The Pretender
Page 27
She shook her head. “I don’t—”
“Believe me?” He stepped toward her and put a hand on the side of her face. Cupped her soft cheek in his palm. “Then believe this. You changed everything for me.”
The words were simple but he meant them. She’d walked into his life and flipped it upside down. He now wondered every day what she would think or say about certain things. They’d spent time together and he craved more.
He also needed to survive this conversation, so he pushed the elevator button again. “I love you and I will continue to love you.” When she frowned, he rushed to say one more thing. “Trust me, I didn’t see it coming either, but it’s true.”
The bell dinged again and this time he stepped inside. He walked to the back and leaned against the wall. He wasn’t sure how he’d stand up without the support.
Right as the doors closed, she turned sideways and slipped inside. She slammed the heel of her hand against the emergency stop. The elevator hung there, not moving. “That’s what you do? You say something like that and then run?”
His brain misfired. “I thought . . .”
He had no idea what was happening right now. Fire sparked in her eyes and her body vibrated with anger. She looked ready to hit him. He deserved it. He didn’t debate that, but he wasn’t sure what had set her off. One second she looked disinterested and the next she turned into this ball of energy aimed right for his head.
“You do not tell a woman you love her and then slink away.”
He knew his mouth had dropped open because he could feel it. “Okay.”
“I have spent three terrible weeks trying to hate you.” The pain slipped into her voice.
He didn’t understand what he was hearing. “And?”
“You’re here. In my head. I can hear your voice.” She walked toward him and didn’t stop until she stood between his legs. “I don’t like it.”
“Okay.” A repetitive answer but he really didn’t have anything else.
He feared moving or talking or ticking her off. Part of his brain skipped ahead. He had questions and needed clarification because it sounded like she wanted him to love her. But that couldn’t be right.
“Say something,” she demanded.
“You’re so hot I can barely breathe around you.” At least that was honest. Probably not the right timing, but he hoped he was close to what she wanted.
She rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine. That’s good to know, and very sweet.” She rested her hands against his chest. “And?”
“I will say whatever you want me to say.” Literally anything.
“No. Not this time. I can’t make this easy for you.” She shook her head but her hands didn’t move. “I need the truth. Only the truth.”
He could give her that. He wanted that more than anything.
His hand slipped over hers. He caressed her skin as warmth flowed through him for the first time in weeks. “I love you and I’m sorry I wasn’t honest from the beginning. I hate that I’ve given you any reason to doubt me, but I’ll win your trust if you give me a chance.”
“Good start.”
He half thought he was dreaming. “You’re forgiving me?”
She snorted. “Not yet.”
That made sense to him. It was the first thing that had in the last few minutes. “Okay.”
“You’re going to have to grovel and beg and do everything I say.”
“Done.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” He didn’t hate any of that. He’d do it willingly, starting today. But still . . . “But why are you doing this? Why let me off the hook and give me a chance at all?”
“Because I couldn’t fall asleep without you.” She sighed. “I don’t need people. I don’t get the whole caring thing because it’s never worked out for me.”
“I understand that.”
“Do you get that I want to need you? That’s new for me.” Her fingers brushed against the underside of his chin. “But I also want you to need me back.” She leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss on his lips before pulling back. “Because I love you.”
The air punched out of his chest. “Gabby.”
“My uncle had to tell me. He accused me of being mopey and annoying.”
Stephen? “It sounds like you guys are getting along.”
“That’s an overstatement. Mostly he’s feeling so guilty he’s pathetic about it.” She shrugged. “I’m trying to figure out a way to forget most of what he’s said to me for a decade. Admittedly, it’s a work in progress.”
“If you’re giving him a chance, I guess it’s easier to give me one.”
“We—the two of us together—have so much work to do and so many things to talk about, but I want to try. I want to give us a chance to make this work. For us to be open and honest about everything.” She smiled up at him. “That’s why I made it a requirement that you show up at the meeting today. I figured I could spring this on you here.”
Hope soared inside him. “That was you?”
She wiggled her eyebrows at him. “I’m resourceful.”
She was so many things and he loved all of them. “Definitely.”
A man’s voice broke into the silence. It blasted through the speakers and filled the room. “We have help on the way to fix the elevator.”
The security team. Harris actually found that to be a fitting end to the meeting he just walked out of.
“Take your time,” he yelled as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. “You want to start with a date? Maybe dinner.”
She frowned at him. “We’re going to sleep together after, right?”
“Oh, yeah. I wasn’t clear on that?” His hands slipped up her back. “This dinner and all the dinners after that will take place at the house we live in. Together.”
“Now, that’s more like it.” She pulled back just a bit and stared him down. “We’re going to buy this house, not steal it. Not right away because those things take time, but my point is your stealing days are over. You’ll be getting your thrills at home from now on.”
A shot of anxiety moved through him but it faded just as fast. “Technically, I have not agreed to that stipulation. We should negotiate.”
She snorted. “Wrong. You’re done stealing things. We are not playing a game of verbal gymnastics.”
“Of what?”
“I’m serious. No stealing.”
For her, he would do it. He’d sure as hell try. They’d need to work on it and he might need some help, but he’d find a way. But that didn’t mean he didn’t want to poke her. “Wait, so you mean not even from Nazis?”
“Nope.”
“But they’re Nazis.”
“I’m not running the risk of you going to jail.” Her fingers slipped into his hair. “You have had more than one wake-up call and we’re going to heed them.”
“That’s fine so long as I’m waking up next to you.” That sounded so good he almost repeated it.
“We should go to your place or a hotel or wherever we live temporarily and get started.”
“No wonder I love you.”
Acknowledgments
A huge thank you to my agent Laura Bradford for believing in this series, and by that I mean selling it. My mortgage company also thanks you.
Is there something bigger than a thank you? Because that’s what I owe May Chen. She’s a fabulous editor who makes me laugh, offers great ideas and endless support, and doesn’t yell when my books are a few weeks late (I’m writing that here so she feels guilty when she’s tempted to yell in the future).
Also, huge thanks to everyone at Team Avon for polishing, editing, marketing, and packaging this book and the entire Games People Play series. I love writing these books and you make it possible for me to do so.
My biggest thanks, as always, go to my readers and to all the reviewers and booksellers who help sell my books. Consider this a heartfelt group hug.
About the Author
HELENKAY DIMON
spent the years before becoming a romance author as a . . . divorce attorney. Not the usual transition, she knows. Good news is she now writes full time and is much happier. She has sold over thirty novels, novellas, and shorts to numerous publishers. Her nationally bestselling and award-winning books have been showcased in numerous venues and her books have twice been named “Red-Hot Reads” and excerpted in Cosmopolitan magazine. But if you ask her, she’ll tell you the best part of the job is never having to wear pantyhose again.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
By HelenKay Dimon
The Pretender
The Enforcer
The Fixer
Under the Wire
Facing Fire
Falling Hard
Playing Dirty
Running Hot (novella)
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
the pretender. Copyright © 2018 by HelenKay Dimon. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins Publishers. For information, address HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.
Digital Edition JANUARY 2018 ISBN: 978-0-06-269219-1
Print Edition ISBN: 978-0-06-269221-4
Cover photograph by Yasmeen Anderson Photography
Avon, Avon & logo, and Avon Books & logo are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers in the United States of America and other countries.
HarperCollins is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers in the United States of America and other countries.
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