“Oh, yeah, I used hers for inspiration, but I had a hard time mimicking the plants as you can see.” I shrug. “At least it’s recognizable.”
“Paige, you’re the best fake fiancée a man could ask for, but whatever you decide...you’re talented enough to be the best anything else too.”
“Am I really—I mean, the best fake fiancée?”
“Definitely.”
Oh, man. Whatever he’s thinking, he’s so not joking anymore.
I stare at his lips. There isn’t much space between us.
It would be so easy to taste him, to run my hands up and down his body like I wanted to so badly the first night I found him shirtless.
It sucks when Brina’s right. I should kiss him, and I should love it.
I’ve never been shy with men.
But Ward Brandt isn’t any man, and that’s what makes him so wildly intimidating, a walking question mark.
Why do I feel so anxious, so riled, so afraid every time I imagine where one more unruly kiss could lead?
18
Sunset Cruise (Ward)
Until last night, I never knew I’d signed away my soul.
But when I burst back in my room that night, there was no stopping the eruption. Swimming trunks down, hand against the wall, teeth grinding with her name burned on my lips, and my fist pumping my cock with my pulse beating in my ears.
When I came, I could still feel her soft ass brushing my length, the same way she did in the pool.
Paige Holly’s name charred my lips when I exploded like a grunting madman.
She knew how bad I wanted her last night.
She fucking had to.
She tried to play it off for my sake, but damn that hard-on was damn hard to miss. No, try impossible.
Mansions, fancy cars, and nine-figure deals...I’d give them all up to be inside her.
And I know there’s nothing better in store for me tonight.
She’ll wear another cowl neckline. I had the closet stocked with new formalwear in her size before we came.
I’ll want to dip my finger in the loop. So will every other man in the room.
A bad move, maybe.
If I want her as much as I did last night, it could be hard to focus on Winthrope, the whole reason for this whacked out sham that’s slowly chipping my brain apart.
It was pure torture not kissing her again last night, especially when she tossed her head back and laughed at my visceral reaction to her early works.
I’ll have to be on my highest guard. If she shies away from me in front of Winthrope, it could ruin everything.
Would she shy away from me, though? She leaned into the last blazing kiss.
A willing participant or one hell of an actress.
Was she just keeping up appearances? Her ex was there too, of course. Maybe the scorching way she kissed me back was more about him than me, medicine for the heart.
The phone rings, pulling me away from thoughts of my beautiful fake bombshell and the hundred ways I’d like to own her.
“Hello?”
“Do you want the good news or the bad news?” Nick asks.
“There’s bad news?”
What the hell is it now?
“Erm—right, I’ll start with the good news then. I just left the hospital, and Grandma’s fine. The doctor told me she’ll be discharged soon,” Nick says gently.
I sigh. “Thank God. When you mentioned bad news, I was afraid she’d taken a turn for the worse.”
“No, she’s great, and really, the bad news could be worse.”
How reassuring. “Can you get to the point?”
“She told me Dad came to visit.”
What the burning fuck? I guess I didn’t scare him as much as I thought. I’m losing my edge.
“What does he want?” I snap. “Dammit, Nick, if he threatened her while she was in the hospital—”
“Let me finish! She said he wasn’t a jackass this time. Surprise. He brought her flowers, said he loved her and he hopes to reconcile. He’s worried something horrible might happen to her, and he doesn’t want it to happen while they’re on bad terms.”
My chest feels like solid lead.
“Tell me she didn’t buy that shit? He’s scheming,” I bark into the speaker, wondering why I feel like I need to convince myself it’s true.
“I don’t know. Do you want her to die on bad terms? Do you want us to?” Nick asks quietly.
I swipe a hand over my face, hating this shit.
He’s always been the sensitive one.
“As long as they die first, I don’t care. And if they don’t go first, then I have to worry about what they’ll do to everyone I leave behind.” To Nick