Page 21 of Never Fake Date the Financier
A few moments later, Adrian places his hand on the nape of my neck. “I’m sorry.” His low, rumbling voice skates across my skin. “But I can’t promise it won’t happen again. I can’t say I remember everything I told my family these last few months.”
“You have a problem.”
I don’t have to look to know he’s smiling. My body’s reacting to him without me seeing it. And with his thumb circling against my skin, it’s even more intense.
“I can’t deny that.”
I swallow hard and then turn. Sure enough, there’s that smile. “Or more precisely, problems. Because tonight is not going to go smoothly.”
“Giving up before we begin?”
I shake my head. “No, but you know my motion sickness?”
“Of course,” he says as his smile fades.
“The last time I was on a boat, I spent the entire trip with my head hanging over the side after I hurled all over the deck.”
Adrian stares at me for a few moments, mulling something over. “It might not be as bad as you think. The yacht’s large. If you stay away from the railing, you likely won’t realize you’re on the water.”
“That’s what my old college boyfriend told me.” I swallow the bile rising in my throat as I remember that horrific weekend. “The yacht I was expecting turned out to be nothing more than a rickety old speedboat hardly fit for the water.”
Adrian’s jaw flexes. “I’m not your old college boyfriend.” There’s that cold demeanor. But then his eyes soften along with the tension in his face. “You can expect that I mean what I say.”
I swallow. “Noted. But I can’t say I’m looking forward to spending my evening trying not to vomit in front of oronyour family.”
Adrian steps forward, reaching for my face but then lowering his hand to my shoulder at the last moment. “If I’m wrong, and you’re still seasick on the yacht, we’ll leave. No questions asked.”
“What about face time with your family?”
“There’ll be plenty of time for that. This is my fault, and I don’t want you to suffer for my mistake.”
Another apology? I wasn’t expecting that, but I don’t mind it. “Okay,” I say, finally. “But I have to ask if there are any other surprises I should know about. Does Gabriella also secretly love skydiving? Or will we be bungee jumping off the side of the yacht after dinner?”
Adrian’s lips twitch. Another smile. “No skydiving. But I suppose now would be a good time to tell you about our wedding entrance. It includes hang gliding, pyrotechnics, and a lot of maple syrup.”
My eyes widen until I realize he’s joking. “So you do have a sense of humor.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Who says I’m joking?”
I groan. He’s lucky he’s handsome.Veryhandsome. He’s making it hard to be annoyed with him for very long.
“But,” Adrian rasps, his voice lowering as he moves closer. “If you think it’s not a good idea for you to get on a boat for the rehearsal dinner, I can cancel. We could stay here. Just us. Recuperate after the long flight. My family would understand.” He almost reaches for me, but his arm freezes and falls back to his side.
Just us.
I can’t believe I’m considering it. But what would that actually entail? Maybe I could have time to brush up on that document again. Head into tomorrow with a real game plan because if that last interaction is any indication of how this weekend will go, we’re done for.
But as much as I and my stomach would like to skip out on tonight, I can’t. Iwon’t.No matter how ill-equipped I feel right now, I need to push through. I can do this. We can do this? I have to remember that I’m not alone in this. Adrian has as much skin in the game as I do. More.
“Thanks for the offer, but we need to do this. We’re supposed to sell this relationship. I’m not looking forward to an evening of seasickness, but I’m following through with my end of this contract. I don’t want any reason for you to back out on your end.”
He looks at me like I just shredded his favorite suit. “You’re here. I’m not backing out of anything, no matter how this weekend ends up. Ineverrenege.”
I hold his gaze. It’s fiery, but he’s not angry or annoyed. Passionate?
“Okay,” I say simply before glancing around the lobby. I’d completely forgotten where we were. Adrian seems to have a skill for holding my attention and drowning out the rest of the world.
Adrian smiles at me, and it makes my stomach flip. It does an entire Olympic floor routine when he slips his hand around my waist, leans in, and whispers, “You’re going to do amazing, Ella.”
