not knowing where her sense of responsibility suddenly came from. "I'm the client."
"Your great-aunt was my client."
"That's the same thing."
"Not exactly." He gave in and dropped his hands. "But I understand what you mean."

She sighed and opened the car door. "Come on, let's go."
After she got in, he stood frozen for a moment before shaking his head and getting in as well.
She waited until they got back to her father's house and he had parked the car. She was silent for a moment and than turned to him. "Look, Bühler." she said after carefully searching for the right words. "I appreciate your help. I really do. But it's not gonna work."
"What part?"
She immediately got it. His offer to marry her and what happened between them when they got close to eachother, where two different things. Unfortunately.
"Everything."
He breathed heavily. "I don't want you to give away the house of your great-aunt, Vicky."
"I'm not going to." She smiled. "I've changed my mind. If great-aunt Victoria put a few crazy demands in her will, I'm willing to behave a little crazy." They went back to their teasing insults. "But my insanity has its limits. I'll find someone to marry, but it has to be someone I'm not so..." Her voice faltered.

When his hand caressed her leg, she felt her body coming to live.
"Someone you're not so attracted to?"
"Maybe it'll surprise you, Bühler, but I'm not having sex with every guy I feel attracted to, let alone I'll marry him."
She opened the car door and jumped out. She knew by now what was going to happen if they stayed so close together.
Urs bent over the passengers chair and looked seriously at her. "Promise me you're not going to do anything stupid, Vicky. Let me know when you decide anything and than give yourself at least a day to think about it."
Despite the fact she turned him down, he was so caring. A warm feeling took hold of her. She put her head back into the car and kissed his cheek. "You're a good man, Urs Bühler." she whispered while she felt his hand caressing her hair. She closed the door and went inside to say goodbye to her family.

Chapter 17

Two weeks later, Vicky wished she could take back her last words. A sneaky pest was more like it. That man drove her crazy!
3 days after the dinner at her fathers', she left a message on his voicemail, saying she arranged marriage with a colleague of her nephew and after a year they would get a divorce. But she shouldnt have told him the name of the guy!

The next day an express service brought her an envelope with two sheets of paper in it. The first one was a note from Urs. The second was a criminal record.

"Maybe you should reconsider marrying this guy. I don't think your great-aunt would appreciate you marrying someone with a record, even if it is just for a while.
Urs."

After she called Seb to tell him what she thought about his 'friend', she decided to find someone else. Although there was a lot of temptation to go through with this marriage just to get on Urs Bühlers' back.

The last message she left him was very vague. She wanted to prevent him to screen every possible husband.
She should have known better. Apparently he called her father and got the guys' name.

This time his note came with a videotape.

"From a criminal to a former pornstar is not necessarily a step in the right direction. Are you sure you know how to judge people? Although the movie got 4 stars.
Urs."

That crook! She didn't need an angel. Just someone who wanted to be married for a year and who would be rewarded for it. But on the other hand, she found the pornstuff a little creepy.
She decided not to inform him about her plans. But that didn't work either. After her family found out about her 2 disasters, they went behind her back. She discovered they called Urs and asked him to check out the guys she had her eye on.

Chapter 18

2 weeks of insanity were enough.
While she banged his office door, with a crumbled paper in her hand, she yelled his name. "Bühler! Get out here!"
When he opened the door a couple of minutes later, she held his last note in front of his nose. "What"s the meaning of this?" she wanted to know.

"Good evening to you too, Vicky." He gestured her to come in. When she didn't, he looked at the note. "I think it says 'You've got to be kidding. Urs.'"
"Don't play games with me. What's wrong with Steve Russey?"
"Nothing." When she smiled self-confident, he opened his mouth again and she knew she triumphed too soon. "If you like bigamists."
"He's married? Why is it so hard to find a guy who wants to marry you for the money?"
"I wouldn't know, but shall we continue this inside? It's a little chilly with the door open."

When she looked at him, she saw he was wearing a t-shirt that clung to his body and his hair was tussled.
"No, it's Friday night, I'm hungry and I want to go home."
He sighed. "As you wish."
"How am I supposed to succeed in this if you scare away every man I come forward with? You and my family. Traders!"
"We just don't want you to say 'yes' to a serial killer or worse." He said.
"Yeah right!"
"There is an alternative, you know."
Annoyed she shook her head. "Forget it! I'm not marrying you!"
"Fine."
"But don't worry, I'm not giving up. Maybe there is a circus artist who took a year of from being a bank robber that I can propose to." She turned around and walked back to her car.
"Don't do anything thoughtless, Vicky." he yelled after her. "We are watching you!"

She resisted the idea of going into a pub and ask the first man to marry her. Instead she went home after stopping at the take-away Chinese.
At 2h, she was sitting wide awake in her bed, with on the nightstand a heap of empty boxes. She tried to focus on 'Pride and Prejudice' but her head just kept spinning. There must be a way to solve this problem! And she should be able to do it without the help of Urs Bühler!

When she woke up early the next morning, she was still tired. Even her dreams were filled with erotic images of Urs. His hands that caressed her body, passionate and gentle at the same time...
Irritated she got out of bed. She had only thing on her mind. The inevitable conclusion. 'Here goes nothing!'

For the second time in 24h she was banging on a door and yelling Urs' name. She clamped her teeth together and prepared herself for the attack.
It took a moment before he opened the front door. The only thing he was wearing was an old grey tracking pants. Without looking at his bare chest, she pushed a box in his arms. The unexpected weight made him stumble.
His eyes were barely open. His lips were moving, but his sleeping mind couldn't make a sound. She was gonna start this as she wanted it to.

"We are going to make good agreements. But first there are a lot more boxes in my car that have to get in here." She walked past the still motionless appearance and went up the stairs, to her room.

Chapter 19

Coffee. He needed coffee. Lots of coffee. Maybe he was still asleep. He took a look at his clock before he stumbled out of his bedroom because someone had his finger on the bell and was banging the front door at the same time. If he wasnt hallucinating, it was 6h45. On a Saturday.

When he came to it, he was standing in his hall. The fresh air coming through the door woke him up and he shut the door with his foot.
'Concentrate, Bühler.' he thought.

He walked to the kitchen and wondered what he had to do with the heavy box he was carrying. Eventually he dropped it. It plopped on the ground. It didn't sound like something had broken.
His feet were ice-cold. He turned on the oven and opened the door so the warm wind flew over the ground.
Coffee! He turned on the coffee machine and realised that warming up the house with an oven, probably wasn't such a good idea. Maybe socks were better. And a sweater.

Urs went upstairs. In his bedroom he looked at his warm bed. It looked so inviting. He put on some socks and an old sweater, got back in bed and pulled a pillow over his head.
2 seconds later he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. He turned to the other side. He got hit on his butt and he felt the mattress sink by something heavy. A cold wet nose pushed his armpit. He put one arm around the monster and mumbled "Down, Max! Down!"
When the huge dog used his stomach to jump off the bed, Urs had to gasp for breathe.

"Get up and get to it, mister lawyer." He heard a very cheerful voice. He started to remember. Now he knew who got the dog to jump on the bed. A hand caught the foot that was dangling from under his sheets and pulled it.
"Go away." he mumbled.
She pulled the covers off him. Why did he ever think he felt attracted to this woman? She was the source of all evil!
He started to wake up. When he carefully peeked under his pillow, he saw Vicky's butt wavering out of the room. That was enough to totally wake him up. If this wasn't a total nightmare, it was possible he did make that coffee.

Vicky walked to her new bedroom, closed the door and leaned against it. Although he was fully clothed, she had visions by just looking at him about snuggling close to him under the covers. Talking about being thoughtless. This was going to be harder than she thought.

She took a deep breathe and stepped back into the hall. "Where did you leave my files, Bühler?" she yelled.
The next moment she saw him coming out of his room. He walked towards the stairs without even looking at her. "Kitchen. Box. Coffee."
"And I thought you were a morning person!" she said following him downstairs.
"Not on a Saturday morning!"

When they got downstairs, she walked to her car and took some of her stuff out. When she came back in, Urs was standing at the staircase, her box in one arm, his coffee in the other hand.
"Great! Take it upstairs, will you?"
She dropped her stuff outside her bedroom door and took the box from him. He immediately took his cup of coffee and drunk it.

"Put on your shoes. My car isn't empty yet."
He looked suspiciously at her. "Don't tell me Spike is in the car."
"Would I ask you to help me, if he was? This was all your idea, Bühler. The least you can do is give me a hand."

Chapter 20

The unpacking took about half an hour. Vicky lost Urs once when he got to the kitchen to get another coffee. When she saw him standing at the stairs with a box and his coffee, she laughed. "If you put in a feeding-bottle you could suck it the whole time." she teased.
With his eyes half closed, he looked at her. "I saw you drinking all morning and I bet it's no mineral water either."
She blushed. "Coke light. But I'm trying to cut back..."
"Me too. But not today."

When they brought up the last boxes to her room, Urs fell on the bed and groaned. 2 seconds later, Max came running in, jumped on the bed and snuggled close to him.

"I think I mentioned rules when I got here." Vicky said while she started unpacking. "Rule no 1: you nor your dog get in my bed."
"Be nice, Vicky. We are exhausted." He stayed where he was. The dog also looked at her and drooled a little.
"You should sport some more." This wasn't the time for sympathy.
"She is a cruel woman, Max." Max agreed by drooling.
"Bühler." A warning.

He rolled on his side. "You can make as much rules as you want. But when we're together in a room for more than 5 minutes, we long for each other."
"I guess we'll have to deal with it like adults, won't we? Long for me as much as you want, just don't go for it." She started unpacking the next box. "We will be married on paper, but that's it. We'll do our own washing, cook for ourselves and stay away from each other as much as possible. Maybe we can succeed in this charade without killing each other."
"She's also stern." Urs whispered loudly to his dog.
"It's not a joke, Bühler."

When she turned to him, she stood silent for a moment. For the first time she saw the three of them in this room and she imagined the next year. That future image made her sit down on a box.
"I don't know what got into me." she sighed. "This is never gonna work."

Like a jack-in-the-box, he jumped off her bed and whistled the dog. "Of course it will. Don't give up now that you've finally taken the right decision." When he walked pass her, he tousled her hair like an older brother would do. "Look, I'm serious, I'm glad you're here. Give me the time to take a shower and than we'll go."
"Go where? What are we going to do?"
"Get married of course." He stood in the door and smiled at her. "Unless you want to postpone this."
No, she didn't want to postpone this. But getting married... today? Would she by married to his guy by sunset? She shivered.

"But... shouldn't we arrange birth certificates and all that?"
"That's all been taken care off. I know a place where we can be in about 2 hours and get married right away." He disappeared. The dog followed him, but came back after a second to give her a wet kiss to welcome her in the house.
With her sleeve, she wiped away his drool. This wasn't exactly how she imagined her life would be like. In 2 hours she would be getting married to a complete stranger and she had dogs' drool on her face.
"Thanks great-aunt Victoria." she said to the ceiling. "If I get to heaven someday, I'll find a way to make you pay for this."

Chapter 21

They drove on the highway. After a short discussion about the radio station, they decided on pop music and Vicky tried to relax. They already had a few disagreements about little things since Urs got out of the shower and got dressed in a white shirt and elegant trousers. He suggested she should wear something else than her jeans and black turtleneck sweater. She said comfort was more important and had won the battle. And than Vicky suggested she would drive. He said his expensive car would be more comfortable than her small car and he won that battle.

By the time she was playing along with a radio game, she realised she was relaxed. And so was Urs. He was softly humming a tune while driving.
"Why are you so happy about all this?" she asked him.
"I told you before." He kept looking at the road. "It's like you belong in that house and I would like you to get it."
"Right. You're my guardian angel." she said sarcastic.
"Or maybe I'm just taking a risk."
"How do you mean?" She was genuine curious.
"Although I would like to have you locked away for your own security, I feel attracted to you in a strange way." She saw his hand grip the steering wheel and ignored the shivering she felt. "You're an intelligent, interesting, beautiful woman. Maybe we'll find out after a year that this wasn't so crazy after all. There are a lot of good marriages that had worse conditions to start with."
"You can forget that scenario." she said.
"Well, I never found true love by picking women I liked." She could hear bitterness in his voice. "Maybe I'm better off with a woman I have to drag kicking and screaming to the altar than someone who can't wait to get married to my massive wage."

Why did that hurt? It was probably an indirect compliment and he meant that she was better than some woman longing for his money he knew in the past. But despite that, she felt hurt by his words.
"So you hit the wall?" She kept her voice casual.
"Haven't we all?"
"It's easier when you don't let them get close." she said without thinking. That was her devise since she had a boyfriend in college who loved the carrier opportunities of a large advertising firm more than her. Without paying attention to the look Urs gave her, she saw a parking lot in front of them. "Perfect timing! I need to go to the bathroom."
Urs stopped. "Five minutes."
"What do you think I'm gonna do? Shop?" She quickly got out and went to the toilets.

By the time she got back to the car, he was taking a nap. He woke up when she opened the car door. When she got in, he started the motor and they were off again. Vicky leaned back and closed her eyes. She did offer to drive. And the conversation had gotten too serious.


He woke her up when they drove on the parking lot of the courthouse. An hour later they were married. When she starred at the man she just promised to be faithfull to till death, she had the awful feeling she would start crying. Urs just looked at her and extend his hand. She furiously blinked her eyes and shook it.

"Congratulations." the official said. He looked like he had seen stranger things before.
"Thank you." they answered both at the same time.
While Urs took care of the administration, Vicky walked outside. She took a deep breathe and took her mobile. She was relived to get her father's voicemail. This wasn't the moment to share happiness.
Urs came out just when she hung up. They stood quietly in front of the court house.
"I keep thinking how disappointed they would be. My parents got married out of love, despite all the protest, because they didn't want anything else than spend the rest of their lives together." She shook her head. "This seems so wrong."

She sighed and tried to get over the sombre mood. "Shall I drive?"
He felt she needed the distraction and answered without hesitation. "Sure." She thought he would warn her to be careful with his precious car, but he didn't. "I could use some sleep."
When they got in the car, she felt she had to warn him. "You know, we're going to have to eat with my family tomorrow night."
"Of course." He gently tucked her hair behind her ear. "Don't worry. They'll understand. They know why you are doing this. It just a way to get to a goal." He leaned back and closed his eyes.

Chapter 22

Three hours later, Vicky had enough of it. "I don't know why you have to keep going on about it? Your precious car hasn't got a scratch." She got out of the car in front of the house.
Urs took big steps through the snow and jerked the keys out of her hands. "That's not the point! Do you know what a nightmare it is to wake up in the middle of a wild pursuit?"
"Don't overreact, Bühler. By the time you woke up, I was already on the emergency lane. And it's just a speeding ticket. Stop whining."
He turned around and walked away. Vicky shrugged and took her purse out of the car. If he wanted to sulk about a simple fine, she would let him alone. She already apologised in the car a couple of times and she didn't want to waist anymore time on it.

Suddenly she felt a snowball hitting the back of her head. "You... criminal!" The sudden cold in her neck made her gasp for air. When she turned around, she saw him grinning at her.
"That's my revenge for the speeding ticket!"
"I'll get you!"
She ran to the front of the car, took the snow off and threw it in his face. In the meantime she was already gathering more snow for the next attack.
When Urs threw the next snowball, she ducked just in time. She triumphed, but when she got back up to throw her snowball, she got hit by another one.
The intense snowball fight kept going for a couple of minutes. The both of them got hit and were covered with snow. Vicky hit Urs straight in the face and ran to the porch, hoping to get in before he could take revenge. But after a few metres she slipped on a spot of ice and fell on the ground.

The next moment Urs kneeled next to her. "Are you ok?"
She tried to get up but fell again when she felt a sharp pain in her ankle. "Autch! That's not good!"
"Let me take a look." Urs took off his gloves and ran his fingers over her ankle. It was so painful she gasped for air. She pushed his hands away.
"Help me up, will you?" She started to get up and he immediately put his arm around her waist. When she took a careful step, she gasped again.
"Wait. I'll carry you."
"No, I can walk. Just give me a little hand."
"Vicky, don't be ridiculous."
"Look, Bühler... I appreciate the offer, but I'm not gonna let you carry me over the threshold."

She saw his face drop and she knew she had hurt him. Silently he put his arm around her waist again and led her to the house.
When they were inside, Vicky mumbled a thank you and hopped up the stairs to her room. She just wanted to lie down and sleep. For a year if she could.

Chapter 23

Urs stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking at her. He wanted to go after her, pick her up and carry her to bed. Preferably his bed! It annoyed him to see that even when she was in pain, she'd rather suppressed it than take a little help from him. Even on the day she married him.
Of course he wasn't crazy. He knew their marriage was just a way to let Vicky keep the house. And she would probably count the days until she could get a divorce.


Before this hasty marriage, Urs almost made the altar twice. And both times the women seemed to be perfect for him. Well educated beauties with a good job, who were very polite towards family and friends, women who stayed calm under every circumstance and who probably wouldn't claim him too much on an emotional base.

Now that he thought about it, he realised that his proposals were more like a discussion about a fusion between two companies. They discussed agreements that he was happy about back than, because it didn't look like he would have to face any unpleasant surprises. But afterwards he wondered if his dissatisfaction with these agreements was because of the lacking of surprises. His life became a bit dull. And the prospect of just being polite to his wife for the rest of their lives, was sleep-inducing.
When each of his fiancées made him realise that he was just a first price they had won and not someone they loved, it was easy for him to break up with them. Especially after he had told them he wanted to have kids. In both cases he found out that his fiancée saw kids as an obstacle. They wanted to enjoy life and they didn't want to feel uncomfortable by being pregnant.
These experiences made him realise that his system to find the perfect wife, didn't work.

That was one of the reasons why he went through with this fake wedding with Vicky Harper. The other reason was that he felt attracted to her in an instinctive, physical way. Every muscle cramped out of desire when he was in the same room with her.

And with Vicky he would probably fall from one surprise in the other. You didn't need to be clear-sighted to realise that life with her would always be unpredictable. And although he liked to limit his surprises to which wine they would drink, he didn't detest them. And it looked like she made him do things he normally wouldn't. He was certain he didn't have a snowball fight since he was 12.

Although he had his own strong opinion, Urs was a reasonable person. He admitted that both of the women he thought would be perfect for him, were complete disasters and he was willing to throw his caution overboard and see how the relationship between Vicky and him would develop.

A lot could happen. Maybe they would realise that they got along great and Vicky would agree that going on like this would be satisfying for the both of them.
And if there would be a moment they decided to consume the marriage, it couldn't come quick enough! If he hadn't strangled her before!


When he walked to the kitchen to make coffee, he saw the look in her eyes again after she forbade him to carry her. She had something embarrassed and challenging at the same time. And although she blushed, she looked him straight in the eyes.

As if he had something else in mind than helping her. He snorted when he filled the coffee machine. And who would have thought Miss Harper had a thing with such old fashioned symbols?
That he wanted to see how things would go between them, didn't mean he would get all romantic. Carrying her over the threshold... You've got to be kidding!

With his coffee in his hand, he walked up the stairs. It was time they had a little talk about the rules in their relationship. His rules this time! And on top of the list was: Don't see a simple offer for help as a romantic gesture.

He knocked on Vicky's door which opened itself because it wasn't closed properly.
"Vicky?"
When there was no reaction he opened the door a little more and stuck his head in. Her boots were on the ground. It seemed to be the only thing she did before she let herself fall on the bed. She was still completely dressed.

After he softly said her name once more, he walked to the linen closed in the hallway. He took out an old soft blanket and tucked her in. He kept looking at her. She looked so pale and it looked like she was even stressed while she was sleeping.
Moving out. Being married. Caught by the police. A snowball fight and probably a sprained ankle. She had a rough day.

When he tiptoed out of her room he realised that what he just did, could easily be described as a romantic gesture.
"No." His denial didn't sound very reassuring. He shook his head and went to his room. He wasn't the type for romantic gestures!

Chapter 24: The wedding night

24 hours later Vicky got back to bed. It was like she spent the whole weekend in bed. In the meantime she cursed Urs Bühler. He and his small romantic gestures...
If she wasn't careful, she would let him get to her more and more until she wasn't able to control herself and would jump him! She got very close to that tonight and she still had to get through the rest of the year...

When she woke up in a dark room last night, she needed some time to figure out where she was. The pain in her ankle brought back her memories. The first thing she saw after she turned on the lights, was a neatly rolled up bandage. She immediately knew who put it there. And who put that nice warm blanket over her.

She put on the bandage and stumbled off the stairs to the kitchen, longing to find a bottle of coke in the fridge. On the unopened 2 litre bottle she found a note with Urs' well known handwriting.

"I went to the office. In the freezer you'll find lots of ice. Put some of it on your ankle. Take anything you want from the kitchen. We'll go shopping some other time.
U.
PS: In the storage room you'll find herbal tea. This was only meant to get your attention."

Because there was nobody who could see her, she smiled widely. And she put the note in her pocket instead of throwing it away.
She opened the kitchen closets to find a glass. And when she finally opened the right door, she laughed out loud.
"I mean it. Drink tea." said a note that was put in a glass. She put the note in her pocket again.

Vicky managed to get upstairs with her glass of coke, a bag of chips and an icepack for her ankle. She spent the rest of the evening reading 'Pride and Prejudice' and found the story very amusing.
Eventually she fell asleep, without being bothered with thoughts of Urs and the commotion their wedding would bring to her family.

Half through the night she woke up when she heard him coming back home. It was 3 in the morning. For a moment she wondered if he would feel just as uncomfortable in this house as she did. If that was the case, she felt sorry. It wasn't because she wanted to fight with him now and then, that she wanted him to be unhappy. Before she started to worry why his happiness was so important to her, she said to herself that if Bühler was unhappy, he could break the deal and she couldn't keep the house. That was probably the reason why she was worried about him.

Vicky got out of bed and walked towards the window. This was not what she imagined about being married. She always dreamt of a romantic wedding with her family and friends. Faith and Debby would have been her bridesmaids. And she wanted a beautiful white wedding gown.
And what did she get? A cold, impersonal ceremony without friends. And she got married in jeans. No flowers, no rings, not even a kiss. And on top of all that, here she was on her wedding night, with her husband on the other side of the hallway. Vicky felt her tears burn and quickly went back to bed. She buried her face in the pillow and cried herself to sleep.

Chapter 25: Exploring

The next time Vicky woke up, it was morning. Her first morning as Mrs Urs Bühler. She wouldn't use that name, because in a year she would be Miss Harper again. She got out of bed and took a shower. Luckily her ankle didn't bother her too much. She tried to be quiet, because she didnt want to disturb Urs.

When she put on the coffee and he didn't show up, it all got clear to her. Or he came home for a minute and spent the night elsewhere, or he got up really early and left the house before she woke up. Oh well, she didn't care. Maybe he had a girlfriend - or ten girlfriends - and he spent the night with her. Or maybe he just stuck to the rules she told him yesterday. After all, she did tell him to stay away from her as much as possible.

"Oh come on!" she mumbled. "I didn't mean we can't say 'hello' when we see each other. We can be polite."

Vicky had nothing planned for the day and her ankle was ok, so she decided to take a look around the house. She explored rooms, inspected electric wiring and the plumbing, tried to estimate the size of each room and vaguely the ideas started to form in her head.

Halfway noon, she was a bit dusty, a little excited and very irritated. "Where the hell is that stupid man?"
Balancing on one foot - she couldn't stand on the other anymore because she overdid it - she looked to the ceiling at the end of the hall. She could see a hatch that probably would lead to the attic, but she didn't want to stand on a chair to get to it. What she needed was a helpful housemate who could open it and pull the stairs out.

She looked at her watch. 4 in the afternoon. Where the hell was he? They had to be at her fathers' in an hour. After looking one last time at the hatch, she hopped to her bedroom. She probably had his mobile number somewhere.

When she heard the front door, she stopped looking. She hurried to the hallway to insult him. But the glimpse she got, made her go silent. It looked like he spent half the day in the gym, because he took off his sweaty shirt when he came up the stairs. Oh my god... Who would have thought that underneath those conservative clothes, he had hidden those amazing muscles? When he raised an arm and used his shirt to dry off his neck, the muscles in his back where very clear to see. Vicky felt awfully pleasant and she knew that if there would have been another woman, they would have smiled at each other and probably thought the same thing. Mmm... She couldn't keep her eyes from him when he started to pull down his pants. Unfortunately his bedroom door closed behind him and that was the end of a stripping Urs.

Vicky shook her head and pulled herself together. His body looked amazing. So? What did she care? She shook her head again. She should be happy he didn't catch her staring.
But before she could go back to her room, his door opened and Urs stuck his head out. Her mind immediately flashed back to his naked body that he hid behind the door. She saw him s****** while he looked at her. "You should get ready, Mrs Bühler. We have to leave soon if we want to be in time for dinner." He winked, closed the door and seconds later she heard the shower running.

Damn! Busted after all!
Vicky returned to her room and looked in the mirror. Oh God! Her sweater and pants were covered in dust and in her hair she had a cobweb. She probably got so dirty when she inspected the basement.
She quickly cleaned herself up and stumbled downstairs before Urs showed up again. She didn't have to accept his help than.

He looked very handsome in his dark blue jeans and black sweater. She looked down at her almost identical outfit and swore softly.
"What did you say?" he asked while helping her with her coat.
"Nothing." She put on a scarf and gloves and he opened the front door.
He carefully took her elbow and led her outside. "Up to confront your family."
She was afraid he would hear the pain in her voice, so she didn't answer him and carefully walked the still slippery path.
"Salt." was the only thing she said.
"Sorry?"
"Salt." She gasped. "For the garden path."
"I'll arrange it in the morning." he promised.

Chapter 26: Family dinner (part 1)

They didn't talk in the car. At first Vicky didn't speak because she was determined not to ask where he had been all night and the rest of the day. It didn't take long before she started thinking about her family. Although she was nervous, she knew they would support her in this silly and unexpected turn.

When they stopped in front of her fathers' house, Vicky counted the cars and saw they were the last ones.
"Great. Let's get this over with." She didnt think Urs had heard her. But when he helped her out of the car, he gave her a friendly kiss on the lips.
"Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine." Her lips tingled from his warm kiss. He took something from the back. "Here, you hold this and I'll hold you." She looked at the bottle of wine and the roses. She felt a slight warmth in her distance towards him. "I wanted to bring everybody a gift, but I didn't want them to think I wanted to bribe them." He smiled and shrugged. "So the wine is for your father and the roses for your nieces."
"It's sweet you thought about it." she said softly.

When her father greeted them at the door, Vicky knew he asked the others to stay in the living room. She was grateful for that. She gave Urs the presents and let her father hug her tight. She put her head on his shoulder until she felt too emotional. When she stood up, she forced a smile. She saw in his eyes that he knew something was going on, but he kissed her friendly. "Everything will be fine, sweetheart." He turned towards Urs. "Urs my boy, welcome to the family."
"Thanks John." he said seriously.

Without thinking Vicky started to protest. "He is just gonna be part of the family for a year. It's just a business deal."
She saw the looks on their faces and knew that she insulted one and disappointed the other. Before Urs could say anything, her father spoke. "That may be the case, but he will always be welcome in our family." He looked at Urs. "And not only because he went to all the trouble to help you."
When her father lead Urs to the living room, Vicky knew she better kept her mouth shut and followed them.

When she walked into the living room, Faith immediately hugged her. "Congratulations! We've been waiting for ages!" She hugged Urs. "My God, you are so hot. When can I come and take a look at your house?"
"Behave woman!" Carlos grumbled.
"It's Vickys house, but you're welcome anytime." Urs answered. He looked at her hat with flowers and her flowery dress. "Nice outfit. I think these fit perfectly with it." He gave her the roses.
"Oh my God! Flowers!! He's not only hot, he's also very sweet! You could learn something from him, Carlos!"
Carlos mumbled something in Spanish.
Faith continued. "I know it's a bit much. But this is a bridesmaid day. I mean, how many times can you wear a hat with flowers?"
"Not much, I guess." Urs said, kissing her on the cheek while she hugged him again.
"Never again, I hope." Carlos mumbled.

In the meantime, Deborah silently came to Vicky and hugged her.
"Thank you." Vicky whispered.
"Don't worry. It will be fine."
"I hope so."

And than it was Seb's turn. While Urs was congratulated by Deborah, Seb seriously put his hands on Vicky's shoulders and kissed her solemnly on the forehead. "It's good that you finally found something that you always wanted." She knew he wasn't talking about her rushed-inn wedding with a man she just met. He hugged her so sweet that she felt the tears burn again.
"If you make me cry, Christopher Robin..." she began to warn him before he put his hand over her mouth and looked quickly at Urs, who was talking to Carlos and David.
"Damn Vicky! It's not because he is family, he needs to know everything!"
"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."

Seb turned to Urs and looked at him seriously. She didn't think she had ever loved him so much as when he spoke to Urs like he was her older brother. "Bühler. Thank you for marrying my niece."
"You're welcome."
Both men shook hands and in their looks you could see the respect for the other but they didn't give a final judgement just yet.
"Just as long you dont forget that this wedding means you have a right to anything else. We appreciate you helping her, but it doesn't mean you can sleep with her."
Vicky groaned and put her hand over her eyes. Seb was way out of line! She fearfully listened to Urs' reaction.
"When she sleeps with me, it will be because she decided to do it."
That was it! She took Urs by his arm and pulled him out of the room.

Chapter 27 Family dinner (part 2)

"Stop encouraging him to discuss my sexlife in the open! Or between the two of you! You shouldn't talk about that at all!" Vicky yelled.
Urs chuckled. "You can't blame him for being worried." he started until she pushed him against the wall.
"And don't think I didn't hear it. 'When she sleeps with me'." She poked a finger on his chest. "You can forget about that!"

He quickly pulled her elbow and she landed in his arms. His hands entangled in her hair and he covered her mouth with his before she could say anything. And she would have. But it felt so good and she leaned into his kiss. She opened her lips and put her arms around his neck. She vaguely realised that this was the kiss she waited for ever since they got married.
After a minute Urs looked her deeply in the eyes. "You can dictate as much rules as you want, Vicky. And I will respect them. But I told you before that you can't deny you long for me. And I definitely long for you."
"I noticed." she mumbled, looking away when he started to laugh. She stood so close it was hard not to notice it.
He raised her chin. "Sooner or later, we'll have to find a solution for this."
"No." She would fight for it.

A discreet cough made her jump away from Urs. "And we are certainly not going to look for a solution in my father's hall." she hissed.
She smiled and looked at her family, who clearly heard the whole thing. "Is dinner ready?"


Dinner went better than she expected. Congratulations were given again and they toasted with champagne. And afterwards stories were told.

"Do you remember our wedding, mi amor?" Carlos asked.
"Our wedding was great! But the weddingnight..." Faith looked at the others. "My husband decided to do a striptease. But he was a little drunk. So, he took of his shoes, socks and pants. He started to unbutton his shirt but got impatient and pulled it over his head. How he did it, I don't know, but he got stuck in it. He was jumping around, trying to get the shirt out and slipped on the floor. While he fell, he hit his head and passed out. I had to get Seb and David to get him in bed."
Carlos blushed. "I couldn't help it! And you know what the worst part is? The next day we went on our honeymoon and she refused to sleep with me for the next 3 days. Dios! What I had to do to make it up to her...!"
Everybody laughed. "My sister isn't exactly easy!" Seb said.

"Hey, watch it! Vicky, maybe it's time for the 'Christopher Robin' story." Faith teased.
"Don't you dare, sis!" Seb protested.
"Leave the poor guy alone." Vicky's father said. "Let me tell you a story about our bartender." John told them about the bartender who got caught with a waitress in the toilets. Everybody was laughing about it, but it made Vicky wonder what they would say about her passionate kiss with Urs. She was happy nobody said anything about their wedding.

Every now and than, they asked Urs a question. Friendly requests for information he answered without having the feeling he got a cross examination. Yes, his house was getting ready. At the end of the summer he could move in there. His parents were in Switzerland, visiting family for the moment, but he had send them an e-mail and they would love to get to know everybody when they got back. After a while, it was obvious to Vicky that her family had been in touch with him a lot more than she suspected. And talked more to him than she had.

What annoyed her, was that she was distracted by the casual touch of Urs' elbow against her arm and the way his thigh pressed against hers. When he put his hand on hers to get her attention, she was afraid the others would see the sparks between them when their fingers touched.

Eventually her father got up and started to pile up the plates. "Faith and Debby, can you two clean up? Seb, we are having coffee in the livingroom. Let's take a look at your ankle, Vicky. I saw you limp."
"It's nothing. I just slipped on some ice."
Urs laughed. "She means she slipped when she tried to run away to the house after I won with a snowball fight."
"I was trying to hide." she lied when David and Carlos started to make fun off it. "I was gonna kill you when I got there. You were hoping I would give up!"
"We can have a rematch whenever you want, my wife."
"Sure! Challenge the girl with the sprained ankle."
"So, now it is a sprained ankle?"
"Maybe I'm so bothered by it, you even stand a chance."

When they looked at eachother, she noticed she smiled at him. She realised that this was what she loved about him. The teasing that made her think about the mockery she had with her family. She completely lost it when she realised she thought about 'loving him'. She bend her head when the others left the room. Seb was telling Urs about her weak points and bad habits.

Would it ever stop? It was like a rollercoaster with happiness, irritation and sentiment. She was always troubled with emotional ups and downs, but she never had the feeling that she lost it. It was like everytime she looked in the mirror, she saw someone else. Never the same Vicky.

Her father's hand caressed her hair.
"I know that everything is going to be ok. But how?" Vicky looked at him.
"Be nice to eachother and trust that it is the way to get through it, sweetheart." He hugged her. "Come on, let's go see the others."

Chapter 28: Going home

They walked back to the living room and Vicky installed herself next to Debby. She felt so tired. What a weekend!
She realised she fell asleep when somebody carefully woke her up. When she opened her eyes, Urs kneeled in front of her. She remembered the last time he did that. It was when he kissed her.

"Hey sleepyhead." He didn't move when she slowly tucked his hair behind his ear but his eyes sparkled. "Let's go home."
"Home. Right." She yawned and sat up. They were the only two left in the room.
"They are in the kitchen. I'm afraid your nieces claimed all the leftovers."
"It's ok." She let him help her with her coat, thinking that she just did what her father said when she thanked him.
"You're welcome." Of course it was nothing special that a man kissed his wife's forehead. She smiled. She was probably so relaxed because she was still half asleep.

When they said goodbye to her family and got to the car, it was already warm inside. Urs must have gone out before to turn on the heat. While they drove home, she looked at him. Why did he do it? She didn't give him lots of reasons to be nice to her, and he just did it. She would try to be nice as well.

"Thank you." Words didn't seem enough, so she put her hand on his arm, thinking it would help to make her gratitude clearer. "For being so nice to my family." But she meant more, so she forced herself to say it. "And to me."
She leaned back, happy that she said it all. Slowly her eyes closed again.

"It's easy to be nice to them. I like them." she heard him say before she drifted off to sleep again. Vicky felt him taking her hand. But she must have imagined him saying "I like you too."

Half asleep she mumbled something when he let go off her hand and everything went quiet. A moment later the door opened and he took her in his arms like a father would do with a sleeping child. She nuzzled her head to his warm neck knowing there was a reason he shouldn't be carrying her.

When she felt him going up the stairs to the porch, she remembered her protest from last night. She stiffened while he searched for his keys. "Shh, just sleep. It's not important."

But it was. And she was wide awake when the man she married yesterday carried her over the threshold.

Chapter 29: Home, sweet home

"You shouldn't have done that." When she tried to get out of his arms, he let her slid down until she stood in front of him. He kept his arms around her. The next moment she bumped into him, because the dog jumped up. Max barked because he was happy they where back and demanding to let him out.
Urs opened the door with one hand so Max could get outside. He closed it again and pulled Vicky to him before she could get away.

"Why not?" he asked seriously.
"Because..." She didn't know how to say it. "Because it is a symbol. For some kind of relationship. For love." She was silent for a second. "Something we just don't have."
His hands caressed her arms and stopped on her waist. "I don't know what we have." His voice trembled deep inside her. "All I know is that we will be married for a year. And I can't get my wife out of my head." His hands were caressing her back. "I could hardly concentrate when we had dinner. The only thing I could think about was how it feels like to kiss you."
Vicky got enchanted by his words.
"Me too." she whispered.

'Once'. she said to herself when she pulled his face towards hers. Just one time she would take the initiative. And than never again. But if she didn't do it right now, she'd go crazy.
The warmth of his mouth spread through her body when she opened her lips and their tongues searched each other. Kissing him was exciting and dazzling. Her fingers ran through his hair to stop him, but she only pulled him closer. It was like she was completely on fire.

"Wait." he protested when her arms let him go. But when she dropped her coat on the floor, he eagerly did the same. Their mouths found eachother again and Vicky let her hands run over his muscled shoulders and back. When she pulled her head back and he kissed her neck, she realised that this was a fantasy coming true. She groaned when his hands slipped under her sweater.

When she lost her balance and felt the pain in her ankle, she tried to stifle a cry because she didn't want him to stop. She cursed silently when he stood up.
He took her in his arms and walked to the stairs. He sat down and put her in his lap. His fingers softly caressed her neck. "Now, where were we?"
She kissed him again and felt the heat in her body. His hands slipped under her sweater again and he caressed her bare skin. She couldn't take it anymore and pulled off her sweater. She dropped it on the floor and pulled his sweater up. When he didn't react to it, she pushed him away. "Take it off!"
"Yes madam!"
He took it off and she pulled his body against her. Vicky enjoyed the feeling of his skin. He kissed her hard and she felt his hands on her back. When the kiss finally ended, she breathed in a couple of times. She felt so hot. When she decided to take off their pants, she heard Max bark. She ignored the dog and began to open Urs' belt.

When Max kept barking, Urs cursed frustrated. "Why the hell do I have a dog?" He kissed her gently and put her down on one of the steps. "If I don't let him in, he's gonna freeze to death. Don't move!"
He was at the door in no time. When he opened it, Max jumped in. The dog stayed in the middle of the hall and started to shake off the snow on the floor and their clothes. By the time Urs closed the door and turned back to Vicky, she had gotten up. She held her hand up, pointing out to him that he had to stay where he was.

"God, Vicky. Don't do this."
When he gazed at her, she saw the desire in his eyes. "I want you." she said softly. There was silence between them, that was broken by Max who ran away, probably looking for food.
"But..." It wasn't a question.
She answered it anyway.
"But I have to know that I'm doing the right thing. And I don't know that right now." She sighed. "I don't want to get hurt again."
"I have no intention of hurting you."
"It doesn't matter if you have the intention or not. When this goes on, it can happen. Damn! It doesn't matter how nice you are, in the end I would hurt myself. Because in a year, this will all be over."
He looked at her with his eyes half closed. "What if it doesn't end?"
Because she didn't know what to say, she didn't answer him.
"Just imagine that we still like eachother at the end of the year. Why can't we go through with it than?"
"You mean, that if we haven't killed eachother by than, we can stay married?" She smiled when she said it.
"Something like that."
"We might be married legally. And I long for you a lot. But there will always be more that I want."

She turned around and walked up the stairs. When she got upstairs, she turned around. He still stood motionless at the door.
"You were right earlier. The question is 'when' I'll sleep with you. Not 'if'." And with those words she walked away.
"Vicky."
His voice sounded demanding but she didnt stop. But she did react. "Don't worry. You'll be the first to find out when I take a decision."

When she came in her room she immediately walked to the bathroom to take a shower. She knew that it was just an excuse to have an extra door between her and temptation.

10 minutes later she came back in her bedroom, totally in control with herself and her emotions. What she saw there, made her freeze on the spot. Next to her bed was a large tray with a pot of tea, a cup with a small plate, a towel and a plastic bag filled with ice in a metal bowl. On the cup was a note.


"I promised your father to put ice on your ankle, but I guess you'd rather take care of it yourself. The tea is camomile. Drink it if you can't sleep. I know I won't.
U."


She put the note by the others in her drawer, got in bed and put the towel on her ankle with the ice on top of it. She closed her eyes, trying to relax.
10 minutes later her ankle was icecold and her head a big chaos. If the guy wouldnt be so nice to her, she could think clear. She put the ice back in the bowl, rolled on her side and turned off the lights, forcing herself to fall asleep. Eventually she did...


After 2 cups of tea.