Page 26 of Accidental Fiancé

“I’m asking too much, aren’t I?”

“No, I didn’t mean it that way.”

“If you don’t want to?—"

She grabbed my hand and smiled. “Stop trying to talk me out of this, Jules. You’re stuck with me, remember? You fake-proposed and everything.”

I laughed, giving her hand a squeeze. “Guess I did, huh?”

“Yes, and we have to talk about how we’re going to sell this to your family. I’ll need a ring.”

“That’s easy enough. What else?”

She thought for a moment. “What kind of women do you normally date? I’m going to have to transform into one of them.”

A laugh escaped me. “Please don’t.”

“I should confess something.” She sat up fully and locked eyes with me. “I’ve googled you, and it sounds like you’re a bit of a man-whore.”

I chuckled. “What?”

“Look, I know you date actresses and the like so just tell me about them, so I’ll know how to dress and act around your family. If I’m out of character they might suspect something.”

I didn’t know where to begin. “Uh, okay. My ex-wife, Claudia, was a model when she was younger, but she became a fitness instructor a few years before we met, and?—"

“Are you joking? Tell me you’re joking.”

“I’m not. Why do you sound upset?”

A nervous laugh puffed out of her. “Last night… what did you think of when you saw me naked?”

“Yippee.”

“What?”

“You asked what I thought of. My mind went blank, but that’s what the teenager in my head shouted.”

“No, I mean, it sounds like your ex-wife was this toned goddess and I am not that.”

I shrugged. “No, you’re soft and beautiful and warm, and you have these curves that make me want to…” I took a breath and blew it out hard, ignoring the tightness in my balls. “Okay, I’m getting sidetracked. Let’s stay on topic. My point is that Claudia was a high-strung person who was way too into her body and how she looked.”

“Yeah, but the actresses…”

“Are fodder for tabloids and nothing more.”

“I don’t understand.”

Once again, I was the parent ruining Christmas by revealing too much. “Publicity is a funny thing. If I have the latest starlet on my arm at a media-covered event, she gets good press for being involved with a rich man, and my company gets good pressbecause I snagged the newest hot girl. It’s shallow but it works. Most of the time when you see that kind of combination in a tabloid, that’s why you’re seeing it. Publicity. Nothing more.”

“Oh. Wow.”

“Don’t get me started on pay closets.”

“What’s that?”

“One of the more tasteless things I’ve learned about since fake dating celebrities.” I stared out the window, looking at the mountains and the city that sat below them. “Some celebrities, those with significant followings, have what are called pay closets. You ever notice how they tend to go around town wearing way too many clothes for the weather? Too many pieces of jewelry, far too many layers, scarves, sunglasses, hats, that kind of thing?”

She shrugged. “I figured it was to hide from paparazzi or to feel less exposed.”

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