Page 60 of Down & Dirty

“See you tomorrow,” he finally said before hanging up.

I sat in bed for a minute, enjoying the quiet. Something Cory said last night after he “proposed” was running in the background of my thoughts, like a loop to a song you can’t get unstuck.

You can finally figure out what the hell it is you actually want to do with your life. ‘Cause being Ronnie’s manager isn’t going to cut it.

I barely let myself daydream about what I’d rather be doing. I sure as hell didn’t think I was revealing it to anyone else. My own family never asked me if I was happy— they just assumed I was. And without the means to change anything, I let them believe I was.

But somehow Cory had seen something else.

Hearing the echo of Tommy’s voice in my head, I replayed all the moments I’d had with Cory since this whole crazy idea had been put in motion. Not once had he spoken to me like Tommy did; like I was smaller than him, and that he wanted me that way. Cory was passionate and determined, but he had no need to take up all the space in the room like Tommy. Or even my brother sometimes. If I wanted air to breathe around either of them, I had to fight for it. But not with Cory. Around him, I had a chance to exhale, knowing that the next breath was a given. He held space for me, and in his own insane way, that’s exactly what this offer was too.

All I had to do was take it.

I picked up my phone, my hand shaking.

It seemed as unromantic as his proposal last night to accept it via text. But that’s what I was about to do.

Sky: Yes.

That was all I sent, knowing that arrogant son of a bitch would know exactly what I meant. Sure enough, his reply was swift and ridiculous.

Cory: ‘Bout time you let me make an honest woman out of you.

I shook my head, failing to keep from laughing. This idea was madness. It was taking our whole arrangement to a new level, and I still wasn’t even convinced we needed to make the extra effort. But the uncertainty I felt wasn’t strong enough to beat back the feeling that had suddenly taken root inside my chest.

It was a seed of hope.

Hope that with some more of thismutual assistanceI really could set myself on a new path. That things could change—not in a way that hurt me, like what Geena wanted. A change for the better. I might not know exactly how that looked, or what came next. But I was willing to take this chance to find out.

Besides, it was just one year of fake marriage, to an extremely hot man who had, so far, done nothing but prove me wrong about himself while making my insides warm and tingly.

What could go wrong?

CHAPTER 21

CORY

Billy: Dude, do we need to talk?

Cory: About what?

Billy: These pics.

Cory: Use more words man. What are you talking about?

Billy: Have you checked your phone this morning?

Sure, I’d checked it. Sky had just texted me the best single word text in the history of mankind. Or womankind. But I’d skipped over the rest of my notifications in favor of a shower and a coffee. Unlocking my phone, my heart started to race as my breath stalled out entirely.

What the fuck?

Those were photos of Sky and me. In my truck.How the hell had they seen us?

Without knowing it, I’d started pacing my livingroom, my mind racing. The first thing that came to mind sent my stomach into a violent knot. I pulled up Sky’s text thread.

Cory: I didn’t do this.

Sky: Ummm, you definitely did.

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