Page 12 of Tempting The Billionaire (The Sherbrookes of Newport)

e she was wrong, everything about their time together hinted that there had been more between them than sex. His words just further strengthened her belief.

“You had my number, Josh. You could have called me.” Courtney knew full well what had stopped her from reaching out. She wanted to know his excuse.

With his coffee mug almost to his lips, he lowered it and nodded. “Yeah, I know. Like I said earlier, I thought about it. But the last time we saw each other, you didn’t say anything about wanting to stay in contact. And this custody mess with Naomi....” Josh stopped and raked his hand through his hair. “I haven’t been myself since I found out what Naomi was doing.”

She could only imagine what he was going through. His daughter had come up more than once. While Josh might have the reputation of a carefree playboy, when it came to Adalynn, he seemed like a loving father who would do anything for his daughter. And he was right about her not bringing up the topic of staying in contact. Of course she had kept her mouth shut because of his well-known relationship history.

“Fair enough,” Courtney admitted.

Again Josh raised his coffee mug toward his mouth. Like before, it didn’t reach its final destination. “Why didn’t you call?”

Did he really need to ask? She thought the answer would be obvious. “You don’t exactly have a great track record when it comes to relationships, Josh. You’re known to sleep with two different women in the same weekend. That’s not the kind of behavior that suggests you’d be interested in something serious.”

A muscle in his jaw clenched.

“You’re right, I haven’t been in a serious relationship since Naomi. But I’ve never slept with two different women in the same weekend. Gone out with two, sure, but that’s it. Yeah, I know the media claims I have, but you know how good the media is at twisting the truth.”

Countless times she’d seen how reporters made up stories or changed facts when writing pieces about her family. The same could very well be true in Josh’s case. She wanted to believe it was, and for now she’d give him the benefit of the doubt.

She watched as the mug finally touched his lips, and he took a sip. What would he do if she removed it from his hands and settled her lips on his? She’d stopped herself from doing it when she opened the door tonight, but it had taken considerable willpower.

Start talking again.

If she kept her mouth busy talking, maybe she’d keep herself from kissing him. And kissing him before she had answers to her questions would be a bad idea. No, correction, it wouldn’t be a bad idea, it would be a colossally bad one, because once they started kissing, she might give in and agree to anything.

Clearing her throat, she reached for her coffee and forced her gaze back to his eyes. “I’ve been thinking a lot about our meeting this afternoon.”

“You don’t have to give me an answer tonight. I didn’t ask to see you because I expected one.”

“I know, but the sooner I give you one the better. And I can’t do that until I have a few questions answered.” Another woman might drag her feet and make Josh jump through hoops before giving him an answer. She had no intention of doing either.

“Ask me whatever you want.” Josh rested his ankle on his knee and draped an arm along the back of the sofa.

“How soon would you want to get married?”

“Within a couple of weeks. I thought we could tell people we got engaged while in Hawaii.”

Yeah, she’d expected as much. Then again, she wouldn’t be the first person in her family to have an exceptionally short engagement. “Where would we live? I can’t move to Maine.”

While she could do some work remotely, she needed to remain within commuting distance of the foundation. As far as she knew, the only house he had in New England was in Bar Harbor, a town more than five hours away, making a daily commute impossible.

“I’ve already considered that. We can either buy something in the area or I can move in here. Whatever you want. It doesn’t matter to me.”

“I’d rather stay here.” She’d moved in the middle of November and had no desire to do it again. Besides, it wasn’t like she didn’t have more than enough room here for two people. “We’ll need to have a prenup.” If she’d been entering into a marriage like her brother’s, she wouldn’t consider it. But this wouldn’t be anything like what her brother and Paige had. She needed to know that when it ended, she would be protected.

“Not a problem.” Josh picked up his coffee and took another sip. Once again, she wished his lips were touching her rather than the mug.

Looking away from his mouth, Courtney focused on a painting hanging on the far wall and sipped her coffee. So far, he’d given her all the right answers. But she had one more question she needed answered. If she was being honest with herself, she wasn’t sure how she wanted him to answer when it came to this one.

She’d slept with the man, so asking him if he expected them to be intimate shouldn’t bother her. Yet it did. Tightening her grip on the mug, she asked her final question. “How real of a marriage do you expect this to be?”

Setting aside his coffee, he slid closer to her. “When we’re in public, it has to appear 100 percent real. Except for Evan, not even our families can know the truth.” His hand closed around her shoulder as his thumb caressed the skin along the neckline of her sweater. Each pass sent another spark to the tiny fire growing insider her. “But when it’s just the two of us here, it’ll be up to you.”

She’d have to put some thought into whether or not they’d be intimate, because on one hand, sleeping with him while they were married might not be the wisest of moves. At the same time though, if she agreed to this, she might as well be able to enjoy the perks. Correction, not if, but when she agreed. It might turn into an epic disaster, but she intended to help him. Even before he walked in, she’d been leaning in that direction. The only thing holding her back had been the need for answers to her questions, which she now had.

“Do you—”

“I’ll do it,” Courtney said at the same time.

---