Page 109 of Down & Dirty

When the knock came at the door, it startled me. Looking through the peep-hole, Cory’s wide grin curved bizarrely in front of me. I hesitated, my pulse starting to thrum harder in every corner of my body, and he looked at the little glass dot and sing-songed, “Gor-geous...”

I sighed, tugging the door open and stepping back to let him pass. He was smiling, but he radiated unease.

“What did you say to him?”

A small voice, deep in my chest worried that he’d taken it back. That he’d told Ronnie it was all fake and asked him to keep the secret with us. The thought cracked like a fissure down the middle of me, and I struggled to find my next breath.

“I told him if he wants to keep you as his assistant, and to keep breathing, he’ll watch himself.”

Relief and apprehension warred inside me. “You didn’t have to tell him about us.”

Cory glared at me with hard, determined eyes. “The hell I didn’t.” He paused, his frustration finally showing as he raked his hands through his hair. “Go to my bag, open it up.”

I wasn’t in the mood for whatever game he was playing. “Can we please just talk about this?”

He clenched his jaw, closing his eyes, before he said it again. “Skylar, go to my bag.”

I sighed, fighting my own irritation, and did as he said. I flopped the lid open, letting it thump against the wall. When I gave him an annoyed glance over my shoulder, he licked his lips nervously.

“Unzip the top pocket.”

Now I was nervous too. My shaky hands unzipped the pocket and I slipped my fingers inside. The shallow compartment shifted as I dug around, a tinkling sound making me freeze.

“Pull it out.”

My fingers closed around a tiny silk pouch, the sound ringing through the room again as I did. My heart started to race, panic washing over me as I held the pouch in my hands.

“Open it.” Cory was still in the same spot, as if he was holding himself there across the room with his eyes glued to me.

I tugged the loop of ribbon loose and poured out the contents. Two platinum rings landed in my palm. One a simple band. The other a matching band, but adorned with a single square cut diamond, the edges flanked with a border of pale pink gems just as vibrant and sparkling as the rock in the middle. This wasn’t the same band he’d given me at the courthouse. And the engagement ring...It was stunning.

“Cory. . .”

It was his movement, finally, that drew my eyes up to him. His hand was in his pocket, his fingers moving beneath the fine silk of his suit.

“I’ve been carting these around for weeks,” he admitted, his voice low, like he was afraid I’d physically startle at hearing the truth.

“Why?”

We’d gotten married to sell the relationship to the press, to get me andMicah on his medical insurance. It was all for the arrangement. But we hadn’t revealed it yet.

And still nothing about the last few weeks had felt fake, none of it planned or even public. We’d somehow managed to forget that we had a goal for this whole thing. And the rings in my hand were either a part of that or they weren’t.

One look at Cory’s expression told me which it was.

“It’s not fake, Sky.”

I froze, the reality of what he was saying pinging through me.

“But we haven’t even told the press,” I said, my mind racing.

“Fuck the press.”

He took a handful of steps toward me, stopping short of completely consuming my space, but I had to crane my neck to look up at him.

“We got into this for a lot of reasons, Cory. We don’t know yet what this is. If it’s even real.”

My mouth was speaking every rational thing that came into my mind, but my heart was in a rage, flailing against my ribs like a crazed animal that knew its freedom was close.

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