The Billionaire's Pretend Girlf - Leslie North Page 0,14

accept: that this would begin, and end, as a business arrangement.

Appetizers arrived, skinny wooden boards filled with panko shrimp and canapes and slabs of salmon draped over oiled greens. Jackie ate recklessly—she’d never seen so much gourmet food in one place—and was absolutely stuffed before the main course even arrived. The excellent wine filled her belly too. She’d started with a pinot grigio but segued into a cabernet sauvignon that they said was bottled on site. Bottled on site! The drunker and happier she got, the more items she added to her Napa to-do list.

Once Daniel finally showed up, it felt like only a half hour had passed in the whirlwind of good food and wine—but when she checked her phone, it showed that he was actually an hour and a half behind her, and not the hour he promised.

The whole table cheered and catcalled him as he sat down. Especially—and unsurprisingly—Grayson and Blake.

“There he is!” Blake lifted his glass as Daniel eased into the seat beside her. She grinned up at him, feeling more eager to see him than she’d expected. Was it possible to miss a fake boyfriend she’d only had for a few hours? She patted his knee as he sat down, but he didn’t even glance her way.

“Who’s paying out now that I’m forty seconds late?” Daniel cracked, immediately reaching for a waiting glass of wine.

“I was forbidden by my love to engage in betting during our wedding week,” Grayson said, raising his palms in surrender. “So you have a free pass.”

“You got lucky,” Blake added.

“Now the two lovebirds are reunited!” Mila cooed, grinning at them from across the table. “Oh, you two are cute together.”

Jackie grinned, leaning into Daniel’s side. This was all pretend—so why not have fun with it?

“We get that a lot,” she said, tilting her head to look up at Daniel. He laughed, but it sounded forced.

“Did everyone welcome you nicely?” he asked.

“More than nicely,” she said, hooking her arm through his. God, he was nice to hang onto. She grinned out at everyone, hoping that this level of look-we’re-dating was what Daniel had in mind. “We’re already best friends, all of us.”

Daniel smiled, but he felt wooden beneath her grip. She loosened her hold on him, reaching for her wine instead. He did the same as Blake launched into a conversation about some work thing the three of them were familiar with.

Dessert made the rounds soon, and Jackie could only take one bite before her full belly protested. She tried to keep a smile pasted on and stay engaged in Daniel’s conversation at her side, but the longer they sat together, the more she understood why his friends had doubted he’d make time for a girlfriend—even if it was just for a week-long wedding celebration. If this was how he treated the women he dated, it was little wonder that they got fed up. He wasn’t rude to her, but he made no effort to include her.

When it got to the point where she imagined all his friends were probably thinking they looked like the least happy couple ever, she grabbed his hand, bringing his knuckles up to her mouth.

“Hey, babe,” she said, trying to sound bubbly. “Did you check out our suite yet? We’re in the plum orchard.”

He looked down at her, curiosity sparking in his gaze before it faded away to confusion. He hesitated before he said, “You mean, outside?”

“No, the suite is called the plum orchard, silly.” She slapped his shoulder playfully. “It’s gorgeous. I can’t wait until you see it. We’re going to have so much fun there.”

His laughter sounded forced, and Jackie tried to squash her annoyance. This whole thing was his idea, and he wasn’t even going to try to pretend? His friends would figure out this was a farce, and he would lose the bet tomorrow at this rate—which meant she’d lose her tuition money.

And she wouldn’t allow that happen. Not when her future was riding on it.

This meant they needed to have a serious talk about what this whole ‘dating’ thing meant, and what they planned to show to the world.

Because this right here? He was as convincing as a piece of driftwood.

And Jackie knew that even workaholic Daniel had to have more passion inside him than that.

She just needed to coax it out of hiding.

5

Daniel’s head was spinning by the time he and Jackie went back to the plum orchard.

It was hard to orient himself to all the new elements surrounding him