At Your Service - A.C. Arthur Page 0,36
black-sequined letters spelling “QUEEN” across her chest.
An hour later Major had removed his jacket and they’d finished the most delicious stuffed cheeseburgers, fresh-cut fries and chocolate milkshakes she’d ever tasted. When he’d suggested they order from the burger place instead of some fancy restaurant, she’d almost hugged him. Now, full from the good food and amiable conversation, she sat back against the cushions and sighed.
“I’m sorry for being such a jerk these past few days.” He was sitting with his head resting on the back of the couch, just like her, both with hands folded over now full stomachs.
“It wasn’t how I intended to start this agreement between us,” he continued.
“Me, either,” she admitted. “I mean I really hadn’t thought our pretending would lead to actual sex, but I wasn’t totally bothered by it.”
“I wasn’t, either.” He paused for a second. “At least, not while it was happening.”
“What bothered you about it afterward?” Why she wanted to know, she had no clue. If Major Gold, the reputed Fashion House Playboy had some hang-ups about sex in real life, that was none of her concern.
“I didn’t want to seem like I was taking advantage of the situation or mislead you in any way.”
“Oh.” She hadn’t expected that answer. Truthfully, she didn’t know what to expect from Major from one minute to the next, but this solemn, compassionate admission definitely wasn’t it.
“Despite what the press says, I never want any woman I’m with to have misconceptions about what our relationship is or what it isn’t. Even though our connection is more rooted in business, I feel obligated by the same standard.”
“That’s understandable. But so is being physically attracted to someone.”
“I agree.”
“So how did you manage to get this reputation that follows you around like a lost puppy, if you’re so careful about how the women you date perceive your relationship?”
“When people don’t have enough information, they make things up.”
“And you don’t care to give them more information,” she said, thinking back to the way he’d refused to speak at the press conference.
“They’re not entitled to know every aspect of my life. Nobody is unless I want it to be so. Just because my family is notable and our business is in the spotlight, doesn’t mean I have to personally be there, as well.”
She was quiet while she digested those words. Being in the spotlight had never been a problem for her, but she wondered if there was something to the thought that her family wasn’t entitled to every aspect of her life, either.
“But you did date three different women in three days. That’s gotta mean something.” She chuckled lightly after the statement because the pang in her chest as she’d thought about her relationship with her family was far more uncomfortable than ever before.
“One was a distribution rep that was in town from London and was having problems with her laptop. Another was a family friend and a favor to my mother. The other was a real date that I’d scheduled weeks before and didn’t feel comfortable backing out of at the last minute. Does that sound like the life of a playboy?”
It didn’t. It actually sounded kind of lonely, because at no point had he said he “wanted” to be on a date with any of those women. At least Nina made the choice when and who she dated and, for the most part, she was active in that date. Major sounded as if he were just along for the ride.
“Well, you’ve got yourself a fiancée now, Major Gold.” She reached out and grabbed his hand, lifting their arms up over their heads in a combined fist pump.
He laughed. It was the first time she’d heard the sound and she immediately liked it. She liked it a lot.
“Yeah, I guess I do. And she’s a pretty terrific fiancée if I must say so.”
“Oh, yes,” she said when she’d lowered their hands. “Definitely say so. Frequently.”
They both laughed then, and in that moment Nina realized she’d never felt as at ease with another man before. They weren’t thinking about having sex—or at least she wasn’t—and they weren’t discussing work. They were just talking, just being, and she just liked it. A lot.
CHAPTER NINE
THE DUPLEX ON the Upper East Side was bigger than two of her apartments back in York. The stripped-wood flooring and private rooftop terrace were amazing. Nina loved it and she’d told Major so when he’d brought her yesterday to stay here for the remaining month of their agreement.
Today was