Page 45 of Charming Deception

So did my dreams last night.

“Okay. Sure. But how often do you meet that.” She shoves the phone in my face, where a shirtless photo of Jameson accosts my eyeballs. He’s ripped to hell and goddamn stunning.

I try to downplay it.

“Um, often enough, actually. My brother plays hockey. They’re all ripped like that.” Though they aren’t all that pretty.

I try to focus on Nicole instead of the pecs in my face.

She blinks at me. “I am hating you right now, just a small amount. It’ll pass.”

I laugh under my breath. “Believe me. Most of them aren’t half as charming as they look. In my limited experience, hockey players are bratty jocks, total sluts, and/or players. And the ones who are actually a great catch, because yes, they do exist, are already married.”

“Okay, clearly, you’re not in your right mind right now. When you’re feeling more optimistic about life in general, we’ll circle back to the idea of you introducing me to Cole’s hot hockey friends.”

I sigh again, but smile. “You have a way, Nikki. I’m sure I can introduce you to some hockey players if you really want.”

“Oh, I want.” Her eyes go big and round. She reminds me of a meme I once saw of a cartoon cat with huge eyes that simply said WANTY.

I snicker and gesture at her phone. “Where did you find that anyway?”

“It’s on his Instagram.”

“Jameson Vance, billionaire, has an Instagram?”

“Yup. Blue check mark and all. It’s all charity gala red carpets and thirst traps. He’s at the gym or the beach or by a pool, half-naked. With friends, but still. He’s in a suit or his birthday suit and nothing in between.”

“Can you imagine the DMs he gets?” My mind wanders, trying to picture even a glimpse of the life he leads. Kinda like my brother’s, but just… more. “I wonder what it would be like to be that… eligible.”

“Is he seriously single?”

“I believe so. No one introduced me to Mrs. Vance during my brief stay at his palace.”

Nicole swallows, looking like that hungry cartoon cat again. “Palace?”

I laugh. I haven’t laughed this much in… ages. “Are we that into a man’s net worth?”

She shakes her head as if trying to come back to her senses. “Maybe?” She flashes me another photo—Jameson with sweat pouring down his naked chest, holding a basketball and smiling a smile that could melt the freaking sun. “Either way, how can you not want to climb that?”

“Well. First of all, I just broke up with—no. I just fled from a man who has serious psychological issues. I might need a little detoxing period. Also, he’s kind of?—”

“Lickable? Suckable? Fuckable? Do you need more adjectives?”

“I was going to say aloof or something. Stuck up? I don’t know.” I think about the way I melted when he shook my hand. The way everything else washed out around me and I found it so hard just to breathe. The man is beautiful, for sure. But. “He’s also overbearing. Bossy, in the worst way. He fired his gardener to give me the job.”

Nicole looks confused. “And that’s bad?”

“Yes. It’s very bad. The man worked for him for years. And then the little sister of his best friend shows up and boom, goodbye, Romeo.”

“Who’s Romeo?”

“The gardener.”

“So, you’re his gardener now?”

“Hell to the fucking no. I quit. That’s why I couldn’t stay there anymore. I don’t want his charity. Not if it’s evil.”

“Evil might be a stretch,” she suggests. “He gave you a job. He wanted to help his best friend’s sister. I consider myself fortunate that I only work two waitressing jobs these days to stay afloat. If I had a brother and he had a rich best friend, I’d suck his cock for a job. On the regular.”

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