Page 55 of Insta Bride

I needed Elena to know this wasn’t for publicity. She needed to know the difference between for show and for real.

“We need to talk,” I said over the roar of the motor, wishing I could at least hold her hand.

“About?”

“You and me.”

“Okay.”

“The questions you asked that first night we were together.”

“Yep.” She started fidgeting, looking back to shore.

“Lena, we both know you’re not gonna jump overboard and swim back, so how about you hear me out and then we go from there.”

“Okay.”

Would she realize what I’d done for her? Bree would have my ass in a sling when we got back—great footage with hopefully, no sound.

“You asked a heap of questions. I answered honestly but it was only part of the full story.”

“Okay.” She didn’t sound convinced.

“Which ones concerned you the most?” The smart play might have been to start small, but if I could win the big battles, I might be able to win her over.

“The way you treat your girlfriends.”

“Hmm.” I pretended to think, even though the answer was obvious. Although, it didn’t make me look like boyfriend material. “I can’t remember the last time I had a girlfriend. Maybe in high school.”

“But all the ghosting?”

“Women give me their numbers and I say I’ll call. It’s easier than telling them no or never.”

“So treating them like shit is for their own good?”

“No.” Why hadn’t I started with something small, like world peace? “I try and make it clear that hooking up isn’t gonna turn into a relationship. But I don’t like confrontation, and usually I couldn’t tell them why one night was enough. It could be lack of things in common, I could’ve been bored by their conversation, they might not have been fun—”

“I’m not fun.”

I heard it. She thought I’d treat her like the others. I rocked the boat until she squealed. “Lena, you are fun. You are infuriating, impossible, spontaneous. You call me on my shit, and even when we’re fighting, I don’t think I’ve laughed more with anyone other than you. Maybe my Pops, but you are probably line-ball.”

“You said you’ve been with guys. Are you bi-sexual? Would one woman ever be enough for you?”

“Hate to break it to you, but I only sleep with women.”

“But you said—”

“I answered your question. I hooked up with a girl. I went back to her place and she introduced me to her two boyfriends.”

“How is that even a thing?”

“It most certainly is a thing,” I said, trying to keep my face bland. Three women were more my thing, but not two other guys. “It’s not my usual thing.”

I paused, letting my words sink in. “Do you know what I’m saying?”

“You mean that night?”

“I enjoyed the woman. She enjoyed the others.”

---