The weekend went by fast when wearing Jacob's shirt and nothing else. He wasn't messing around when he told me he wanted to get to know me a lot better. I was sure he was well acquainted with my body now. I wasn't so sure if he wanted to get to know my mind though. I suppose he wasn't that interested in who Nina Merigold was. He needed me and I agreed to that. There was no time to feel sorry for myself.

I got what I wanted, a huge diamond ring on my finger.

"Nina!"

His voice carried to the walk-in closet I knew like the back of my hand. I turned around and faced the man who did unspeakable things to my body. He carried himself with so much confidence there was barely any room for me in his closet when his ego accompanied him everywhere.

"You need to hurry up, I can't miss my morning meeting which I need to attend in an hour."

"And how do you suppose I hurry up with just this?" I gestured to the white shirt I was wearing.

His eyes wandered me from head to toe, the little tug of his lips told me he enjoyed this. He tried to hide it by being straight face about it. He cleared his throat, moved past me and grabbed a black pin-striped jacket. He stood in front of me and wrapped it around my shoulders, raising an eyebrow at me when I didn't move.

"Are you serious?" I asked him.

He gave into his mischievous ways then, "You can make it work."

I glared at him, "You want your fiancée to walk out of your fancy penthouse wearing your shirt and jacket on high heels looking like a woman you called over for a casual hook-up?" I asked him and then raised my hand, showing him the huge diamond ring which we were going to get resized, "Does that image suit the woman you're going to marry?"

He let out a soft sarcastic laugh, "Well hello Miss Merigold, how are you feeling this morning?" He asked, the playful glittering in his eyes making me boil up, "A little sore?"

I stepped forward, ready to tear him a new one politely when someone clearing their throat caught both our attention. We turned to look at Mrs. Quake who stood in the doorway of the massive walk-in closet with my dress in hand. I tried to pull down the white shirt I was wearing to cover up a little but there was no point. I'm sure she saw more embarrassing sides of me this weekend. I blamed it all on the stupid, arrogant man standing beside me.

"How about you wear your dress instead?" Mrs. Quake suggested, "I got it dry-cleaned for you."

She was an angel sent from heaven to guide us in our difficult times.

I turned to look at my fiancé and smiled at him, "At least some of us are more sensible." I then walked over to Mrs. Quake and took the dress from her, showing her my very grateful smile, "Thank you."

"Of course, sweetheart. Why don't you get dressed while I get some coffee into Mister Blackwood?" She gave the man a pointed look, "Let's give Miss Merigold some privacy, shall we?"

It wasn't actually a question. The firm tone was hard to ignore and to my surprise, Jacob did follow the woman out of the closet. I was thankful, that woman saved the day. Well, my day. I slipped the dress on Mrs. Quake got me dry-cleaned and tried to fix my hair as much as possible. I found my heels in Jacob's bedroom, slipped them on too and met up with Jacob and Mrs. Quake in the living room.

"I suppose you look much better in that dress." Jacob met me halfway, grabbed my hand and pulled me in close for a kiss, "You look very beautiful."

I smiled, placing my hand on his clean-shaven cheek and leaned in for another kiss. He smiled in the kiss which was gentle and soft. We both pulled back with smiles upon our faces, enjoying our little inside joke about soft and quick kisses.

Mrs. Quake cleared her throat again, letting us know there were other people in the room. When I looked at her I saw nothing but happiness in her eyes which made me want to tear up. We got along from the first time I stepped into the penthouse. I was going to live here now so we were going to spend a lot of time together. It was a blessing we got along so well.

"It is about time you two leave to drop off that ring." Her eyes flickered to the huge diamond ring around my finger, "You wouldn't want to miss your important morning meeting."

Jacob's smile looked a little forced as he agreed with Mrs. Quake. It was good to know that he couldn't oppose the woman despite the fact that she worked for him and not the other way around. When he was being difficult with me I could always count on her. She let me know with that determined look of hers.

"Don't forget your coat." She reminded me.

"I won't, thank you!"

I grabbed my coat, followed after Jacob to the elevator and turned around when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Mrs. Quake handed me my clutch.

"Or your bag."

I handed Jacob my clutch which he took with a raised eyebrow and started to tie up my coat, making sure it was nice and tight around the waist so it wouldn't come apart. I took my hair out of my coat, ran my fingers through it to make sure everything was in place and then held out my hand with a smile.

"You two get along."

I took my clutch and stepped inside the elevator, not even waiting for Jacob to make the gesture. He looked amused by that. We were standing side by side, our eyes fixated on the closed doors as we waited for the elevator to arrive at our floor.

"After we deliver your ring to the shop you need to head to your apartment to pack your things. I will make sure someone picks up your stuff to deliver it at the penthouse. Let's say around three this afternoon?"

I glanced at him, "Maybe you should rephrase your words, Mister Blackwood."

We had a little staring contest before the elevator doors slid open. He placed his hand on my lower back and guided me out of the elevator. We walked to the awaiting shiny black car, his driver opening the door for us to the backseat. I thanked Joel, slipped inside and watched as Jacob climbed in after me.

"Are you this friendly with all of my staff?" He asked.

"Yes, I am, get used to it."

He sighed, leaning back in his seat and putting on his seatbelt. I did the same, trying to hide my little smile.

"Such a troublesome woman I picked to become my wife."

I tilted my head to the side, glancing out the window, "Such a demanding man I chose to become my husband."

He chuckled, "Oh, that's what you meant." I didn't quite get what he was trying to say but at least he elaborated on that, "Would you be so kind, dear Miss Merigold, to pack up your belongings and be ready around three?"

I smiled, hoping he couldn't see it since my head was turned away from him, "That can be arranged, Mister Blackwood."

He grabbed my hand gently which made me flicker my eyes to him. I held my breath seeing the warm look in his usual stormy grey eyes. He brushed his thumb over the huge diamond, a little smile playing on his lips.

"You will make life interesting for me, won't you, Nina?"

That was not my intention but I suppose I would be the first woman in his life he wouldn't take up with his bullshit. He needed that. There was more to Jacob Blackwood than his workaholic tendencies and his cold personality and I would make sure he'd see that too.

Arriving at home after dropping off my ring at the jewelry store I put a kettle on to make myself some tea and made myself a yogurt with berries breakfast. The berries were a little soft, not fresh since I stayed the weekend at Jacob's place but it had to do. It didn't taste too bad either. I took my bowl with me to my bedroom and glanced around. There was a lot to do and I actually didn't have much time. I placed my bowl on my bedside table and pulled my hair up in a bun. I couldn't start packing up my things wearing my fancy dress even though I looked good in it. I swapped my dress for a white button up and a pair of light wash jeans. I needed boxes which I didn't have stored randomly at my house so I needed to get those first. I was about to prepare to leave the apartment when I received a call.

I froze seeing Joy's name.

I didn't think she'd contact me ever again after I broke things off with Lucas so I could marry Jacob. My love life was very complicated since it was based on selfish decisions. She might just be calling me to let me know how much of a bitch I am. I had to be mature about this and let her rant because I did deserve it. Sighing to let all the tension out I answered the call.

"Hello."

"Hey, Nina!"

The cheerful greeting was not something I expected. I was on guard now, waiting for the change or the subtle subject approach of Lucas and I not being together anymore.

"How are you?" I asked her.

"Great." She answered in the same cheerful tone which made me wonder if she was actually genuine, "The Halloween party was a success, but how could it not since we had expert Owen around to make the greatest suggestions." I didn't know if she was sarcastic now or just trying to joke around but I let her ramble on, "Since you couldn't make it do you have time to meet up? I do want to spend some time with you."

I was right about her being the nicest woman around. She always did make people smile despite them being in a bad mood. There was just something about her.

"I'm actually going to pack up my things today to move them to Jacob's place." I held my breath as I realized how casually I talked about that, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound so insensitive about it." I quickly apologized, not wanting to upset the woman.

"It's fine." Joy brushed it off, "Need some help? I can come over, I'm sure four hands get a lot more done than two."

That was true but I couldn't ask her to help me. She was close to Lucas and asking her to help me get ready to move into Jacob's penthouse was too much.

"Joy, I can't ask that of you."

"I'm offering."

I sighed, knowing Joy would keep trying to convince me until I finally gave in so I didn't even bother with the protesting. I just gave in.

"Fine, but I need to head out for a bit to buy some moving boxes.

"Don't go anywhere, I'll grab them while heading over to you."

"I need a lot," I said in a quiet voice, feeling embarrassed about how much stuff I actually had lying around.

Joy brushed that off too, "Owen is giving me a ride, he can help with that."

"That's so kind of you guys, I really appreciate it."

"We're your friends too." Joy reminded me, "I'm hanging up now. Owen and I need to head out to get you those boxes. See you in a bit."

With that Joy ended the call. I had no say in this whatsoever and I was honestly grateful for it. She was right, I needed all the help I could get if I wanted to be done before three. Jacob sure moved fast and he expected the best from those around him. I wanted to let him know I could handle this life. So I wanted to amaze him.

Joy and Owen not only helped me pack up my apartment which we managed to do within the time limit and a truckload of moving boxes, but they also accompanied me to the penthouse to help me unpack there. Mrs. Quake was present as well, looking happy to have us around. I figured life at the penthouse got boring since Jacob was rarely around. When it was nearing dinner time Joy and Owen wanted to leave.

"We don't want to get in your way, you know." Joy muttered.

"It will be awkward." Owen said more straightforwardly, "I like you as a person but you did dump my friend to marry this rich guy. So having dinner with him is not something we want to do right now."

I couldn't convince them to stay for dinner because he was right. It probably would be very awkward for them to run into Jacob right now. Maybe in the future, I could introduce them to him officially but for now, I just had to let them go.

"Don't be silly." Mrs. Quake butted in as if she knew them for years and spoke to them like a dear old friend, "Mister Blackwood never makes it home for dinner. He usually gets home around eight or nine. Sometimes even ten. He is just really busy so you two should stay for dinner." She smiled at them, "We don't want my lasagne to go to waste, now do we?"

"No, Mrs. Quake." Both Joy and Owen said in unison.

She could manipulate everyone around her and be so nice about it. I was lucky to have her in my corner. I needed Mrs. Quake around since she always had my back. Joy and Owen couldn't refuse that woman so we sat down at the dining table and had dinner together. It was nice, we shared wine and talked about the Halloween party they had. I had an amazing time with them and the mood was so good until Jacob strolled in. Joy and Owen both got tense, sitting up straight and staring at him as if he was from outer space.

"Jacob?" I was confused to see him since he came home before eight.

"Nina." He greeted, he placed the velvet box containing my ring beside me, "I picked up your ring, it should be the right size now." He then turned to our guests, "Hello, good evening."

"Good evening." Joy squeaked.

It was hilarious how high-pitched her voice got but I couldn't laugh at her. They weren't prepared to run into Jacob Blackwood, the man I chose over their friend. They were going to behave a little out of character, I had to be respectful of that.

"Are you going to join them for dinner, Mister Blackwood?" Mrs. Quake asked as she walked into the dining room to refill our glasses.

"I'm actually quite hungry." Jacob admitted, "I hope you don't mind. I don't want to impose." He looked at Joy and Owen.

"It's fine." Joy muttered.

"Sure," Owen muttered.

He didn't look happy about this but he couldn't exactly get up and leave. That would be rude and Joy and Owen were kind people. Jacob took a seat at the head of the table and placed his hand on mine. I flickered my eyes to him and smiled a little.

"Aren't you going to try that?" He asked, nodding to the black velvet box.

He left work early to pick up my ring so I didn't want to be bitchy about it. It was actually really nice of him to do that. I knew Joy and Owen would probably not like this very much but they would eventually see the massive ring anyway. I opened the box and revealed the diamond ring. I slipped it around my finger. It fitted me perfectly.

"That's a ring." Joy whispered, probably not realizing all of us could actually hear her.

"How did the moving go?" Jacob asked, not even bothered with Joy's little comment.

He did buy me this particular ring for people to notice it right away and know I was engaged to him. It was a ring to make a statement and it did just that.

"Good, actually," I told him, glad I could speak to him in a straight and calm voice. I was anything but calm right now since I didn't want this moment to be ruined completely because of Jacob's mere presence, "Joy and Owen helped me out so it went smoothly."

Jacob faced them, showing them his charming smile, "Thank you for your help."

"No problem." Joy said, "It's what friends are for."

I was very nervous about this yet Joy and Owen were getting along with Jacob who I knew was playing a part. He wasn't showing them the real him. He was charming and professional. I was just glad he was trying. Dinner went over smoothly and saw Joy and Owen off with a genuine smile. It wasn't the best dinner we could have but it was still good enough. I hugged Joy and shared a smile with Owen.

"Really, thank you so much for your help."

"We're always here for you, Nina." Joy reminded me.

Owen placed a hand on his sister's shoulder, trying to remind her that she needed to step inside the elevator. Joy moved, but she didn't look happy about it.

"What she said." Owen told me, "And I suppose he isn't that bad."

"I didn't think he would actually be home for dinner." I whispered, "I'm sorry about that."

Owen shrugged, "At least he is trying for you, that's something, right?" His look got a lot more serious, "You can always reach out to us if you need us. We do mean that we are your friends too."

I saw them off with a smile though I felt like crying at how genuinely nice they were. Jacob came home early for me, I was sure that was a first so I didn't want to waste this moment. I joined him in the dining room again and sat down in my chair. Mrs. Quake brought over cheesecake and coffee. She then called it a night and went home, leaving us to ourselves. The mood was still good between us so I did enjoy the rest of my night with him, chatting away about the changes I made to his penthouse with my little possessions.

He didn't seem to mind at all.

There were little changes I could see in Jacob Blackwood but I didn't want to push my luck. I needed to approach this carefully. But for now, I was happy being together with this man.