Page 55 of The Daredevil

Then you have to trust her too.

I parked in one of the reserved spots, got out, and opened the door for her.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she said, taking the arm I offered. “I can open the door myself.”

“I believe in equal rights and all, but sometimes it’s fun being a gentleman.” I patted her hand.

“Is that your pickup line?” she asked with an arched eyebrow.

“No. It’s the truth. If I were to give you a pickup line, it would be somewhere along the line of ‘you must be a volcano because you’re making all the geysers hot and bothered.’”

The corners of her lips quirked. “How are you still single?”

“Who says I’m single?” I clasped her hand in mine, a gesture that surprised me. Holding hands wasn’t something I did with my previous girlfriends. It made things too intimate, but I’d been holding her hands more than I realized.

I tightened the grip on her hand as we passed a group of men staring at her.

She’s with me.

“I have a beautiful girlfriend by my side.” A whiff of her lovely fragrance snuck up my nose, and my body heated. “Have you forgotten?”

“You know what I mean.”

I paused in my steps and looked at her. The light from the lamppost cast a soft glow on her face, making her appear like a goddess. “I’m searching for the right one. And you? Why are you still single?”

“Who says I am?” She grinned, tugging me toward the main entrance where more people had gathered.

A man chatting on his phone cut his eyes toward her, and I wanted to poke them out.

“Hey, no fair. I answered your question.”

“Aren’t we all searching for the right one?”

“What is your definition of the right one?”

She looked up at me with curious eyes.

“I’m not sure. I think it’s different for everybody. What about you?”

“Someone who can move me from within. Someone who can inspire me to do something I’d never do.”

“You want someone todareyou?” It wasn’t a question, but an accurate statement that sent a chill rippling down my body.

She pounded the nail on the head, showing how perceptive she was. She considered me for a long moment, and I wanted to jump into her brain to see her thoughts.

Finally, she said, “It’s good to know you have standards.” Then she swung our joined hands back and forth as we entered the museum.

What she didn’t know was that I had already accepted the challenge when she became my fake girlfriend.

CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN

MICHELLE

As soon aswe entered the ballroom, people greeted Royce from several corners. I spotted Becca sitting at a table. She rose and waved at me, and I returned the gesture.

“I moved your seating arrangement. You’ll be sitting with me,” he said. “I’ve got to go over a few things with the organizers. I see your coworkers are dying to speak to you. Come back to me.”

I wanted to ask him when he’d moved my seat, but the gleam in his green eyes made me ask something else. “Is that adare? What if I decide to sit with my coworkers since you didn’t ask or inform me about the new seating arrangement?”

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