Page 30 of Just My Fake Husband

“It’s . . .”

Len from the purchasing department comes out of a door and into the corridor and I feel so on display. I swallow hard. I’m never getting used to this.

Gabriel and I share a silent look and continue down the hall until we reach my office. Finally. The moment we close the door behind us, I set my muffin plate on my desk and shove him away from me with both hands.

“Ow!” Gabriel says, rubbing his shoulder, which is solid. Very solid.

“We’re even now.”

“We’re under a microscope,” he insists. “We have a limited amount of time to establish that we’re a legitimate couple. And Trevor’s the hub of the resort. He knows everyone.”

I’m breathing heavily and don’t exactly know why, except for that little one-minute acting gig just about killed me.

I fling myself in my chair and lean way back, looking at the ceiling. “Did you bring the contract?”

“First, about your car.”

I squeeze my eyes shut and hope he has good news.

“The whole spark plug system needs to be replaced. We’re talking the spark plugs, wires, coils, and—”

I straighten and open my eyes to see him screwing up his face.

“—and some other words I don’t remember.”

I laugh, in spite of myself. “And how much time and money is this going to take?”

“We’ll get to that.”

“I’d rather just know right now.”

“We should go over the contract.” He pulls some papers out of his messenger bag and nods. “This is just the first draft mylawyer sent over. We’re supposed to read through it and mark it up with notes of things we need changed. Hopefully we can have the final draft signed by tomorrow.”

I sigh and hold out my hand. Right as he’s about to give them to me, he warns, “Don’t call me Gabby.”

A wicked smile twists my lips. “I’ll try not to.”

He glares, pressing his lips together, making his dimples sink deep. How does anyone resist those dimples?

I don’t know, but I’m going to have to figure it out.

Neither of us are budging and finally, I stand to grab the papers from him. He tugs on them a moment before letting go. They’re a little crinkled, but we can deal with that.

I glare at him as I’m smoothing them out. When I catch a glimpse of the amount of money he’s going to give directly to Caring Souls, I’m both thrilled and full of grief. This means Skye gets to go to Caring Souls. But that also means I can’t take care of her or protect her like I need to.

There’s another feeling, too. Something like relief. It’s relief over finally not having to worry about finances for a while, but there’s another layer, as well. The moment it reaches my consciousness, I shut it down and focus on the contract again.

“’No dating others,’” I read. “‘No flirting with others.’ Yep. That won’t be a problem for me.” I stare at him. “Will that be a problem for you?”

“No, it will not.” His stare is steely, like he’s daring me to press him further.

It’s not worth it to make this a thing, so I look at the contract again. There’s another amount on the line below. “What’s this extra money?”

“It’s to pay for the car repair and wedding expenses.”

It’s quite the hefty sum and my first inclination is to tell him no. But you know what? If he’s offering, I should accept, right?

He goes on. “It’s going to take a few days for them to get around to making the repairs, so until then, I’ll give you rides.”

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