Rex SHORTLY AFTER I got into my car, a text notification popped onto the dashboard screen — Anya asking me if we could talk. This was the fourth text I’d received in as many days, and the fourth I would ignore.
As I drove to my parents’ house for Sunday dinner, I realized my car felt strangely empty. Strangely — because it’s not like I often had someone with me. I was almost always alone. Yet it felt like Evie should be there. When my mother texted me and asked if I could come to dinner that Sunday, I said yes, but made my excuses for Evie. I’d decided not to bring her to our next dinner. We needed a break. I ignored Evie all day. I had to. The look on her face when she’d come into my office after I’d seen that image of us on Lochlan’s phone had not been an acc eptable look — one of wanting to comfort me, wanting to be there for me, wanting to be there for each other. She had misread that kiss between us. She had taken it as a connection. There could be no connection. There was no connection. I’d left early for the day. When I passed her desk, I hadn’t said a word to her. I felt her eyes on my back, and my own reaction stung. Her concern for me, or at least for the situation, was evidence of what kind of person she was — a person far too sunny and kind to be a part of my life beyond our agreement. I was the one stupid enough to take her to my home, admittedly for selfish reasons. I’d wanted her to see where I lived, not the lakeside mansion where I grew up, but the real me. I should have known the location was too vulnerable, right in the city. Now not only would her coworkers think she was some slut dating the CEO, but the whole world would have access to that photo. Usually, the paparazzi went after my parents or my sisters or Remy, not me. I wasn’t the most interesting of the bunch. I didn’t c are about fashion. I didn’t party. I didn’t date starlets. I didn’t do much of anything or have a magazine - worthy enough personality to make good headline fodder. And I didn’t generally bring women to my condo. But apparently dating a mystery, no - name woman made the cut. I was an idiot. I needed to apologize to her, but instead I’d told her to make me some labels and then left early without a word. I wasn’t an idiot. I was an asshole. But this was how it needed to be. I couldn’t get close to her. I couldn’t fall into thinking this was anything more than a relationship for appearances. Until I decided how this would play out long - term — because I couldn’t ke ep her in my orbit forever, ward ing off Anya and my parents — I needed to ke ep her at arm’s length.
So I would face family dinner alone. I wouldn’t subject her to the barrage of questions likely to come if my family had also seen that photo. I was a little late, and my family was already seated at the table when I walked in. My father, of course, would not wait an extra half hour for me to get there. Promptness over family. Always. “I’m sorry I’m late,” I said, and took my seat next to Rebekah. My dinner was already at my place setting, and a little cold, but I wasn’t bothered. Dignity over reaction. Always. “Where’s Evie?” Raven asked. “Not a hi, how are you?” I retorted and took a sip of the red wine in front of me. “I know how you are. You’re fine. You’re always fine. What I don’t know is if you broke up with Evie.” I shook my head. “No, of course I didn’t. She just wasn’t available tonight. She had a family obligation.” “Well, I hope you’ll bring her next week. I like her.” “Here, here,” Remy said. “In fact, she’s the first woman you’ve ever dated who I actually like, which isn’t saying much. You haven’t dated much lately. I was pretty sure you’d gone ace.” “What is ace?” my mom asked. “Isn’t that a flying term?” “It means asexual, Mom,” Rebekah said. When my mom’s face remained blank and clueless, Rebekah went on. “It means someone doesn’t need or want sex.” “Oh, goodness. I don’t need to know about that about my son,” my mom said. My father cleared his throat, a signal familiar to all of us as his request that the conversation move on. For the first time, possibly in my entire life, I agreed with him. “Will you be bringing Evie to the gala?” Rebekah asked, always the smooth one at moving those conversations back into arenas my parents loved most. “Yes, of course I will,” I said. Of all the events, the Park City Gala was the one where I would most need my shield. That comment brought an odd silence between us all, and I wondered why. I didn’t wonder enough to ask, though, so I took a bite of the steak in front of me and waited for someone else to start the conversation again.
Remy obliged by bringing up his date to the upcoming gala — a woman none of us had met, which was typical. Remy went through dates quickly and had little interest in a serious relationship, but the women he chose were always interesting topics of conversation. This one was an up - andcoming actress who Raven knew as well. I stayed out of it. Remy and I had never had a lot in common. He was dashingly handsome. I was more on the average side of things. He was a flaming extrovert. I preferred to ke ep to myself. He dated anything that moved. I blackmailed my assistant to be my fake girlfriend. After dinner, I intended to leave rather than linger and deal with inevitably more questions from Raven about Evie. Raven had an infinite store of questions inside of her. Infinite. As I headed to my car, Rebekah caught up with me in the garage. “You’re taking off early,” she said. I shrugged. “The vibes aren’t as friendly tonight.” “I hear you, but I wanted to ask you something.” She cast her eyes downward and shifted her weight to one foot. “Anya called me yesterday.” “Oh, she did?” “She asked me to talk to you. She said you haven’t been returning her calls or texts.” “No, I haven’t.” “Why not?” “Would you believe me if I said it’s complicated to explain?” I doubted Rebekah knew that Anya’s parents had also given her inheritance conditions, or that Anya had her sights set on me, and I didn’t feel like delving into it all. “I’d believe you,” she said, “but you should probably call her back. She’s not exactly good at being ignored. You’re going to end up with some Anya drama on your hands.” I sighed. “You’re right. I should talk to her and at least tell her to leave me alone. Not that it ever works.” We hugged goodbye, and then I went out to my car, where I sat and stared for far too long. Fake dating Evie was not doing enough to throw Anya off of my trail. Maybe nothing would. I could probably marry Evie, and Anya would still be after me.
I sat in my car and dialed my voicemail to hear what she had to say. Anya had seen our tabloid photo. Big surprise. I doubted Anya read much more than tabloids to see if anyone had mentioned her. “Rex,” she said on the message, “I was just reading the latest and saw a picture of you and Evie going into your home. At first, I thought, how quaint. I am glad to see you so happy and bringing someone back to your place. If I’m correct, that’s not someth ing you do a lot. So good for you. I’m surprised it’s her, though the timing of you suddenly having a girlfriend seems a little fishy. How about you call me back? We need to talk, and I’m getting tired of you ignoring me.” I was tempted to call her back, but if I did, I would blast her. I didn’t know exactly what she was insinuating was fishy, but I didn’t like her tone. I never liked her tone. She needed to get the hint and leave me the hell alone. Chapter 2 2 Evie NOTHING HAD BEEN the same since the photo of Rex and me had hit the tabloids. The picture hadn’t even gone viral or anything near that. It had come and gone, r eplaced by bigger, flashier news. Maybe he had wanted it to be a big deal? I wasn’t sure. I just knew that he seemed cooler toward me, and I worried that our agreement might end and my job would be history. Maybe it wouldn’t even make a difference. I had an appointment with a loan officer to talk about st eps I might take to save my house, but I was losing confidence that I'd be able to do anything. I was a single, very broke person facing a giant corporation with a lot more resources than I had. The end of this story was probably already written, where the bank owned my house, I rented an apartment somewhere, and I had a new job. Maybe that would be best. I’d been with Quinn Financial a long time. Maybe the fact that my time there was capping off with this strange deal with the CEO was a sign. I brought Rex a cup of coffee in the morning, something he usually appreciated. He said thanks, but didn’t even look up. I asked if he’d like me to bring him lunch since he looked to be swamped. He simply shook his head. It’s not like we were besties. It’s not like we were a real couple, but his actions were oddly hurtful. What had I done wrong? That question spun in my mind for the rest of the day, changing shape at each turn. I’d done everything wrong. I’d done nothing wrong. I hated the paparazzi. I hated myself for kissing
him — not just for kissing him, but for falling into the kiss and giving him any part of myself. I knew the terms of this relationship. I should not have given him anything more than a peck, even if I had wanted to, even if he was so attractive and charming that I couldn’t help myself. I’d started to get glimpses of the softie beneath the crunchy exterior, but I had to forget about him. The man was nothing more than a crunchy exterior. But I didn’t believe myself. At the end of the day, I said goodbye to Tasha and Lochlan as they went home, and then I waited. I waited until Ian and Andrew left, as well as anyone else I’d seen go into the offices of the tenth floor that day. Rex did not leave, and I had one final chance. I got up from my desk, smoothed my skirt and blouse, and walked confidently to his office. “I saw you were working on pr epping for the board meeting next week. Is there anything I can help you with?” I asked, leaning into his open office door. “No, Evie. It’s after five. You can go home.” I waited for him to look up at me, but he didn’t. I gave him a good, long minute, hoping for something from him. Anything would do, but he gave me nothing. “Have I done something wrong?” I asked. He shook his head. “Then why aren’t you so much as looking at me today?” At that, he lifted his head and his eyes met mine. I couldn’t read his expression. For all I knew, he could have been planning what he was going to eat for dinner. “I’m looking at you now,” he said flatly. Were we really going to play games like this? “So what’s wrong? Are you mad at me? Are you upset about the paparazzi photo?” “Well, I’m not pleased about it,” he said. “Nothing to be done about it now. Hopefully Lochlan and Tasha can ke ep it to themselves.” “So that’s what’s bothering you? That people here know?” He frowned, then nodded, but I didn’t buy it. “That’s not what’s bothering you.”
He stood up slowly, his fingers remaining on his desktop, where they rested like he was some kind of supervillain. “It’s no concern of yours what’s bothering me,” he said. “The day is over. Please head home. I’ll see you in the morning.” The logical thing to do would be to leave him alone to whatever was eating at him, because something obviously was, something he didn’t want to share. But as much as I didn’t want to feel this way, I had started to care about this man in some undefined way . The awkward older brother to a family where he didn’t quite fit, who pressured him to be someone he most likely wasn’t. I had a feeling something was always eating at him, and I wanted to be there for him. I wished I didn’t feel that way, but I did. Had anyone ever been tenacious enough to get fully past the stern face he put on for the world? What was on the other side of it? I waffled in the doorway, but my decision was made without my logical brain in volved, and the words were coming out of my mouth before I could even think of them. “It is my concern,” I said. “We’re in this together. You’re upset about something to do with me, aren’t you? That picture that Lochlan brought up? You didn’t want people here to know about our relationship? Well, I’m on the other side of that. It’s not lik e you exist in a vacuum. I have to deal with people knowing about it just like you do.” He scowled at me. “Ms. Day, please go home.” “Not until you tell me what’s wrong and why you’ve changed toward me.” He stalked out from behind his desk. “We’re in this together,” I said again, because I wanted him to have my back just as badly as I wanted to have his. If office rumors started flying, I didn’t want to be the victim of those any more than he did, probably even less, since I wasn’t the CEO. I thought he might usher me out the door, but he closed it and then remained standing a few paces away from me. He seemed to hesitate, but didn’t move from his place by the door. “We’re not in this together.” “Yes, we are.” “No,” he said, “we’re not.” “How are we not? What do you think will happen if the entire tenth floor thinks we’re a couple? Do you think there won’t be consequences for me? Do you think anyone will take me or my job seriously? What if it gets beyond the tenth floor? Do you think I’d stand any chance at all of transferring to another d epartment?” The corners of his mouth tugged downward.
“What if you change your mind and fire me? What am I supposed to do? I’d have to leave the place where I’ve worked since I was nineteen and go somewhere else. My entire life would change. If you’re thinking this looks bad for only you, you’re wrong. It’s n ot great for either of us. We’re in this together.” He was silent for a few seconds, and then said, “What’s bothering me isn’t that stupid paparazzi photo.” I took a st ep back from him. “What is it then?” His jaw slid forward and his expression got darker. “Nothing,” he said in a low voice. That just made whatever “nothing” was far more interesting, because he could have opened his door and sent me home. But he didn’t. He wanted me to know about this nothing, and it might as well have been Christmas morning when I was seven years old again. “ That doesn’t sound like nothing.” “It’s nothing. If I say it, you’re going to think it’s something, but it’s not.” “Okay.” I said with a smirk. I couldn’t help it. He was so bottled up. I felt like I should have been intimidated by that, but I wasn’t. I was so curious I could have exploded. “What is it?” “It’s not something I can simply come out and say.” “Sure it is.” “No, it’s not.” “Just say it.” The more I talked, the grouchier he looked and the better the moment got. What was going on? Why was I enjoying this? “Ms. Day, you’re infuriating.” “Why are you calling me Ms. Day? Why not Evie? Or even Evangeline? What’s up with the formality?” He growled, then he scowled at me some more. All I could do was offer him a little smile, hoping he’d open up. “Ms. Day, Evangeline, Evie — whatever — the point is we need to talk seriously about what we’re doing and your jovial attitude is not welcome right n ow. It’s not helping.” “Given that I have no idea what’s going on, it’s tough for me to know how to help the situation.” “We need — ” he started, and then cleared his throat. I leaned against the wall, still only a pace away from him. He seemed frozen in place.
“We shouldn’t — ” he stopped again. What could possibly be so difficult for him to say to me? Maybe he really wasn’t going to say anything enjoyable. Maybe he was about to end this and fire me. I swallowed and k ept my thoughts to myself. He took a de ep breath and seemed to steel himself. “We can’t kiss again,” he said. “What?” “What we did outside of the gallery for Anya’s benefit. We can’t do that again. We originally decided to limit any physical contact to arm touches, hand holding, and similar. Somewhere along the line, we added in some kisses to put on a show, but we need to go back to the original plan.” “Okay,” I said slowly. “I didn’t think it would be a problem. I’m sorry I suggested it.” “It’s not your fault.” “I feel like it’s my fault. You seem angry about it.” “I’m not angry.” “You sound kind of angry.” “I’m not angry. I’m frustrated.” He fisted his hands at his sides. “I’m attracted to you. I don’t want to be. I want this to be strictly business, but if we kiss again like that, it’s not going to be. I’m not sure I can do this with someone I’m attracted t o. It’s too... distracting.” Well, that wasn’t what I expected to hear. I opened my mouth to say something back, but my words evaporated. “I shouldn’t have told you that,” he muttered. “No, it’s... it’s fine,” I said. “I only suggested it so Anya would lay off. I’m sorry I suggested a kiss. I’m attracted to you, too.” The words just came out, but then I regretted them. He didn’t want to be attracted to me. I shouldn’t make it worse. “Maybe you should find someone else who... I don’t know. Maybe you should find someone else. I should just... go.” I moved away from the wall. I had to get past him to the door, and hesitated about it, unsure how to leave after this awkward moment. So I decided to just make a dash past him for the door, but he caught my arm. I glanced at his fingers grasping me right above my elbow, and then I looked up at his face. His eyes burned into mine, our glance sharing an entirely different conversation, one I didn’t even
know we were about to have until we had it, one where we both agreed that there was something between us we hadn’t acknowledged. The conversation hung in the air for a few seconds, and then he moved swiftly down to kiss me. This kiss was not an innocent peck or even a moderately sexy kiss for anyone else’s benefit. This one was for us. He pushed me back up against the wall, pressing himself against me, probing my mouth with his tongue and whisking me away to some magical land where he was not an unattainable billionaire, where I was not a broke homeowner about to lose everything to her m ountain of debt, and where he was not my boss. His hands gripped my shoulders, holding me in place. As much tension as I felt rolling off of him, the kiss itself was tender, like he’d been waiting for this and wanted it to be exactly perfect. When he pulled away from me, his breathing was rougher and he leaned his forehead on mine, eyes closed. I reached up to trail my fingers along his jawline. “I thought you said no more kisses.” I saw his Adam’s apple move and his eyes opened, but he stayed close to me. “You should go home,” he said. I didn’t want to go home. I wanted more of him, but wasn’t sure what was going on between us, or how he felt, or how I felt. I didn’t want to think about this. I reached my hand behind his neck and pulled his mouth back to mine, half expecting him to resis t, but he didn’t. His lips met mine again and brought me into a kiss that reached inside of me and turned me around. “You should go home,” he said again, pulling away and taking a few st eps away from me. I waited for my heart to stop pounding in my chest, and then I nodded. I didn’t know what to say to him, and he obviously didn’t know what to say to me, either. I turned to leave and made my way down to my car in a stupor. Then I sat in my car and fought a powerful urge to run back to him. I could still taste him. I could still feel the heat of his hands on my arms. I wanted more of him, but this wasn’t supposed to happen. I had to shut this desire down and play the part. Chapter 2 3 Rex
I HAD KISSED Evie. Evie had kissed me. Neither of those things were supposed to happen, and yet somehow they had, and now we had a problem. My mind had been filled with thoughts of her since the night before. However attracted I was to Evie before those kisses, it was worse now. I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I could not be this attracted to my fake girlfriend. If I couldn’t stop myself, I would ruin everything, if I hadn’t already. Again, I had the thought that I should fire her, but for different reasons this time — so I wouldn’t end up kissing her again, or more. I wanted to feel her under my hands, under my body. I wanted to move inside of her. More than that. I wanted to talk to her like we weren’t putting on a performance to fool my friends and family. I wanted to spend time with her. She was cheery and quirky and funny, but she also showed interest in who I was. A novel conc ept, to be sure, bu t one I had realized through my time with her had been in low supply. I should fire her, I thought. I should let her go to ke ep her safe from me, because this wasn’t an attraction I could ignore. Just because I wanted her didn’t mean it was a good idea, or that I was good for her. She shouldn’t want me. She couldn’t want me. We had nothing in common. Our worlds weren’t the same. Nothing about us was the same. But that kiss said otherwise. That kiss said none of that mattered. Even thinking about it turned me inside out. Nothing on the face of this planet had ever made me feel that way. Quite the contrary. Every experience I’d had up to that point had made me su re my world, my wealth, my social standing were the only things that mattered. I had to stay away from her. I needed time to think this through before I kissed her again, because I would. I was sure I couldn’t be in a room with her again without desire taking over. I got to work early and shot her an email with enough work to ke ep her busy for the day. I locked my door so that she couldn’t pop in and ask me if I needed anything, as she loved to do. I would have blasted any other assistant out of the water for that. I saw a hesitant shadow outside of my foggy glass door after lunch. The shadow lingered, but never knocked or tried to open the door. Then it disappeared, filling me with an unfamiliar regret. I k ept my door locked for the remainder of the day, but by the day’s end, I was beyond hungry. Everyone should have gone home by then, so I finally unlocked my door with plans to go to one of the nearby restaurants. I saw her back, her long, dark hair flowing over her shoulders. Why was she still here?
She spun around in her chair before I could retreat and smiled brightly at me. “I had to stay late to finish up that Excel sheet you sent me,” she said. “I’ll be done here soon.” “All right,” I said, trying to sound stern, but all I could think about was the feel of her lips on mine. I needed to block that out of my mind. I couldn’t kiss her every time I saw her. That’s not what this was. “What are you up to?” she asked, in a chipper tone like I hadn’t locked her out of my office all day. “I’m going to go get some dinner.” “Oh,” she said, and I could see her stop herself from asking to come along. Before I could think better of it, I asked, “Would you like to come with me?” “Yes, I would,” she answered without hesitation. I stood there while she saved her work. Then she stood and put on a light sweater and gathered her things. I’d never seen anyone gather a purse and sweater so alluringly. Every movement was perfect and lovely. The woman had more grace than all the women I’ d ever met before put together. She faced me and offered a simple smile, while I froze up in the doorway to the offices, trying to work out why I had been completely taken by a woman putting on a sweater. “So, where are we going?” she asked as we made our way to the elevator. “I... uh... there are a few places nearby.” The elevator doors opened, and we entered. She smiled at me again. “Yes, I know. I think I’ve been to them all. I should have asked which one is your favorite.” I cleared my throat, stalling, thinking. Had I ever even noticed which was my favorite? “I like the Italian place on the corner. It’s the closest.” “That one is good, but there’s a pho place a little past that. It’s amazing. Like, I don’t even know how they make such good food. Do you like Vietnamese?” I nodded. We sat next to a window in the tiny restaurant, a hole - inthe - wall by any definition of the term. The place couldn’t have been more than two tables wide, and I doubt I ever would have noticed it. But she was right. The food was excellent. At her suggestion, I ordered a noodle bowl, as did she.
We ate in silence, which was strange. I didn’t think Evie did anything in silence. I felt sure she wanted to say something to me. Her eyes k ept flicking to mine as we slurped our noodles. “Is everything all right, Evie?” I asked her, hoping a prompt would help her out with it. “We should get bubble tea for dessert,” she said. “Bubble tea?” “Yes, it’s great here. Have you had it before?” “No, I have not.” I almost declined. I didn’t like tea, and I didn’t like the sound of bubbles in tea any more than I liked the sound of tea without bubbles, but she had an eager shine to her eyes. “Order for me, please.” When the server returned, she ordered for both of us. I hardly listened to the options she rattled off. I was too busy wondering what we were doing there. I had a feeling this was about more than us both being hungry at the same time. The bubble tea arrived, and we both took sips. I did not appreciate the sensation of tapioca shooting into my mouth no matter how she tried to talk it up, but I didn’t tell her that. And then she set hers down and leaned her elbows on the table. “You locked me out of your office all day long,” she said. There it was. “I had a busy day.” She shook her head. “I don’t think that’s what it was about. I think we kissed and violated the terms of our agreement and now you aren’t sure what to do about me.” I stabbed at the tapioca in my drink with the unreasonably large straw it came with. “I’ve been thinking about this all day,” she said, and she poked at her drink as well. “And what did you decide?” I asked, and I wanted her to look at me. I wanted to see the green of her eyes. When she did lift her lashes and glance at me through them, all I could do was stare back at her, frozen at the end of her stare. “I have been thinking that we should amend our agreement, or at least be open to modifying it as needed.” I opened my mouth to speak, and she held up a hand to stop me. “Hear me out. I’m going to get personal with you, and I hope you don’t mind.”
I shook my head. My throat was so dry that I wouldn’t have been able to make words if I’d tried. Something about the way she was looking at me. “It’s been a long time since I’ve dated anyone or been with anyone. Like, an embarrassingly long time. And it’s fine. It’s my choice not to date. I dated like a fiend for years, and I just got burned out on it. I got so tired of all the bullshit that comes with it — the missed connections, the lack of chemistry, getting ghosted, bad sex, great sex and then nothing else after that. I got so tired. So I just quit. That was a few years ago. I’ve been fine ever since. I haven’t really cared. Not much, or not ofte n, at least.” “Why are you telling me this?” “Because I said not often — not not ever. Sometimes I get incredibly lonely and think about jumping back into the dating pool, but I haven’t.” I frowned, half wanting to get up and leave her and her bubble tea while I es caped to my car to go home as planned. “I don’t hate spending time with you,” she said. I frowned again. “I don’t hate spending time with you, either.” “I didn’t think you did.” Her lips perked into a mischievous smile. She went on before I stammered out some awkwardness or another. “This is hard for me to say. What I’m trying to say is that I’m not mad about the kiss. In fact, I liked it. And in fact, I would do it again. I’d do more. I only said we should stick to casual touches up front because I didn’t know you. But I like you. I trust you. And I’m lonely. If you want to make out every time we see each other, it wouldn’t bother me. If you want to do more than that, it wouldn’t bother me, either.” What the hell was this? I thought I understood what she was saying, but it could not be possible that she’d just propositioned me. I wanted to brush her off, or tell her we were going to stick to the plan, or even to call off the plan all together because it was pretty obvious that if we stuck with it, we were about to take a major detour together. But she was gazing at me with those green eyes of hers, and I found myself impossibly spellbound by her. “I stopped dating as well,” I told her, unable to ke ep my feelings to myself as I usually did, even though there was a voice inside of me telling me to stop talking. Lock it down. But I was so tired of locking everything down. “Not a single woman I’ve ever been with has been with me for who
I am. They all liked my social standing or my family connections or my money. I got tired of it as well.” “And what about Anya?” “What about her?” “You obviously have some kind of connection to her, and she seems to want to be with you.” “She wants to be with me, but not because of me, because of everything around us. It’s complicated, but it’s not a relationship.” She paused, but didn’t break her gaze and the prolonged eye contact with so much simmering under the surface. “Aren’t you lonely?” she asked. “Yes,” I said. “Sometimes.” She shrugged then and finally looked down. “Then I’m just putting it out there. I’m lonely, too.” I should have fired her. I thought about firing her right then, in that hole - in - the - wall restaurant. If I didn’t fire her now, I could already tell there would be no turning back. Chapter 2 4 Evie MAYBE I SHOULDN’T have laid my cards on the table with Rex, but as much as I wanted to shut my feelings for him down, I couldn’t. When we had left the building, I’d been sure I could have a nice, normal dinner with him. Just an assistant and her boss out f or a meal after work. Now, we were walking back toward the building, finished with our meal, and I wished I hadn’t said anything. What was I thinking, anyway? Hey, Rex, my super wealthy boss who blackmailed me into a fake relationship — I’d totally be down to make out, hook up, w hatever. How sad must that have sounded? At this rate, I was going to lose my job. I knew I was. I needed to ke ep a lid on myself. I’d told him I was lonely. It had all just slipped out of me. None of it had been untrue, all of it had been mulling in my mind while I worked that day, while I remembered the kisses we’d shared, but I hadn’t meant to say it to him. He didn’t say a word as we made our way along the sidewalk back to the building. His stride was confident and other people on the sidewalk instinctively made way for him, while I bobbed and weaved, trying to stay at his side, wondering the whole way if I s hould retract what I’d said. When we got to the first floor of Quinn Financial, I waited for any sign that our silence would break. I didn’t see any. I pushed the down button to call the elevator, and he stood beside me, almost rigid in his stance, and silent.
I glanced at him and thought of a million things I could say to get a conversation going, but none seemed quite right. Some kind of irritated or nervous energy poured off of him that both made me want to stand closer to him and made me want to take the sta irs at the same time. The elevator doors opened, and we st epped inside. I pushed the button for E level. He pushed A. He didn’t move from his place near the button panel as the doors closed, and that powerful energy k ept pouring off of him, making the air in the elevator thick and heavy. Half of me wanted to back away from him. The other half wanted to throw myself into his arms. The doors opened on the A level of the parking garage to reveal his car waiting in the CEO spot nearby. He didn’t move. “Are you getting out?” I asked, and the elevator doors slid closed again, with him still standing by the button panel, staring at me. His jaw slid to the side, and his eyebrows lowered. “What is it?” I asked, as the elevator continued its path down to E level. He st epped toward me, reaching me in what seemed like a single st ep. He stood in front of me, so close that I could feel his breath on my face. The doors opened. Again, he didn’t get out, and neither did I. It was all I could do to stare at him and fall in to the dark brown of his eyes as they burned into me. I felt his fingers brush my hand, and I wondered what he was thinking. And yet I knew exactly what he was thinking. The doors closed, and the elevator didn’t move, waiting for its next set of instructions. We stayed still, some kind of story unfolding between us in an enduring glance. I didn’t move. I was curious what he would do. His eyes were unusually expressive, and I thought for sure he was fighting himself. I wished he wouldn’t. As I stared at him, listening to the sound of my own breathing growing de eper, I wished he would let all of that fight go and give in to whatever this was. And then he did. He swooped down and his lips met mine, his tongue parting them and probing de eply into my mouth. He took my face in his hands and held me to him, while my hands moved up his back. I splayed my fingers out over his shoulder blades. I loved the feel of him — t he hardness, the solidness of him. His hands moved down my sides, sending shivers through me, and then scooped around to the small of my back, then to my butt. He was exploring me. I groaned into his mouth as he did. He broke away to kiss down my neck to my collarbone.
“What if someone calls the elevator?” I said, gasping as he pressed his body against me. “We can’t have that,” he said, and the breathlessness in his voice sent a thrill through me. He reached out and fumbled to hit the ten button. “Oh, I was thinking we could go to your car.” He pinned me to the wall and kissed me again. “The office,” he breathed. I didn’t argue. I couldn’t. As the elevator made its way up to the top of the building, we kissed and touched and lost ourselves to the moment. When the doors finally opened to a darkened tenth floor lobby, he took my hand and pulled me along with him. Our footst eps seemed to echo more in the darkness and emptiness, but the space didn’t seem the same as it did in the day. We were the only people there. Maybe the only people in the building. All the lights on the tenth floor were turned out, exc ept for his office. He had intended to come back to do more work, but now the light guided us down the hallway. When we entered the office, he flipped the light off, closed the door, and locked it behind us. The room was dark exc ept for ambient city light coming in through the window, which was only enough for me to see a few highlights on his features and body. “Are you sure about the things you said?” he asked me. “Yes,” I said without hesitating. I wanted this man, and he wanted me back. He kissed me again, but this time he peeled away my cardigan. I was wearing a skirt suit and button - up blouse, the same thing I wore most days to this job. With the cardigan gone, I could feel the heat of his hands through the cloth of my shirt, exploring my back, my sides, my arms. I reached up to push his suit jacket over his shoulders. He let it fall to the floor, and then I couldn’t wait. I needed to see him. My fingers worked at the buttons of his shirt, while he walked me backward toward his desk. By the time we got there, I was shoving his shirt over his arms and running my fingertips over the planes of his chest and down to the abs I’d known were there. I’d only seen hints through his clothes before, but seeing him shirtless now was better than I’d hoped. I leaned forward and k issed along his chest. He smelled like he’d just gotten out of the shower, like aftershave and soap. How was that even possible at the end of the day? Some rich person cosmetic superpower, perhaps. I breathed it in. His hands pushed underneath my shirt, moving along my skin so slowly, sending shivers through me. Then he unbuttoned my blouse. Our fingers moved quickly from there. I unfastened his
pants and pushed them down. My blouse was gone just as quickly. My skirt. Were we really going to get completely naked in his office? The same office where I brought him coffee or where he called me in to give me new tasks? I noticed the view outside of the window — glittering city lights just winking on as the sun set. The blinds were wide open, but we were high above the surrounding buildings. No one could see us, but still being so vulnerable in front of an open window added a little something to the moment. He turned me so that my back was to his desk. After unhooking my bra, he knelt in front of me to remove my underwear. He stayed there, crouched. He leaned forward and kissed the hollow next to my hip bone, dangerously close to my center. “I’ve been dying to see you like this since we met.” “You have not,” I said, a little breathless at the feel of his stubble on my skin. “I definitely have. I’ve thought about taking you on my desk at least half of the times you’ve come into this office.” Suddenly, I was overly aware that I was completely naked on his desk, and he was between my legs. His words struck me as so hot that I couldn’t come up with a response. Not in words, at least. I wrapped one of my legs around him and nudged him closer to me . He guided my hips so that I sat on the desk, and then he pushed my legs apart. All I could do was listen to my own heavy breathing and watch as he kissed the inside of my thighs, working his way closer and closer. When his mouth made contact with my most sensitive place, I groaned and closed my eyes. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t this. He was a master, working me into a breathless frenzy to the point where I didn’t care if someone was in that building. If they were, they heard me. I gripped the edge of the desk, but it wasn’t enough. I couldn’t sit up any longer. My muscles quivered, and I eased myself onto the desktop. It was cold under my back, but the only thing I cared about was the delicious feeling of his mouth on me, of his t ongue roving and flicking and plunging. “Oh God,” I whimpered, my voice high pitched and breathy. I couldn’t contain it any longer. I let myself go. Waves of warmth pulsated and lifted me into an ecstatic state.
He wasn’t done. As I drifted, he stood, kissing a trail over my stomach. His hands moved over my skin. He kissed my breasts, taking one nipple into his mouth and sucking briefly while another shudder ripped through me. He wasn’t just pleasuring me. He was worshiping me, worshiping my entire body. He reached for his jacket on the floor and retrieved a condom from his wallet. I wondered if he’d been planning this. I didn’t mind. I wanted him to plan more of this. He pushed into me, and began thrusting me into another dimension, rolling his hips to drive himself into me. I closed my eyes, letting the sensations take me away. It had been a long time for me, and maybe that’s why this was so mindblowing, but I didn’t t hink so. It was him. Would I have thought my overly serious, grouch of a boss was amazing in bed... or on desk? But he was. He proved it with what he’d just done, and he k ept proving it by lasting so long that I lost myself again, orgasming around him and as he gave a few final thrusts and then finished just after me. He propped his hands on either side of me, and I heard his breathing, ragged and heavy, as I drifted, my eyes still closed. He withdrew, and I sat up as he cleaned himself up, and then sat down in his office chair. For a moment, we looked at each other — me perched on the edge of his desk, and him in his chair. He reached out a hand to me, beckoning me to join him. I obliged. It was a very large desk chair, but there was not enough room for two side by side. On my short journey between the desk and his lap, I debated whether to straddle him or sit on his lap. I o pted for straddling him. “I didn’t expect my day would end like this when I woke up this morning,” I finally said. He gave me a rueful smile. “Me neither, but sometimes unexpected things are the best things.” I wanted to ask him if he was still pretending, but the question seemed ridiculous. How could this possibly be pretend? Whatever it was, it had to be real. I traced my fingers down his chest, admiring his body, his broad chest, his solidness. He looked like he could lift two of me without breaking a sweat. His skin pricked into goosebumps at my touch, and his eyes followed the path of my fingers like they wer e leading him to water in a desert. Definitely not pretending. He reached up to take my face in his hands and brought my face to his, kissing me again. This time, tenderly, pulling me into him in an entirely new way. We drank each other in. Soft touches. Feather - tip fingers. Warmth still lingering around the edges. I never wanted this to end. I
wanted the rest of the world to fall away and leave only the two of us in this office, in this chair, forever. His hands traveled down my sides to my hips, where they rested while we kissed. The kiss grew de eper, more fervent. His hands gripped my hips. I felt him ready again, firmness resting against my inner thigh. He pivoted the chair and found another condom, which he fitted over himself while our kiss continued. We couldn’t get enough of each other, or at least I couldn’t get enough of him. He lifted me and pressed into me. I was still so sensitive that I groaned as he moved once inside of me. “Is this okay? Too soon?” It was a little too soon, but I didn’t care. I didn’t know what we were. I didn’t know if there would ever be a moment like this between us again. Right now, I wanted him. I needed him. “Not too soon,” I whispered. We moved together, slow and steady, clinging to each other until I collapsed in his arms with him still inside of me. We stayed there, holding onto each other, as the light outside faded from sunset light to darkness. Chapter 2 5 Rex WE FINALLY GOT dressed again hours later. I was surprised. I was not a cuddler, and yet I’d ended up cuddling Evie in my desk chair, of all places. For a long time. The feel of her skin against mine, her arms around me, filled me with a calm I’d never trul y experienced. I didn’t want to let her go, but the sky outside grew darker, the city noise far below us grew quieter. We couldn’t spend the night in the office chair. I finished getting dressed before Evie did, leaving my suit jacket and tie hung up in the corner of my office. I watched her on the far side of the room, pulling her blouse on and buttoning it. How was a woman buttoning up a blouse so erotic? I fought off an urge to strip her down again and take her once more on my desk. I’d never done anything like that. Work had strict boundaries for me. It had just happened. The things she’d said over dinner had lodged in me, roused something in me. There was no way I could not kiss her after that, that I could not do more with her. She didn’t seem offended by my personality, which — honestly — was probably all it would have taken, but there was more to her
than that. For whatever reason, she seemed to consider herself on my side. Her gentle loyalty to me both baffled me and made me want her more. She finished dressing, and I crossed the office to open the door for her. “Let me drive you home,” I offered. She smoothed her dark hair, but not a hair was out of place. Her hair was perfect. It was always perfect. “How would I get to work in the morning?” she asked. “I could come pick you up.” She laughed softly. “I’ll drive. Maybe you can pick me up another time, so I don’t have to leave my car here. What if I need emergency M&Ms in the middle of the night or something?” It was my turn to laugh, which also surprised me. When was the last time someone had gotten actual laughs out of me? “Suit yourself.” We got to the elevator, and it felt strange to stand next to her without putting an arm around her. I found myself wanting to stay in contact with her, but that was unrealistic. We worked together, I reminded myself. I’d see her in the morning and would ha ve to pretend this never happened. Our coworkers knew about us now — or at least, they thought they knew — but I still did not want to have an open relationship of any sort at work. Not fake, not fake with benefits, not anything. I wanted to appear appropriate and ethical. Suddenly, I regretted all of this happening for that reason alone. How could I possibly pretend this hadn’t happened? How could I treat her the same as I had before, when all I could think about was pinning her against my desk and moving inside of her? Fuck me. It would be near impossible. What had I been thinking? I didn’t bother pushing the button for A level and instead rode down to E level with her. I would give her a parking spot on A level, I thought. There had to be one available. But I couldn’t do that either. Someone would notice. Someone would call out the preferential treatment, and that would not be good for either of us. We crossed E level to her parking space. I hadn’t seen her car before, and it was impossible to notice how different it was from my own. Just a common, four - door sedan, several years old. I wondered how she perceived me. Did I look like a shallow fool with my expensive suits and car and homes? Did I seem fri volous with my luxury cars and my personal driver? Maybe that’s why she declined a ride home. Maybe on some level, I was ridiculous. I’d never seen it before, but suddenly I saw my life and my family and our wealth for how it must look to an average person.
She smiled. “I’ll see you in the morning.” “Yes, I’ll see you,” I said, and then felt stupid for my lame words. “This was nice. Let’s do it again sometime.” The blush on her cheeks sparked something in me and — even though I hadn’t planned on it — I leaned forward to kiss her again. How was it possible I would miss her in the hours left until the morning? I would, and I needed one last taste of her until then. I bid her goodnight and returned to the elevator after she had driven away. The kiss lingered on my lips, and I chastised myself for kissing her again. What were we doing? We wouldn’t be able to ke ep this contained at work. No chance in hell. We were kidding ourselves, but now it was too late. The deed was done, and I didn’t regret it, but this had to stop. We had gone too far, victims of our own loneline ss, perhaps. If we k ept at this, we would no longer be pretending and that was risky, more for her than for me. She couldn’t date someone like me. I’d turn her world around. She’d no longer be taken seriously at work if she were dating the CEO. Away from w ork, she’d probably lose her privacy and the life she’d always known. Her house would have paparazzi staked out outside of it. She wouldn’t be able to garden quietly in her front yard without a r eporter chasing her. Her coworkers would think she had sl ept her way into a new position. I couldn’t do any of that to her. This would be the first and only time we sl ept together. Sticking to that would be difficult — hell, it would be painful — but that’s how it would be. I would not kiss her again. I would not have sex with her again. We would continue our charade for as long as needed to diffuse my situation with Anya, and then that would be that. Chapter 2 6 Evie AFTER ONE SLE EPS with one’s boss — on his desk, no less — coming in to work the next morning feels like a walk of shame. Even though it was not. We both knew exactly what we were doing, and I was pretty sure he wouldn’t pretend I didn’t exist the next day, bu t still. It was impossible not to feel like everyone would know, like everyone was looking at me and like they could tell what I’d done. Lochlan actually looked up at me when I entered the lobby from the elevator. He never did that. He could sense it. He didn’t know what he was sensing, but he could sense it, anyway. Tasha seemed to smile at me a little extra much. She could sense it, too. Ugh.
When Rex arrived, I swore he gave me... a look. His eyes slid toward me and the corner of his mouth perked into a small smile. Or maybe I saw what I wanted to see. I was not subtle at all. I k ept my eyes on him as he crossed the lobby, probably drooling as I did. All I could think about was how he’d made me feel the night before. Get it together, Evie, I told myself. Then I forced my eyes downward. I would not stare at his ass as he went back to his office. I would not! For the next two hours, I tried not to bother him. I made r epeated deals with myself. I bargained, and I pleaded with no one in particular about why I should and shouldn’t go talk to him. I didn’t get any work done. That was why, after those two hours, I decided to just do it. Just go talk to him. If I didn’t, I would end up spinning around in my head all day long. Still, I had no reason to go see him, and I hadn’t thought one up between when I left my desk and when I arrived at his doorway. The sight of his desk and desk chair certainly didn’t help me come up with a clever comment. Instead, I stood there, trying to think of anything to say, clever or not. Anything would do. Literally. Anything. Nothing came, though. All I could do was think about the feel of him inside of me as we moved together in that chair. I stood there for at least a minute, and he merely looked at me, face stoic, waiting. “Can I help you, Ms. Day?” “I, um, not really? I just felt like — ” I stopped myself. I couldn’t do this. We weren’t together. Last night hadn’t changed that. We were in a fake relationship, one which also now included recreational activities. “Please, come in. Shut the door behind you.” I did, and then I sat in the chair across from his desk. His eyes flicked to the desktop, and because he looked at the desk, so did I. Again. I felt heat cre ep into my cheeks. I wasn’t even a blusher. What the hell? We both looked up from the desk and at each other at the same time. “Evie,” he said, “last night was amazing, but I want to put this right out front — I don’t think we should do that again. The lines of what we’re doing are getting too blurry. We’ll end up with a situation here at work, and it would hardly be appropriate.”
What had I expected? That we’d be defiling the desks of the building at every opportunity? Or at least this desk. I wanted to defile that desk again. Badly. But if he said we shouldn’t do it again, then I had to get that thought out of my mind. “You’re right. Of course,” I said. “It was a moment of weakness,” he said. “Definitely.” This was my fault. I’d told him I was open to more, and then more had proven too much for the situation. We weren’t in a relationship. We were performers. “You’re okay with ke eping things professional, even after what we did?” “Of course,” I said, and I tried not to let my crushing disappointment show on my face. “I do have a question for you.” I sat up straighter. “I have a gala coming up. A major one. I’ll need you to attend with me.” “When is it?” I asked, trying to be mentally present for this. Meanwhile, most of my mind spun with memories of the night before and tried to process it that might have been the first and only time. “July twenty - seventh,” he said. “Please clear your calendar for a day or so before and after. It’s a big event and will require some out - of - town time.” “I’m available as long as my boss gives me the time off. That’s not a lot of notice.” He smiled softly, and relief coursed through me at that smile. “Of course he will. It’s two weeks away, and he couldn’t say no for something like this.” “Okay,” I said. “I can be there. So, we’re still... doing this?” He nodded. “We are still doing this. Just without the extra - curriculars.” I tried my best to seem unshaken by his decision. He was probably right. He was my boss. We shouldn’t have an affair, no matter how perfect we had been together. But I was shaken. I couldn’t believe that the night before had been only a physical connection and nothing more. I stared at him, willing him to tell me he felt it, too. That he’d felt more for me. That I wasn’t just a piece of ass he’d had on his desk. “Okay,” I said, and my voice came out too soft, too uneven.
He glanced up at me. I’m sure he saw all my emotions written in my expression then. If he felt something for me, he didn’t show it. I had been wrong. Our moment together was not a moment. It was physical. Which was fine. I’d had physical connections before. I could do this. I could be attracted to him without my emotions in volved. I just had to get back into that mode. I got up to leave his office with a polite smile and went back to my desk, where I tried to be productive. Now, instead of thinking about Rex, I was thinking about how I could possibly be convincing as a fake girlfriend at whatever gala he was taking me to. Fake affection would feel a lot more stilted now. As much as I was trying not to, I was also thinking about my house. I had an appointment after work to go to my credit union and apply for a loan modification. I’d gotten all the materials ready, including writing a letter about why I’d missed payments and why I was in a hardship situation. I’d been warned that applying might not save my house. I wanted to try. I had to try something. Applying for the modification would delay the foreclosure, so that was something. More time to think. Between thinking about Rex and my house, I couldn’t focus. I ended up leaving a little early and sitting in the parking lot of the credit union, wallowing in worry about what might happen at my appointment. The appointment was — as all things financial are for me — intense, vaguely frightening, and a little confusing. I muddled through and completed the application with the help of a loan officer. Then all I could do was hope for the best, because what else could I do? My mistakes were all behind me. This was all I had left to try. Did that mean I wouldn’t cry a little in my car on the way home? No, it didn’t. I sniffled and shed tears my whole way home, sure that this loan modification would not work. Why would it? I hadn’t gotten into this situation because of financial hardship. I ’d made decisions that led me to a place where I had to choose between my own debt and my dad’s. And I’d chosen his. This was my fault. Most likely, there would be consequences. Somewhere in there, I also shed a few tears because Rex had said we couldn’t be together again. Chapter 2 7
Rex I HAD MY reasons for telling Evie we couldn’t have sex again. I’d thought through them a million times before and after I’d spoken to her. That didn’t mean I liked what I’d said. Or that I hadn’t spent the rest of the day regretting it. By the time the end of the day rolled around, I teetered on the edge of finding Evie and telling her I didn’t mean it. The thought of never being with her again felt wrong. I didn’t want to make her life complicated or changed. I didn’t want to take her aw ay from her lifestyle or rob her of her privacy, but the fact was that I wanted her. I glanced at the clock. It was past six p. m. She had probably left by now. I was in the middle of talking myself out of driving to her house and scooping her into my arms when Rebekah walked into my office. She needed to learn to knock, but I needed a distraction so I let it go. “Are you okay?” she asked as soon as she saw me. “You look upset.” I sat up straighter and pushed my feelings back under the surface, but then I stopped. Rebekah and I had always understood each other. We were the most alike of our siblings and always had each other’s backs. I could talk to her about this. Normally, I wou ldn’t, but suddenly I wanted to. I needed a friend. “I am a bit upset, actually,” I said. “Rough day? I saw those emails from the sales d epartment. I think they’re going to be reeling from losing a couple of managers for a while, but neither of those guys were any good. Their teams will be stronger once they find r eplacements.” I shook my head. “I don’t care about that.” It was true the sales d epartment was less than happy with me at the moment, but the managers Evie had told me about deserved what they got. It turned out there had been plenty of current sexual harassment complai nts against not only St ephen Jones, but another guy as well. All I had to do was remind HR of company policy and that I expected compliance with our own policies. “Then what has you so down? Is everything okay with Evie?” She sat down across from me. I let out a heavy breath. Was I really about to talk about this with her? Why the hell not? “Evie and I are having a few issues.” “Oh,” she said, and her tone was a bit off. Condescending maybe. It was something I couldn’t place. Like she had expected this.
“What does that mean?” “It means that you’re dating your assistant. It’s hardly a sustainable situation.” “Thanks for the sympathy.” “I have sympathy for you,” she said. “I’m just not surprised that you’ve run into trouble.” “That doesn’t sound like sympathy. Never mind. I changed my mind. I don’t think I want to talk about this.” “Rex, come on. I’m sorry I needled you about the fact that she’s your employee, but I haven’t seen you happy with anyone in ages. I know you’re in de ep with her. If you’re having problems, you can talk about this with me.” I just shook my head at her, too annoyed with her and too dejected about my decisions with Evie to put anything into words. “Rex, if you can’t talk your way through relationship issues, then how do you ever expect to have one that lasts?” I ignored her and looked at my computer screen, where the emails from the sales d epartment only made me more annoyed. “I said I was sorry,” she said. “If you broke up with Evie, maybe I can help you get her back.” “I didn’t break up with Evie,” I growled. “Then what’s wrong?” I let out a huff and suddenly couldn’t hold it in anymore. I had to tell someone, and Rebekah was the only person I could trust. And she was sitting there, urging me to talk. “I didn’t break up with Evie because Evie and I aren’t together. It’s all fake. I needed to get rid of Anya, and Evie needed to save her job because I was about to fire her, and we came to an agreement. We’re fake. Everything about us is fake.” The words stung. Rebekah’s mouth hung open. “What?” “We’re fake,” I said again, letting the words sink in because I needed to. I needed to shake off my attraction to Evie. “Your relationship isn’t real?” “Nope. I know. I’m an ass.”
I glanced at her to find her shocked expression staring me down. “I thought your story of how you met seemed a little off, but I never in a million years thought you’d try something like this.” “Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. Mom and Dad were pushing me a little too hard toward Anya. I had to do something.” “So you did this?” “Yeah,” I said. “And, for the record, you can’t tell anyone, either. You asked what’s wrong. That’s what’s wrong.” “Of course I won’t tell anyone, but what the hell were you thinking?” “I just told you what I was thinking.” “Okay,” she said slowly. “So... why exactly are you upset?” I slid back in my chair, shoulders slumping. “I don’t think my fake relationship plan is working.” “How so?” “I’m not sure it’s so fake. I think I’m falling for her, and that she’s falling for me, but I’m trying not to let it happen.” “Why not? Rex, none of this sounds like you at all.” “I’m aware. I’m completely out of my d epth. It started because she told me that if I fired her, she would lose her house, that she couldn’t lose this job, and I saw a way to fix both of our problems. I couldn’t fire her after that. What kind of asshole wou ld I be to fire someone like Evie right after she told me she was drowning in debt and about to lose her house?” “Oh, poor Evie.” “Yes, poor Evie, and poor me. I pushed her away because I can’t think how being with me is going to make her life better. She loves that tiny house. She constantly feels out of place with everything about our world. So I pushed her away.” “So go tell her you’ve changed your mind,” she said. “If you have feelings for her, and she for you, then stop pushing her away.” I shook my head. “I need to think this through before I fuck everything up even more.” She fell silent, probably unsure what to say to me because I rarely got myself into emotional messes. This was unfamiliar territory for us both. And in that silence between us, I heard something — a shuffle in the hallway. My first thought was that Lochlan or Evie must have stayed late, but when I looked up, it wasn’t
Lochlan or Evie. It was Anya, walking into my office like I’d invited her. Rebekah startled, but I sat perfectly still, like we hadn’t just been talking about things I sincerely and desperately hoped she hadn’t overheard. “How can I help you, Anya?” I asked, leaning forward with my hands on my desk. “You can help me by picking up your phone, but since you don’t seem to do that anymore, I’m here,” she said. “We need to talk.” Rebekah stood up. “I’ll be leaving then,” she said, and glanced at me in a way that told me she was sorry to leave me with Anya. When Rebekah was gone, Anya closed the door behind her. That didn’t give me warm, fuzzy feelings. Then she turned to me with her lips pressed together and her eyebrows lowered. She k ept her glare on me as she crossed the room and lowered herself into the c hair across from me. “I’m sorry to drop in on you, but you’ve forced me into this position.” “I’ve forced you into nothing,” I said. “I am turning thirty next week, Rex. My parents are doubling down on me. The Park City Gala is coming up next week as well. I’d like you to take me.” “You know I’m with Evie,” I said, and then braced myself for her telling me that she knew that wasn’t true. Had she heard us talking? I hoped not. “I don’t care that you’re with Evie. Nothing I want from you requires any actual feelings from you.” “Well, that’s a relief.” “God damnit, Rex, this is serious. I need you to take me to that gala, and I need you to propose to me there or I’m going to lose my inheritance. I don’t think my parents are joking.” I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “Why me, Anya? Don’t you have anyone else to cajole into your marriage plan?” “Because my parents want it to be you. Your parents want it to be me, and I don’t have the time to find someone else. I can’t just find some fake boyfriend and marry him.” That statement froze me from the inside out. Had she overheard us or was her word choice completely coincidental?
“This is marriage,” she went on without a word from me, and I felt a surge of relief. Her words must have been a coincidence. “I’m not going to just marry any person off the street. I need someone I can trust who is as invested as I am, and that leaves you . Just you. I need you, Rex. I need you to take me to that gala and marry me. If you don’t, then I’m going to be left in a very desperate position.” I didn’t like Anya Albrecht, but that didn’t mean I didn’t feel bad about any of this. I hated to hear the desperation in her voice, but what she wanted of me was not something I could offer. Especially not now. “I’m sorry, Anya,” I said, trying to sound as sincere as I felt in that moment. “I can’t give you what you want. I will not marry you, and I will not take you to that gala.” Her lips pinched into a tiny, angry ring. She shot to her feet and gave me one last glare before she stomped out of my office. Chapter 2 8 Evie THREE DAYS BEFORE the gala, I was cleaning my kitchen after work when a knock came at my door. Usually when someone knocks, it’s the old lady across the street offering me some eggs from her urban chickens or a zucchini. She always planted way too many zuc chini plants, but I didn’t mind. I’d come to enjoy zucchini pizza boats all summer long. So when I opened the door, I fully expected her to be standing there with an armful of zucchini. Instead, Rebekah stood on my welcome mat, staring intently at me as soon as the door swung open. “Hello,” she said. “May I come in?” “Of course,” I said, but I was sure she might self - destruct simply by crossing the threshold into my completely average home dressed like she was. I couldn’t pinpoint why she looked so amazing in black leggings, a long t - shirt, and flats, but she did. They were the fanciest leggings, t - shirt, and flats I’d ever seen. Maybe it was the purse with gold accents. They were probably made of real gold. She crossed the room and went directly to my sofa. “Sit with me,” she said. She patted a spot on the couch, and I complied immediately, like a remote control person. “Rex told me he has invited you to the Park City Gala as his date.” I nodded. Oh God. I thought for sure Rex had sent her as an emissary to tell me he had changed his mind because of our moment on his desk.
“Have you thought about what you’ll wear?” I wasn’t expecting that question. “Well, I have some outfits laid out on my bed that I was going to pack. Some skirts. A dress I bought a few years ago at the mall. It’s so super cute, but I’ve never had a chance to wear it so it looks brand new.” She smiled softly, and her resemblance to Rex was striking. The same dark hair, even though hers was long and impossibly shiny. The same dark eyes that were at once expressive and masterful at hiding her thoughts. “A dress from the mall from a few years ag o likely won’t do. This is no ordinary gala. Did Rex tell you anything about it?” “Not really, no.” I clasped my hands in my lap and found myself twisting my fingers together. “This is the most exclusive event we go to each year. It supports a major cancer research society, but has turned into a bit of a fashion soirée. This is high society at its finest. You don’t need a dress from the mall. You need a gown.” “A gown? What does that even mean?” “A ballgown.” “Oh shit,” I breathed. “I might be in over my head. I can’t afford a ballgown right now.” She reached out to put her hand on top of my twisting fingers. “It’s okay. Rex thought of that a little late, but at least he thought about it. He sent me to help you get the things you need. We’re going shopping.” “No, I can’t possibly let you take me shopping.” “Oh, it’s happening, Evie. Rex is hellbent that you be his date, and if that’s the case, he and I both want to be sure you look the part.” I heard something extra in her tone. Hellbent? There must have been some kind of family discussion about me not being his date for this event. At first, that idea made me want to shoo her out of my home and go on about my day, but then something else took over. Someone out there thought I’d fail at this. I would not fail. “When should we go?” “I am available now if you are.” “Okay,” I said, my voice a little uneven. “Where are we going?”
“You let me worry about that. Go change into an outfit that’s easy to take on and off a lot. We’re going to be trying on a lot of dresses.” Rebekah was so calm and cool. I realized she ordered me around pretty easily, and I just did what she said without even thinking about it. She oozed confidence in a way I couldn’t even imagine, but she did it in a way that was hardly noticeable. What kind of magic was that? I wanted some of it for myself. I put on a pair of stretch jeans and a loose t - shirt, and then followed her out to a car waiting by the curb. Adaline was in the driver’s seat. “Hi, Adaline,” I said, and she smiled at me before whisking us off to our first destination — a shop in downtown Seattle I’d never been to before. I’d walked past it and noticed dresses in the window, but had never stopped to look or question what it might b e. “Seattle has a fashion designer?” I asked. “Several, in fact,” Rebekah said. “But Esther Ling is my absolute favorite. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the only place we need to go. She is so talented. I called her this morning and set up a private appointment. She should already have a few piece s picked out for you.” Adaline pulled behind the building into a parking lot. “How does she know what I like?” “She doesn’t. She’ll show you what she’s picked out, and you’ll guide the process from there. She should have a variety.” A private appointment with a fashion designer had never once been on a list of things I thought I might experience, and I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about it. I didn’t want to go to this gala looking out of place, but I had no idea what to expect or h ow to behave. I knew nothing about fashion. Less than nothing. We walked into a door on the back of the building, and a middle - aged Asian woman greeted us. “It’s good to see you again, Rebekah. Who is this you’ve brought us today?” Rebekah lightly embraced the woman. “This is Evie. Evie, this is Esther. Trust her completely and you will not be disappointed.” I tried to offer a confident smile, but I was sure it came out uneasy and possibly frightened. Esther was a small woman, shorter than me, and I am generally the shortest person in the room. She was tiny, and yet she had the air of someone twice her size, confident, poised. Her hands moved like feathers in the air as she spoke, swishing one way and t hen the other.
“Evie, follow me, please,” she said, and led me to a room filled with stylish decor, lush carpeting, mirrors, and dresses on display that were definitely better than what I’d ever seen at the mall. “Tell me a bit about yourself, Evie.” “Um,” I said, and looked to Rebekah. “She means your sense of style. What are you looking for in a dress?” I offered a shrug as my mind spun for some way to describe my sense of style. Mall driven? Clearance - rack chic? What’s - on - sale couture? I didn’t want to say any of those words here. Rebekah took me by the shoulders and turned me toward a mirror so that I was looking at myself, her right behind me. “You might be photographed with Rex at this event. Do you want to be sleek or sexy or modest? Do you want a large, classic ball gown, or something more form - fitting? How do you want to look?” I stared at myself and tried to fend off a wave of panic at the idea of being photographed. I remembered the paparazzi. Where would these photos go? I was not ready for this, and yet I couldn’t work through that right now. I had to pick a dress. “I’ve never thought about things like this,” I said. “I don’t want something too creative. I don’t want all the attention on me because I chose a dress that’s way too eye - catching.” Esther nodded, thoughtfully flipping through a rack of dresses every color of the rainbow nearby. “Let’s try this one first,” she said. “And this one. And this one.” She placed the three dresses onto a rolling rack. “Coral,” she called out, and a young wom an came around the corner. “Please help Evie with these.” I followed Coral to a dressing room, where she waited for me to undress and then proceeded to help me put the first dress on. Which was awkward. No one had helped me get dressed since I was a child, but these dresses were probably worth more than I was. If I ripped or damaged one of them, my mortgage issues might be the least of my worries. So I let Coral drape fabric over me and zip me up and fluff my skirts. The first dress was a pale green slip dress, but one look at myself in the mirror and I knew it wasn’t the right choice for me. I slipped right back out of it. The second one was a stark, black dress with ruffles on the skirt and sleeves. Also not for me. The third was navy blue and in volved a lot of flowing, silky fabric. As Coral started working it over my head, I thought for sure I might have a panic attack at the amount of fabric. The skirt was vast and dark, and I thought I might never see the light of day again. I was sure I would have to send it back and ask for the next round.
Until I saw myself in it. The de ep, navy blue suited me. More than suited me. That shade of blue made me a better person. The bodice fit me like a glove with a de
Ep V in the front going down to the bottom of my ribcage. The sides had cut - outs, featuring ju st a touch of skin. The skirt was a light fabric that moved around my legs, flashing a slit in the dress at some angles that went up the front and showed a little leg. “Do you like it?” Coral asked me. “I freaking love it,” I said, admiring myself. “Let’s go see what Esther and your friend think.” Rebekah gasped when she saw me. “Yes, that one!” she shrieked, and it was the first excitement I’d seen out of her all night. Esther was more reserved, probably used to seeing her creations on people. “A good choice. I thought that one might be the one you picked.” I twirled, sending the dress flaring out. “Oh, Rex will love it, too,” Rebekah said. “Blue is his favorite color, and I’ve never seen it look lovelier on anyone. Esther, can you get the dress to our home in Park City by Saturday morning?” “Yes, of course.” They broke away to deal with, I assumed, payment, which was awkward. So awkward. My former boss was buying me a very expensive dress. While they took care of that, Coral led me back to the dressing room and helped me get out of the dress. “What did she mean, getting the dress to Park City?” I asked. “We’ll ship it,” she said. “It will be waiting for you there.” This was a whole new world to me. After the dress was squared away, Rebekah led me to a shoe selection at the dress store. She talked me into a pair of silver, barely there heels that I never would have picked on my own, but Rebekah’s passion for fashion made me believe I could pull them off. “I don’t know what you’re shrugging and hemming and hawing about,” she said. “You’re absolutely stunning. That dress and these heels? You’re going to have all eyes on you.” I didn’t want all eyes on me, but at the same time, the idea intrigued me.
“Why are you helping me with all of this?” I asked, as we got back into the car with Adaline. “I’m grateful, but this seems like a lot.” She smiled her lovely smile. “Because Rex asked me to help you, and I adore Rex. Trust me, it’s a better option than if he took you shopping. He’d send you to the gala in a tux.” I snort - laughed. “Not really, but I doubt he knows much about women’s fashion. This is the kind of gala where you really must have the finest of dresses, and that’s my specialty. I hope you’re happy with your choice.” “I am. Absolutely. I don’t even know how to thank you or pay you back.” She shook her head. “Let’s not have any talk about paying me back. Rex has taken care of everything. Your next st ep is packing and to pr epare yourself for a major event. I’ll help you get ready once we’re in Park City, too.” “There’s more?” “Of course. Makeup, hair. We’ll visit a salon there.” I didn’t know what to say. I’d wondered what exactly I’d agreed to more than once during the past few weeks, but never as much as I did right then. Chapter 2 9 Evie I KNEW THE gala was in Utah. I assumed we would go to the airport, which we did, but in an unexpected way. Adaline brought us right past the main terminal and to an area with smaller jets and helicopters. “What are we doing?” I asked, clinging to the rim of the car window. “We’re not taking a helicopter, are we?” “Of course not. We’ve got a chartered jet. My parents and siblings will be here soon.” “A private jet?” My voice came out in a squeak. “I thought it would be fun to surprise you,” he said. I was tempted to scream like I’d just won the lottery. I didn’t think he or Adaline would appreciate that. Instead, in a very calm, cool voice, I asked, “So your whole family will arrive together?”
“We try to maximize our private jet time. Plus, we like to make a grand family showing at these kinds of things.” I imagined what that must be like. A large family, for one, but all of them showing up united, and rich, and beautiful. I imagined myself showing up with them. In that dress, I would look like I was one of them. This would be — by far — the largest and most g lamorous performance for me yet. We got out of the car and walked toward a plane waiting just for us. No airport security. No getting there two hours ahead. No kid kicking my seat back or someone coughing next to me in coach. We got onto the plane and there was no coach section at all. The seats were thick and plush, like armchairs, spread out so everyone had room. Some were facing each other and had tables between them. “I don’t even know how to fly without being crammed in with a bunch of people,” I said. “Well, we’ll be crammed in with my family soon enough.” He tucked his carry - on bag into a compartment, while I wondered if he understood what the word crammed meant. I didn’t think he did. I followed him to sit at the group of chairs around the table, and I tried to ke ep my face expressionless, but I couldn’t stop grinning like a fool. A private plane! I wanted to call my parents and tell them. “What is it?” he asked. I realized I had not k ept my face plain. My grin had es caped. “I don’t believe this is happening to me. Not any of it, but especially not this.” “Well, believe it. You’re here. We’re doing this.” If there was a pilot or flight attendant on board, they were nowhere in sight. I leaned closer to him. “Are you sure you don’t want to take someone else to this thing? Someone... real?” Without hesitating, he shook his head. “There’s nothing more real than this.” My eyes grew wide, and I wanted to ask what he meant, but then his parents st epped inside, followed by his brothers and sisters. They all greeted each other and then quietly took their seats. Laptops came out. Rebekah pulled out a book. Remy ordered a drin k. A single flight attendant began making the rounds, checking in with each of the Claremonts. Her smile was perfect. Not a hair was out of place on her head. Her uniform was chic and stylish. She came to our seats last as we were closest to the back.
“Good evening, Rex,” she said. “It’s lovely to see you again. You have a guest tonight.” “This is Evie. Evie, this is Valerie.” “It’s my pleasure to meet you,” she said. “Your parents ordered sushi for dinner. Evie, do you have any allergies or dietary restrictions I should know about?” I shook my head. “Excellent. What can I get you both to drink?” “I’ll take a beer,” he said. “Do you have any lagers?” “Of course, sir. They go so well with sushi.” “I don't know what pairs well with sushi, but I’ll take the same,” I said. Valerie turned to leave, and I tossed a glance at Rex. “I shouldn’t have said that. I sounded so gauche. I should pretend that I know what goes with sushi, shouldn’t I?” “You don’t have to pretend to be anything,” he said, and put his hand over mine for a light squeeze, which made me forget about sushi all together. Take off on a small plane felt bumpier than planes I was used to, and it’s not like I was used to planes all that much in the first place. I gripped the seat and stared out the window, watching Seattle grow farther and farther away. When we were in the air, Valerie served a sushi selection to each of us as well as our drinks. “I hope you like sushi,” he said. “It’s my parents’ favorite and since they booked the flight, they picked the meal.” “I love sushi,” I said, taking a bite. “I’ve had lots, but this is unbelievably good.” Eating delicious sushi on a private jet filled with billionaires while watching the world go by below me only made it better, but I didn’t say that part. “The catering team never fails to impress.” “Nothing about any of this fails to impress.” I wondered if his family could hear us talking. I noticed his parents’ heads angled close together. They appeared to be talking to each other, even though I couldn't hear a word. “So, what should I expect when we land? Are we staying in a hotel?” He shook his head, and his eyes flicked to his parents, probably wondering the same thing I had. “We’ll be staying at my family’s house in the mountains. We all will.” His voice dropped lower. “We will need to share a bedroom for appearances. I should have asked you before now, but is that okay?”
“Yes, of course.” I was sure a bedroom to this family meant something I would call a suite. I doubted it meant a twin bed in a single room. So I didn’t think about it as I enjoyed my sushi and my beer and tried to figure out how I might only travel on priv ate jets from here on out. Chapter 30
Evie WE LANDED AT the Salt Lake City Airport after dark and got into two large SUVs that drove us into the mountains. I couldn’t see much as there weren’t street lights once we got out of town, but my ears popped as we climbed in elevation. Rex and I were in an SUV with his two brothers, and all three of them were chatting about Ronan’s decision to attend the gala without a date. “Lots of people don’t have dates,” he said. “No one will care.” “Everyone will care. Enjoy the speculation that you’re gay in the tabloids,” Remy chided. “I don’t care if tabloids think I’m gay,” Ronan griped. Listening to their conversation made me see the other side of extreme wealth. I hadn’t been on a date in at least two years. Not a single person on earth cared. Maybe my mother cared, but only because it had been such a big change from my serial dating way s when I was younger. “Maybe they’ll be distracted by the fact that Rex has a date who isn’t Anya,” Remy said. When I glanced at Rex, I saw his old, familiar frown on his face, highlighted by the glow coming from the GPS screen in the dash. How often had he gone to events with Anya? “No one cares,” Rex said. “Everyone cares. The media have been waiting for you to propose to Anya at one of these things for years.” “Shut up, Remy,” Rex growled. “I am with Evie, and she’s right fucking here. Sorry, Evie. Remy has trouble with his social filters.” Remy just laughed. “I really do, and I apologize for that, Evie. I like you far better than Anya. I am just speculating on how the ever - present media might spin all of this and which one of us they’ll eviscerate.” “Well, hopefully they won’t eviscerate any of you,” I said, trying to ke ep my tone bright. Remy laughed again.
Ronan, by far the quietest of the brothers, sighed. “That’s the least realistic thing I’ve heard all week. They love to try to take us down at these things. It’s like a gauntlet we all have to run, in designer clothes, no less.” “Then why do you go? None of you sound excited.” I felt Rex shrug beside me. “We have to ke ep up appearances, I suppose. Our parents like to go and enjoy the spectacle. The rest of us go to support them. We like to appear as a big happy family. Not that we aren’t. We are. But it’s good to appear together so that the media doesn’t start picking at our family connections. None of us wants that. Plus, events like this only happen a few times a year. We can handle it.” The driver pulled off the main road. We turned a corner, coming around a hillside, and suddenly there were lights lining a driveway, leading up to a magnificent home. Every single one of the many windows on the front of the house glowed, waiting to welcome the family. The property wasn’t as large as their Mercer Island home, but it was close, like a palace tucked into the mountains. “Oh my God,” I whispered, as I wondered how many other spectacular homes this family might own. I knew they had money. I knew they were one of the richest families in the country. It didn’t hit me until then exactly what rich really meant — not one decadent home. Multiple decadent homes. Private jets. World - class sushi on a flight instead of peanuts and ginger ale. “Do you like to ski, Evie?” Ronan asked me. “I’ve never tried it,” I answered in a drone as I watched the mansion grow closer. “We’re surrounded by ski resorts here. Other than this gala, usually we come up here in the winter. You should come sometime. I’m sure Rex would love to show you the slopes.” He said something else, but I didn’t even register what it was as we pulled up in front of the house. Rex climbed out of the car first, then extended his hand to me, offering to help me like I was a Victorian lady st epping out of a horse - drawn carriage. At least, that was how I envisioned it. Or maybe like I was Cinderella riding in a pumpkin carriage in m y finest dress — just not yet — but it was all an illusion. Joke was on them. Everything would fall apart at midnight, and I’d turn back into a woman wearing jeans and t - shirts from the mall. The family shuffled into the house like it was no big deal, so I tried to stop gaping at everything. I failed. Giant entryway doors. Gape. House staff retrieving our luggage and carrying it inside.
Gape. Grand staircase near the entryway. Gape! None of this was new to me anymore, but it was all just so amazing. I couldn’t help it. “Rex, join us,” Raven called to him as she headed past us toward what I guessed was a living room. “No thanks,” he said. His voice had an edge to it, like it had when I first met him. “Suit yourself, but I hope you’re in a better mood by the time we go to the gala.” “I won’t be,” he said. She was gone by then, and I inclined my head at him, curious why he was acting this way, but I didn’t want to ask him where the others could hear me. “Are you ready to turn in?” he asked. “I haven’t even been paying attention to what time it is.” “Nine. But I’d like to unwind and unpack and relax a bit before turning in early. You’re welcome to go hang out with my family, if you’d like. I suspect at least half of them have no plans for an early bedtime.” “No, I’ll go with you.” I followed him up the staircase, running my hand along the smooth railing the whole way up. “This house is stunning.” “I know. It’s good for me to remember that. It’s interesting seeing my life through your eyes.” His voice lost its edge, and I wondered again what might be going on under the surface with him. I walked with him to the top of the stairs, then down a wide hall to a door at the far end. “I hope you really meant that you were okay sharing a room.” “I am.” And then we walked through the door and I became a little more okay with it. “This is your room?” “Well, it’s the room I usually choose to stay in when I’m here. I like the view out back. You’ll see in the morning.” The room was not as large as I’d imagined, definitely more room and less suite, but nothing to sniff at either. It was probably larger than my house. I roamed through it. I peeked into a bathroom with a walk - in shower, massive tub, and luxurious stone tile . The bed was a huge, four - poster California king - sized thing, but that wasn’t the best part. The best part was the walk -
in closet. All the walk - in closets I’d ever seen before that point were simply walk - in, but that was about it. No room to move. This closet was like a universe unto itself with shelves and built - in drawers and space for shoes and hangers galore. Rex was out by the bed unpacking his suitcase. “I want to stay in this closet!” I called to him. “Suit yourself.” “Oh my God, is that my dress? It’s here?” “Of course.” I rushed to the far corner of the closet and touched the delicate blue fabric of my dress. Rex wasn’t looking. I wrapped my arms around it, hugged it, and just held onto it for a little while. Of course, that’s when he peeked in. “Should I leave you two alone?” I leaped away from my dress. “No! I mean, yes, I was just hugging my dress, but I don’t think you understand what the past few days have been like for me, what it’s like being here. For me. I feel like I st epped into a fairytale, and none of this is real, and... and...” I wanted to say that at home, my house was most likely to get taken by a bank while his family could afford all of this. It was wonderful. So wonderful. But also so incredibly unbalanced. “You’re making me feel awkward about it all.” “Sorry.” “Don’t be sorry. I understand. Here, come out of the closet.” He stood aside and guided me past him, but then I wasn’t sure what to do, so I sat down on the giant bed. Then I realized that even as big as this bed was, there was only one bed. I was about to comment about it, but when I looked at Rex, he was looking at his phone and his frown was back. “Why are you frowning so much?” I asked, meaning in general, why was he so serious. But he took it as a question about this moment in time. “Because Anya just texted me and asked me to meet up with her for a late dinner.” “Oh.” “I declined. I’ve told her I’m here with you. As far as she’s concerned, that’s the truth and she shouldn’t even be asking me to do things with her. She isn’t asking innocently. She’s trying to pretend you don’t exist.” “Well, in a way, I don’t.”
He lifted his eyes to look at me, and I wished I could read his expression, but I couldn’t. “In a way, neither does she.” I inclined my head and opened my mouth to ask what he meant, but he shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I’m exhausted. This has been a long day and I had to wake up early. I’m going to hit the shower and get ready for bed, if that’s all right with you.” I did a sort of weird shrug - nod because I didn’t expect him to ask me for permission, but then I realized if he went to bed, the lights would be out. By the time I realized that, he was in the shower. I could hear the water running. Then I thought of him in there. Water running down his back. Over his chest. Down his abs. Down his everything. In that beautiful shower with that spectacular tile. I bit my lip and fought off an urge to open the bathroom door and go to him. We were preten ding to share everything else. We were about to share a bed. Why not share a shower, too? I snickered to myself at my awesome logic. Maybe I’d settle for just licking the bathroom door and thinking about him. While I was still fantasizing about him doing me up against the shower wall, I heard the water shut off. I hopped off of the bed like I’d just been caught doing something naughty and went to unpack some of my things. I’d noticed Rex carefully arranging the contents of his suitcase. It was best to do this while he couldn’t see me. I scooped my suitcase contents out in batches of three or four items and dropped them into dresser drawers. There was no rhyme or reason, and I liked it that way. I’d arrange them in that closet tomorrow, just so I could use a closet like that once in my life. But for now, I didn’t want to hang out in the room with him after he came out all wet and steamy. I wanted to dart into the bathroom at my earliest opportunity, so I grabbed my pajamas, underwear, and fresh socks. When he opened the door, I turned to see him standing there in plaid pajama pants and no shirt. “Holy shit,” I whispered. If I had the ability to get a boner, I would have had one right then. I couldn’t speak to him. If I did, I’d throw myself at him. I hurried past him and into the shower, where I should have turned the water right to cold, but of course I didn’t. I used my time to try to meditate my way back to selfcontrol.
I’d picked the plainest pajamas I had — legging - style bottoms and an old tank top — but when I emerged from the bathroom, he looked at me and his eyes went wide. Was he thinking about doing me up against the shower wall, too? I hoped so! “I can sle ep on the floor,” he offered, as I climbed into the bed beside him. “Don’t be ridiculous. This bed is huge. There’s plenty of room for both of us.” He made a strange, low sound in his throat, but nodded, turned the lights out, and rolled over so that his back was to me. His bare back. He still hadn’t put a shirt on. I wasn’t tired yet so I pulled out my phone. But all it did was cast light on his skin and make me remember that he was there next to me, sharing a bed, without a shirt. And that we’d already had sex and there was no reason we shouldn’t again. In fact, I c ould probably list about ten reasons why we should have sex, and at the top of the list was that I really, really wanted to. But all I did was look at his back every few minutes and fight off desires to touch him again. Chapter 3 1 Rex IN THE FIRST stages of waking up in the morning, I drifted in a cozy haze. The bed felt more comfortable than usual, plush blankets and covers swirled around me. Then I shifted and realized it was not blankets around me. It was a woman. It was Evie. In the night, she had moved up against me, or perhaps I had moved to her. Either way, we were now intertwined. Her head was on my chest, her arm around my stomach, her leg over mine. Likewise, my arm was curled around her, holding her close, and my cheek was against her head. This was a full - on snugglefest. I didn’t move. I was not a snuggler. I did not know how to extricate myself from a situation like this, but I needed to do just that, before she woke up and misread the situation. Before I could figure out my exit, her leg twitched. Then she stretched. In the process of stretching, her arm moved. Her fingers splayed out over my stomach and then traveled up to my chest. Her legs stretched, and her hips pushed against my leg in a way that threatened to drive me wild. I drew in a de ep breath and tried to think about anything and everything other than the woman touching me and moving against me in this bed. It didn’t work. My cock sprang to life. All I wanted to do was roll over, pin her against the mattress, and drive m yself into her. I had to get out of there.
I glanced at her to see if she was still asle ep. She wasn’t. Her wide - open green eyes were just inches from mine. My eyes went to her lips. No. I couldn’t think that way. “I... uh,” I said, with no particular plan of what to say. It was no use. I had to bail before she noticed the tent I was pitching. I leaped out of the bed and hurried to the bathroom before she could say a word to me. “WHAT’S EVIE DOING?” Remy asked me, coming up beside me on the large veranda on the back of the house. “I think she’s helping Amy make breakfast,” I said. Amy was our chef when we were in town. After I’d leapt out of bed, Evie had gotten ready in a hurry, told me she was going down to find breakfast, and left quickly. She probably felt as awkward as I did a bout how we’d woken up. “She saw her making croissants and said she’d always wanted to know how to do that. I told her why not go learn.” “You’ve found yourself an interesting one.” I tried to smile wistfully, like a man in love with a new woman, but now I worried about the rest of my family thinking Evie was “interesting.” I wanted them to like her. Not find reasons to judge her. “She’s wonderfully curious,” I said, and then felt a s mile tugging at the corner of my mouth as I thought about her exploring the closet the night before, hugging her dress. She was definitely not like anyone I’d known before, but the longer I was around her, the more I thought that was a good thing. “Where’s Evie?” Rebekah asked as she and Raven came out of the house. “Making croissants,” Remy answered. Raven raised an eyebrow. “Is that a codeword for something? Is she pregnant?” “Who’s pregnant?” my mom asked, st epping out onto the veranda, followed by my father. “No one is pregnant, Mom,” I said. She k ept her eyes on me like she didn’t believe me. “Raven was making a joke. That’s all.” She didn’t believe me, and that was fine. I didn’t feel like telling her that my fake girlfriend was in the kitchen with the staff learning to make croissants. My siblings wouldn’t care. My parents might.
Amy came out next with a pitcher of mimosas. The table was already set and there were champagne flutes waiting. Evie practically skipped out of the house behind Amy and then continued skipping right on over to me. She draped herself on my arm and then stoo d on her toes to peck me on the cheek. I didn’t expect that, but she was probably right that a show of affection would be more convincing now that we were here. I noticed she had a streak of flour on her cheek, so I reached to wipe it away with my thumb. The moment felt oddly intimate, and I sa t down quickly and took a sip of mimosa to distract myself from the idea that had just flashed through my mind — that I wanted to kiss her. My family started chatting and didn’t seem nearly as distracted by Evie as I was. While they talked about their plans for the gala the following evening, I thought about seeing Evie in her pajamas the night before. I had been able to see the shape of her b reasts, the lack of a bra, and the shape of her legs, which made me remember those legs wrapped around me. Maybe I’d made the wrong decision to flee the bed that morning. “Rex?” I heard my mother’s voice and jumped a little out of my seat. “Yes, Mom?” I locked my thoughts down and k ept my tone of voice on the serious side, hoping no one would realize I was sitting there fantasizing. “Rebekah asked you a question. You seem off in your own world.” My ears burned. I looked at Rebekah. “Yes?” She was smirking at me, and I narrowed my eyes at her. “Would you like to come downtown with us later this morning? Mom and Dad are staying here, but the rest of us are going.” I opened my mouth to respond, but Evie spoke up first. “I hope it’s not a problem, but I already made plans for us today.” “Oh? What will you be doing?” my mom asked. Evie smiled so innocently that no one would question her. “I don’t want to say. It’s a surprise for Rex.” Who would question a smile like that and a surprise? They left us alone about going downtown and continued chatting about the gala. When we were done, Evie and I returned to our room together, her arm around mine again. I didn’t mind the affection. I actually wished I minded it much more than I did, especially when we were heading into a private room together.
“So, what are our plans?” I asked when we st epped inside. “Our plans are that I wanted to get you away from your family.” “What?” “Something is different about you here. I thought you could use a break.” “We just got here,” I said, but I appreciated her care for me, even though I didn’t want to admit it to her. I did feel a little ragged around my family. I didn’t usually, but my situation with Evie had thrown off the balance. She only smiled. “I’ve never been to Park City. What do you like to do here?” “Ski,” I said, “but it’s not exactly the season for that.” “Anything else?” I shook my head. “You don’t have places you like to go? Activities you like to do?” “I’ve only ever been here to ski. I rarely do anything recreational.” She inclined her head at me, and I wondered again what she thought of me. I didn’t want to tell her just how little of a personal life I had. “Well, I love to hike, and I read that there are lots of places to hike around here. Do you like to hike?” “I’ve never been hiking.” “You live in the Northwest and you’ve never been hiking? I don’t believe you.” “I don’t know what to say.” “Maybe say yes to going on a hike today. With me.” Her smile was disarming. I was amenable to the idea of a hike, but I couldn’t have said no to her even if I wasn’t. “Okay,” I said, and couldn’t stop smiling at her. Was I really so excited about trekking through some trees? “Do you know where you want to go?” “Yes! I do! I read about a trail called Three Divide Lakes Trail. There are lakes and wildflowers. It sounds beautiful! We’ll need to bring some food and water.” “How long will we be gone?”
“Just a few hours, I’m sure, but you should always have food and water on a hike. Plus, it’s so dry here that I’m sure water is a must.” “I’ll have Amy put some things together for us.” I texted Amy and let her know the situation. Apparently, she was an avid hiker, so she knew what to do. I almost texted the company we used for rides locally, but Evie stopped me. “Do you just command your entire world by text?” “Well, sometimes I command it by phone call or inperson, too.” “Don’t call for a ride. Let’s drive ourselves. It doesn’t look far and you must have a car here, don’t you?” “Of course.” “Then let’s drive. Let’s go on a normal - people excursion. Just us, a car, a backpack with stuff for the day, and nature.” I frowned. “You don’t think I’m a normal person?” “Not that frown again. And, no, I certainly don’t. Have you seen your life? Do you even realize how far from normal you are?” I guess I didn’t, but now I did and the thought made me less than comfortable. I left it alone, though. I didn’t want to hear her thoughts about how I wasn’t normal. I wanted to show her that we weren’t all that different from each other. We went down to the garage. I grabbed a set of keys from the wall for the SUV. An SUV seemed a far better suited vehicle for going hiking than a sedan. “Can I drive?” she asked. “It’s technically my father’s car.” “Oh.” I tossed her the keys. “I don’t mean to say you can’t drive. I only meant to say be on your best behavior. No drag racing.” She cackled with sheer glee. “Now all I want to do is drag race.” I laughed as she backed out. I didn’t even care that she was within about three inches of sideswiping the garage door with my dad’s shiny new SUV. As she made her way to the main road, she was clearly having the best time of her life. With me. Which was the surprising part. Why was she in such a good mood?
“I haven’t been on a vacation in ages,” she said. Oh, so that was it. “This isn’t exactly a vacation.” “Ah!” She held up a hand to silence me. “It’s a vacation to me. Don’t try to change that.” She took us through Park City and then into the nearby mountains on twisty roads through trees, trees, and more trees. She seemed to know where she was going without the GPS, so she must have studied how to get there. I made a mental note of that. This outi ng meant enough to her that she’d memorized how to get there. She pulled up to the trailhead, and we parked. She started to pick up her backpack filled with the goodies Amy had made, but I took it from her. It was purple. I would carry it, anyway. I didn’t care if I did not look like a rugged mountain man with a smal l - ish purple backpack on my back. I was just about the opposite of a rugged mountain man, anyway. The trail was not difficult. She told me it was a little over five miles long and a loop trail, but the air was thinner than either of us was used to. We were both sea - level breathers, and this certainly was not sea level. “Isn’t this beautiful?” she exclaimed once we got away from the few other people near the trailhead. Now, we had it all to ourselves, and that intrigued me more than the natural beauty. I liked the feeling of being completely alone. I liked it better for being completely alone with her. The alpine trees and rocky trails had nothing on her. “Yes, it’s beautiful,” I r eplied. “Maybe you should try some trails near Seattle sometime. There are so many places to go within a short drive of the city. There are even parks with beautiful trails right in them if you don’t like to get out into nature.” “Maybe I will,” I said, but I wasn’t thinking of hiking. I was watching her dark hair, pulled back into a ponytail, swishing back and forth in front of me. We walked through trees for a while. For once, I didn’t glance at my watch or my phone to check the time. We settled into a nice silence as we walked, both of us breathing a little heavier due because of the thin air, so conversation wasn’t as plentiful as it might have otherwise been. The silence gave me a chance to evaluate my situation. I’d told her I didn’t want to be with her again. I’d been too concerned about everything exc ept for how I felt about her. Watching her ponytail sway, her body in her shorts and t shirt, her laugh, her ability to be free and happy and all the things I could never be — I questioned if I’d done the right thing.
“Okay, so what I read is that there’s a ridge around here somewhere that will take us to the lakes,” she said, almost to herself. “There it is!” The ridge looked like a dirt path to me, but soon enough, it opened up to some views I had to admit were amazing. We reached a lake surrounded by evergreens stretching into the sky. Clouds and blue sky reflected in the water. I paused to admire it. “We have to go touch the water!” she said. “What?” I followed her, sure I heard her wrong. “I want to see if it’s icy cold or hot or warm. Aren’t you curious?” “Well, I imagine it’s cold. We’re in the mountains.” “Come on!” She hurried toward the water, over rocks and patches of grass. When she got to the water’s edge, she crouched down and touched it. “It’s freezing!” she shouted back to me, as though that was a good thing. When I reached her side, she was slipping off her shoes. “What are you doing?” “I’m going to st ep into this lake and see how de
Ep I can get.” “You’ll get wet.” “Well, yeah.” The idea didn’t seem to bother her in the slightest. “Want to join me?” I shook my head and crossed my arms as I watched her st ep in, sure she’d st ep on a slippery rock and end up on her ass in the cold, mountain lake. She stood about knee - de ep when she called out, “Come on! Live a little!” I rolled my eyes while she wasn’t looking. “What’s the point of standing in the water?” “It’s a hot day! This feels nice! Give it a chance!” I let out a long huff of air. I didn’t want to give it a chance. Not really. What I didn’t want to do was have to carry her back after she fell in and hit her head on a rock or something. At least if there were two of us, that might not happen. So I slippe d off my shoes, set the backpack on the ground, and rolled my pants up as high as I could. Then I st epped carefully on the rocks, wobbling, amazed that she hadn’t slipped and fallen yet. I reached her side, and she smiled at me. “See? Doesn’t the water feel nice? I wish we could swim here.”
“And what would we swim in?” “Nothing?” she said, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. I frowned at her, but the rest of me definitely wasn’t frowning. “Why are you so... joyful?” “Why aren’t you?” “You can’t answer a question with a question.” “Well, I just did it, so I think I can. I’m joyful because I’m having fun. Aren’t you?” “Yes, I am,” I said, and realized that I actually was. “So why are you still frowning? I’ve seen you lighten up before. Why is your perma - frown back as soon as we get around your family?” I found I wanted to answer honestly. I wanted to pour my heart out to this woman, standing knee - de ep in a lake with me, but the words wouldn’t make it to the surface. “I’m not frowning now.” “You were. Just a little while ago.” “I didn’t mean to.” She had her eyes fixed on me, and I couldn’t look away. It didn’t help that her eyes were even more stunning in the full light of day, pulling in the light and almost sparkling in the brightness. She was beautiful. More than beautiful. She was determined a nd funny, caring and kind. The combination left me nearly breathless as we stood there together. I saw a question dancing in her eyes — why can’t we be together? Just like me, she couldn’t bring herself to speak the words. It didn’t matter. I didn’t have a good answer for her. We just can’t. It wouldn’t work. “My feet are getting cold,” she said, and mine were, too. We turned to head back to the shore, and then all my worst fears came to fruition. My foot hit a smooth rock covered in horrible algae and my legs flew out from under me. Not only did I shriek as I fell, but I grabbed onto her. My animal brain sought whate ver stability I could find, and I dragged her down into the water with me. We hit the surface with a splash. “I’m sorry!” I said. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to pull you in!”
She laughed and laughed, like she didn’t mind the water at all. “You did! You totally did! You saw you were falling, and you grabbed me! But it’s fine. The air is so warm and dry. We’ll dry out in no time.” She was already getting back to her feet, but I froze as I noticed how her shirt clung to her stomach, to her breasts. Rivulets of water trailed down the smoothness of her legs. She grabbed my arm and tugged on me to get me to my feet, still laughing softly and hopefully not noticing me staring at her body. When I got to my feet, I tumbled into her again, and we grabbed onto each other to steady ourselves. “Okay, stop falling,” she said. “We can do this.” We headed back to the shore. I walked extra carefully and found a grassy area where she proposed we have a picnic. When I said I’d never picnicked before, she gasped. “I’ve especially never picnicked soaking wet,” I muttered, sitting a little farther away from her than was necessary. Her clothes still clung to her skin, and I couldn’t help but stare. Sitting farther away was my weak attempt at fighting my urges to kiss her or touch her or at least stop staring at her wet t - shirt. But instead, all that happened was that I accidentally got a better view of her from where I sat. “Well, this is the perfect way to dry out a bit.” Sitting right in the grass, she started pulling things out of the backpack. Amy had done a nice job with what she’d packed for us. Some mini wine bottles, some water, sandwiches on mini baguettes, and some cookies. “This is amazing,” she said. “I want your life.” “Do you?” I said without thinking. She shrugged, and I saw something sad flicker through her expression. She took a bite of her sandwich rather than answer me, so I took a few bites of mine as well. I wondered how many things were going unsaid between us. And why? Because I’d requested we k e ep things distant. This was my fault. Because I was afraid of my family. Because I was afraid of how my family’s wealth might upend her life. Because I was afraid of what I felt for her. Because I was afraid of everything. “You don’t want my life,” I said. “It’s not what it seems.” “How so?”
“Everything in my life is about pressure.” Again, I spoke without thinking. I decided to stop thinking. For once. “I feel like my life is scripted. I’ve always been pushed to learn how to take over one or more of my father’s businesses. I’m expected to dat e wealthy women, to marry a wealthy woman, to have wealthy kids, and to teach them how to inherit a business. I went to school to get an MBA because of that pressure. I st epped into the CEO role at Quinn Financial because of that pressure. I just go along with the pressure because it’s easier to do that than it is to resist. I’m not sure it’s much of a life.” “What do you think you’d do without all of that pressure? Who would you have been?” The question cut into me in a way I didn’t expect. A painful way. “I don’t even know. I’m not sure I know what I like to do. I’ve always only done what’s expected of me.” “That’s a little sad.” “I know.” “Maybe work it out. Figure out things you like to do just for you, not for anyone else.” What I wanted to say was that I had enjoyed this hike. I enjoyed spending time with her. Both of those things had been just for me, so much so that I couldn’t admit it out loud yet. I was still processing the fact that the only person who had ever bothered to look beyond what was expected of me — the person I was expected to be — was someone I’d thought I had nothing in common with, someone whose life was completely different from mine, someone who was in a fake relationship with me. Chapter 3 2 Evie I HAD SEEN the way Rex had looked at me at the lake, like he wanted me, like he didn’t mean a word he said about not being together again. That thought had been burning in my mind ever since. I had wanted to twine my arms around him and kiss him then, but hadn’t. He had told me what he wanted. Exc ept that I was pretty sure he’d lied to me about what he wanted. I laid on my side, facing away from him because I couldn’t just stare at him without a shirt again. I had to wonder why he climbed into bed shirtless. Maybe that was just how he sl ept, but it felt so intimate, so like an invitation. But he’d showed no signs of inviting anything from me.
I wondered how much longer I could survive this fake relationship under these conditions. I couldn’t spend every event wanting him, craving him, wishing for something from him he would never give me. I turned over. I hoped he was asle ep, so I could look at him without him knowing it. Sometimes, I just wanted to stare at him and get lost in exploring his features. When I got to my other side, he was facing me, but to my surprise, his eyes were open, watching me. “You’re awake?” I asked. “Very much so,” he said, with no trace of having been asle ep in his voice. Had he been staring at me? “Why are you awake? It’s late, isn’t it?” “I think so. I haven’t looked at the clock.” A long silence passed, and I didn’t even mind. I stared at him, just like I had wanted to, but he stared back. Our eyes locked onto each other’s, even though I could barely see his features in the dark. I didn’t know what it meant, but I loved it. I wanted to fall into him, there in the darkness of the room together. “I’m sorry,” he finally said. “Why are you sorry?” “I’m sorry for all of this. For forcing you into this situation with me. For having sex with you on my desk. For bringing you into this situation that you probably don’t even want to be in. You’re here because I essentially blackmailed you into this, and t hat was wrong of me.” My mouth fell open, but my mind was still processing. “I’m awake because I’m thinking about how to fix all of this for you. When this started, I didn’t know you, and I didn’t consider how any of this might make you feel. I’m also sorry that I didn’t apologize before. Only now did it occur to me that you might not want to be here. I feel like such an asshole.” His words filled me with a strange emotion. On one hand, I realized he was right. That I was here because he’d blackmailed me, and I appreciated the apology. On the other, that seemed like a s eparate situation from where we were now. I could have said no o r could have backed out of our deal. I didn’t because I didn’t hate it. I more than didn’t hate any of this. The novelty of meeting his family and seeing how the very wealthy lived had been fun.
I definitely didn’t hate spending time with him. As grumpy as he was out of the gate, I’d quickly seen another side to him. A side I liked — confident and kind, attentive and far more caring than I would have expected. I didn’t want to put all of that out there for him, though. The situation was too precarious and unknown. Instead, I reached to touch his jawline. I needed to touch him. I needed to feel him under my hand. “You’re right,” I said. “The blackmail was a little underhanded, but I’m not here because of the blackmail. Not anymore. I’m here because I want to be. I’m here because of you.” His lips parted, but rather than say anything to me, he propped himself up on one elbow and then scooted closer to me. As his lips approached mine, I could tell he was giving me time to back away if I wanted to. I scooped my hand behind his neck and guided his lips to mine, welcoming him. The kiss was soft and somehow completely magnetic, pulling us together. My hands roved over his shirtless body, over his pecs, his ribcage, his stomach. His arms wrapped around me, pushing underneath the tank top I wore. His hand traced the small of my bac k and then pushed into my pajama bottoms, right against my skin, as he pulled our hips closer together. I could feel his hardness against my stomach. He pushed my pajama bottoms and underwear down, and I kicked them off under the covers. His pajama bottoms were also gone soon enough. He pulled me close, cupping my butt in one hand and pressing against me as we kissed. I wanted him inside of me, but I also wanted to go slow and enjoy this. The last time we had been together had been full of haste and a desperate need to be together as soon as possible. This time, we savored each other. His fingers moved to my core, dipping inside of me and stroking. I sighed and shivered as he teased me into urgency. I wrapped one leg over his hip and pulled us closer, opening for him as his fingers explored me. He broke the kiss and kissed down my neck to the very tops of my breasts, peeking out of my shirt. “Evie,” he whispered against my skin, and I shivered again, but I couldn’t speak. Warmth was gathering in my core, and I closed my eyes to revel in it. The straps of my tank top were already loose over my shoulders, slipping down. He tugged the top down, exposing me, as he kissed and sucked while I drifted closer to ecstasy.
Warmth exploded from my center, and I bucked against him, opening my eyes to see him watching me. For a little while, I let myself drift, locking eyes with him as I did. And it was one of the most amazing moments of my life. Just us. In that moment. When my heart rate slowed down, I ran my hand over his chest and down to his length, still waiting for me. The look of helpless desire on his face when I touched him moved something inside of me. He wanted me as much as I wanted him. I didn’t know what thi s was, but I loved it and I wanted more. We were still both on our sides, but I nudged him onto his back. I sat up and tugged my shirt over my head, then crawled on top, straddling him. I leaned down to kiss him again, capping the kiss off with a little nip on his lower lip. His eyes grew larger as I did, and I smiled. Then I moved down over his body, appreciating every inch of it with my lips and my hands, exploring him freely and loving the sounds he made as I did. When I got to his arousal, I paused, looking to him for a moment before leaning down to take him in my mo uth. I saw his hands grip the sheets beneath us and his hips rose up toward me. I was determined to bring him to climax, just as he had done to me. He called out my name when he came. Soon after, he drew me up toward him. His breaths still came in ragged huffs. “Evie, you’re some kind of sex goddess, aren’t you?” I laughed. “Hardly.” But he was right. There was some kind of sexual magic between us. I’d had plenty of other partners, but none made me feel the way he did. None of them had gotten the responses from my body that he did, either. “Don’t lie to me,” he snarled playfully, and pulled me on top of him. I straddled him and looked down at him, with only one thing on my mind. As though he read my mind, he said, “I have a condom around here somewhere.” He pivoted awkwardly and dug in the night table drawer until he found one. I took the condom from him and set it next to us on the night table. I wasn’t ready again yet, and I doubted he was, either. Kissing him nearly set me afloat, and so I leaned down and met his lips with mine. I poured my entire self into that kiss, like it was the last one I’d ever experience. He wrapped his arms around me, moving his fingers through my hair, down my back, holding onto me. I felt cherished, like he didn’t want to let me go. Which meant it didn’t take long to be ready for him again.
I slipped the condom onto him. We moved slowly together, so slowly. I closed my eyes as his hands traced the contours of my body. We moved together for what felt like hours, with me on top, with him on top, and back again, taking our time, and then collaps ing together in the end. We fell asle ep naked and twined together, and I don’t think I’d ever felt more content in my entire life. Chapter 3 3 Rex EVEN WHEN I dated, I rarely preferred to sle ep over with my dates. It felt too personal, too committed, for my taste. With Evie, there wasn’t much of a choice since my family would question if we stayed in s eparate rooms, but as I opened my eyes to find her still leaning her head on my chest, her arm around my stomach, I was happier for our ruse than I’d ever been for any thing. I wanted her close to me. I wanted her in my bed every night. I nuzzled against her hair and took in the scent of her, floral and soft. I kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer to me. She stirred and stretched. “I didn’t mean to wake you,” I said. “It’s fine. It looks like it’s pretty bright outside. Time to wake up, anyway.” “I’m glad to wake up next to you.” “Me too. Last night was...” she trailed off. “I hope I didn’t disappoint you.” She laughed. “Are you seriously saying that? Weren’t you there? I was trying to come up with a word good enough to describe it.” Then I laughed, too, and sighed, like a love - struck teenager. That’s what I felt like. I realized what I’d just thought and my eyes flew wide. I tried to get myself together before she looked up at me, propping her elbows on my chest and her chin on her ha nds. “What you said about figuring out what I want to do has been stuck in my head ever since you said it.” “Oh yeah?” she asked. Her face was so close to mine. Her naked body pressed up against me. I could not think. “Yeah. And I don’t want to go to the gala tonight.” Her eyebrows shot up. “You don’t?” “No. I want to skip it and spend my time with you.”
“But I thought the whole reason I was here was to go to that gala with you.” “I'm not so sure that's the whole reason you're here anymore.” Those words sank into my soul. I was surprised I’d said them out loud, but glad I had. I wanted her to know. I could see her working through that thought, wondering what I meant. I hoped she di dn't ask because I didn't know yet. Not all the way. “We can’t really skip the gala, can we?” she asked. I smiled softly. “Anya will be there,” I said, hoping that was enough to dissuade her, but she was right. “Does that matter?” “She’s been sending me requests to meet or talk all week. I've been ignoring her. She's going to be out to cause some drama.” “Because you've ignored her?” I nodded slowly. Anya didn't matter, though. As much as I’d brought Evie into this situation to deal with Anya, now that we were here, all I wanted to do was enjoy this gala with Evie as my date. “But I have that beautiful dress. I've never worn anything like it.” Her eyes were hopeful. “You want to go to the gala.” “I think I do,” she said. “If you would have asked me a few weeks ago if I wanted to go to a gala, I may have said I didn't care, but that was before the dress shopping and private plane and mansion in the mountains. I feel like I'm invested now.” I couldn't say no to her. I couldn't say no to myself, either. The truth was I wanted to see her in that dress. I wanted to peel it off of her after the gala, too. I wanted my whole social circle, from my family to Anya to friends I only spoke to at these kinds of events, to see this beautiful woman on my arm and know that she was mine. Not for pretend, but for real. Chapter 3 4 Evie REBEKAH AND RAVEN came to take me to our hair and makeup appointments to get ready for the gala. I was looking forward to it. I’d never had my makeup professionally done before.
Rebekah brought us to downtown Park City, where she took us to a small but luxurious salon. We spent the better part of the afternoon there, sipping tea, eating fancy snacks, and cycling through getting our hair styled, makeup done, and a manicure to top i t all off. When it was done, I looked in the mirror and laughed at myself. “What is it?” Rebekah asked. “Don’t like it?” “No, I love it. I just look ridiculous in my clothes now. My head looks like it belongs on a different body!” She grinned, but obviously wasn’t as tickled as I was by the mismatch. Perhaps because her clothes were nicer than mine. I’d slipped on an old button - up shirt so it would be easy to take off without messing up my hair and makeup. When we returned to the house, we all went our s eparate ways to finish getting ready. Rex was in our room, already in a tuxedo, putting the final touches on his hair. “Looking fine,” I said to him as I passed the entrance to the bathroom. I glanced at him to see him smiling at me. “No, wait, don’t look at me while I’m fancy on top and scrubby on bottom. I’m going to get my dress on.” I hustled to the walk - in closet, which had a mirror and a bench where I could sit to put on my shoes. Because of course it did. I couldn’t do the zipper in back on my own, even though it didn’t go all the way up my back. I got it halfway and then spent several minutes looking at myself in the mirror. My hair was down, but looked in no way like it normally did. Now, it was impossibly shiny, lightly curled, and flowing in a way that made me sure the stylist might have a few supernatural powers. My makeup was better than anything I’d ever put on my own fa ce. But that dress. I loved that dress more than life itself. It took what was usually everyday, average Evie and turned me into something straight out of a magazine. All humbleness fell by the wayside, and I figured that was okay because this wasn’t reall y me. This was a creation of the finest hairstylist, makeup artist, and dress designer that money could buy. I was simply the canvas for their art. I couldn’t wait for Rex to see me. When I came out of my closet dressing room, he was adjusting his cufflinks. “Can you zip me up?” I asked. He turned, and I could see from the look on his face that he thought I looked amazing, too.
He strode toward me and stood in front of me for a moment. “This dress is perfect for you,” he said. “I get why you were hugging it now.” “I know!” I nearly squealed. He moved behind me, trailing his fingers along my bare arm, and a shiver went through my entire body. He kissed the back of my neck before he zipped me up. “Stop it,” I said in a low voice. “I am not going to mess up this hair and makeup.” “I can’t help it. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” “Well, contain yourself, because I think I might be a fragile piece of artwork now.” He moved to stand in front of me, and his eyes traveled over my body. “You certainly are. Every man at the gala will be jealous that you’re with me.” My stomach twirled at those words. With him. I hoped I was with him. I wanted to ask if we were still pretending, but I couldn’t. Not now. If the answer was yes, then I couldn’t enjoy this evening, and I desperately wanted to enjoy it. Maybe I’d ask him aft er the gala was done, but even then, I might not want to shatter this illusion. “There’s only one thing missing from your ensemble,” he said. He went to a dresser on the far side of the room and returned with a small box. He opened it and held it out to me. Inside, a set of sapphire earrings and a matching oval sapphire on a white gol d chain sparkled. “Oh my God,” I gasped. “Rebekah said she hadn’t taken you out to get jewelry, so I asked her if I might st ep in.” “You bought me jewelry?” I asked, touching the oval sapphire and trying to imagine how much it might cost. “We have a family friend at a jeweler in Bellevue. I asked him what he’d recommend. Do you like them?” “Of course I like them. I love them! But this is too much.” “No, it really isn’t,” he said. “Not for you.” I loved that he had thought to get me jewelry for the gala. I felt like an actual princess, handsome prince by her side and everything. I let him clasp the necklace around my neck, and then I put the earrings on myself. I had no idea how to process a gift like this. I’d never owned any jewelry with expensive gemstones. I’d never had a need or a want, but now that some were on me, I felt li ke a new woman. These little blue
stones transformed me. Where I’d felt pretty ritzy in my dress before, now I felt like I could conquer this gala. Rex took my hand as we left the bedroom and went to the front of the house, where his family waited for our ride to the event. His mother and sisters’ gowns all showcased their personalities — his mother in a traditional but flowing black dress, Rebekah in a slim gown with one shoulder exposed, Raven with a de ep purple dress with cut - outs on the sides and back. His father and brothers were in tuxedos, like he was. They were all so fabulously attractive. How could one family all look so gorgeous? Remy and Raven both had dates. Remy’s was an up - andcoming actress I’d seen on TV. She was stunning, but I got the feeling Remy only dated stunning women. Raven’s date was named Jake Albrecht. After the introductions, I leaned in close to Rex and asked, “Isn’t that Anya’s last name?” “Yes,” he said. “Jake is Anya’s little brother. He and Raven have been friends since they were kids.” A limousine pulled up to the front of the house. I’d never been in a limousine. I sat next to Rex on a long bench seat with the rest of his family. The interior was lit with cool blue lighting. Across from us was a minibar, but none of them seemed interest ed in it. Some of them chatted about who they hoped to see that night, but my mind hummed with excitement. Rex took my hand, which anchored me and stirred me up at the same time. It was the only thing I could think about or focus on during the drive to the ritzy eve nt center on the outskirts of town. As we pulled up, the scene looked like something I’d expect out of Hollywood — beams of light, a red carpet, photographers stationed outside to take photos of attendees. I turned to Rex. “Are they... are they really going to photograph me?” “Most likely, unless we work hard to avoid them.” “I thought you didn’t want to be photographed with me.” I remembered the last time someone had photographed us together and the trouble it had caused. He smiled softly. “I may have changed my mind about things since then.” I wanted to ask what changed his mind, but then someone opened the limo door and his family filed out. Now wasn’t the time for that conversation. Flashes brightened the scene as we st epped out. He put an arm around my waist and guided me through the madness — camera flashes, shouted questions, his family stopping for photos. We
stopped for a single family photo and a single photo of the two of us together, and then he steered me toward the door. We entered the venue before the rest of the Claremonts got there. A woman offered us some champagne from a tray, and we both took a glass. I took a sip, but then I got lost for a moment simply in taking in the venue. High ceilings arched over us, windows opened up to the sunset light and mountains outside, and famous people were everywhere. I didn’t know them all, but saw at least two actress es I knew from recent movies, another well - known billionaire, and a philanthropist I’d seen on the news a few times. “What are you thinking?” he asked me. “I feel a little overwhelmed, but in a good way. Did I just walk a red carpet? And look at this place! I feel out of place, but I’m getting used to that feeling.” He pulled me close and kissed me lightly on the lips. “Relax, I won’t ruin your makeup, but you belong here. With me.” Again, I wanted to ask what he meant, but then his family entered and approached us. “Rex, come with us,” his mother said. “Sam Andersen is here. We’ve been wanting to introduce you.” I wasn’t sure if that meant that I should also go meet Sam Andersen or not. Rebekah must have noticed my confusion. “Stay with us,” Rebekah said. “You’re welcome to come with me, or stay here if you’d like,” Rex said. “I promise, I won’t be gone long, but this won’t be very exciting.” I opted to stay. When he had gone, I turned to see Rebekah and Raven both grinning at me. Raven’s date, Jake, smiled politely, but looked less giddy than the two women. He leaned close to Raven’s ear and asked if he could get her anything to drink. She sai d yes, and he peeled off. The way he leaned toward her looked more than friendly to me. “You guys are too cute,” Raven said. “You really are, and he looks happy, which is a little unusual for him,” Rebekah added. “Really?” Rex had been a grouch when I’d met him, but I’d assumed he always lightened up around dates. “Yes, definitely,” Rebekah said. “He’s always been a bit of an odd duck. He’s had a hard time dating and finding anyone who seems to like him for who he is.”
“I can’t imagine that,” I said, but inwardly I was squeeing that something about me put a smile on his face. Raven laughed. “Get to know him better, then!” Rebekah snorted. “He can be difficult, but he seems happy. I was sk eptical about your relationship at first, but allow me to take back that sk epticism.” “I never realized you were sk eptical. You’ve always been so warm and kind.” Raven laughed again with the same perfect laugh her sister had. I wondered if I could learn to laugh like that or if I could ask them for lessons, but that might be weird. “I love your interpretation of my older siblings, Evie,” she said. “Excuse me?” Rebekah asked, but they both had smiles on their faces. “I’m glad you feel that way,” Raven added. “He deserves someone like you. Somewhere inside of him is a good man.” All I could do was stare helplessly at her. I should have had a response so I could play the good fake girlfriend, but I was lost in a sudden storm of feelings — his words to me that didn’t sound fake at all, his sisters’ perspectives on how good we were tog ether. Were we pretending? I saw Rex approaching us, but that wasn’t all. Close behind him, I saw someone else, someone I recognized. Anya — in a strapless, flowing, forest green dress with a daring slit up the side. She was hot on his tail, and he didn’t seem to know it. “Oh shit,” Raven said. “Anya looks spicy tonight.” “Anya is always spicy,” Rebekah said in a low voice. I braced myself as Rex came to my side and kissed me on the cheek. “Anya is behind you,” I said to him, giving him only a few seconds of a warning before he turned around and saw her. But it was enough. “How nice to see you all here,” she said. Her voice was pleasant and yet somehow also sharp. “Lovely to see you, too, Anya,” Rex said. “Evie, I love your dress,” she said. “Esther Ling?” “Yes,” I said.
“I figured. I know Rebekah is a fan.” That’s all she said, but I got the feeling that somehow this was a dig at Rebekah’s taste. Rebekah all but rolled her eyes. “It’s good to see you, too, Anya. Who did you bring tonight?” Anya’s expression did the same thing her voice did — outwardly, she looked pleasant, but somehow she was also shooting daggers out of her eyes at Rebekah and Rex... and probably me, too, if I dared to look her in the eye. These people were masters at subtle co mmunication. I was not. I didn’t know how to play this under - the - surface game. “No one,” Anya said, her voice tight. “I had plans for a date, but they fell through at the last minute.” “I would have thought you could find someone,” Rex said. “I know you don’t like to do these things alone.” “You’re right. I don’t,” she said, and that time, there was no layer of pleasantness to hide exactly how she felt about Rex. He offered her a tight smile. “Have a good evening, Anya.” Then he took my hand and placed it on his arm. “Come, darling. Let’s find something to eat.” I felt Anya’s eyes burning into my back as we walked away. “What’s going on?” I asked. “That was the weirdest conversation I’ve ever experienced.” “Anya is pissed at me for not being her date tonight.” “Were you supposed to be?” “I was clear with her that I would not be.” He sw ept me away from Anya and his family and to the far side of the venue. “She didn’t believe you, maybe?” “She’s out to cause some trouble tonight,” he said, his eyes flicking back in her direction. “But how about we enjoy our evening together rather than dwelling on Anya? I am certainly not here for her. I am here with you. That’s all that matters to me.” “That’s all that matters to me, too,” I said, a little glow warming me from within at his words. I leaned up to kiss him softly, hoping to chase the worry in his expression away. I didn’t like how tense Anya could make him, and I didn’t like the idea of An ya out to cause drama hovering over us. I wanted to enjoy this night, and I wanted to focus on us, so I did my best to put her out of my mind.
We reached a table covered with decadent hors d’oeuvres. I picked up a small plate with a couple of crackers artistically stacked with salmon and some kind of cheese — they looked delicious and easy not to spill on my dress. “So what do you normally do at these things?” I asked. “Normally? I hover near my family, make conversation when forced, and slip away at the earliest convenience.” I watched his face as he scanned over the crowd. Then he pulled me off to the side of the food table and to a standing table near the wall. I took a sip of my champagne and then set it on the table with my plate. “I hope we’re not planning to slip away too soon tonight. I want to soak up the lives of the rich and famous while I can, before I go back to being an assistant and living in my two - bed, one - bath house.” “You know, the lives of the rich and famous aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.” “Yes, well, tell that to the hors d’oeuvres. They’re fantastic, and I’m going to go get more.” I had to break away before I said things I shouldn’t. If I opened my mouth one more time, I was going to ask him if we were still pretending. The question hovered just under the surface. I couldn’t ask it here. The only plan I had to stop myself was to kee p a constant stream of delicious food going into my face so that I couldn’t form words. It was not the worst plan I’d ever had. I felt his eyes on me while I dashed to the food table, and they were still on me as I returned with a full plate filled with everything from miniature cheesecakes to sushi to adorable silver dollar - sized pizzas. “These all look so good,” I said, as I went straight for the pizzas. “Are you okay, Evie?” he asked. “I am very okay,” I said, right through a bite. What was wrong with me? I couldn’t chew with my mouth open in a place like this. They’d throw me out. I was also disappointed to find out that I very much could still form words, despite my snack pile. “You seem a little off.” Maybe it was the fact that we’d had sex again the night before, and not just hot, desk sex. The kind of lovemaking that made me care about him. Maybe it was the fact that Anya was slinking around, obviously wanting something from him. Maybe it was our unde fined status. No, it was definitely our undefined status.
I took another — bigger — bite and simply chewed while I stared at him. “Dance with me, Evie,” he said more than asked. I wondered why he had to ask me that right when I had my mouth stuffed, but I chewed as gracefully as I could, swallowed, and drank some more champagne. Then I nodded and took his hand. I expected him to lead me to the dance floor, which wasn’t crowded. Th is didn’t really seem like a dancing event, just an event that happened to have space to dance. He led me to a door to the outside, and we st epped out onto a massive patio with strings of lights overhead. “No one is out here,” I said. “Everyone else is still too busy seeing and being seen.” The door had closed behind us, damping down the music from inside, but he offered me a hand. When I took it, he pulled me close. Truth be told, the only dancing I’d ever done was with my ass up against college boyfriends in dark clubs, which I didn’t want to tell Rex. I was sure I was about to impale his feet with my high heels, but he took me by the waist and one hand and guided me into a slow dance. “I feel like I’m at the fanciest prom ever,” I said. “Prom?” “The last time I danced like this, I was at prom.” He raised an eyebrow at me, and then sw ept me into a completely different style of dancing. I didn’t know if I was waltzing or if he was making it up as he went, but I didn’t care. “Oh my God, I’m dancing!” I exclaimed. My dress swirled around me. “Surprised?” “I have no idea how to dance!” “I’ll let my mother know that years of unwilling dance lessons finally paid off.” “They have. You learned and now you’re just... making me dance. I feel like my legs are possessed. What’s happening?” “It’s called leading. I’m leading you.” “I’m not sure I like the sound of that, but this is fun.”
He laughed, and the sight of his smile set something in my heart on fire. Without my snack plate to stop me, I couldn’t contain it any longer. “I have something I want to ask you that I shouldn’t,” I said. “What’s that?” he asked. “Are we,” I paused. “Are we still pretending?” He smiled softly. “I’m not. Are you?” “No,” I said. We were twirling, but the world seemed to stop around me. What did this mean? Yet I knew exactly what it meant. Holy shit. We were together. I was dating my boss. I was dating a billionaire. Holy shit either way! “What does that mean?” I asked, my voice low, afraid to admit out loud what I thought it meant. “I’m probably just as confused as you are.” “Is it good for two people to be confused together?” He smiled. “I have no idea. I only know that I like when we’re together.” “Me too,” I said. “How about we figure it out as we go?” he asked. I nodded, and he stopped twirling to lean down and kiss me. When he pulled away, we both looked at each other, a little stunned at what had just happened. “I’m sorry if I messed up your makeup.” “I don’t even care,” I said. “Mess it up some more.” He kissed me again, and then I laughed, unable to hold in a wave of giddiness. “I can’t believe any of this.” “Me neither.” He nuzzled close to me, our foreheads together. “I wish we could leave now. No one else is at the house.” “We can’t leave. I feel like Cinderella.” “Didn’t Cinderella leave? Isn’t that the whole main twist of that story? She leaves? You could go running out the front of this gala. I would run after you.”
I laughed. “Yes, but she didn’t leave until midnight, and it’s nowhere near midnight yet.” He pulled back from me and pursed his lips. “Fine. We’ll stay, Cinderella. Enjoy your evening. Would you like me to get you another drink? I’d love to stay out here a while.” “Yes, please,” I said. “I don’t care what it is.” “I’ll be right back then. Find us a quiet place to sit.” He kissed me softly once more and then ducked back inside. I wandered the large patio and found a gazebo. Flowers covered the outside and there was a view of the darkening mountains around us. I waited for what felt like a long time, though I didn’t know the time. I’d checked my purse and my phone at the door. I was sure the mountains had been lighter when I first found the gazebo. Then, after what felt like another long time, the mountains were nearly dark. Maybe the sun dipped over the horizon faster in the mountains, but it still seemed like a long time. Where was Rex? I tried to talk myself into staying put and waiting for him, but then I thought maybe he couldn’t find me there. Maybe I’d found too private of a place to sit, so I left the gazebo. A few other people had come out onto the patio, but I didn’t see him. I ventured back inside, wondering if one of his family members had detained him. Maybe his father had found a business contact to chat with and called him over. But I spotted all of his family, and he wasn’t with any of them. I hesitated near the hors d’oeuvres table, wondering if I should approach one of his siblings and ask if they’d seen him, but the venue was beautiful, so I decided to explore and find him on my own. Along the way, I got my purse out of the check area so I could peek at my phone to see if Rex had messaged me. He hadn’t. Where was he? We had just had such a beautiful moment. He wouldn’t leave. He was here somewhere. Then I turned and saw Anya. Standing right in front of Rex, near the center of the large room. Both Anya and Rex looked angry. This couldn’t be good. Chapter 3 5 Rex
AS SOON AS I reached the bar, Anya ambushed me. I should have seen it coming. She’d been trying to talk to me for weeks, and I’d been locking her out. She had never been a fan of being ignored. “Can I have a word with you?” she asked in her usual demanding tone. I had two drinks in my hands, one for Evie and one for myself. “I have a date tonight, Anya. She’s waiting for me.” “Your little work - perk can wait. I need to talk to you now.” “You know, you’ve used that same tone of voice at me since we were three. Isn’t it time to let it go?” She leaned against the bar. She had a drink in her hand, something amber colored. It looked like a double pour of some spirit or another. I doubted it was her first. Her eyes were swimmy and her movements a little too flourished. Not even an hour into the gala and Anya was drunk. This should be fun. “You know what, Rex? I don’t care what you think of me,” she said. “All I care about is that we work together to get out of our situations.” “I’ve already said no to your plan.” “I’m aware of that, but I’m not sure I care. Did you know I turned thirty yesterday?” I nodded. I’d known Anya since birth. I knew her birthday. I’d been to her parties and watched her fuss at her parents about her gifts and not getting what she wanted. When she turned ten, she’d had an epic blowout in front of everyone she knew because her mother hired a pony for pony rides, and Anya thought she was too old for that. The woman had no shame when it came to what she wanted — or didn’t want. “And you know how my parents wished me a happy birthday?” she asked, her voice sparked with anger around the edges. “How is that?” I looked for Evie, who was still waiting for me. I thought about excusing myself to find her, but I was sure Anya would follow me. I didn’t want to lead Anya right to Evie, not when she was in this kind of mood. “They reminded me about my inheritance conditions. Like I could forget. They had the gall to point out that I’m not married and that they expected me to find someone. It was the stupidest conversation I’ve ever had in my life.” Her voice was pitching highe r, her anger turning into more than a simmer under the surface. “I don’t know how they expected this to work. Like I would just stroll out and marry someone to get my money.”
“Well, that’s what you tried to do with me.” “You’re different, and you should have helped me. You should have helped yourself, for fuck’s sake! None of this makes any sense.” “What doesn’t make sense is us getting married. We don’t get along.” I took an aggressive sip of my drink and then set both drinks down on a nearby table. “We get along!” she said, a little too loudly. “Or we would if you weren’t always so stubborn. You were supposed to save me from this!” “And why me?” “Because you were in the same boat. What are you even going to do? Marry that piece of tail from your office?” “Anya, stop.” “Well, isn’t she?” “No, she’s not,” I said, and then more flowed out of me before I could think about it. “I’m in love with her.” Anya laughed. “Don’t be silly. You aren’t the sort to fall in love.” “You’re angry. You’re attacking me, but will not stand here and let you.” I gathered up my drinks, ready to leave regardless of whether she followed me. “Why not?” she shouted, following me as I walked into the crowd. Now I was screwed. She wanted attention, and she was going to get it. If not from me, then from everyone else. And getting it she was. Shocked faces surrounded us as her voice grew louder. “Y ou just stand there and let your parents say whatever they want.” “Enough, Anya,” I growled. “Are you going to let them take your inheritance away? Well, I’m not.” “Find someone else to go after.” “I have no one else. If I did, why do you think I’d be here? I don’t even like you!” Big surprise there. I shouldered my way past a group, all of whom were staring at the deranged redhead on my tail, shouting at me and waving her sloshing drink in the air as she did. “It’s your fault that I’m losing my inheritance,” she shouted. “You’re such an asshole!”
Then I saw Evie coming toward us, concern all over her face. I froze in place for a second, trying to think how I could avoid the coming confrontation. I shook my head at Evie, hoping she’d turn back to the patio, but she didn’t. Then she saw Anya. Evie’s eyes widened, but she still continued toward us. “Oh, there’s the little work - perk now,” Anya said behind me. I turned to face her. I would not let her go after Evie. “Anya, fuck off.” Evie came to stand at my side, wrapping her hands around my arm. “Hi, Anya,” she said with her usual upbeat tone. She had no idea what was going on, or she was willfully ignoring it and hoping to kill Anya with kindness. I wrapped my arm around Evie’s shoulders. “I know what you’re trying to do,” Anya said, her voice dropping low. “You’re trying to push me away by showing me you’re all over her, but you can’t possibly care about her.” Evie’s expression crumbled. “She’s a piece of ass. Look at her. She’s a hot little side piece, but she’s not the kind of woman you end up with.” A crowd was gathering around us. I saw Rebekah, Raven, and Ronan nearby, and my parents not too far off. This was not good. “What’s going on?” Evie asked me. Anya answered loudly, making sure everyone around us heard. “What’s going on is that Rex was supposed to be with me. We had an agreement.” I shook my head at Evie. “No, we did not.” “He’s lying to you. We had an agreement. He was supposed to propose to me tonight, not mess around with you. You can’t possibly think someone like Rex Claremont is in a relationship with you, can you? You’re not one of us. You’re an interloper. You can’t e ven pay for the hovel you live in.” My stomach sank. She had overheard Rebekah and I that day at my office. It was the only way she’d have that piece of information, and now she was armed. Locked and loaded and aimed at Evie. I had to stop this, but as I started to speak, Anya raised her voi ce even more. She had always been loud, far louder than me. “Do you think a billionaire would seriously date someone who can’t even pay her mortgage?”
People were staring at us. It was obvious Anya was drunk off her ass. I was sure no one was taking her seriously, but when I looked to Evie, I saw I was wrong. Tears welled in her eyes. Her hands loosened from my arm and fell to her side. “Evie, don’t listen to her,” I said. She didn’t say anything. Her eyes stayed on Anya, as Anya lobbed barbed take - downs at Evie. I couldn’t explain how Anya knew the things she did, not in front of the crowd that had gathered around us. Evie wouldn’t want me to, of that I was sure. I’d been talking about my fake relationship and how it had come about with my sister. I took Evie’s hand. “Anya, we’re done here. Leave us alone.” She tipped back the rest of her drink, whatever hadn’t sloshed out as she’d gesticulated with her glass. “Fuck you, Rex,” she said. “And you, too, Evie.” Evie’s mouth fell open, and a tear es caped her eye. She quickly wiped it away, while I pulled her from the center of the crowd and off to the side of the venue. “Ignore her,” I said. “How does she know about my house?” “Can we get out of here to talk?” “How does she know about my house?” she asked again, emotion surging in her voice. I dropped my voice low, but realized I had to answer her. She might think that Anya and I had been talking about her private matters. “She walked in on a conversation Rebekah and I were having one night.” “Rebekah knew?” she asked, her voice cracking. The look on her face, the heartbreak, the betrayal — all made me feel like shit. I opened my mouth to speak, but she stopped me. “I don’t want to do this here,” she said. “Do what?” I asked, and my first panicky thought was that she was going to break up with me. “I’m tired, Rex. I need to process. I need to think. I’m going to go find somewhere quiet.” She was already backing away from me. “Please don’t go,” I nearly whispered. I took a few st eps toward her. “I’m sorry, Evie.” Before the words were out of my mouth, she turned and fled toward the hallway at the far side of the room, the blue fabric of her dress swirling around her as she hurried away from me. I watched as she disappeared into the hallway.
My family were all standing off at a distance, peering at us and ke eping their distance. Rebekah was trying to talk Anya down and leading her away from the center of the party. I suspected she’d be escorted out soon enough for causing a scene and embarrass ing herself. She’d regret all of this in the morning. Without Evie by my side, I suddenly felt lost, so I waited for her, standing in the place where we’d last spoken. I expected her to return from the restrooms after a few minutes. A lot had been said in the past hour, one of which lodged in my mind. I’d told Anya I was in love with Evie, but Evie hadn’t heard it. I wanted to be near her and think about what I’d said, to see what I felt when I thought it in her presence. No one had e ver made me feel the way she had — not in bed and not out of it, either. She brought me out of myself. She made me smile. She made me not care about my inheritance. All I wanted was her. So I waited. And waited. Eventually, I went to find her. The hallway where she’d run to had restrooms at the far end of it. When I got there, a woman was coming out of the women's room. “Excuse me,” I said. “Was there anyone else in the restroom with you?” “No,” she said. “It’s empty.” “Are you sure? You didn’t see a dark - haired woman? Very beautiful? Short? She might have been in a stall.” “No, I’m sure,” she said, and then she continued down the hall, back toward the event. She had said the women’s room was empty. After a few seconds of mental debate, I pushed the door open and called inside, “Evie?” When I didn’t get an answer, I pushed the door wider and looked inside, wanting to see if Evie’s silver shoes peeked out from u nder any of the stall doors. The women’s room was indeed empty. I would have seen if Evie had returned to the event. I had been standing near the exit of the hallway. I hurried to check with my siblings, but Evie was not with them. I checked the patio. I scanned the crowd. I texted her. I called her. Then I spotted my parents near the coat check. “Are you all right, darling?” my mother asked as I approached. “Yes, I’m fine. Have either of you seen Evie?” “No, but Anya will be lucky if she can ever show her face in public again. What was all that about?”
Right now, I didn't want to have that conversation. “I suggest if you want to know what all that was about, you ask Anya’s parents. You inspired them with your inheritance conditions, but I think maybe they’ve put a bit too much pressure on Anya. If you’ll excuse me, I need to find Evie.” “You could let her go,” my father dared to say. “It would solve a lot of your problems.” “My problems?” I questioned, not in the mood for this. “You shouldn’t be dating your assistant,” he said flatly. “A lot of what Anya said was completely out of line, but that part was about right.” I pressed my lips together. What I wanted to do was find Evie, but I couldn’t let my father get away with this, either. “Well, I am. She’s my girlfriend.” “You could let her leave.” “And why would I do that?” My father puffed up, the way he did when he was sure he was right. “Because you’re jeopardizing your own future.” “Then maybe I don’t want that future.” My father deflated, surprised. His surprise gave me the courage I’d always wanted, but never been able to find. “Maybe I don’t want the things you want for me,” I said. He crossed his arms and stared me down. My mother put her hands on his arm, like she hoped to drag him away, but this was happening. Then I took a breath. Should I say the next words I wanted to say? If the cost was getting written out of the inheritance, dare I? I concluded I had no choice. “I don’t want to be the CEO of Quinn Financial. I don’t want to fix your broken company. You’ve spent my whole life ensuring that I have the skills to take on a company and do whatever it takes to make it successful, but I don’t want to be a CEO.” “What do you want, then?” His voice was cold and empty. I couldn’t tell if he was proud of me or about to go call a lawyer to write me out of the will. “What I want — what I’m going to do — is to go after Evie and tell her I love her. Right now, that’s all I want.”
A smile tugged at my mom’s mouth. “No one ever said you couldn’t do what you wanted to do, darling.” “Oh, I don’t think I made that up,” I said, my eyes firmly on my dad’s. “Your father just wants you to find your own way and you never have. He was trying to push you. You never seemed to know what you want.” “It’s your life. You can do whatever you want with it,” my father said, but his tone was too bitter. I doubted he meant it. I figured it was implied that there might be consequences if I did what I wanted, but I didn’t care. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I checked it to find a text from Evie: I was going to go back to the house, but I changed my mind. I’m on my way to the airport. “Fuck!” I growled. “Rex!” my mother gasped. “What was that for?” “Evie,” I said. “She’s on her way to the airport.” My father’s face remained stern, but my mother reached to put her hand on my arm. “You should probably go after her, darling.” Chapter 3 6 Evie ARRIVING AT AN airport in a very fancy ball gown is not a way to avoid attention. I climbed out of the taxi and all eyes were instantly on me. When I’d decided to go to the airport, I hadn’t thought of that. I hadn’t really thought about much of anything beyond the fact that I couldn’t walk back into the ballroom, not after the things Anya had said. I could barely look Rex in the eye after hearin g her belittle me so brashly — brash, but true. I couldn’t afford my house. My life was in ruins. I shouldn’t be with Rex. I shouldn’t be with anyone until I could figure out how to handle my own hot mess of a life. Why would anyone — let alone a billionaire — want to be with me right now? Worse, Rex hadn’t been honest with me. I went back and forth in my mind about whether I had any right to be upset about that. We’d been in a fake relationship. He didn’t owe me honesty. It stung anyway, to know that he’d disclosed our situation to Rebekah without telling me. I’d fully intended to go back to Rex, and back to his family home, and work my way through all of this. But then, as I sat there in the fanciest bathroom known to humankind, something in me snapped. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t go back out to the ballroom full of people who knew I was
an interloper who couldn’t pay her bills, and back to my maybe - fake, maybe - real relationship, and back to everything. What I needed was some time to think and be in my own comfort zone — not surrounded by people with money shooting out of their ears. I needed to go home. I hadn’t thought that decision through, though. Not that thinking before I leaped was exactly my specialty, but standing in the middle of an airport in my designer fairytale dress was perhaps a new low. Worse, my makeup was streaking down my face. I probably looked like I’d crawled out of some horror movie. And maybe I had. This felt like a horror movie. I wiped at my eyes with the back of my hand as yet another person walked past and stared at me like I was possessed. I needed a good gift shop or something. Maybe I could change from my gown into a touristy shirt and some shorts. That would look great with a pair of heels, right? I found a bathroom and wiped away most of my makeup, while a small girl gawked at me the entire time. Her mother encouraged her not to stare, but I assured her it was fine. I would stare at me, too. I regretted the choice of a de
Ep V - neck. After my horror movie makeup was gone, my next issue was that half the airport seemed to be fixated on my boobs. They were on display. I got it. I didn’t appreciate it, though. I wished even harder for a touristy sh irt to put on. But first things first — I had to get out of here. I found a reader board and stood in front of it, skimming to see which airlines had flights to Seattle leaving ASAP. I wanted to beg my way onto a flight leaving in ten minutes. Maybe my lowcut dress would c ome in handy after all. As I stood in line, my tears threatened to come back. I couldn’t cry again, not in line surrounded by strangers. I tried to remind myself that this was all fake. All of it. Maybe we had started to feel something for each other. Maybe — not maybe — we had fant astic sex. But this had started as a deal, and I had no right to expect it to be anything more than a deal. My reminders didn’t work. It had been fake, but it had also been the best relationship I’d ever had, which made me want to cry even more. Playing pretend had been better than my real life. My real life was nothing but work and the sad fact that I’d made ba d decisions and was about to lose my house. My friends had all moved away. I had no social life. I had nothing. My turn to go up to the counter arrived. I st epped up, and a middle - aged woman gave me the stink eye.
“I know,” I said. “I’m not wearing what one would typically wear to fly, but can we please move past that? I’d like to get to Seattle as quickly as possible. You have a flight in a half hour. Is there any chance at all I can get on that flight? I will sit anywhere. I would even stand, if you let me.” She pursed her lips and then said, “Let me check.” I leaned on the counter, trying to see her screen, but I couldn’t. “There’s one seat left,” she said, “but you’ll have to rush to the gate to make it.” “I’ll take it. I’ll run.” “In those heels?” “I’ll make it work.” I put my ID and credit card on the counter. I was already losing my house. What was more debt at this point? As soon as she placed the boarding pass in my hand, I started running through the airport to figure out how to get through security and to my gate before the flight left. Chapter 3 7 Rex I SEARCHED ON my phone for flights leaving for Seattle on the way to the airport, so that when my driver dropped me on the curb, I already had a plan. I checked the ticket desks first, but couldn’t find Evie, which made things a little more difficult, but not impossible. I followed the signs to the nearest security checkpoint to see if I could find her. I scanned the line, but didn’t see her dark hair. I was just about to give up when I spotted her — getting a security pat down, still in her blue gown. “Evie!” I shouted, without thinking about it. Everyone within earshot turned to look, including her. Her eyes lingered on me, but she didn’t move as the agent patted down her sides. She looked sad, defeated, and out of place in that designer dress in the middle of a security checkpoint. I wanted to chase after her, but one look at the TSA agent guarding the line and glaring at me after my shout, and I knew that would never happen. So I retreated, ducked around a corner, and searched on my phone for the next flight leaving. I found one, bo oked it, and checked in online so I could go after her.
Evie was gone by then. Thankfully, the security line wasn’t long and soon enough, I was on the other side, where I checked the monitors and found the gate with the next flight out to Seattle, hoping she would be there. When I got to the gate, she was already in line. “Evie!” I called again. That time, she spun around to glare at me as I drew closer to her. “Go home, Rex.” “You can’t just leave.” “I can. I am going to. I’m getting on this plane.” “Evie, talk to me. Please.” I could tell she had been crying. Tears sprang into her eyes a little too quickly. “I just want to go home and enjoy my house while I still can.” I tried to take her hand, but the line moved up and she st epped away from me. “Evie, please. Can we talk?” “I’ll miss my flight.” “Can we talk, anyway? If you still want to leave after we talk, I’ll buy you a ticket on the next flight out. I promise.” Her eyes shifted away from me, out the nearby windows, to her plane waiting outside. “I promise,” I said again. “Please, talk to me.” “I don’t really want to fly like this, anyway,” she said, motioning toward her dress. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. I noticed her makeup was gone. “Everyone has been staring at my chest.” I took off my jacket and put it around her shoulders. She pulled it close around herself. I scanned the area around us and spotted a gate with hardly anyone at it. “Let’s sit there,” I said, so we did. We sat in two chairs by a window. Her dress flowed aro und her legs. I took her hands in mine. “Evie,” I said, and waited for her to look at me. “Why did you leave?” She swallowed. “I couldn’t go back into that ballroom after the things Anya said.” “I understand that, but if you needed to leave, I would have left with you. We could have gone back to the house. Why are you at the airport?”
“I’m going home. Anya said you had an agreement and that you were supposed to propose to her. You and Rebekah had some kind of conversation about Anya or me that I didn’t even know about. It’s all just too much. I need to go home.” She started to stand up, but I reached for her hand to stop her. “Can I attempt to explain?” She froze and stayed seated. Then she nodded almost imperc eptibly. I let out a breath. “I told Rebekah. I trust her and needed to talk to someone, because this hasn’t been any easier for me than I imagine it’s been for you. I talked to my sister, which also in volved me telling her about why we’d made our deal in the first place. Anya found out because she burst into my office uninvited right after that conversation. She’d overheard, but I never willingly told her a thing. I didn’t even know she had heard until tonight.” “And that all sounds fine on one hand, but on the other, I feel like I should have known. I know the terms of our relationship are iffy at best,” she said. “We were officially pretending up until the past couple of hours, but I can’t help feeling betrayed that you didn’t tell me any of that before. I have no real right to feel that way, but I do.” I was losing her. I heard panic in my voice as I spoke. “I didn’t tell you because it was just more Anya trying to get me to do what she wants.” “But why is she after you like this? She said you had a deal.” “We never had a deal. She tried to strong arm me because our parents are trying to push us together.” A watery sheen covered her eyes as she looked up at me and held my gaze, demanding the truth. “Were your parents still trying to push you together? Even with me there?” “Not like they were.” “But they are?” “Evie, none of that matters to me.” “It matters to me,” she said, and her lip trembled. “She told that entire building about the fact that I can’t pay my mortgage. She called me an interloper.” “And did you believe her?” Her lip trembled. “I am an interloper. I don’t belong here.” “That’s not true. None of what she said was true. I have been clear with Anya from the start that I can’t offer her what she wants, but she is a bitter and stubborn woman.”
She smoothed her dress over one knee, pressing the cloth r epeatedly with her fingers. “The things she said... they’re true.” “No, they are not.” “I don’t belong with you. I don’t belong with anyone. I can’t pay my bills. I’m about to lose my house. I will literally be homeless. I have so much stuff to figure out.” “None of that matters to me.” “Well, maybe it should. Maybe you aren’t sure what you want. Your father is orchestrating your work, your love life, all of you. What do you actually want?” “What I want is you.” She looked at me. I thought when I said those words that she’d throw her arms around me, that her joyful smile would light up the room. Instead, she looked sad, so sad that my heart was cracking in half before she even spoke. “I don’t know that I can process all of this right now.” She stood up. “I think I can still make my flight. I just want to get on my plane, ride in coach, have no leg room, and go home before I don’t have a home anymore.” “Evie, no. Please don’t.” “No, you don’t understand. This isn’t just about you. I mean, it’s partly about you. I thought I... whatever. I felt things, but I shouldn’t have. Tonight helped me see that I’m not the right person for you. I want to be, but I’m not. I’m not rich. I drive my own shitty car. I don’t have any money. And all of that matters.” “No, it doesn’t.” “My house is going to auction next month, and I have no idea what I’m going to do. I’m losing it because I didn’t pay my mortgage, because my dad lost his house and had nowhere to go so I had to help him. So I did, and now I’m losing my house. That’s my li fe. Multi - generational fuck ups. I’m not like you. I’m not like anyone you know. I want to be, but I’m not. You’re a professionally tailored suit that costs two thousand dollars. I’m a t - shirt and old jeans and wornout flip - flops.” “I don’t care about any of that, Evie,” I said, but she was already slipping away from me, edging toward the gate. “You don’t even know if you do or not. You pulled me into your world. You’ve never even seen mine.”
“So let me see it.” She shook her head. Then she took off my jacket and handed it back to me. “I have to catch this flight. I need to go home. I’ll see you at work on Monday, I guess.” Then she left, and I stood there, watching her get onto the plane, unsure how to let her go. Chapter 3 8 Evie BY THE TIME I got home, I was so over my beautiful, fancy ball gown that I nearly ripped it off. I’d been so enchanted by that dress, but it had seen too much now. On top of the gala’s series of events, the dress had also been through two airports, two tax is, and sat in coach for two hours. I’d never had so many people stare at me as I had that night. I nearly dislocated my shoulder getting it unzipped, and then I let it fall to the floor in a heap. I left it there and staggered to my unluxurious shower. I had product in my hair, makeup residue on my face, probably tear stains, too. I needed to wash it all away and just be me again. That thought made me cry. Just me. Not Rex and me. As I stood in the steamy water, I remembered his face as I’d turned to leave. I told myself that was not the face of someone who had been pretending with me. He had told me he was no longer pretending. His words had been real, and I felt the same way about him, and yet here I was. I’d been lying to myself that he could be happy with me. His world was so different from mine. When my house got taken away in a month, and I had to move in with my dad in the middle of nowhere, what would Rex think then? He wouldn’t understand. He wouldn’ t be able to come over and hang out. With my dad. We couldn’t make love there. We couldn’t even hold a conversation there unless we wanted my dad to join in. I wanted to let him in, but my life was falling apart. Best to end it now. Exc ept that I had to go to work on Monday and see him there. I had to work with him. I had to be in the same office as that desk. I let out a scream, and it felt so good. So I let out another one. A long, enduring scream. Then I sank to the floor and sobbed in my shower until my body was completely spent. I put on my softest pajamas, crawled into bed, and pulled out my phone. There was a message from Rex: Please reconsider, Evie. This can’t be how we end.
All I wanted was to run back to him and forget all of this, but I couldn’t let myself. I had to fix my own mistakes. I had to deal with losing my house, finding a new place to live, and probably finding a new job, too. Starting tomorrow, I’d apply all week end long. I couldn’t do any of those things if I was dating a billionaire. Nothing I was going through would even be a problem to him. He wouldn’t understand. I set my phone down, shut the lamp off, and closed my eyes. RETURNING TO WORK after the past few days was the most bizarre experience of my life. More than anything, I wanted to call in sick, but decided to get it over with. I put on my most homely work outfit — a brown pencil skirt, plain white blouse, and a dark pink cardigan. I wanted to walk into that office with as little sex appeal as possible, for Rex’s sake and my own. Shortly after I got there, I checked my email and found a note that Rex would not be coming in that day. He’d actually called in sick. Chicken. Which meant my plan had changed. I’d put out as many applications as I could over the weekend for all kinds of jobs — jobs far beneath my skill set, jobs far above it. Everything I could find, I’d applied for. Anything that got back to me, I’d take it at this point just as a stopgap measure until I figured out what to do next. I only knew I couldn’t stay here. When Lochlan came in, I was looking at a job description and he caught me. “Oh, what’s this?” he asked, clearly delighted. “It’s exactly what you think it is.” He cackled, and then said in a sing - song voice, “You can’t job search here. I am going to tell on you.” I rolled my eyes. “You are an actual child. Go on. Tell on me. Who are you going to tell?” “Your boss.” “He’s not here, and by the time he is here again, I won’t be.” He froze in place, staring at me through narrowed eyes, calculating his next move. Lochlan smelled a situation.
“Look, I won’t tell you what’s going on, but I am going to tell you that if you go to Rex about this, it will only make you look bad, not me. So have at it, if you want to, but I don’t recommend it.” The corner of his mouth tugged down. “Why are you leaving this job? It’s one of the best jobs in the entire company and you haven’t even been here long.” No one else was there yet. Tasha was always late. The executives weren’t due in until an hour from now. I stared Lochlan down — this hateful worm of a man who had made sure not to welcome me to this position from day one. “I’m leaving for a few reasons, but certainly on the list is that you’ve been horrible to work with.” He rolled his eyes at me. “Why have you been so mean?” “Because your job should have been mine.” “Yes, I know. How long did you plan on mistreating me over that? Are you seriously so small of a person that you’re going to dwell on that forever?” He sat down at his desk, but didn’t seem to have a response. He was too curious to go back to work and ignore me, though. “I’m going to quit this job, so it will be open again. It could potentially be yours, but you might want to try being nicer to everyone if you actually want it.” His eyes opened wider at that. “Rex doesn’t even like you. I wouldn’t be surprised if no one here likes you. You’re kind of rude to everyone.” It felt good to say it. “I am not,” he snipped. “You definitely are. So I’m here to do you a favor, and I don’t even know why. If you want that job after I’m gone, maybe stop treating everyone in the office like trash. Be nice. Be helpful. Then maybe the job will be yours.” I turned my chair around to signify the end of the conversation. He was probably brushing up his resume while I worked on looking for more jobs to apply to. What a fine pair we were. I thought a million times of emailing or texting Rex. I thought about not putting in my resignation, but the more I reasoned through it all, the more I knew this was what I had to do.
I could not be with Rex. I needed to sort out my life and my mistakes. Soon enough, I wouldn’t even have a home of my own, not even an apartment. Someone like him could not understand. If I couldn’t be with him, then working together was going to be difficult. I couldn’t see him and not feel things for him, because somewhere along the line I’d completely fallen for him. Beyond everything else about him, he was simply someone I wanted to be with as much as possible. My timing was — as usual — absolutely terrible. I didn’t have another job lined up yet, but as I spent my day thinking what it would have been like had Rex actually come in, I realized I could not work with him. Not for another day. There was no other way. I mentally wrestled with myself all day long, but at the end of the day, I sent him my resignation and packed up my desk and walked out of Quinn Financial for the very last time. MY THOUGHTS CONTINUED to mull around on my way home, and by the time I walked into my house, I’d decided it wasn’t only my job that I needed to change. Everything about my life had become overly complicated. I was ready to shed it all. First, I called my dad and invited myself to his house. I packed a bag that would last me at least a week, and then I got into my car and left. I sat in rush hour traffic for a long time before I broke through and made my way a few hours south of Seattle t o his place. “Hi, Evie,” he said when he opened the door. “It’s been a while.” I immediately felt bad that I didn’t call him more often, or my mom, or anyone. Why didn’t I have any close friends anymore? Because I’d gotten bad about staying in touch, but I’d especially gotten bad about my dad. I’d change that, too. “It has, but thanks for letting me come to stay with you for the week. I just needed to get out of town for a bit.” I looked around as I walked inside. The last time I’d seen this place had been when we’d first checked it out together, right before I bought it for him. My house was small, but this one was smaller, more of a cabin. There was one bedroom in a loft above t he kitchen, a living room area, the kitchen, and a tiny bathroom. It was impossible not to think about the grand homes of the Claremonts. This entire house could fit on their veranda. I missed Rex. It had only been a couple of days, and I missed him so much that an ache had settled into my chest.
I had to assure myself that this was the right thing to do. I looked around my father’s home. I’d likely be sle eping either in the loft or on the futon in the living room until I could get my life in order again. I reminded myself again — Rex would not under stand this life, and I could not fit with his life while I was stuck here. “So, how are you, Dad?” I asked, throwing my luggage into a less - cluttered corner. “Me?” he asked. “The same as always. The tomatoes and p eppers are coming in nicely. I plan to make a lot of salsa this year. Care to join me?” I almost started crying at his words. Salsa. His life was so pleasant and simple. That’s what I needed — not foreclosures and billionaires and galas. Just simple. “I’d love to join you.” He made a drawn - out hmm kind of sound. “That is suspicious. You’ve never wanted to join me in the kitchen before. What’s going on?” “A lot. And making salsa sounds like the perfect remedy to all of it.” “Have a seat,” he said, motioning toward the futon. He brought us both a beer and sat on the other side of the futon from me. I checked out the label on the beer and it appeared to be from the local brewery, where he worked part time. “I’m going to pay you back,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter if you do anymore,” I said. “What does that mean?” “It means I’m going to lose my house.” “What?” His eyes flew wide. “What do you mean you’re going to lose it?” “I didn’t make my payments for a few months — I couldn’t — and I’ve tried to save it, but I can’t. The house is going to auction next month.” “I’ll pay off what you owe. You got me this place when I was down on my luck. I’ll pay you back this way.” I shook my head and took a de ep breath, trying to center myself. “You can’t help me. I owe too much for you to pay back. I’ve come to terms with this, Dad. I’m going to lose my house, and I’m going to stay with you while I get back on my feet. It might tak e a while, but this is how I want you to pay me back. Let me stay here. Let me help you make salsa and have a quiet place to sort myself out, and then we’ll be even.” “Baby, I am so sorry. This is my fault.”
“Your job laid you off right before you retired. It’s your job’s fault, but it’s not yours and not mine. It’s no one’s fault.” I took a sip of my beer. “This is pretty good.” “It’s great! This little brewery is going to go places, I think, but for right now, they’re focusing on opening a brewpub.” He gave me a squint. My dad had always been an observant man. “There’s more you haven’t told me,” he said rather than asked. “Oh yeah, there’s more. My life is a hot, steaming mess right now.” I ruminated on the beer for a few sips, unsure how much I should tell him or how much I wanted to. I decided to go for it. Telling someone might help me feel better, at the very least. “I quit my job.” His mouth dropped open. “At Quinn? You’ve been there a long time. Are you sure that was the right thing to do?” “Nope. I’m not sure of anything right now. I had to quit. I recently took on a new position there, but then I started dating my boss. You can tell from that where I’m going with this. I haven’t made the best decisions over the past six months, and I don’t want to delve into any of it right now. I want you to trust me that I’ll get everything fixed. I need a big reset.” “I trust you,” he said. “You can even have the loft while you stay here.” “Thank you.” The word was far too simple for how I felt. His simple acc eptance of where I was and what I needed reached inside of me and set a lot of things right. Not everything, but a lot. He spent the afternoon moving his things out of the loft and setting up a makeshift bedroom for himself in the living area. I wanted to protest, but the fact was I didn’t know how long I’d be there and didn’t want to cry myself to sle ep on his futon. At le ast the loft was a little more private. That night, as I laid in the twin - sized bed in the loft and tried to stop thinking about Rex, I checked my phone and saw that he had texted me. He’d gotten my resignation. He understood. He didn’t want things to end this way. He didn’t want things to end a t all. He missed me. He wanted to meet up so we could talk. I found I didn’t want to cry myself to sle ep. All I wanted to do was close my eyes and envision myself with him again. Had I made a mistake? Chapter 3 9 Rex
IT HAD BEEN three days since I’d heard from Evie. She hadn’t been texting me back or answering my calls. On one hand, I understood why she had left. On the other, I didn’t, and couldn’t, and would not. I would not let her go. I had felt things for that woman I’d never felt for anyone, and I would not let an asinine encounter with Anya and Evie’s insecurities about her homeownership status tear us apart. She’d quit her job so she wouldn’t have to see me. She had some bullshit reasoning in her resignation letter about having personal affairs to deal with, but that’s all it was. Bullshit. She hadn’t approached me to work out a plan. I would have done just th at. Even if she didn’t want to be with me, I would have worked out a plan with her, allowing her to ke ep her job and paychecks — the entire reason we had entered into our deal in the first place, back when I had wanted to fire her. I guess things had changed. Scratch that. Everything had changed. She no longer wanted her job, and I definitely no longer wanted to fire her. All I wanted was a chance to talk to her, which had led me to her doorst
Ep I’d had Adaline drop me off in front of Evie’s house, and I stood there in the afternoon sunlight staring at her front door, wondering if she was home. The only way to find out was to knock. As I approached her door, I wondered why she’d never invited me inside of her home. Maybe I’d never given her the chance, always whisking her off to more luxurious locations and events, always showing up with a driver ready to go. Maybe she was right not t o trust me with her misfortune. Maybe I wouldn’t understand it, but I wanted to try, at least. I knocked on her door at least three times — ready to make my case to her — but there came no answer. The windows were dark. I didn’t hear so much as a shuffle on the other side of the door, and I didn’t see a car in the driveway. So I sat down on her front st ep and waited, hoping she might come back. I noticed an older woman across the street digging weeds out of her garden. She didn’t seem to notice me. I pulled out my phone and thought about texting Evie again, but how many times could I text her with no response before I gave up? I couldn’t imagine giving up. Right then, I felt like I’d fight for her to hear me out forever, if that’s what it took. “Can I help you with something?”
I looked up to see the older woman standing in front of me. I shot to my feet, a little surprised that she’d gotten so close to me and I hadn’t heard her speak until she was there... like a damn ninja. “I’m looking for the woman who lives here. Evie. Do you k now her?” “I’m not sure I’d tell you if I did.” I smiled. “You’re a good neighbor.” She fawned over that, obviously proud of herself for not coughing up Evie’s current whereabouts. “I’m just waiting here for her.” Then it happened — realization dawned on the older woman’s face. “You’re Rex Claremont!” I nodded. “I am.” “Reginald Claremont’s son!” “Yes,” I said. “I am.” She seemed far too excited about this. I got recognized often, even sometimes with excitement, but this seemed like something else. A humming kind of excitement that went beyond seeing someone you recognized from a magazine. “I know your father! I was his math teacher when he went to West Seattle Pr ep.” “Really?” This was a first. “Yes!” Her excitement was palpable. “I always knew he would go on to great things. He was so smart and so charming, but I never imagined he’d build a global hotel empire. Oh, I’ve told so many people about him over the years and how proud I am that I was o nce his teacher. Please tell him that Mrs. Rosenbaum still thinks of him and is so proud of him.” “I’ll tell him. I’m guessing it’s been a long time since anyone told him they were proud of him.” “Well, I am. I can’t help it. He’s become such a great man.” It had been a long time since I’d thought of my father as a great man. I supposed he was. Sometimes it was hard to see through his ideas of what my life should have been. “Why are you looking for Evie?” she asked me. I processed this question for a second, wondering what the right answer was. I decided to be honest. “We were dating, but recently broke up. I miss her and want to talk to her again to see if we can work things out.” Mrs. Rosenbaum gave me a good, long stare. “I shouldn’t tell you where she went, but I will tell you she’s not here, so there’s no point in waiting. The poor dear is about to lose her house. I don’t think there’s anyone on this block who loves her house mo re than she does. Look at those flower beds. She puts so much time into them.”
I had noticed her yard before, but looked at the flower beds and took in how carefully manicured they were. Not a single weed among the lavender and azaleas and other flowers I couldn’t name. I imagined Evie digging in those beds and realized again that I hadn’t given her a chance to show me her true self. She was right. She’d seen my world, but I hadn’t seen hers. I would change that. “They are beautiful garden beds,” I said. “She is such a lovely lady. I’m sure you know that. So kind - hearted. The whole reason she is in this mess is because she was helping her out - of - work father.” Then she paused. “Perhaps I shouldn’t say.” “No, I knew that. She is a unique woman. Thank you for your time, Mrs. Rosenbaum. I’ll tell my father you said hi.” “And that I’m proud of him!” “And that you’re proud of him.” I called Adaline back to pick me up, and as she pulled to the curb, I had only one thought on my mind. Mrs. Rosenbaum hadn’t told me where to find Evie. Not on purpose. But I knew enough about the situation to have figured out a good guess on where she mig ht be. Her dad’s house. She had mentioned him before. Finding him didn’t take long. She had him labeled on her social media, and with his name in hand, it didn’t take much longer to find his address. Part of me wanted to go pay her father a visit and see if I was right immediately, but I didn’t know if I would be welcome. I didn’t know if she wanted to see me at all, given that she wasn’t responding to me. So I didn’t go after her right away. I went home and decided to think through what exactly I wanted to say to her, how I wanted to say it, and what the perfect way to approach her might be. Chapter 40
Evie
IT TURNS OUT there isn’t a lot to do in a tiny house in the country when one is ungainfully unemployed, so after a couple of days of hiding out in his loft, I started accompanying my dad to his job at the microbrewery. The entire operation was just two brothers who had founded the brewery and my dad, helping them out as a delivery driver. They didn’t mind me hanging on the sidelines, or helping my dad load the truck and riding along with him as he delivered the beer to l ocal brewpubs and shops. “This isn’t a bad gig you’ve got,” I told him one day. “I know it’s not. I spent almost thirty years of my life working in the corporate world, thinking that was all I’d ever do. If you’d told me I’d spend my retirement years delivering beer, I wouldn’t have believed it.” I climbed into the passenger seat and thought back to my own job. Who was filling the role of executive assistant? I wondered if it was Lochlan. I’d gotten some emails from my former boss, Angela. She had heard I’d quit, and she’d invited me back to my old job. Apparently, the new hire wasn’t working out too well. I told her I’d think about it, and she’d said I could take my time. Going back to my old job felt like a st ep backward in some ways, but in others, it might be a good fit. Realistically, I could not stay in my dad’s loft forever. This was a nice respite from real life, but it was not my life. Soon enough, my house would go to auction. I’d already gone back to it a few times and cleaned it out. Everything I owned had either been donated or put into a storage unit. The house sat there, waiting to be sold, probably to some investor who would turn it into a rental or flip it. I tried not to think about it. We arrived at the first shop, a tiny grocery store in a town called Yelm. My dad handled bringing in the order while I sat in the truck and checked my phone. Rex had stopped messaging me after a few days, but I still checked several times a day, hoping he might come back. I hadn’t responded to him, so I’d given him the impression I was done with him... but I wasn’t. I was just overwhelmed. I needed a break, but I hoped I would see him again. I hadn’t figured out yet if that was a good plan or if I wanted us to be together again. My dad climbed back into the truck. “How did you know you and Mom were done when you divorced?” I asked. “Huh?” he seemed surprised. “We argued a lot. I got tired of it. I was done.”
“But didn’t you still love her?” “By that point? Not really. Maybe I loved the memory of what we had, but we didn’t have it anymore. Are you thinking about your guy again?” I nodded. “It’s probably not the same situation. Your mom and I were married for ten years. We had plenty of time to fall out of love. Maybe you should text him back. Talk to him. See if that helps you figure it out.” “Yeah, maybe,” I said. What I didn’t want to say out loud was that if I talked to him in person again, we would most certainly end up back together. I couldn’t resist him. Not a chance. But my conviction that he didn’t belong with me had shaken a bit over the past few days. I wanted him to belong with me, however illogical it might be. “Talking to him would certainly be a wiser course of action than asking me about my love life. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I live alone in a house that does not support a dating lifestyle.” I snorted. “Not that I’m knocking it. In fact, I think everyone should move out of the city and live like this. Life is far more peaceful. Do you see how much traffic we’re sitting in to get between these towns? None. No traffic. How often does that happen in Seattle ?” “Never, but I think you already know that. I don’t mind the traffic, though.” He launched into a lengthy diatribe about why I should at least consider a move to the country, but my mind wandered. I watched the trees and open fields pass by and wondered what my house was doing. Were my flowers still alive in the yard, or were weeds t aking over? Who was looking my house up online, planning to bid on it? Who might live in it next? And then I wondered about Rex. At the next stop, I took out my phone and stared at it, thinking about messaging him and what I would say if I did. That I was sorry I hadn’t responded? That I missed him? That I didn’t know if it made any sense at all that we should be together, but that I wanted to be with him more than anything in the world. I didn’t send a message, but thoughts of him lodged in my heart for the rest of the day, like they did every day.
IN THE EVENINGS, my dad went out on his own. At first, I had been surprised he went out every night, but then I figured it must be good to get out, living in such a small space. I came to enjoy him being gone, because it was impossible to have any privacy with the two of us there. The night of my house auction, I enjoyed it especially much. He had asked me if I wanted him to hang out that day, but I declined. I’d ordered some takeout from the one place that offered it within a thirty - mile radius, opened one of his ever - present beers , and found a show to binge. I planned to eat my dinner and then spend the rest of the evening crying and flipping through photos of my house on my phone. I changed into my pajamas. Shortly after, my dinner showed up — a chicken sandwich covered in barbecue sauce and fried onions with fries, comfort food at its finest. Then I flipped on a show and ate slowly. I tried not to think about how dead my dreams were. All of them. Homeownership. Having a great job. Getting out of debt. Being with Rex. Thinking of that is what caused me to cry into my fries, which was not my plan, but I couldn’t stop it. I tried to focus on my show, but the harder I tried, the more I cried. Then someone knocked on the door, and I jumped so hard that my fries went flying. My food was already there. My business with the world was done for the evening. My dad was out with his only friends who would come by at this time of day. So why was anyone knocking? I figured I had two options. I could dig through the kitchen to find a knife or some other weapon, but that would take time and at least two of the windows didn’t have curtains on them. Why didn’t they have curtains on them? What was wrong with my dad? My other option was to scurry up into the loft and hide under the bed and hope whoever it was gave up and left. Of course, I could have just answered the door, but I was in my pajamas and didn’t know who it could be. No thanks. I started climbing into the loft when the person knocked again, a little harder. I nearly shat myself right then and there, but then pushed through and continued climbing. Until I heard a familiar voice call out, “Evie? Are you here?” “Rex?” I said, even though he probably couldn’t hear me. I turned as I said it, my foot slipping on the rung of the loft ladder under me, so that I stumbled to the ground. Then he definitely heard me as I let out a very becoming string of fucks and shits a nd other flowery language describing how I felt about landing on the hard ground. “Evie?” he asked again.
My fall brought me out of my panic. I had wanted to see Rex again, and here he was at my door. How he had found me, I had no idea, but I was sure his billionaire super powers hadn’t hurt. The knocking stopped, and suddenly I was terrified he might leave. I clambered to my feet and ran to the door and opened it without thinking another thought. He stood there not in a fabulously expensive suit, not even in his more casual designer clothes. Instead, he wore a faded blue t - shirt, old jeans, and flip - flops. I remembered what I’d said to him about how I was a pair of jeans and flip - flops. I didn’t know exactly what his choice of clothing meant, but it touched me in a way no faded tshirt and old pair of jeans ever had. “Oh my God,” I said. “Have you ever worn fl ip - flops before in your life?” He shook his head. “I can’t say that I have.” All I could do was look at him. It felt like an eternity since I’d seen him, and everything I’d felt for him had only gotten stronger. Countless times since then, I’d been sure I’d made a mistake by leaving. Now with him in front of me, I was one hundred p ercent sure I’d made a mistake. I surged forward and threw my arms around him, holding onto him for a few seconds before I lifted my head and looked up, arms still around his back. “How did you even find me here?” He laughed. “In a long, roundabout way that in volved Mrs. Rosenbaum, a series of hunches and memories of things you’ve said, and some digging around online. I’ve missed you. I thought you might turn me away for pulling something like this.” I shook my head. “I couldn’t turn you away even if I wanted to. I’ve missed you, too. Painfully.” He leaned down and kissed me, pulling my body to his in a way that made me feel like he’d never let me go. I didn’t want him to let me go. Ever. “Evie,” he said, “I don’t care if you don’t come from the same world as me, or if you didn’t make some mortgage payments, or if you have to live with your dad for a while. I don’t care at all. I’m so in love with you.” “I don’t care, either. I thought I did, but I don’t. I’m in love with you, too. I’m sorry I haven’t been answering you. I just... I’ve felt so lost. I didn’t know what I could offer you. I didn’t know what to say or how to say it. I don’t even know what I wan t to do. I’m still not working. I might have accidentally moved into a cabin with my dad. I’m just floundering. Frankly, it’s embarrassing. You’re a billionaire, and I can’t even figure out anything.”
He tucked a stray bit of hair behind my ear. “Let me be there with you while you figure it all out.” “Okay,” I said, nodding. “If you really want to be, but I warn you, I don’t know where my life is going.” “I really want to be. I want us to be together. No more pretending. Just you and me.” I nodded. “I want that, too. When he pulled away, he had a twinkle in his eye and a mischievous grin on his face. “What is it?” I asked. “I have something I want to give you, but I can’t give it to you here. I wanted to wait until after we’d had a proper reunion, but I don’t think I can wait. I might actually explode.” “You’re really excited about this.” “I am! More than I’ve been excited about something in a long time, and maybe it’s a mistake. I have no idea. Will you come with me?” “Yes, but let me change out of my pajamas.” He laughed. “I didn’t even notice you were in pajamas.” I invited him inside so he could check out the house while I changed. “This is nice,” he said, as I threw on the first outfit I could find. “I’m sure it’s not what you’re used to.” “Of course it’s not, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t nice.” I smiled at his words as I pulled a pair of jeans on. “I’m glad you feel that way because chances are my next home after this will be about as small.” He was smiling at me as I came down the loft ladder. I started to head for the door, but he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into another kiss. “I have missed you, Evie. Desperately.” I trailed my fingers over his chest. “If this place weren’t my dad’s and if it didn’t have a complete and utter lack of walls, I would love to show you just how much I’ve missed you.” “Tempting,” he said, and booped me on the tip of my nose. “But you can’t distract me. I’m far too excited. Come with me.” So I followed him out to his car. He was driving, no Adaline in sight, and put on some soft music as we cruised north on I - 5. We drove all the way to Seattle, and I told him about living with my
dad and my dad’s job. I didn’t ask where we were going. He seemed excited, like Christmas morning excited. I loved surprises, so I didn’t want to know where he was taking me. I wanted to experience the surprise, whatever it may be, good or bad. He pulled off of the freeway on an exit familiar to me. “Are we going to my house?” I asked. “Because I don’t want to see it. It’s not mine anymore.” “I’m not telling you where we’re going,” he said, but a smile danced around the corners of his mouth. He pulled up to the curb in front of my house — my former house — and parked. My excitement dimmed. I didn’t want to do this. I had made my peace with letting it go. Instead of explaining anything to me, he simply held up a set of keys. “What is this?” I asked. “Do you want me to spell it out for you?” “Yes, please.” I couldn’t process anything. Rex was back. Rex loved me. Rex was giving me keys in front of my old house. “I bought your house at auction, Evie. I outbid everyone else and paid cash for it. It’s yours. No mortgage. No one can ever take it away from you again.” All I could do was stare at the keys dangling in his hand. “You can’t... buy me a house.” “What I couldn’t do was watch you lose your home when you obviously loved it so much.” “But,” I said, and then faltered. “But you can’t just buy a house for someone. This doesn’t make any sense. It’s too expensive. This isn’t a gift. This isn't normal. I can’t acc ept this.” “You can. Even if this is too much and you don’t want to be with me anymore because of it, I want you to have your house. You lost it because you were trying to be a good person, and that’s exactly why you deserve to have it back. I know it might seem like a lot to you, but trust me, I can afford it. This is the best money I’ve ever spent. Will you take the keys? Will you show me your home?” For a few seconds, all I could do was stare at him and try to figure out how this could be happening, but then something else took over. Something primal and raw and elated. My house had come back to me! My house! I took the keys out of his hand and looked him in the eye. “I would love to show you my home. It’s empty now,
though.” “I don’t mind,” he said softly. Walking up the narrow sidewalk to the door with Rex at my side felt surreal, like I was in a dream that I didn’t want to wake up from. I was sure the keys wouldn’t work, that this was some sort of joke, but they did. I pushed the key into the lock and open ed the door. It smelled familiar, even though the floors were echoey as we st epped inside. “It’s not a large house,” I said, and he stayed quiet, following behind me as I led him through the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom, a single downstairs bedroom, and then up the st eps to the half story that had been my bedroom. “It’s a lovely house, Evie,” he said. “I don’t want you to feel like what’s yours is anything less than what’s mine. This is your home. You love it. I want you to be able to love it in front of me without shame or explanations. I love you, and it’s yours, so I love it as well.” “I feel like this is all too good to be true. I can’t believe it.” “Well, believe it,” he said. And then, there, standing in my bedroom, my billionaire, for - real boyfriend kissed me. Chapter 4 1 Rex MY FIRST SUNDAY dinner with Evie by my side as my real girlfriend was surprisingly nerve wracking. Had anyone told me a couple of months ago that I’d be nervous about bringing a date to dinner, I would have shrugged the comment off. I was nervous now, though. Because my date was Evie and I wanted my family to love her as much as I did. My siblings had brought her into the fold well enough, but my parents hadn’t said much since the gala, since my father encouraged me to let Evie go. I’d skipped a few Sunday dinners after that. I couldn’t skip them forever, though. Tonight, Evie and I would face my family — my parents — together. If my parents were going to cut me off from my inheritance, then tonight would probably nudge them in that direction. Evie sensed my tension as we entered the dining room. She had her hands wrapped around one of my arms and stood on tiptoe to kiss me on the cheek. “It will be fine, Rex,” she said. “Don’t worry.”
“I’m not worried,” I said in a low voice, hoping my siblings already at the table wouldn’t hear. “Yes, you are,” she said. Then we took our places. Rebekah sat across from Evie and smiled at her. “Evie, I’ve missed seeing you around the tenth floor,” she said. “I was hoping you’d change your mind and come back.” Evie smiled in return, since this led into one of her favorite topics as of late. “I thought about it, but I don’t think anywhere in the company suits me better than the marketing d epartment.” Her former admin assistant job in the marketing d epartment had been filled only temporarily in her absence, and she’d opted to reapply. Even though I’d told her she could get a better job, she hadn’t wanted my help or in volvement. She wanted to go back to her old job. Without the pressure of losing her house pushing down on her, she had realized she had loved the marketing d epartment. “Suit yourself,” Rebekah said. “But if you ever want to come back, I’m sure Rex wouldn’t mind.” Evie giggled. “I don’t think I want to be his assistant anymore. It was weird enough before, but it would definitely be weirder now.” My parents entered the room and took their seats — my father at one end of the table, my mother at the other. My mother gave us a warm smile, but my father did not. I was not surprised, but noticed Evie hoping to catch his eye and get some kind of reaction o ut of him. I took her hand under the table and gave it a squeeze. Camille brought in dinner shortly afterward — filet mignon, my mother’s favorite. In front of Evie, she set a cauliflower steak, since Evie mostly ate vegetarian meals. I enjoyed Camille’s sense of humor with her veggie meal choice — a steak for a steak. “Have you heard anything about Anya?” Raven asked my mother. “Is she doing okay?” I listened. The last I’d heard about Anya, she was trying to lay low after the gala. “She’s fine,” my mom said. “Why wouldn’t she be fine?” I asked. “You haven’t seen? She’s getting dogged by the paparazzi wherever she goes. They’re trying to catch her being dramatic again.” I almost snorted into my wine glass as I took a sip. “It doesn’t seem they’d have to wait long.”
“She’s going to leave the country,” my mother said. “It was her mother’s idea. They have a house in the Italian alps, and I believe she’s going there. They just want her away for a while, so everyone forgets about her little outburst.” “So they’re not cutting her off?” My mom cut a bite of her steak. “No, I don’t think so. I think they’ll give her another chance. They always do.” At those words, I glanced at my father, wondering if he’d bring up my own inheritance tonight. I hadn’t exactly abided by his conditions, but I hadn’t failed them either. My father was looking down. In fact, he didn’t meet my eyes for the entirety of the meal. Not until everyone was done eating did he look at me. “Rex, I’d like to meet with you in my office,” he said as he stood from the table. My mother got up as well and went to stand by his side. So it was time. I leaned in to Evie and kissed her. “I’ll be back,” I said. Her eyes grew wide as I stood, but I wasn’t nervous about this. Not anymore. Unlike when my parents sat me down to tell me what my conditions would be, I knew what I wanted now. “Let’s get this over with,” I said as my parents and I sat down together in the high - backed chairs of my father’s office — the place where this had all started. My mother smiled softly. “Let’s not rush it. We want to talk to you, Rex, not turn this into a situation to be over with as quickly as possible.” For her sake, always for her sake, I locked down my attitude. “Fair,” I said. “You’ve still got the rest of the year to fulfill your conditions,” my father said, looking his sternest, his heavy eyebrows lowered. “But I wanted to sit down with you and go over our expectations now that the situation has changed. Anya is, very obviousl y, no longer in the picture. Evie is, equally obviously, not going anywhere.” I’d originally hoped that Evie would not appeal to my parents as girlfriend or wife material. I’d hoped that she wouldn’t appeal so strongly that they would let me out of the marriage condition. Now, I wanted the exact opposite. I wanted them to welcome Ev ie. I would not let her go whether or not they did, but my life would be easier if they weren’t about to talk me out of being with her.
My father cleared his throat. “We expect you’ll do well at Quinn Financial. I’m happy to see the company turning around already.” “Thanks,” I said. I wanted to tell him it wasn’t all me. Rebekah and I had been working as a team. A lot of the changes were directly tied to her ideas. That was a conversation for another time, when I was more certain of how my parents would react. “We had asked that you settle down with someone within a year.” “Yes, you did. How serious are you that I have to be married within this year in order to get my inheritance?” “Very serious,” my father said. “Well, darling, we want you to be sure that it’s the right match,” my mother quickly added. “Evie is good for me,” I said. “We agree,” my mother said. “We enjoy Evie and think she’s a great fit for you.” My father started to open his mouth, but I went on before he could start opining about what I should and shouldn’t do with my relationship. “However, I do not want to marry her this year. In fact, I’m going to go so far as to say I will not marry her this year, regardless of what you decide to do with my inheritance.” “And why is that?” My father’s de ep voice went even de eper. “Because I want things to be right with her. I love her. I don’t want to marry her because you two push me into it. You were originally pushing me toward marriage because you were concerned I wouldn’t find someone who would love me as I am, but I have. I’m confident that Evie and I will eventually get married or we will decide to live together, but I don’t want to rush it just because I turned thirty. I want it to happen slowly and organically.” My mother beamed. Then she cast her beaming smile at my father, who did not beam at anyone. I enjoyed that moment. He knew what I’d said was the perfect response. He didn’t want to show it, but if they were really so concerned about my long - term happiness, forcing a marriage sooner would never be the answer. “We presented conditions for you,” my father said. “We had an agreement.” “Reggie,” my mom said, “let’s be reasonable. Rex has found someone to love. That’s what we wanted for him. Perhaps we need to bend this condition a bit.” My father frowned. My father was allergic to bending. He was a rock. He was sure of himself beyond any reasonable limits.
“Reggie,” my mother prompted with a touch less sweetness in her voice. My father pursed his lips and stared at me for a few seconds before he spoke. “I don’t like to go back on what I say,” he began. “You know that. In light of your conviction, I agree with your mother that perhaps we should adjust our expectations. However, I don’t want to get rid of our expectations altogether.” I k ept my expression steady. Moment of truth. “I will acc ept changes to our original terms — but only changes. I’d still like to see you married. If Evie is your choice, then that is your choice to make.” He paused. “You are free to get married — or not — when you choose, but access to your trust will be wi thheld until after you are married.” Was I impressed by this adjustment to the terms? Not exactly. I was vaguely impressed that I’d won against my father. He had blinked first, not me. That was different. I nodded. “Okay,” I said. My mother smiled. “Okay?” she asked. “We all agree?” “Yes, Mom, we all agree. So long as there’s no pressure to do anything on any schedule other than mine and Evie’s, I acc ept your terms.” When I left my father’s study, I felt lighter for the first time in months. We had agreed. We had actually reached a set of terms we could feel good about. I didn’t want to tell Evie about it. I wanted our relationship to grow at its own pace without my inheritance dangling over us. So when I found her again on the veranda, all alone in the moonlight, I didn’t say a word about any of it. “How did it go?” she asked me. “Great,” I said. “Anything you want to share?” “Only that they’ve let up on me a bit,” I said. “The important thing is that they are happy for us.” She turned her body toward mine and placed her hands on my chest, then moved them up along my shoulders before finally looping them behind my neck. She looked up at me like I was everything that was right with the world, and my heart felt full. I leaned do wn and kissed her. “I love you, Evie.” “I love you, too,” she said.
Then she tucked herself against me, wrapped her arms around my waist, and we stood there on the veranda together, looking up at the moon. Nothing could have been more perfect. EPILOGUE: REX I WAS MORE than happy to take my name off of the door to the CEO office. I hadn’t really made my mark. In fact, I’d only just started to dig into what Quinn Financial was really all about, so I was far from making the changes it needed. The longer I sat at that desk, the more I knew it wasn’t the right place for me to be. In fact, it was the right place for someone else. Rebekah entered the office and brought a large box with her, which she plopped down on the now - empty desk. “I’m glad you came to your senses,” she said. “I’m glad Dad came to his senses. I would never have minded if this was how things went from the start. You’re the one who has been working here all this time. You’re the one who should be in this chair, not me.” She strode around the desk and sat down in the overly large desk chair, splaying her arms and hands over the chair’s arms. The chair was far too large for her. She reached into the box and pulled out a large, etchedglass desk name plate that read Rebekah Claremont, CEO. “That’s a hell of a nam eplate.” “Damn right it is.” I saw on her face that she was de eply proud of what was happening — something I had not felt when I’d st epped into the role. If I’d had any doubts about this change, they were gone now. “Oh, wait,” she said, coming out of her moment. She reached back into the box on her desk. “I made one for you, too.” She held out a nam eplate for me. I held it in my hands and turned it over to see the words: Rex Claremont, COO. “I hope you won’t let your pride get in the way now that I’m your boss,” she said. I snorted. “You wish you were my boss. I see this more as a partnership.”
She snorted back at me and pointed to her nam eplate. “That means I’m the boss of everything. I think you know that. I am going to work you to the bone.” I laughed. She smiled at me. “It’s good to hear you laugh like that, Rex,” she said. “Evie is good for you.” I sat down in the chair across from her. “Of course she is. That’s why all of this was worth it. I not only did not fix Quinn Financial as the CEO of the company, I also didn’t get married, and I also didn’t get married to any of our parents’ friends. I ha ve failed, but Evie is good for me, so none of that matters.” She inclined her head at me. “I feel like I don’t even know you anymore.” “I spent the night at her house last night. It has two bedrooms and one bathroom, and it was lovely.” Rebekah’s eyebrows twisted together. “And that’s a good thing?” “Well, maybe if you ever fall in love with someone who has a two - bedroom house, you can try it out.” “I will never fall in love with someone who lives in a twobedroom house.” “Do you want me to hire an assistant for you? Worked for me.” She shook her head. “I don’t think so. I intend to continue working with Tasha, but I don’t want to date her. Plus, I’m sure our parents have an idea of who I should be with, and I’m not sure I’m willing to chance everything like you are. Have they written you out of the will yet?” “Not yet,” I said. “I think they were bluffing. Do what you want. Let’s shake things up. What can they do if we all don’t listen to what they want us to do?” “You just want that so you won’t be the only one written out of the will, but I’m still in that will and, if you’re out, that means my inheritance just got larger.” I stared at her. “Really?” She shrugged. “I don’t believe that’s how you feel. Not for one second.” Rebekah had always had a quiet ind ependent streak — not like Raven, where she openly flaunted that ind ependence, but Rebekah rarely did exactly what was expected of her. “You’ll be thirty soon enough . Have they told you what your conditions are, or have you toed the line so well that you already met them?”
She leaned her elbows on her brand new desk and smiled softly at me. “They’ve told me nothing, but I’ll do whatever I have to do. How hard can it be?” At that, I laughed. “You saw how things went for me. Good luck, little sister.” “Challenge acc epted,” she said. I knew whatever our parents had in store for her, they were probably in for as much of a surprise as they got from me. Whether or not Rebekah expected to turn the tables on them, I could see in her eyes that was exactly what she would end up doing.