Page 41 of Beauty and the Boss Man

He glances down. “Go fish. Okay, beautiful, ask for your first question.”

I think for a moment, trying to pick out the perfect one. While picking up a card from the deck, I blurt, “How many women have you slept with?”

That’s my perfect question?!

Aiden’s eyes briefly glance up at me before looking back at his cards. “Do you have any aces?”

I take the ace of diamonds out of my hand and give it to him.

Pausing, I don’t ask for another card just yet. Instead, I wait for him to answer my question.

He takes a deep breath and lets it out as a sigh before beginning to speak. “Five. I’ve slept with five women.”

My eyebrows raise so high they practically touch my hairline. “Only five?”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“No, not at all,” I stammer. “Just surprising is all. You are way too good at sex to have only been with five women.”

“Well, thank you. But just because it was only five women doesn’t mean I didn’t get in my fair share of practice with those five women.”

Oh, I can certainly believe that. If Aiden Montgomery were my man, I’d be taking a ride on that pogo stick every chance I got. But I have to say that my number is more than double that which makes me feel a little slutty.

What can I say? College was a crazy time for me.

And the fact that his number is lower than mine, and he’s still better at sex than me, means I’m not even good at being slutty.

In an attempt to get out of my head, I clear my throat and ask, “Do you have any seven’s?”

He takes a card and hands it to me. “And my question to you is: do you have any siblings?”

“You’re not going to ask about my number?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t need to know. It might prompt thoughts of you fucking other guys, and I’d rather just imagine you fucking me.”

“Makes sense. And to answer your question, no, I don’t have any siblings.”

He asks me for another card, and I tell him to go fish. “So, why only five?” I don’t know why I just can’t let this go.

His eyes narrow as he stares at his cards. “I don’t know. I mean, I never had the traditional college experience of dating around and all that. Usually, I was too exhausted to be out chasing tail, and I guess I’ve always just been more of a one-woman kind of guy. I try to do everything I can to keep that one woman happy, but I’m still not great at that, though.”

I seriously doubt that. Aiden and I aren’t even actually dating, and he’s treated me better than any man I’ve ever been with.

We keep playing the game while continuing to ask each other questions.

When it’s his turn again, he says, “Tell me about your parents.”

“What do you want to know?” I shift uncomfortably in my seat. “That’s a bit of a loaded question.”

“Whatever you’re comfortable telling me.”

Oh boy, that’s a touchy subject. So, I take a moment to collect my thoughts and figure out what I want to share.

Fuck it. I’m just going to lay it all out.

“My parents were…distant. Their idea of affection was handing me a credit card and telling me to buy myself something pretty. I was raised by nannies when I was young, and when I hit puberty, they left me to fend for myself.”

“Shit, Romy. That’s rough,” Aiden says.

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