Page 6 of Ignacio

As silence filled the room, Ignacio continued to smoke, holding the cigarette between his forefinger and middle finger. He turned his attention to Delta, who shifted uncomfortably in the center of the room.

“It’s so interesting that years have passed since we’ve talked, and you bring me this type of… request.” He directed the words to her.

“I—”

Edward interrupted his daughter’s response. “A request that benefits you both.”

Though the older man might be correct, Ignacio had his doubts. He also derived a certain amount of pleasure from making them wait and wonder—would he agree? Would he not?

The publicity could certainly work in his favor, and though he had been staunchly against the ruse when Yvonne initially mentioned the idea, seeing Delta again created a certain…

He didn’t know how to define what he was feeling. An ache. A craving. Something deeper and more urgent than when he had bumped into her at the party and spent the rest of the night tortured by the scent of her perfume on his sleeve.

He smiled slowly, feeling very much like a cat that had swallowed a particularly tasty treat. “I’m in.”

He saw the shock in Delta’s face by the way her eyebrows lifted toward the ceiling.

“Yes!” Edward clenched his fingers into fists in front of him and shot a look at Delta.

“Under one condition,” Ignacio added.

The smile died on Edward’s face, and the room became unnaturally silent.

“No contract. This is a handshake deal only.”

“No!” Delta removed her sunglasses and turned to her father, silently beseeching him not to go along with the idea.

“Wait a minute, let’s hear him out,” her father said.

Ignacio pushed to his feet. “A handshake is all I need.”

“That’s not all I need. It’s not binding,” Delta said.

The fire in her eyes excited Ignacio and reminded him of their romps between the sheets. The way she would moan and whisper his name, shortening it toNacio. The way she would claw his back, her body soft and trembling against him as he licked every inch of her beautiful dark skin. He shoved away the thoughts before he embarrassed himself by getting an erection in front of the two of them.

“It will be binding to me,” he said.

“She’s right,” Edward said. “We need a written contract with terms so there’s no confusion about who does what, when, and how. We need details. Without the details, we’ll never know when the contract has been violated.”

“Signing an agreement leaves a paper trail, potentially exposing our plans. If I don’t do my part in helping with the publicity, do you plan to take me to court and let the world know we’ve been lying? I don’t plan to do that if you fall short.”

He practically saw the wheels turning in Edward’s head. He knew Ignacio was right but needed reassurances. Ignacio didn’t plan to give him any.

“If we don’t have a contract?—”

“We don’t need a contract,” Ignacio said firmly. He stubbed out his cigarette on the glass tabletop and blew smoke out the corner of his mouth. “If this is to be believable, all we have to do is behave like a loving couple. I’m an actor. It won’t be a problem for me.”

And the performance would be his greatest to date.

“We should be available for red carpet appearances and other major events. We should post each other on our social media accounts. The usual things that couples do,” he added.

“How do we know you’ll hold up your end of the bargain?” Edward asked.

“You don’t.” Ignacio shifted his gaze to Delta and said the next words directly to her. “You’ll have to trust me.”

By the grimace of discomfort on her face, she knew exactly what he was referring to.

“We need to talk for a moment.” Edward placed a hand on his daughter’s arm and guided her out of earshot to the front door.

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