here. The lush villa begged him to forget about his work obligations and deadlines. And with this version of Jackie at his side—darkly rimmed eyes, cleavage screaming his name, her cute little feet stuffed into the sexiest heels he’d ever seen—it was easy to get lost in the vortex. This fantasy place where he could relax and enjoy this beautiful woman at his side.
It was too disorienting. Because one look at Jackie made him forget the rules they’d put in place. This stays platonic. He’d promised it to her. He’d promised it to himself.
As soon as he shut the door to their suite behind him, Jackie let out a long sigh.
“That was seriously, hand down, the best dinner I’ve ever had.”
He smiled but it faded quickly. He worked at undoing his watch and slipping off his shoes. He’d had a long day, and it wasn’t over yet.
“You didn’t seem to enjoy it,” Jackie said as she floated toward their bedroom. An enormous king bed sat beneath a wall where water trickled noiselessly, like a miniature cliff face instead of a headboard. The sight was mesmerizing, and he watched it for a few moments as she eased onto the side of the bed, kicking off her heels.
“It was great,” he admitted. “I was just a little too distracted to enjoy it fully.”
She nodded like this didn’t surprise her. “Your friends talked a lot about that.”
“About what?” he asked, heading for his briefcase. He went over the list of emails he needed to send in his head, lest Jackie’s winding down process distract him.
“About the fact that you’re constantly working.”
He tugged his laptop out from his briefcase and hit the power button. “They work just as much as I do, don’t let them fool you.”
“Yeah, but they at least were able to seem mildly interested in focusing on dinner and the people around them.”
Her comment seemed like an odd jab. He drew his brows together. Were they already having a couple’s quarrel on their first official day as a pair? “I don’t know what you mean.”
She sighed, wilting dramatically. He wasn’t sure how many glasses of wine she’d had tonight, but it was probably more than two. “Daniel, we were a pathetic excuse for a happy couple.”
“What do you mean? We were there at dinner. We talked. We drank. We engaged.”
“Yeah, but every time I tried to talk to you, you acted like I was a complete stranger—possibly speaking in ancient Greek.”
“Oh, come on. It always takes me time to unwind after work. I told you, I was distracted.”
She didn’t look convinced. “We need to practice.”
He turned his gaze to his laptop, flipping through screens. “Practice what?”
“Practice being a couple.”
“We’ll have this entire week. This was just the first night. Don’t be so hard on us.”
She crawled over to him on the bed, pushing her head into his line of sight. “Your friends are going to know by three p.m. tomorrow this is a fucking joke and that you’re paying me to be here.”
Her words made something tighten inside him. If they weren’t convincing, his friends probably would accuse him of paying off some actress just so he didn’t lose the bet. It wasn’t that unbelievable that they might do some digging and find out she was his house sitter…if they had reason to suspect he was lying, that was.
“Fine. We’ll practice, but I just need to send a few emails first,” he said.
“Okay. You have a half hour.”
He laughed despite her out-of-line request. “Now you’re setting the terms and conditions?”
“Hey. This week, we’re a couple, and that’s how it works when you date Jackie Stone.”
He couldn’t fight the grin as she rolled off the bed and rummaged around in her suitcases. He could finally breathe a little easier after she disappeared into the bathroom, but once he heard the water running, he realized he needed to go to a different part of the suite. If he caught even one more glimpse of her lithe and sopping wet body, well…he’d throw platonic out the window himself.
Daniel settled into a large, wooden desk near a bay window, overlooking a few acres of vineyards. He sank into work easily, sending all the emails he needed and getting a head start on tomorrow’s as well. He jolted when he felt a tap-tap-tap on his shoulder.
Jackie smiled down at him, wearing what he’d learned over the past week were her standard issue pajamas: a flimsy tank top and cotton booty shorts. He swallowed, fighting to keep