I shoved against his shoulders. The guy was immovable.
“But since when does ‘supposed to’ make someone your fiancée? I haven’t proposed to her yet, so again, I didn’t lie to you.”
“You want to pull out the she’s-just-my-girlfriend card?” I flung. “Seriously?”
“She’s not my girlfriend. We aren’t dating. We aren’t in an open relationship. What you and I did the other night was in no conceivable way cheating.”
“She looked pretty pissed for someone who wasn’t cheated on.” I bucked and got a kiss on the collarbone for my trouble.
This guy is unbelievable.
Steaming, I flopped on the sheets. Memories of the last time he had me in this position scrambled my brain something fierce. I would either throw him down and rip off his clothes, or knee him in the balls. There were no other options.
“You can’t imagine someone believing you belong to them, even if it’s not true?” Preston asked.
Swallowing hard, I broke our gaze. “Yes,” I whispered. “I can imagine that.”
“Everything is fixed up with me and Delilah. Our entire life planned out. It’s an arrangement she’s happy with.”
“What about you?” Genuine curiosity laced my voice. “Are you happy with this arrangement? Do you want to marry her, Preston?”
“I never asked myself that question”—his finger traced my bottom lip—“until three nights ago.”
We were quiet for a long time.
“If you want something else,” I began, “tell her. Don’t let her spend the summer thinking she’ll have you by the end of it.”
“It’s not that simple, Belle.”
“Why?”
“I— It’s just—” He tossed his head. “I can’t get into it. If I could tell you, trust me, I would. All you need to know is we won’t be cheating on her.”
“Won’t be?” I repeated. “Have you convinced yourself that we’re doing this again? Because I can tell you right now. We won’t.” I bucked again. “Let me up or your balls will be bandaged next.”
“Are you for real? You don’t believe me?”
Preston let me up. I grabbed his collar, hauling us both off the bed.
“Do I believe you have a cousin? Yes, I do. Do I buy that you and Delilah are only in it for the ring? I’m on an island where everyone is, so it’s not too far-fetched.” I shoved him at the door. “But do I believe you didn’t know who I was? Not a chance, Desai. Nathan and I were together for two summers and Carter and I even longer than that. Think I’m dumb enough to swallow that they didn’t mention the name Belle Adler to you once? Nope.”
I threw open the door and tossed him out. “I hope you enjoyed your one-time pass into the club. All future privileges have been revoked.”
Preston dusted himself off. His grin teased out a dimple. “I was right. You are going to make me work for it. That’s fine,” he said, walking backward out of the hall. “I’m up for the challenge, Cinderella.”
“Keep walking that crazy ass on.”
He laughed. “Amending my projections of make-up sex from eight minutes to eight days. Count ’em down.”
“If I find you in my room again, I’ll break more than your nose!”
Preston blew me a kiss.
“Ugh!”
My door slam rattled the entire villa.
“HOW’S IT GOING, DARLING? Do you like your room?”
I glanced around the spacious suite. King-size bed, sunken living space, television, plush couch, and a balcony that overlooked the ocean. I could complain about a lot of things, but not the accommodations.
“It’s cozy, Cecilia.”
“Please, Belle. Don’t call me Cecilia.”
Her pain nearly cracked my resolve, and then I met my half made-up reflection in the mirror and remembered I was getting ready for a marriage mixer on an island where I was basically being held captive.
“I will happily call you Mom as soon as my real mother reinhabits your body.”
A gusty sigh crackled over the line. “One day you’ll understand that everything we do is because we love you.”
“I don’t want to hear that anymore.” I snapped the lid too hard on my mascara. “That’s not why I called anyway. I got a message from an unknown number today. They asked me where I was.”
“What?” Her tone sharpened. “Did you respond?”
“No. They called and I blocked the number immediately.”
“Good. We’ll get your number changed. This won’t happen again.”
You’ve said that before.
I slumped over, touching my forehead to the dresser. I slept for four hours and yet I was exhausted. So very, very tired.
“Shouldn’t I come home, Mom? What if... it’s not safe?”