The Billionaire's Fake Fiancee - Lauren Wood Page 0,35
my favorite spot in town.”
She took a few steps backwards towards the building with a big smile on her face, waving and giggling to herself. As flustered and as giddy as she looked, I knew it was just about her job. I was not about to let my brain go there again.
After dropping Olivia off, I headed to Damon’s after texting Kate the address. He fixed us up with a VIP corner booth, which I insisted wasn’t necessary.
“She’s just a friend,” I insisted. “Can’t we save the big gestures for someone I’m trying to win over?”
As soon as I said it, we both spotted Kate walking over from the entrance. My mouth dropped as her long curls bounced around her shoulders and cleavage. She was wearing a tight red mini dress with tall stiletto heels and lipstick to match.
“This woman’s trying to kill me,” I muttered under my breath, having to readjust around the bulge in my pants just from one look at her.
“We’re right over here,” I waved towards the booth, trying to look unmoved by her knockout appearance. “You had to run home first, huh? You trying to pick up some other guy in front of me?”
“That wasn’t my intention, but now that you mention it …” she teased, scanning the room.
“This is Damon. Damon, this is Kate.”
Even he looked thrown by how hot she looked, even though there wasn’t a woman in the world that could hold a candle to Lizzy in his eyes. “Yeah. Drinks. Coming right up,” he spun on his heels. “Oh, and nice to meet you, Kate.” He shot me a bold gaze before retreating back behind the bar.
“Sorry, I was just in such a great mood. I felt like getting dolled up,” she explained.
“You don’t need any excuse to walk around looking like that,” I assured her. “But … as much as I know what things are between us … I don’t think I’m quite ready to see some other guy putting his hands on you.”
“Don’t worry. I’m all yours tonight.”
I cleared my throat and looked back towards the bar. “Where are those drinks?” I asked anxiously. Anything to avoid the vision in front of me and the hard lump she caused to form in my throat.
The worst part was knowing what she looked like underneath that dress while trying to convince myself we weren’t going to go there again. The best way to ward off any feelings was to drink … A lot. And Kate seemed just as eager to do the same.
A couple hours later we were both wasted and having the drunken time of our lives. We laughed so hard we could barely breathe. Somewhere amidst all that raucous laughter, we found ourselves sitting dangerously close. All of our defenses were weakened from the booze. The laughter trailed off at once point, leaving us staring at each other … just inches apart.
We quickly cleared our throats and looked away, trying to find anything else to look at or talk about. Anything but each other.
“I have a bit of a confession to make,” she slurred.
“Confession time?” I perked up, waving to Damon. “Another round please!”
“If I’m confessing secrets, we probably don’t need anything else to drink,” she joked.
“But maybe I do,” I chuckled.
She swayed over the table, leaning in close. “When you first said you would have never returned my calls or texts, before the whole fiancé fiasco really began, I was insulted. And a little hurt.”
I winced with her words. “I’m sorry. I was being a total ass. No wonder you didn’t like me after that. Sometimes I just get a little … defensive towards women.”
“You don’t say?” she said sarcastically, making us both erupt into laughter again. “It’s okay. You don’t have to explain. Joey told me about … well, he told me about you getting your heart broken in college.”
The smile faded from my face and my gaze dropped to the drink in front of me. I swirled the straw around the ice in my empty glass. “Did he now?”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to be embarrassed. If anything, it’s redeeming that you got your heartbroken at one point. It’s proof that you have one. Well, that and everything you’ve done for me.”
I faced her again, and somehow we seemed to have drifted even closer together than before. “Maybe I had ulterior motives for helping you,” I suggested.
Our lips drifted together like magnets, stopping just short of touching. “And what motives would those be exactly?” she asked, her voice low and seductive.
“It’s your confession time. Not mine,” I whispered just