Page 6 of Staying for Her

He doesn’t say anything for a minute, and I wonder if I’m just supposed to get up and leave. But then he stands, his arms bracing on the counter, which gives me a great view of his chest.

“Do they live close?”

I shake my head. Explaining the situation and the fact that that might be my only option.

“That might not be your only option.”

I tilt my head, wondering what he means.

“You could stay here.”

I shake my head adamantly. “No, that’s okay. I wouldn’t want to impose and honestly, I don’t know you very well, so it seems kind of weird that you would offer.”

He nods, understanding, but then a light bulb goes off in his head and I see that idea from behind his eyes.

“What if we came up with a deal?” he offers, those brown eyes glinting as I wait for him to continue. “What if you stay here, take my room and I sleep on the couch.”

“Okay, one: How is that fair to you, you’re seriously bigger than me and that couch can’t possibly be comfortable?”

He shrugs as if it’s no big deal.

“And two: What’s the catch?”

He smirks, my heart racing as he leans on his elbows so we are eye to eye.

“I need you to be my fake fiancée.”

What the fuck?

Lucas

If my heart wasn’t pounding so hard inside my chest, I’d laugh at the expression on Billie’s face. I didn’t go into this conversation wanting Billie to conspire with me to trick my family, but the longer we spoke, the more I realized how much we needed each other.

“Excuse me?” she chokes out, her mouth opening and closing as she tries to come up with something else to say.

I smirk, my gaze taking in the woman in front of me. Not only is she one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen in my life, but she’d piss my parents off to no end and the thought of that sends a tiny thrill through my body.

“You heard me,” I say quietly, her eyes flicking between my eyes and my lips and if I didn’t have any self-control, I’d haul her over this island and start this charade right now, but from her wide-eyed gaze and the way her breathing has changed, she’s not where I am and that’s okay.

“You want me to lie to your family?”

I nod as she takes a breath.

“Why?”

I was waiting for this question and the answer is still complicated no matter how many times I go over it in my head. So I lean back against the counter, crossing my arms over my chest and staring right into the eyes of the woman that could make or break the next few months of my life.

“You remember the phone conversation you just overheard?”

She nods, her eyes searching mine but coming up empty.

“Well, my mother is blackmailing me and so helping each other out seems like a great idea. I give you a place to stay until you get back on your feet and you pretend to love me.”

Her eyes widen, her chest heaving as she takes another deep breath.

“Why?” she whispers, her head shaking as the reality of the situation crashes down over both of us. “Why would your mother blackmail you?”

“Because she’s a narcissist who hates not getting her way,” I mumble to myself, but from the way Billie cocks her head to the side, I’m pretty sure she heard me. “Growing up, I came from a very wealthy family, and with that came rules. Rules I didn’t like and rules I chose to break at any given time if I saw the opportunity.”

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