Page 6 of Icing on Top
“Have you seen yourselves? Look at me,” she blurted, gesturing to herself. “We don’t match.”
“Oh, I am, Sugar,” I replied. “I haven’t stopped since we got here. And according to Tempted Hearts, we match just fine.” I studied the woman standing before us, closer, past the brave facade. Someone had hurt her deeply. Tore her confidence down and made her feel like she was lacking. That couldn’t be further from the truth, and as I shared another look with Grant and Ben, I knew I wasn’t alone with the newfound goal to show her just how perfect she was and help her build her confidence.
“Why don’t you let us decide if you’re who we are looking for?” Ben suggested.
I pulled out the empty chair beside me. “Take a seat, Nova,” I said softly. “We have no intention of leaving this shop any time soon.” She didn’t look convinced as she sat but was willing to play along. Now that I had her closer, I reached out and tugged out her hair tie, sending her blonde locks cascading past her shoulders in delicate waves. Nova looked at me in surprise, and I winked at her as I slipped the hair tie onto my wrist. It was mine now. The familiar pretty pink blush that has been coloring her cheeks almost constantly since we arrived appeared again.
“Why don’t we start with what we are looking for?” Grant suggested. “We host our company’s annual New Year’s Eve party at our mountain cabin. We’re expected to have dates for the party but rarely find the time to cultivate relationships. We want to propose that you accompany us as our collective date.” Grant pulled out the contract he had our lawyers draw up, listing our expectations and Nova’s obligations. It wasn’t completed as weneeded to add her expectations and obligations, but it would give her the terms to read in black and white. He slid it across the table to her, and she stared at it like it would bite her before looking up at him in confusion.
“Wait. You’re still interested?” Nova asked with surprise. This sweet, adorable woman didn’t have a clue about herself.
“Very interested,” Grant replied, his lips pinching together to keep the smile from spreading across his face. She would have likely thought he was laughing at her.
Nova picked up the contract and started to read through it. There wasn’t anything too earth-shattering on there that hadn’t already been said. “So all you want is for me to come to the party as the date for all three of you? Just one night?”
“Correct,” Grant replied.
“Well, let’s make sure to leave it open for more in case we need her for something else between now and then,” Ben interjected. I nodded in agreement. I already knew I’d be needing her for something else. I wasn’t sure what that was, but I’d find something.
“So this isn’t a romantic thing. Strictly business,” Nova confirmed, relaxing back into her seat. The idea that we couldn’t be attracted to her made far more sense to her than if we were. Speaking for myself, I was very attracted to her and suspected my friends were as well. Unfortunately for Nova, her assumption was wrong.
“We aren’t looking for any long-term relationship,” Grant confirmed.
“But we’re all consenting adults,” I added smoothly. “I wouldn’t rule anything out.”
“Yeah, right,” Nova scoffed. That sounded too much like a challenge. I loved a good challenge. I leaned closer, and she tensed up as I wrapped a lock of hair around my finger andtugged gently so that her head tipped closer to me. “I’m looking forward to proving you wrong, Sugar.”
I saw her tremble slightly as my breath grazed her ear, and I smiled. Slowly, I released her hair and moved out of Nova’s space.
“What are you looking to get out of this arrangement?” Grant asked, shooting me a glare and redirecting the conversation back to the topic.
I shrugged at him. I didn’t see any point in pretending I wasn’t into Nova.
Name Your Terms
Nova
What was I looking to get? I forced my heart to settle the fuck down as Lincoln leaned back. Surely, he was just being friendly. Honestly, I was still floored that these three men wanted to spend any time with me, let alone bring me to a big fancy party for their employees to see them with me. It still wasn’t making sense to me. I looked at the three men sitting around the table. Lincoln looked like a bronzed Adonis. Benjamin was toned, and there wasn’t an ounce of fat on his body. Grant was by far the bulkiest of them. His muscles had muscles. And then there was me. Short, overweight, and average. I did not look like the woman that should be on any of their arms, let alone in them.
I took a deep breath and then started to talk. “Um, well, my father died in a car accident about eight months ago. It... I haven’t been the same since. Because of this, my live-in long-term boyfriend broke up with me a few days ago. So now I am alone for the holidays and don’t think I’m ready to face thatreality yet.” I expelled a breath of air, and they waited patiently for me to continue. Come on, Nova. You got the hard parts out.
“So I’d like someone, or I guess, in this case, someones, to do all of the traditional holiday things with. Baking Christmas cookies, decorating the Christmas tree, watching Christmas movies....” I trailed off as I heard the words coming out of my mouth. I sounded so childish, and there was no way these successful billionaires who didn’t even have the time to date in their league had the time or desire to do these things with me.
“Why did you stop?” Lincoln asked.
“I’m sorry. I just realized how silly this must sound to you. You’re too busy for nonsense like this,” I replied, feeling my cheeks heat in embarrassment again.
“I don’t think it sounds silly,” Benjamin replied. “We grew up together in foster care. We didn’t have traditions like that. It might be nice to partake in the holiday festivities this year.”
I lifted my hopeful eyes to him. Did he mean that, or was this entire thing just a joke to them? He seemed sincere. I looked at Lincoln, who was smiling at me. This man hadn’t stopped staring at me since I sat down, and what the hell was the deal with my hair tie?
Grant smiled as he pulled a pen from his breast pocket and placed it in front of me. “Write it all down, and I’ll make sure to include it in the final draft,” he instructed.
I took the pen and listed all the traditions I didn’t want to do alone this year. There were eight items on the list. I chewed on my bottom lip as I looked over the list. This didn’t seem fair. Suddenly, Linc reached over and placed his thumb on my lip, saving it from the punishment I was giving it.
“What’s got you worried, Sugar?” he asked softly.
I ignored the butterflies that fluttered in my stomach at his nickname. “This doesn’t seem fair to you all. You get one nightfrom me, and I get what will amount to multiple days with you. It isn’t even.”
