Page 147 of Failure to Match

I couldn’t think of a more reasonable solution than that. It gave him what he needed and reduced the chances of me getting my heart shattered. Plus, I needed time to figure out how I’d handle getting married to a client without scorching my reputation in the industry and never landing a job in it again.

I shifted on his lap, my pulse restless under his gaze. It didn’t help that I couldn’t quite decipher his expression. “And I also think... with all that going on, it’s probably best if we stop sleeping together right away. We should go back to being just friends.”

“We were neverjustfriends,” he ground out.

“Fine, but we can start now, can’t we?”

“Why? Why the boundaries?”

“Well, for one, if it got out that you and I were sleeping together, I’d not only lose my current job, but I’d also be blacklisted from the entire industry. I’m thinking we should stop before that happens.”

His brow ticked. “What do you meanblacklisted?”

“I mean I’ll never be able to find a job at a matchmaking firm again.”

“That would never happen.”

“I don’t think you understand just how taboo?—”

“Let me rephrase,” he interrupted. “I would never allow that to happen.”

I sighed, but before I could piece together a reasonable argument, he said, “We have an understanding now, so why can’t we carry it into the marriage? We get along great, the sex is fucking phenomenal, and we… thisworks, Jamie.”

“Those are my conditions.”

“Why?”

“Because…”

“Becausewhy?”

Fuck’s sake. “Because if we keep this up, I’m going to fall in love with you, Jackson.”

There. I said it. I’d alluded to it a bunch of times, but he hadn’t seemed to?—

“You won’t.”

It took me a second. “I’m sorry?”

His fingers dug into my thighs, his words firm and unwavering when he said, “You won’t fall in love with me.”

I blinked back at him. “No… I definitely will.”

Were we really about to have this argument?

“You won’t.”

Yup. We were really about to have this argument.

I grabbed his stupid, lovable face as my eyes narrowed. “Jackson, if we keep sleeping together—if I marry you and you don’t stop with all the affection—I’m going to fall in love with you.”

It wasn’t even a question. Itwouldhappen.

“You can’t know that for sure.”

“I do. I’m going to fall stupidly, madly, head over heels in love with you, and you’re going to end up resenting me for it.”

“That’s never going to happen.”

---