she averted her eyes. She wasn’t going to look anymore.
She was surprised when Dev descended the stairs first—he seemed like he was all about manners and ladies first. But then he turned around and extended his hand to help her down the concrete.
Jia hesitated on the top step, where she was eye level with him. His makeup was going to haunt her if she drove away without fixing it. “Hang on a second.” She popped open her purse and pulled out one of her emergency makeup sponge blenders. “Do you mind tilting your chin up? May I touch you to fix your makeup?”
“Sure.” He slowly angled his face up to her.
She dabbed the sponge on his skin. Absent-mindedly, she lightly rested her fingertips on his shoulder to steady herself. “There we go,” she half murmured. “This isn’t quite the right shade for you, but that’s no surprise. Ask them to blend this color and a lighter one next time to get you closer.” When she had her company, she was going to make sure to offer more base colors. Mixing was such a pain.
Jia withdrew her touch and examined the work critically. It wasn’t perfect, but at least it wasn’t offensive. “There.”
“Thank you,” he said. “Apparently, there is a new makeup artist, this seems to be her weakness.”
“You’re welcome.”
“If I may suggest something . . .”
“Yes?”
Something entered his gaze, and it took her a second to identify what it was. “If you want to keep our arrangement discreet, probably best to leave my makeup snafus alone from now on.”
He was teasing her. Uh-oh. Teasing Dev was probably the cutest form of Dev.
She had to be careful here. Finding her fake boyfriend cute might complicate things.
She would not be swayed from her goal! Jia descended the rest of the stairs and looked up at him. “Is makeup blending a girlfriend-ish act?”
“I’m not sure,” he murmured. “I haven’t had a lot of girlfriend experience. I assume we’ll find out. I’ll see you soon, Jia.”
At some point while she was not being swayed, she’d get over the way he said her name, too.
Chapter Ten
DEV HADN’T been on a date in years. And you’re still not going on one.
He fixed his hair for the millionth time. That’s right. He must not forget what this was. A mutually beneficial arrangement. He didn’t even care if it benefited him, to be honest. He’d be happy enough to help her. And spend some more time basking in the warmth of Jia’s smile.
Not a date. Just a chance to pretend he was on one.
“You look nice.”
He stopped fussing with his hair and met his niece’s gaze in the mirror. She stood in his bedroom doorway, clutching her tablet. “Thank you.”
Luna drifted into his room. He’d taken her to get enrolled in school this morning, and to his eye, she already looked a little more grown up than she had when the day had started. It had pained him to leave her there. He imagined it was similar to the separation anxiety parents felt when they first took their children to school. Luna had seemed happy when he’d picked her up, though, so he’d swallowed his misgivings.
“Where are you going?”
He readjusted his tie, though he didn’t need it. “I have a—” He hesitated. He didn’t quite know how to explain Jia to Luna. So far, she hadn’t said anything about the photo of him and Jia in the press, which led him to believe she hadn’t seen it yet. Otherwise surely she would ask who the woman was, right?
He didn’t want her to get her hopes up that Jia might become a permanent fixture. He imagined Rohan had paraded more than one woman in and out of her young life. Plus, he didn’t know what to say. You see, when a man and a woman are both in public positions and/or one of them has an overprotective family, they have to occasionally pretend to like each other. “I have a work event, is all.”
Luna ran her gaze critically over him. “Where are you going?”
“Someplace private.” Jia had mentioned she had a place in mind.
“Is it trendy?”
“Probably.”
“Hmm.” She looked him up and down. “Are you sure you want to wear that?”
“You said I looked nice,” he protested.
“You look nice if you’re going to a business meeting.”
Ouch.
“Do you own jeans?”
“Of course I own jeans.” He half turned to his dresser. “I think.”
“Okay, never mind. Lose the tie.”
He loosened the tie, feeling vaguely naked as he shed it. “Good?”
“Better. I can pull