Page 25 of Burn With Me

“What’s that?” I ask skeptically. My eyes roam over her shoulder to see that we’ve finally caught Chris’ attention. He’s watching us curiously while the woman, who I assume is his mother, speaks to him.

“Thirty days,” Ginny says, drawing my attention back to her.

“Thirty days?” I parrot back.

Smirking triumphantly, she balls her fists on her hips and gives me a sharp nod. “I’ll go out with you. After you’ve gone thirty days without being with another woman. No dates, no touching, andnosex.”

Ginny

Jackson just stares at me as though I’ve spontaneously grown a second head.

Gotcha, fucker.

There’s no way he’ll agree to my terms.

“Is that all?” he finally drawls, chuckling as though I’ve said something incredibly funny.

Crossing my arms, I shake my head as my brows scrunch together. “Oh, don’t act like it’s going to be a piece of cake. You’reyou.” I’m highly aware of the fact that I don’t actually know Jackson at all. All I know is what I’ve heard and what I’ve seen firsthand.

In my office at the clinic and tonight on the terrace, he’s shown glimpses of someone I didn’t think he could be. Gentle. Kind.

But in all actuality, I feel as though I’ve just stepped into a giant flaming pile of dog shit.

“And you don’t knowmeat all.” His eyes dart over my shoulder, and he reaches into his suit jacket, pulling out a checkbook. Suddenly, I feel a heavy presence at my back, and I don’t have to turn or look over my shoulder to know it’s Chris.

“What is going on over here?” he sings as though he’s caught me doing something bad.

“Ginny here just secured you a million dollars,” Jackson says as he fills in the check before ripping it out and handing it to me.

Hesitating, I eventually take the offered piece of paper and stare down at it. He’s writtenthirty-day depositin the memo. My eyes snap to his with a pointed look, and he just smiles at me in return.

“Sh…I’m sorry, she what?” Chris stammers.

Jackson’s comment has drawn the attention of the people around us, some of them clapping at his generosity. Throwing me a wink, he tucks his checkbook back into his jacket. “See ya around, Red.”

“What was that all about?” Chris’ voice startles me, causing me to jump and spin around to see him at the entrance of my bedroom.

“What do you mean?” I know exactly what he means, but pretending as though I have no clue what he’s talking about is the way I need to play the game tonight.

Jackson’s words from earlier have been playing on repeat since he waltzed out of the event with his secretary.

“The only way I can erase his touch from your body.”

I don’t even like the man, but he saw something in thirty seconds that most people have chosen to ignore for the better part of my life.

And he came to my rescue.

“Maybe it’s time to find someone with enough power to protect you from whatever it is you’re scared of.”

My stranger's words have also been on replay.

The idea of someone needing to protect me from Chris isone that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I’m a strong, independent woman.

Only…I’m not.

My life is riddled with excuses and lies. Hiding from Chris, hiding from the world by working at Désirer.

Hiding from myself.

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