Page 19 of Playing Pretend with Love and Billions

I stand immediately and meet him at the end of the hall, a few feet away from the elevators, and hold my hand out to take the rose. There isn’t a note with it, but I can only assume that Ryan has something to do with this and it brings an instant smile to my face.

“Thank you!”

The delivery guy simply nods, annoyance flashing across his face, before he heads out of the building. Someone doesn’t like their job.

Millie’s legs are bouncing from excitement as I get closer with the flower and flop into my seat.

“Still want to lie to me?” she asks with her eyebrow raised, daring me to deny her earlier statement.

I shake my head. Acknowledging her, but not outright telling her she’s right because I’m scared to admit it aloud. After getting the flower situated on my desk, I log out of the system and grab my purse from under my desk. When Millie and I get to the lobby, Ryan leans against the security desk with his hands in his pockets, only looking up when I exit the elevator.

Millie hums in approval. “See you later. Or maybe not. Have fun, babe!”

She barely steals another glance back as she heads out into the cold, while Ryan takes a step closer to me with a smile.

“So, I have plans for us this weekend.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Do you now?”

“A buddy of mine is in town and invited us to this thing. I’m hoping you’ll agree to come with me.”

He’s being awfully hesitant with the details, I wonder who the friend is since the only one I know about is Alex. I seem to trust him though, so I give him a smile and nod. The kiss that he plants on my parted lips is enough to make me want to agree to every plan he makes in the future.

A girl could get used to this.

But I can’t. He doesn’t see me as a permanent woman in his life. I knew this before I agreed to be his fake girlfriend.

“Is there an award for the best fake boyfriend?” he asks with a cheeky grin.

I shake my head at him, holding back my own smile, as he grabs my hand and walks us into the cold night. He’s a gentleman and opens the passenger door for me, which I allow him to do even though I’d normally scold someone for doing that for me.

Growing up in my house, mom always made it a point to show my father that even though he has her heart, she’s still capable of doing things as simple as this on her own. He learned to only do it for her when it was a fancy event, or when he could tell she needed the extra love and affection.

That’s what I always wanted while growing up and watching my parents love each other. My mom would seem perfectly fine, but somehow my dad always knew just what she needed to smile a little brighter. I want someone who can tell when I’m upset, no matter how little it is, and know how to cheer me up.

Which is why I think the flower Ryan sent me made me give Millie an honest response. How did he know I needed him to brighten my mood?

Chapter10

Ryan

The pounding at my door is enough to wake up the whole city. I grunt as I lift myself from the bed, barely able to keep my eyes open on my way to the front door. Before I can slam the door in his face, Alex pushes through the door and punches the wall right next to my head.

My eyes widen in surprise, but it wakes me up enough to push his slim body against the wall in front of me. “I’ll let you have that one, man. You caught me at a bad time, but you won’t get another one.”

His eyes are bugging out, clearly bloodshot from whatever shit he took before coming here, and it takes everything in me not to shake him from whatever he’s dragged himself into.

Instead of focusing on that, I pinch the pressure point located at his shoulders and level him with a satisfied smirk when he grunts from the pain.

“You have about two minutes to get yourself together. If you don’t, I’ll have no choice but to get security up here. Theonlyreason you’re still standing here is because I understand your anger.”

And I do. If he came on to my ex and told me he fell in love with her, I’d go crazy too. The only difference between me and him is that I’d be methodical, not unhinged. I’d make sure to hit him where it really hurts.

He nods slowly, his eyes squeezed tightly shut at the pain from the pressure, and I let him go. His glassy eyes look straight into mine and I’m struck by how hollow they are. I can’t remember a time when Alex looked more rough than he does now, but I can’t dwell on that. Ava is mine now, even if it’s only until Alex gets his act together and leaves her the hell alone.

Seeing him at the restaurant yesterday afternoon struck a nerve that I didn’t know I possessed. The moment my eyes connected to him in that dimly lit dining room, the only thing on my mind was beating him to a pulp. There was no reason he needed to be where we were, and I could tell by the haunted expression on Ava’s face that she thought the same thing.

I also know that she was going to try and justify him being there. Act as if he had as much right as us to get a meal at the same place we were eating. I knew better though because he was the guy I grew close to years ago. If he was going to eat at a place like that, he wouldn’t have gone alone. He wouldn’t have been so focused on us, then leave the moment I made a move on her.

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