Page 103 of Grumpy Billionaire Bad Boy

You have something I could make disappear, I think, my perverted nature getting the best of me.

"Why did your cheeks just flush?" he asks me, seeing right through my facade.

"My mind was in the gutter," I admit.

"Let me guess…" Archer puts his finger to his chin, tapping it before continuing. "Were you thinking about making something disappear?"

My mouth drops open. "No fair. Can you read my mind?"

He laughs and I can't help but laugh too, everything about him contagious. "No, but that's hilarious."

"Are you sure you can't read my mind?" I persist, unsure how he knew with such accuracy.

"I can't. I'm just perceptive, that's all. I pay attention…to you."

"You pay attention to everything." I take another bite of my pizza.

"I do, but I watch you a little closer."

"Tell me something then, what do you see?"

Archer's expression darkens and he readjusts in his seat. "I see a woman who's strong, but afraid. Broken, but whole. Someone who's hiding something, because she's afraid if someone saw her for who she really is, they would leave, because that's what everyone else has done. They've left. Viciously loyal and hopelessly romantic, whether she'd admit it or not. She sees the best in people, even when they don't deserve it. She has her walls up, understandably. Surprisingly optimistic if not a bit cynical. You're a paradox in the best way."

I hate how transparent I am, that he was able to pick up on all of that in a month of living together. I know I'm not exactly a mystery, but I thought I was leaving something to the imagination. Archer got me spot-on with everything, even the things I haven't been willing to admit to myself.

"At the end of the day," he says. "We all want to be seen, to be validated. It's human nature."

I shrug, trying to play it off like he didn't completely call me out. "I mean, you're not completely wrong."

"You're saying I was wrong? About what? I'd love to know." Archer takes a drink of his champagne. "This ought to be good."

"Okay, fine, you weren't wrong. Is that what you want to hear?" I blurt out.

A huge smirk breaks across his handsome face. "Was that so hard?"

"Painful, actually. Don't let it happen again."

"I'm not often wrong."

"And neither am I." My heart sinks at the reminder that what we're doing here, no matter how good it feels, can't last. I should tell him this, go ahead and rip the Band-Aid off. But there's a stronger part of me that wants to see this evening through and pretend like it can last, if even for one night.

"Now that we've established you're a traveling magician who wants to make something disappear, tell me more about yourself."

"Hey now, since when do you get to ask all the questions?"

"Kill a man for loving to hear you talk."

"You wouldn't like it if I started yapping, trust me."

"I'll be the judge of that." Archer eats more of his pizza, waiting for me to continue.

I roll my eyes. "Only child, I think. Knowing my dad, though, I might have a sister or two out there."

"Why not a brother?"

"Because if I had a brother, my father's one goal in life would have been accomplished. He wanted an heir. I didn't count, being a girl and all. We're worthless aside from what we can offer with our bodies."

"That's…that's terrible, London. I hope you don't believe that."

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