Page 53 of Her Filthy Secret

“How do you and Josephine keep your relationship out of the public eye and stay happy together?” My fingertips run over the seam of my dress before I stop them.

“Ah, so the flowers are from a suitor back home?”

“Yes.”

He arches an eyebrow while studying me. “And you don’t want to go public?”

I detect curiosity with no censure, so I relax against the cushions and fold my hands together on my lap. “No, I mean, yes, I do. But we can’t. He’s been best friends with my next oldest brother since elementary school. He’s also close to my other brothers. And none of them have ever wanted any of their friends to date me. Connor, most of all. He thought I was annoying growing up….” I shrug and smile. “I guess I was. I enjoyed making him angry. And he’s likely worried that it would be awkward.”

“He’s probably worried that if one of you breaks the other’s heart, he’s going to have to choose who to support, which will leave him the bad guy either way. And if you do go the distance, it changes his relationship with you and his friend. I’m sure those are concerns you both have also.”

“Yes, that sums it up.” No wonder this man is so good at getting money out of people. He gets straight to the root of the problem and understands human motivations better than anyone I’ve ever met.

“So, what’s the plan?” He moves the tablet to the console between us, giving me his full attention.

“We first want to ensure we have strong feelings for each other. The chemistry between us is….” Heat covers my cheeks. “Okay. You get what I mean there. But before we turn everything on its head, we want to know it’s something we want long-term and not a couple of weeks and we grow tired of each other and ruin either of our relationships with Connor for no reason. Or get either of our parents excited and break up.”

“Very mature of both of you. It’s admirable that neither of you wants to hurt anyone else.”

“Thank you.” I pop another strawberry in my mouth. God, these things are so good.

He smiles and pats my shoulder. “You’re going to go the distance.” The limo turns as we walk to the exit to the hotel.

My mouth drops open, and then I snap it back shut. “Why do you think that?”

“I understand how people work. It’s my business to be able to read the room in seconds. How else do you think I managed to make this much money?”

“True.”

“So….” He taps his fingertips on his black dress pants. “How do Josephine and I make it work? I trust her implicitly. And she trusts me. From day one, we talked in-depth about what we wanted and didn’t want and why. She abhors the limelight, and I don’t want anyone to use her to get close to me.” His eyes narrow the longer he speaks. “Or our children. It takes a lot of work, and over the years, we’ve let more people know about our relationship, increasing our circle and providing opportunities to go to more places together. But we still try to keep it out of the spotlight.”

“That makes sense.”

“But I don’t think we could have lasted this long without anyone knowing. It would’ve been too isolating.” The limo rocks to a stop.

“I understand that completely. And we aren’t thinking of long-term. Maybe a few weeks or a couple of months. We haven’t gotten that far. But my best friend and her fiancé, and his sister and niece already found out, so we probably don’t even have that much time.”

“It’ll work out.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Mr. Burke squeezes my arm as the door opens, and flashing light bulbs hurt my eyes. Lord, I’ll never get used to those things. At least Cole and I won’t have to deal with paparazzi invading our space.

He slides out and waves to the crowd as one photographer leans down and snaps a shot of me. Peachy. My skirt is wrinkled, and I need to fix my lipstick after eating on the way here. Mr. Burke is right. If Cole is telling the truth, he’s had feelings for me for almost as long as I’ve had for him. We can make this work.

By the time Langley lets me out, Mr. Burke is at the door, and I’m put back together.

A couple of photographers stick their noses up and shift their attention to the next vehicle while one holds his camera to his eye. “How does it feel to be with someone as influential as Henry Burke?”

“Mr. Burke is a fantastic boss and an amazing man.”

“I bet he is.”

My phone buzzes. These people are so annoying. At this point, I’m so relieved to have a distraction I don’t even care if it’s someone who wants me to buy siding for a home I don’t own. I 100% get why Josephine decided to opt out of the limelight. These guys are vultures.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Pip.”

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