Page 9 of Sunrise Malice

I let out a choked laugh. “Of course you do.”

“I’m not asking you to play along for free. Five thousand dollars for one night. After this, we’ll discuss our arrangement further.”

I stare at him and down at the ring. Five thousand dollars for a single evening. It doesn’t seem like all that much—and it also seems like way too much.

I barely have any experience with men. I’ve had short-term boyfriends, but mostly when I was younger. Julien’s asking me to be his wife—his fake wife, and only for a single night—and that makes my heart race. It freaks me the hell out. But isn’t that the whole reason I came here?

I’m pissed that he tricked me into coming tonight. He should’ve told me up front that he needed me to play his wife, and instead he pretended like all he wanted to do was discuss our relationship. He’s manipulating me, tricking me with expensive jewelry, and offering to smooth everything over with money.

I should be livid at the bastard.

I slip the ring down my finger, my hand shaking.

All I have to do is play a role tonight.

He’s right—if his grandfather knows we’re basically strangers already, it won’t even be hard. I just smile and nod and say we’re actually married even if there’s no piece of paper to prove it. Then I walk away with five grand, which won’t change my life, but it’ll be a really good start.

“What if I don’t want to marry you after this?”

His expression hardens. “We’ll figure that out if the problem arises.”

“You seem pretty confident that I’m going to be your wife.”

“I suspect you need me as much as I need you.” He tilts his head, staring at me with that piercing glare. It sends a shiver down my spine.

“You don’t know a thing about me.”

“No, I don’t, but we can change that, mon minou.”

I chew my lip, staring at the ring.

It’s just one night. Five thousand dollars is more than fair. All I have to do is be his wife for one night.

Or pretend to be his wife, anyway.

“What if I don’t want to do it?” I whisper, heart racing into my throat.

“Then take off the ring and leave. I’ll find someone else.”

I don’t move. Why am I even hesitating right now? He’s asking for a single evening when I was already seriously considering getting involved with him long-term. Maybe at the end of this, I’ll find out he’s not so bad and going through with the arrangement isn’t such a terrible idea after all.

Or maybe I’ll realize he’s a total asshole, which is what I fully expect, and walk away with an obscenely expensive ring.

“Fine,” I say, nodding at him. This is the right thing to do. I mean, I’d be stupid to turn it down.

But the smile on Julien’s face makes me wonder if I’m making an enormous mistake.

“Grandpère’s expecting us in a few minutes. We have time though, if you’d like to check one of those boxes off?” He pretends to consider as he unlocks his phone. “There’s alwaysthe chance we might get caught. Perhaps one of your voyeur fantasies.”

I glare at him, refusing to rise to his bait. “Keep making jokes and I’ll leave. You can pretend like I’m easy to replace all you want, but I think that’s not true. I think you’re a little desperate right now.”

His smile tightens. “That’s where you’re wrong.”

“Are you sure about that?”

He comes toward me, walking slowly. I look up at him and feel a chill in my spine. “Understand something. You and I, we’re doing this because we have to. You clearly don’t like me, and honestly, I don’t feel anything at all for you. That’s how we’ll keep it. If you’re smart and you stay in line, you’ll walk away from this relationship with a lot of money. If not?—”

He shrugs, as if it doesn’t matter to him.

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