Page 66 of Boss's Baby: A Fake Fiance Romance

“Maybe it shouldn’t be,” said Mike. “Girl doesn’t exactly fit in around here. There’s a reason we live on opposite sides of town, dude. Some people aren’t supposed to mix.”

I ran my hand through my hair, trying to process what the hell was going on. “OK, for right now, fuck you guys. I’ll figure out what I want to say in addition to that later. ‘Fuck you’ should work for now, though.”

That was all I could stand of those assholes. I sidestepped the group, making my way in the direction Cass had gone. It took some looking around the vast expanse of the manor to find her, but eventually I saw her outside on the balcony, leaning against the gray stone railing. The moment I stepped out, the sky finally broke open, soft flutters of snow drifting down.

“Hey.”

She glanced over her shoulder for long enough to note that it was me before turning her attention away. I stepped to her side and for a long moment, the two of us said nothing.

Finally, I broke the silence. “Sorry about that. I don’t know what the fuck got into them.”

“I know what the fuck got into them.”

“Yeah?”

“The same thing that’s been in them since they were kids.”

I gave an affirmative nod. “You’re probably right about that.”

Cass shook her head. “It’s like they knew exactly what to say to get to me. And the worst part is, they make me wonder if they’re right.”

“Right about what? They were being assholes, nothing more to it than that.”

“No, there was more to it than that. They know I’m not one of them, and that I never will be.”

“You want to be one of them? Why? They’re pricks, Cass. I don’t even hang out with them unless I’m in town.”

She took a moment before speaking. “It’s all of this.” She swept her hand over the property. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve felt l like I’ve been ashamed of who I am, where I came from. And so much of my life has been trying to get away from that. But it doesn’t matter. People still take one look at me and see some poor girl in secondhand clothes.”

“Are you that ashamed about it?”

“I don’t even know. I love my family, and I loved my life when I was growing up. But it was impossible not to look at people, people like you, and see something that I always wanted, that I never thought I’d be. And I hate that this thing we’re doing is bringing this all up to the surface. But it is.”

I turned toward her, taking her chin into my hand. “Listen, Cass. This thing we’re doing? I’m happy we agreed to it.”

“Right, because you get to be CEO, and you don’t even have to worry about actually getting married.”

“At first, yes, that’s what it was about. I got into this thing for stupid, selfish reasons. But the longer we’ve been doing it, the more that…I don’t know. I don’t even care about all that anymore.”

Now she was totally confused. Hell, I was too. The words coming out of my mouth seemed to do it all on their own. But I knew they were the truth.

“You don’t care about it?”

“I care about my dad—I can say that for certain. But with each day that passes, the rest of it feels like it’s all fading away. And all that’s left is you.”

“What?”

“Cass, you know I’ve had feelings for you since I was a kid. And I know you feel the same way. I thought we could pull off this plan without any of that mattering, but I can’t any longer. And the idea of this ending, and the two of us never seeing each other again—it’s total bullshit. And bullshit that neither of us wants.”

“What are you saying?”

I had no idea how to even begin to answer that. It was as though everything I’d been feeling but trying to ignore was coming out. “I’m saying that I think we’ve made enough of an appearance for tonight. What do you say we get the hell out of here?”

“And do what?”

“And do what both of us have been trying to pretend we don’t want.”

Cass bit her lip in indecision. “Won’t people talk?”

“Let them talk.”

Finally, a small smile formed on her lips.

“Let’s do it.”

Chapter 29

JOSH

The second we climbed into the back of the car, it was on. Leaving the party without saying a word might not’ve been the best etiquette in the world, but neither of us gave a damn. We wanted each other, and everyone else could wait.

Besides, could you really blame a happily engaged couple for not being able to keep their hands off each other? Wasn’t the most accurate way to describe the situation, but the sentiment was the same.

I pounced on Cass, the two of us kissing so hard, so deeply, that the driver didn’t waste a second in putting up the partition. Maybe another time I would’ve felt something like an exhibitionist for being so publicly passionate, but at that moment I didn’t give a shit.

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