Page 53 of The Plus One Contract

Lauren smiles politely. Daniel doesn’t.

I brace myself.

“And this,” her mother continues, “is her boyfriend, Nathan.”

The second the words leave her mouth, every single pair of eyes in the room swings toward me.

Daniel’s jaw ticks.

Lauren blinks.

Jeremy lifts a brow.

And Sienna?

She steps in closer, slips a hand onto my arm, and tilts her chin up with a perfect little smirk.

I let my mouth curl at the corner, the weight of her fingers light but full of tension. Like I’m the only thing stopping her from launching a wine bottle at Daniel’s head.

Jeremy is still watching me, clearly sizing me up. Grace smiles, completely oblivious. Daniel looks like he just bit into a lemon.

I don’t even know this guy, and this whole thing is giving me far too much satisfaction.

“Nathan, this is Daniel,” her mother starts, but I cut in smoothly.

“I know.”

I extend a hand before she can finish.

Daniel hesitates, just a flicker, but I see it. The quick calculation in his eyes. Then he shakes my hand, his grip just a little too firm.

Classic dick-measuring move.

I squeeze back enough to let him know that whatever game he’s playing, I already won.

“Daniel,” I say evenly. “Good to meet you.”

His smile is tight. “You too.”

Beside me, Sienna drains the rest of her wine.

Her mother claps her hands together. “Well! That’s introductions done. Now, Nathan, tell us about yourself.”

Jeremy leans against the door, watching me like he’s waiting for a slip-up. “How’d you two meet?”

Sienna and I tell the ridiculous story I made up earlier. Daniel makes a noise that isn’t quite agreement. Sienna, to her credit, doesn’t acknowledge it.

I slide an arm around her waist and pull her against my side. “It was cute,” I say smoothly, glancing down at her. “She spent the first hour trying to convince me she wasn’t staring at me.”

Sienna’s head jerks toward me, eyes wide. “Excuse me?”

I smirk. “It’s fine, baby. It happens.”

Jeremy chokes on his drink. Grace claps her hands, delighted.

Sienna narrows her eyes but pastes on a smile. “That’s funny,” she says sweetly, reaching up to pat my cheek in the most patronizing way possible. “Because I remember you being the one who was staring at me.”

Daniel shifts, crossing his arms. The air in the room changes. Not a crack. Not a full-blown earthquake.

---