Page 54 of Tied Up in Riches

“Are you okay?” I question her, pulling her from the door I closed behind us and the peephole window on it. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me again.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.” I brush my thumb across her cheek but quickly drop my hand. “I hope I didn’t cross a line earlier.”

The questions in her eyes are visible even with just the glow of the moon.

“Touching you. The way that I did,” I clarify.

“Oh. It’s fine. You were doing your job, following the plan. Thank you.”

“Do you feel any better? Now that Beau knows you have a boyfriend.”

“A little. Not sure if he caught the surprise on my face when you kissed me. He may be a dick but he can still read me after a decade of knowing each other, you know?”

“Yeah. We’ll just have to keep it up. Make it believable.” This new plan forming in my mind is not only to make these people believe we’re together but to make Brooke believe that maybe we should give this a shot for real. “Is anyone else here that you know?”

She sighs. “I didn’t expect them to be, but they are.”

“Who?”

“You saw Beau. But his mom is here too. She’s a real piece of work. Especially when she’s around my mom, who is also on her way. Why she wants to be at an event thrown by my dad, I have no idea. Just a warning, they might be here in an attempt to get Beau and me together. I can’t imagine any other reason they’d ‘lower’ themselves to a not five-star hotel.”

“We will just have to show them that’s not an option.”

She groans. “This is so stressful and so unnecessary. Like, I’m an adult. I should get to choose who I want to be with.”

“And you don’t want to be with Beau.” It comes out as a cross between a statement and a question. Even though she’s made it clear, I still feel the need for confirmation.

“I want to be with you.”

Her words catch me off guard, stealing my voice. Fucking hell. What way did she mean that? I laugh to jump-start my thoughts. “Probably good considering I’m your boyfriend.”

“Yeah.” Her eyes search mine.

“On that note . . .” I shove my hand in my pocket, wrapping my fist around what’s inside. “I know you have a rule. About the physical aspect of this fake relationship.”

“Yeah . . .”

“And that you usually use meditation or yoga or Thai tea to relax, to distract yourself.”

“Yeah . . .” she repeats but with even more uncertainty.

“You can’t use those tactics at a party.”

“Those are really the only ways I block out things that disrupt my inner peace.”

“Then you need something strong enough to distract yourself. What’s the next best thing?”

She laughs and the sweetness in it sparks something inside me. “I’d say an orgasm, but you can’t use those at a party either. At least not this kind of party.”

I hold my hand between us, opening my fingers to reveal a purple bullet in my palm.

“Is that a . . .”

“Yes.”

“What exactly is happening here?”

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