Page 37 of Escorting the Mogul

“Jenny, stop.”

She paused and then said, “What look is that, exactly?”

I rolled my eyes. “I think he might be in love with you. I’m just sayin’.” I shrugged. “He doesn’t look like he’s pretending anymore.”

“That only happens in the movies.”

“Then I’ll come over and film you,” I snapped. “Jesus, Dre. You gotta loosen up a little. Sometimes good things happen to good people.”

“Huh,” she said again.

“Huh is right. Let’s go. We don’t want your Mr. Suit to cry because he misses you… and Coley’s hand hasn’t been on my ass in more than five minutes. My butt’s gettin’ cold.”

I nodded at her as we left. “And James’s mother is the devil, but that doesn’t mean things can’t work out with you guys. You just might wanna skip the holidays!”

“Fair enough, Jenny.” Audrey laughed and shook her head. “Fair enough.”

The rehearsal dinner wasfun.We drank a ton of wine. We ate delicious food, including tiramisu, and nobody tried to feed me a seared octopus. Cole and I hung out with Audrey and James, talking, laughing, and acting as if we were on the best double date ever. Which we were. Except that Dre and I were escorts, and all of this was just for show.

But at some point, my show had crossed the line into reality TV. When I laughed at Cole’s jokes, I wasn’t faking. They were funny. When I kissed him and snuggled against him, it felt good. It felt goodin my heart, where I had no business feeling anything. I watched Audrey, knowing that she felt the same way about James. She had real feelings for him. I was screwed; Iknew that. But I still held out hope for my good-girl friend. I prayed she would get a happily ever after out of this.

I knew better than to hope that for myself.

It was getting late. Cole and I made our final rounds, saying good night. We stopped to pose for a picture with Todd and Evie.

“Everybody get together and smile,” the photographer said.

When he finished, Todd turned to us. “We’d love to have you guys join us for the honeymoon,” he said. Evie stood at his side, nodding vigorously.

“We just think having you there will be more fun,” she added. “The resort we’re staying at isgorgeous.Right on the water, and it’s supposed to be the best beach in the world. Everything is five-star, and everyone’s coming. Todd’s parents, my parents, my cousins, James and Audrey…” She put her hands together, begging. “We want this to be a celebration and the trip of a lifetime. You guys will liven things up!”

Cole turned to me. “Do you want to go to the Caribbean, babe?”

I squeezed his hand so hard it probably hurt. This was what I’d been hoping for. “Are you freakin’kiddingme? Of course, I want to go to the Caribbean! White sand beaches and fruity drinks with little umbrellas in them? I live for that shit!”

“It appears we’re a yes,” Cole said, laughing. “Thank you for the invite. We’ll see you guys tomorrow. Congratulations.”

“Yay!”’ Evie said. She pulled Todd in for another hot kiss. The happy couple hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other all night, which made me dislike her less. She’d been too preoccupied to thrust her chest out at my man. My fake date. My John. Whatever!

The photographer snapped a few more pictures. Then Cole steered me toward the exit. “You’re adorable, babe.”

“I’m a little excited. I’ve never been to an island before,” I admitted. “I hope it’s okay that I want to go.”

“Oh, it’s more than okay.” He secured his hand firmly on my ass as we headed back toward the Liberty. “I haven’t taken a vacation in a while. We’re going to have a blast.”

I nestled against him. I was tired and grateful for his big body next to mine. “I had fun tonight. Evie’s not all bad, I guess. It was nice that she invited us on their vacation.”

“Of course, she invited us. Her cousins think I’m eye candy.” Cole laughed. “Wait till they see you in a thong bikini—that’srealeye candy!”

I yawned. “I don’t think James’s mother will approve.”

“She doesn’t approve of much.”

“I know…she seems real cold. Like she has an icicle shoved up her ass. I don’t think she likes me or Audrey too much.” I wrinkled my nose. “And it doesn’t matter if she likes me, but Dre’s another story. She should give her a chance.”

“Celia Preston isn’t one for giving chances.” He frowned. “I keep meaning to ask you. why do you call Audrey ‘Dre’?”

“It’s a nickname.” I shrugged. “When she started at the agency, she thought ‘Audrey’ sounded too prim and proper. We were trying to make her name have more pop to it.” I snapped my fingers.

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