Page 12 of Faking It with my Bestie's Billionaire Brother

His eyebrows shot up, but a speck of pride lingered in his gaze, almost like he was impressed with my negotiation skills. "First of all, I will be more than happy to make any number of donations to the school and pay you, too. But if you insist, I'll give it all to the school. Secondly, I agree that we do need some ground rules. I'm curious to know what yours are, though."

By now, I was feeling antsy. I needed to walk off my tacos, and I just wanted to get this conservation over with. I sighed, fidgeted with my dress, and told him, "Here, let's walk and talk. I can't sit still any longer."

He looked around us as if the thought was an idea completely foreign by him. "Where are we going to walk to?"

I looked at him, irritated. He definitely was going to be a real piece of work to deal with.

"My apartment is not far from here. I walked here tonight, so you can be a gentleman and walk me home. Besides, it'll just give people opportunities for pictures and whatnot, and isn't that kind of the point of this ruse?"

He seemed to reluctantly agree, and after we disposed of our trash, I started laying out my ground rules. "First of all, I don't want you going behind my back and talking to Penny. We do like you suggested: we talk to her together."

He nodded in agreement. "I can do that."

"Secondly, and most importantly, perhaps, no funny business," I said, pointing a warning finger at him, and I was shocked when I saw a grin appear on his face.

"What?" I asked indignantly.

"Exactly what kind of funny business do you think could go on, Miss Moretti?"

I stopped on the sidewalk and glared at him, putting my hand on my hip. "Don't look like it's such an outlandish idea." He smirked, but I forged ahead.

"Look, there's no love lost between us. I think we both know that, but we're going to be in close quarters for the next while. You're a man, I'm a woman. It wouldn't be the first time a forty-something-year-old man started getting the hots for a younger woman."

He let out a low chuckle. "Oh, I see, so it would just be a one-sided thing—only I could get the hots for you. What if you find your hand reaching for me, Miss Moretti?"

"Ha! As if," I said, looking at him out of the corner of my eye and then jerking my face away when I caught how his eyes darkened as they roved over on my face. When they landed on my mouth, I felt all of the blood in my body rushing to my cheeks.

We were approaching the stoop of my apartment building.

"I was raised to be a lady, so I can keep my hands to myself. Thank you very much for the confidence you have in my self-control," I informed him, looking him in the eye, damning my tomato-red cheeks all the while.

To his credit, he tried to bite back his grin. "I think you'll find that I am more than just a little capable of keeping control over myself, Miss Moretti," he said formally, looking down into my face, and we stared at each other in challenge for a long moment.

The sounds of the streets behind us and random snippets of conversations filtered through, but it was the whishing sound behind me and then a blast of air as a kid on a skateboard rushed past that pushed me into Spencer's arms for the second time. I let out a yelp, and then, strong arms were grasping me, yanking me out of the way.

The kid whizzed by, seemingly oblivious that he caused any upset whatsoever.

I was still breathing hard at the near miss when I looked up into my savior's eyes.

Spencer was breathing hard, and his eyes were locked onto my mouth. "What's that agreement about no funny business again?" he asked huskily, and I didn't know what possessed me to do it, but I leaned forward, closing the short distance between our mouths. With his breath fanning over my lips, I wanted to taste him so badly.

Would that mouth be as promising as it had been in my fantasies? Then, I caught myself. This moment wasn't a fantasy, and it wasn't daydreaming about a man I hardly knew while I worked on some sculpture. Spencer was actually here, holding me in his arms, and he just so happened to be Penny's older brother.

I yanked myself away, smoothing my hands nervously over my dress, pretending to fix wrinkles.

I'd been a part of this agreement for less than twenty minutes, and already, I had almost kissed my best friend's older brother.

What the hell had I just gotten myself into?

Chapter eight

Spencer

There was Ava, in my arms once again, looking up at me with those seductive but nervous eyes. My insides warred with my base instincts, the ones that were telling me to snatch her up, throw her over my shoulder like a caveman, drag her upstairs to her apartment, and show her what I thought about her guidelines.

But then, she yanked herself away, looking so horrified that I felt my lips twist into a bittersweet smile from how turned on she was and that she had slipped from my grasp before we could progress any further.

"What’s that agreement about no funny business again, Miss Moretti?" I asked her, not being able to help myself. Some primal part of me just couldn't seem to help but getting a kick out of watching her face turn bright red.

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