She perched on the couch arm, rejecting the electricity zipping in her veins. “I’m going to murder you.”
“Huh.” He took a beat on the other end of the line. “Not the usual response.”
She refused to be charmed. “Ever since yesterday, I’ve had nothing but questions and comments from everyone I work with, thanks to you.”
“Why? What happened yesterday?”
“Don’t be cute.”
“Sorry, it comes with the DNA.” She heard the grin in his voice. “So . . . what happened yesterday?”
“I got jumped by a horny Genie.” She whipped the dish towel against the couch, unsatisfied at the tepid whiplash. “In front of everyone.”
“Let me ask, was it the getting jumped or everyone watching that bothered you?”
“Seriously, Ryder, what were you thinking?” She repositioned the phone and stood to pace. Her bare feet padded against the wooden flooring. “My boss found out.”
“You didn’t get in trouble, did you?” His tone sharpened. “Want me to talk to her?”
“No.” Erica would proposition him before Hailey had the chance to . . . think about how to proposition him. About Jax. Obviously. “I straightened it out.” Lied her ass off. “But what on Earth possessed you to . . .” Kiss me and make sure I can’t get erotic images of you and cream and chocolate sauce out of my head? “ . . . do that?” she finished on a safer note.
“Boredom?”
She gripped the phone in frustration until the plastic creaked. “Would you be serious? Do I come to WFY and lounge all over your desk?”
Silence.
“Ryder?”
“Sorry. Fantastic visual, couldn’t speak for a minute.”
One . . . two . . . three . . .
“You’re counting again, aren’t you?” Ryder cleared his throat. “Sorry, okay? I didn’t mean to mess up your meeting. I saw you on my way out and I heard all that crap she was spewing about you needing to move on and—”
“So you did hear that.” Color her pink, red, crimson, rose, scarlet, magenta in embarrassment. Yes, she’d told the others that, but part of her had been holding out hope he’d kissed her for some other reason. Crazy, naked desire would’ve been better than pity.
Apparently not. Now Ryder knew she was a loser, too.
She wiped a hand down her face. “Fan-tastic.”
“Hey, we’ve all got exes we can’t get over.”
“Oh, yeah?” A little laugh spilled out as she adjusted course to the window. “Name one of yours.”
“Patricia Nowell,” he said promptly. “Broke my heart. Left me for another guy one week after we started going out.”
“Oh.”
“Yep. Took me to fourth grade until I could ask someone out again.”
Aaaand there went those soft feelings. The smile wouldn’t wipe away though.
She sighed, pressing her forehead against the cold window. “What am I going to do with you?”
“I have a few suggestions.”
“I’ll bet.” She walked away from the window and flopped onto the couch. She stared up at the ceiling. And why would that be such a bad thing again?
“She’s the reason you’re always sad, isn’t she?”
Hailey puffed an unsurprised laugh. Mr. Honesty. “Kind of.”
“Who is she?”
“She’s a client.” Hailey worked her jaw. “And if I don’t plan her wedding, I won’t get the chance to plan anyone’s on my own.” She briefly explained about Erica’s offer. “You see? I have to play nice.”
“Play nice, just don’t roll over.”
“You sound like Max.”
His voice changed. “Who’s he?”
“She’s a friend I work with. She’s told me many times that I need to get some balls.”
“Resisting the joke.”
“Points for effort.” Hailey smiled. He always made her smile. “Why did you call?”
A hesitation before he spoke. “I need to talk to you about something. And I have a proposal for you.”
“What kind of proposal?”
His tone dropped from light to dark. “The kind that has . . . benefits.”
Oh . . . boy.
She hooked a finger in her collar and fanned herself. “I, ah . . . hmm.”
“Speechless again?”
“Bite me.”
“Promise,” he purred. “I think it’s about time you had some fun, Hailey Lawson.”
Her eyes traced the pattern on the ceiling where the paint swirled. “I told you, I have plenty of fun.”
“Then our definitions are very different.” He sounded upbeat, pleased with himself. “It’s better if we talk face-to-face for this.”
“Why?” she asked, alarmed. She knifed up to sitting. “I like the voice-to-voice thing.”
“See you in a few.”
“Hey, wait,” Hailey said in alarm at the click on the other end. “Ryder? No. Phone is better. Ryder?”
When the only response was the dial tone, she shot up and threw the phone on the couch. Pulling her fingers through her hair, she scanned the apartment for any stray underwear he could find.
Like the ones she was wearing.
I have a proposal.
The kind with . . . benefits.
Lord.
The knock on the door made her pulse scramble.
Play it cool, Hailey May.
She cleared her throat, brushed back her hair. Smoothed a shaking hand down her thighs.
When she opened the door it was with lifted eyebrows. “Not bothering with the buzzer anymore?”
He was like a shot of adrenaline. A long, muscular, rippling shot of adrenaline.
When he smiled, her legs wobbled. “Next time,” he promised. “Can I come in?”
She got the feeling his question included more than her apartment.
Alice-down-the-rabbit-hole time.
Wordlessly, she held open the door.
11.
“Thanks.” Ryder wandered in, hands in pockets. His tee was so thin she could see the delineation of his pecs.
She cleared her raw throat and shut the door she realized she was still holding open. “Drink?”
“Nah. Thanks.” He leaned his hips on the back of the couch, facing her. “So.”
“So.” She folded her arms.
“You saw the report?”
“Genie Gossip?”
“Or any of the others.”
Her stomach dropped as well as her arms. “There are others?”
He gave her a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of his neck. “No?”
“Ugh.” She looked to the ceiling. “Why me? Why did I have to go the stupid charity auction? I could’ve stayed home and moped, but noooo. I had to be a supportive friend.”
“You need some privacy for this conversation?”
She cast him a sour look. “No, I haven’t seen any of the reports. Why?”
“My Director wasn’t pleased with the publicity from the kiss.”
“I thought WFY was all about publicity.” Every time she opened up the paper, headlines shouted of some good deed or charitable act . . . or who was sleeping with who.
Okay, so she’d read some of those papers she’d bought. Sue her.
“Sure. But the Director thinks if we don’t give the public our story first, the press might think the bidding was . . . you know, fixed.” He raised his eyebrows meaningfully.
She caught on and almost choked on air—an achievement in itself. “They’ll think you gave me the wish because we’re dating? You told her we’re not, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Why do I sense a but?”
He shifted, actually seeming uncomfortable for the first time since she’d met him. A sigh lifted his chest. “Luka thinks the best way to correct the mistake before it blows up is . . .” He paused.
When he glanced at her, the amber in his eyes rippled like fudge ribbons. “I have a favor to ask.”
And as long as
he stayed five feet away at all times, she might be capable of thinking through his request. “Okay.”
“They’d like us to go on Lisette’s Hour. And . . .” He shot her a quick look. “ . . . act like we’re hot for each other.”
She laughed. “Good one.” When he didn’t laugh, her shoulders dropped. “Aw, are you kidding me? I have weddings to plan, Ryder, a boss to keep happy—I can’t be off playing pretend with you.”
He gave her a glance that basically questioned if it would be playing pretend.
She refused to give that look the dignity of a response. Especially since it had a point.
“It’d be for like three hours,” he moved on, his hands up in supplication. “And I already confirmed with Lisette that you’d get the questions ahead of time so you could prep for them.”
“You already spoke to her about this?”
His eyes darted. “Maybe.”
“You were that sure I’d say yes?”
“Well, it’s your life, too,” he pointed out.
“Gee, thanks for noticing.”
His lips curved in a rueful smile. “I deserved that. Look, if you come on the show with me, there’ll be no frenzy to find out what the real story is. After that kiss, and your friend Serena’s insider gossip, people are desperate to uncover the woman who’s caught my eye.”
“Because you’re so special.”
“Hey, hate the game, not the player.” He laughed at her sneer. “I admit, it was a stupid impulse, but we have to play the cards we’re dealt. If you want that wish, my Director now insists you keep the cameras off the auction and on us. Scandals aren’t something she’s keen on, and giving out a wish to a woman a Genie is seen kissing . . .” He shrugged as if enough said.
Annoying as it was, Hailey could see the reasoning and the logic. If she and Ryder played it hot and heavy, mentioning only that they’d met when Hailey had bid on his wish, nobody would focus on the details of the bid or how she was paying.
Still, the idea of appearing on a national TV show had her breaking out in hives.
Meanwhile, Ryder was still wheedling. “Would it be so bad to hold my hand and pretend to be besotted with me for a night?”
“Yes.” Being that close to the sun, she’d surely burst into flame. Then he’d know her tough-girl thing was an act and peel away the layers until he discovered the tangled mess she was. And then would come even more pity.
She shuddered just at the thought.
Not put off in the least, his teeth flashed. “C’mon. If you play the part this once, you won’t get harassed at home or work nearly as much.” He grimaced at her wide-eyed expression. “Or at all.”
She pushed a hand through her hair and paced to the table where she gripped the back of a chair. “So they want us to go on and say, what, that we’re seeing each other?” Her friends would murder her for keeping that a secret, and it wouldn’t be like she could tell them the truth.
Though, bonus, it would cut off Serena’s vaguely disbelieving comments.
He confirmed her question with an easy nod. “A bit of flirting, some small touches, keep the heat on.” His eyes warmed. So did her body when she looked into them. “All WFY wants is to make sure the public knows we weren’t involved before the auction.”
“We weren’t.” Aren’t?
“Exactly, so it isn’t even like lying.” He approached her cautiously, hands out. “I’d really appreciate it, Hailey. Luka is getting heat from the Director and he did me a solid when he agreed to let me work the deal with you. I screwed up. Will you help me fix it?”
Great. Guilt.
She sighed. “Can I at least think about having my dirty laundry aired on TV?”
“Sure. How long you need? Till tomorrow?”
She glowered.
“Take as much time as you need. Less would be better.”
Hailey studied where her hands held the chair’s back, the grooves of it. Lisette’s Hour. The show officially linked to the lottery, a show that rivaled Oprah. And they wanted her to go on and rub up against the sexiest man—and Genie—she knew. And not let on that she was an emotional wreck in front of millions. How had her life spun so far out of her hands?
Right now would be a great time to wake up.
“Now on to my other proposal.” Ryder’s voice slipped in between beats of her heart, tripped the detonator switch.
She dared a glance upward at his beautiful face. God only knew what he was going to suggest now. “Uh-huh . . . ?”
“I want to help you have more fun. Sort of a thank-you for helping me out with Leo’s party. Good Samaritan kind of thing.”
“I’m getting a wish out of it.”
“So think of this as an added bonus. I like you.” He sounded almost surprised about it. “I want to see you . . . blossom.”
“This is because I told you about what Kate said, right?”
“Maybe.” His grin was slow. Dirty. Only he could make a smile dirty. “C’mon. Let me show you how to let loose.”
“For the love of . . .” She shook her head. “I. Have. Fun.”
“Name me one thing in your life right now that is.”
You.
Damn it.
She glared. “I watched Hart of Dixie last night with a glass of wine.”
“Whoa. I’m sorry, I was wrong, you wild thing.”
Her glower upped a notch. “Just because you don’t think it’s—”
“You need to be out with the people. Real people. Taking some risks, setting yourself some challenges. You know, spontaneous fun.”
Spontaneous. She knew not of what he spoke. Must be that thing Ethan said she could never do. God, even Ryder, who’d known her all of one week, could see how pathetic she was.
“You’re sad again.”
“Cut it out.” She released the chair and folded her arms in defense. “Maybe our ideas of a good time don’t mesh.”
“Or maybe you’re too chicken.”
“Yep.” She nodded. “So now we’re decided on that—”
“Come on.” A laugh was in his voice as he protested. “Hailey, you’re planning your ex’s wedding. I’d say you could use an injection of ridiculous, irresponsible fun.”
“Okay, if this ‘injection’ is another name for your penis, I’m throwing you out.”
His laugh was stronger this time, brown eyes aglow. “I’d like to think I’m a little more sophisticated than that.”
She eyed him, the crinkles around his eyes as he grinned. Before she could help herself, she said, “What kind of fun?”
That dimple creased his cheek as he waggled his eyebrows. “Intrigued?”
“No.” Maybe.
“Hmm. Well,” he said, leaning in, bracing himself on the table so his muscles bunched. “For it to work, and I have to state this upfront, you’d have to do as I say.”
She shot him a look drowning in wry humor. “Good one.”
“I’m serious. You’ve had control—too much, if you ask me—over your life and look where it’s got you. Planning your ex’s wedding and staying home every Saturday night with the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen.”
Her mouth dropped. The blunt honesty of the man . . . They should study him in some museum.
“For my plan to work, you’d have to listen to me. Take commands.”
“Did we time travel to the eighteen hundreds where you think I’ll actually say yes to this crap?”
He laughed. “Not about everything,” he said as if that was crazy. “Just the things that relate to fun.”
Okay, he was insane if he thought she’d blindly follow orders. Like she’d be interested in that kind of crazy. Yeah, she’d thought about the kind of man he’d insisted she needed, a man who’d take control and push her to the edge, and sure, she could see his point about how being rigid with the reins hadn’t got her very far. But please. She wasn’t that wrecked.
Except she still heard Ethan’s words in her head.
Okay, she wasn’t sold, but in th
e interests of curiosity, Hailey waved a hand. “So tell me about this great plan I’ll be meekly following orders to the tune of.”
“Very simple. We do all the crap that scares you. That’s where following my orders comes into play.”
“Sounds great.” Heavy on the sarcasm, she smiled. “I hear and obey, Master.”
“I like the sound of that.” His eyes on hers, he began moving around the table. Her heart picked up until the beats were one continuous line.
“What are you doing?” she managed as he leaned into her personal space. Electricity snapped, crackled, and, yes, popped as he slid his hand into hers, tracing the sensitive in-between areas of her fingers.
“Didn’t I tell you Genies don’t follow gentlemen’s rules?” He brought her hand to his mouth. His breath was warm as he nipped the pad of her index finger. She jumped. “C’mon, Hailey. Let me show you how to live life and not just watch. Let me show you how to have fun.”
She weakened at the colorful picture he was painting from her world of gray. But . . . “I . . . I told you. I’m not ready for . . . that.”
“It doesn’t have to be ‘that.’” Warm and wet and wicked, his teeth nibbled her fingers up to her knuckles. Her knees buckled and she had to catch the chair to stay standing. “I won’t make the move until you say.”
“Until?” She swallowed the mountain in her throat. “Confident.”
“I feel what you feel. And it’d be so damn good between us.”
He was seducing her with words, with his heat, with the way his eyes flashed amber.
“You say when, Hailey.” A string of slow kisses from her knuckles to her palm followed until shivers chased where his lips went. “I won’t push. But let me show you how to be reckless outside the sheets, too.”
He let her hand fall, and she had to bite back a disappointed moan.
“Think about it.” His eyes were dark as he shaped the tempting words. “You’d enjoy being at my mercy, Hailey.”
* * *
The photographed kiss was all Ryder heard about when he went by his dad’s for the game. Both Leo and Cam were in fighting form.
“So,” Leo drawled as the pitcher wound up for the first throw. “What happened to she’s nobody special?”
Stuffed with roasted ham and sides, Ryder almost grimaced at the interrogation he’d been waiting for. What with those photos circling, one even showing up on his desk in a heart-shaped frame, he’d have been worried if his twin hadn’t ragged on him. Hell, the frame was probably Leo’s idea. Not to mention the fact that he’d bailed on that bachelorette party before anything got physical. His twin would read all kinds of crap into that.
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