Page 15 of Strip Bare

"I get the picture," I said, attempting to soften my tone so I wouldn't sound like too much of a dick. "What does this have to do with Max?"

"He needs a wife to access his very big inheritance. We're talking millions, Leo."

"Right...?"

"And I need money so I can finally start living my life my way."

"Kat—"

"It was just drunk chit chat at first! But when he found out about this stipulation clause, he made me an offer and Leo—"

"Please tell me you didn't agree to marry him in exchange for money."

"Okay, I won't tell you." She sat back against the booth, watching me stew as I shook my head. "So... Is it illegal?" she said eventually and I blew out a breath. Really, how could I rely on her for boy advice when this was the mess she'd got herself into?

"I don't know," I said truthfully. "Probably? It's definitely unethical. You would probably have to stay married for a while to make it look real."

"We agreed to a year."

I swore, chugging back my drink in response to her words. "So you already signed on for this?"

"I mean, I haven't signed anything yet. He hasn't even given me a ring."

"Look. At best, it's unethical and unfathomably stupid. I mean, you've known him all of five minutes, right? What if he's a serial killer?"

"He's not a—"

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. At worst, you could both lose everything if someone finds out you cheated the system and your marriage is a fraud."

"So what I'm hearing," Kat said in a tone so much like my sister's that I almost could have laughed if it wasn't so annoying. "Is that as long as nobody finds out, it'll be fine."

"That's not remotely what I said."

Kat sipped happily at a cocktail she'd had sitting there when I'd first joined her. "Good, good. Well, that's my problem sorted. Now you."

I blinked. Had she heard a word I'd said? "Your problem is most definitely not sorted—"

She waved me off. "Enough about me. Tell me about your boy problems, Leo."

I grimaced but leaned in a little closer across the table. "Let's say there's a guy that you're friends with—"

"Kit," she said, taking a casual sip of her drink and ignoring me when I glowered.

"—and sometimes he says stuff to you that kind of makes it seem like he might... feel things for you."

"What kind of stuff?" Kat's eyes gleamed and I swallowed hard against my suddenly dry mouth.

"Um, something about being a masterpiece? And a weird conversation with another guy about whose drink I wanted? Hypothetically, of course," I added hastily.

"Of course," Kat repeated dryly.

"Plus, hypothetically, let's say he was happy to do me a favor and pretend to be my boyfriend while my parents visited. And maybe as part of that scheme, we made out? Heavily?"

At some point, Kat's mouth had dropped open and when she reached across the table to touch my hand I was too startled to move away. "Oh, sweetie."

What was that supposed to mean?

"Fake boyfriend, fake fiancee… we have more in common than you would have thought, huh?"

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