Page 31 of Bitter Rival

The implication was clear: That guy didn’t know how to please a woman but I do.

My cheeks flush and the temperature has suddenly risen twenty degrees. I can feel my thighs clenching. Heat spreads through my abdomen.

Okay, yeah, I’m not going there. Beckett’s dick has been the subject of way too many discussions already, so there’s no need to feed his gigantic ego by continuing down this path.

Closing my eyes, I do my best to ignore him, which is difficult.

He takes up a lot of space.

Every now and then our legs accidentally brush and my stomach flutters just the teeniest tiniest bit. But I’m actively trying to block it out and shut it down by reminding myself that he’s still the same asshole who treats me like the hired help.

Rude. Condescending. Arrogant. Abrasive.

Just a few adjectives to describe him, other than big.

“So how’s your boyfriend handling all of this?” he asks a few minutes later.

My boyfriend? I crack one eye open. Oh right, my fictional boyfriend who ripped the panties right off my body. “Handling all of what?”

“You living under the same roof with another man…brushing up against his leg in a hot tub and talking about the size of his penis.” He holds out his arms like he’s some kind of prize to be won. “Any man in their right mind would be jealous.”

I throw my head back and laugh like the very idea is ludicrous. “Oh, please. Are you implying that he should be jealous of you?” I laugh again and shake my head with an amused smile, like you’re so funny. “There’s nothing to be jealous of.” My meaning is clear but Beckett smirks like I said the opposite. “Besides, he trusts me.”

“He sounds like a fool.”

“Not everyone is as cynical as you. And not everyone is a fool or an asshole. He loves me madly and deeply and puts me above all others.”

“So tell me more about this unicorn.” He swirls the wine in his glass and takes a sip. “How long have you been together?”

“Forever, really. We’re soulmates.” I cringe internally but forge on, spinning a tale of true love. “We knew from the moment we met that we belonged together. It was like searching for one’s true home and finally finding it. When we looked into each other’s eyes, we knew the search was over.” I sigh dramatically, my hand over my heart. “We’d found our home.”

“Note to self,” Beckett says, writing a note on the sky with his index finger. “Buy more stock in Velveeta.”

I’m trying to hold in my laughter but it’s not working.

Points to Beckett. Even I want to gag at how cheesy that sounded.

I lose the fight and laugh so hard I have to wipe the tears from my eyes.

I guess I should have toned it down a bit and made it sound at least a little bit believable.

But who knew Beckett could be so funny?

“Now tell me the truth. Do you have a boyfriend?”

I tilt my head and give him a coy smile. “Would you be jealous if I said yes?”

He huffs out a laugh. “There’s nothing to be jealous of.”

Touché. But his tone is so scathing and his lip curls like it did when he saw me in the airport like I would be the last girl he’d ever go for. Which is fine by me. Not like I want anything to do with Beckett Heyward.

Why should I even care what he thinks of me?

I go back to staring at the stars, searching for the brightest one but failing to find it.

A few moments of blissful silence pass before he says, “I was just curious to know if you’re working alone or if you have a partner in crime.” Ice blue eyes meet mine and there’s no trace of humor in them.

And just like that, this isn’t so much fun anymore.

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