Page 48 of His Innocent Seduction

I suppress a grin, covering my face with her phone as I angle it for a pic. I snap it and then pull my phone out. I hand hers back but, before she moves, I lift my phone and hold it in front of us both.

‘A selfie, Mr Brophy?’

‘For my book,’ I tease back.

‘Of your conquests?’ She uses the same light-hearted, jocular tone, and I don’t know why it pisses me off.

I look at the photo of us and airdrop a copy to her before sliding my phone back in my pocket.

‘You up for a short walk?’

‘Of course.’

We walk around the tip of Manhattan as dusk gradually becomes deeper, darker. We walk towards the Brooklyn Bridge, Millie recounting everything she loved about the game, the day, the country, the city. Her enthusiasm is breathtaking and bewildering.

Night lays claim to New York and we walk a little way over the bridge to have a view back over Manhattan. Millie stares at it, her emotions palpable.

‘Are you okay?’ I hear myself ask, wondering why the hell my whole body is on tenterhooks, waiting for her response.

‘Yeah, I’m... I just keep thinking how much my mum would have loved to see this.’

CHAPTER TEN

I SHOULD BE exhausted by the time we board his private jet. I slept a few hours, woke up, and discovered I wanted Michael. Again. I don’t know if I ever won’t. Seriously, sex is way more addictive than I bargained on.

I thought it was as simple as tying a shoelace. Like something you learned to do and enjoyed when it suited. Sorry, I know that’s really clinical but, in all honesty, how would I know any differently?

I thought sex was simple, and I thought sleeping with Michael would be easy to walk away from, but a week and a half after we first made love, high above the Atlantic Ocean, watching Michael covertly—I hope—as he reads some case notes on his tablet, I can already see it’s going to be hard. Hard to board that flight next weekend.

Hard to walk away from him.

I didn’t think about ‘afterwards’ when I proposed this. I didn’t think about post-sex. In my mind, it was a simple transaction. I’ve seen him leave the bar with enough women to know that he’s pretty lax about the whole idea of sleeping with someone.

But am I?

I guess I have to be. As great as sex is—as sex with Michael Brophy is—he’s not in my long-term plans. He’s not in my short-term plans either. I’m here to have fun. No strings. No ties. I’m going to Paris soon, and then Budapest or Prague or wherever the hell I want. I’m going to see all the places Mum never got to. I’m going to swim in the Danube and climb the Eiffel Tower, I’m going to do cheesy tourist photos in Pisa, pretending to prop up the ancient building. I’m going to move wherever the wind takes me and only when I’ve done what I promised Mum I would will I consider going back to Australia and picking up the threads of my normal life.

A life that might admit a future with a man. But not a man like Michael, anyway. He’s too...too much.

I sigh softly, and his eyes lift to my face. My stomach jerks. I look away.

This is all academic anyway, because Michael has as little interest in a relationship as I do. Which brings us back to—what next?

I wanted to lose my virginity.

I have.

Is that it?

Will Michael expect me to walk off this plane, shake his hand and never see him again?

Am I okay with that?

My heart sinks to my feet. Because I’m not. I leave in a matter of nights and, up until the moment I leave, I want to be with him. Any chance I get.

‘Do you seduce women up here often?’

He arches his brows before slowly lifting his head, pinning me with eyes that are slightly mocking. How did I become such an expert in his every facial expression?

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