Page 64 of Love on Ice

“That’s too long.”

“Do you not think you can keep your hands off me?” I tease.

“Please. You’re not that irresistible. I have access to The Paradise Club if I need to put my hands on something.” She huffs, folding her arms in front of her.

Like hell she will. “Does that apply to me, too?” I ask.

“Of course,” she states. I know how stubborn the woman is.

“I have weddings to attend in France and Italy during the summer, so I would like you to accompany me to them,” I ask her.

“I’m not going to your brother’s wedding,” she declares.

“But I need a date, and wouldn’t you be expected to be by my side if we are dating?” I ask her.

“Your brother and I don’t get on. He would not want me there,” she argues.

“I’ll talk to him.”

“You have a wedding in France too? So do I?” Harper asks, changing the subject about attending my brother’s wedding. I’ll need to work on that.

“Yeah. Axel Taylor’s, do you know him?” I ask her.

“From Dirty Texas?” I nod. “Of course I do. I’m going to the same wedding. I looked after the PR for them when Vanessa was sick,” she explains.

“You did?”

“How do you know them?” she asks.

“Met them in LA and became friends,” I tell her.

“Small world.” She smiles for the first time.

“Does that mean you will be my date for that wedding?”

“Yes. Fine.”

“Don’t sound so happy about it.” I grin.

“I’m not because I know my friends and they are going to see through this ruse. Maybe this isn’t such a good idea.”

“Guess we start on this trip, test it out,” I tell her.

“Don’t you think people are going to be suspicious if we announce we are dating after I’ve been kicking up a stink about it for the past week?”

“We can say it was the tropical destination that made us see each other differently.”

Harper makes gagging sounds. “Are you sure about this?”

“We are already everywhere online. Even last week they got photos of us at lunch and wrote this entire narrative about our supposed romance.” I couldn’t believe the article. Everything in it was lies, but the photos did look good. They photographed us when we were laughing, and we genuinely did look happy which is what they said in the story.

“I’ve been ignoring the media,” she says quietly.

“I’m doing nothing all summer other than trying to find somewhere to live and working out. I’m free to be your boyfriend.”

“Fake boyfriend,” she reminds me.Yeah. Yeah.

“One more thing, if you meet someone while we are dating, please tell me, don’t mess around behind my back. Not you,” she pleads.

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