Page 12 of Insta-Hubby
I know she’s getting wet for me. I know that look. And strangely, I feel like I knowher.
My insta-girlfriend.
“Girlfriend?” she breathes. “I’ve never…”
“I know, you’ve never had some random guy off the street be so forward with you. I get it.”
“No,” she says. “It’s not that.”
And she arches an eyebrow at me and bites down on the corner of her lip, and I know it will be no fucking time at all before I have her in my bed.
Anna
“Listen, Anna,” his voice comes out as a raggedgrowl.
I was right. I’m not going to be able to say no to him.
“I’m listening.”
“My father wants me to be more traditional. He wants me to have a girl on my arm. A ring on her finger. A baby. A kid. Strollers. A dog and a cat. He doesn’t like that I haven’t settled down yet. I’m thirty-two years old, and I’m not some kid anymore. So partly, yeah, I agree with him. It’s just been hard to meet someone who doesn’t have any pretenses about me. To be honest, you’re the first girl I’ve met in a long time who didn’t immediately know who I am.”
“Well,” I say, straightening up, “thank you for the drink. It was delicious, and you’re right, I did need a drink before hearing that outlandish question.”
“I don’t think it’s that crazy, Anna,” he says, leaning forward and slipping my hands into his. “With the amount of time I spend working, between my family’s company and my own stuff on the side, I have no time to build a real relationship. My brother’s married, he’s got the picture-perfect family, and he and his wife knownothingabout each other. So is this really so crazy?”
“But it’s not real, right?” I say, my mind swimming, thoughts racing. “It’s all for show, right? It’s so your father can see you as the perfect son he wants.”
“Isn’t everything for show, on some level?” he asks meaningfully, gazing into my eyes.
God, he is absolutely melting my heart.
But I can’t do this.
“I don’t know if I can pretend to be your girlfriend,” I say, “it’s just too crazy. Isn’t it? What if...what if we startlikingeach other?”
“Anna, I already like you. That’s why I asked you here. And I think you like me too. I can see it in your body language. The way you’re leaning into me. The way your eyes are dreamy around me. And when I saw you in that wedding gown, my fucking heart broke because I knew I’d never have a chance with you. Now, I do. Plus, I will compensate you for your time.”
“Compensate me? Like...like a prostitute?”
“No,” he says, biting down on his bottom lip. “I never said anything about sex.”
I swallow thickly, taking in the moment.
This isinsane.
This is the definition of insanity
And it might be just what I need right now.
“I don’t know if I can say no to you,” I say, my voice coming out smaller than I want it to.
He reaches forward and puts his fingers on my cheek, my temple, and brings them down under my chin.
“Do you want to say no, baby? You can say no if you want to,” he growls.
“I don’t want to say no,” I shake my head. “I want to say yes.”
“Then say yes baby, and let me show you how fucking good it’ll feel to be my girl.”
