“Shit.” Georgie coughed, then nodded and faked a smile of her own. “Look, you can’t just go and punch Tripp. For one, the last thing we need is an assault charge laid against you. And two, if you do that, he’ll definitely tell my family what’s going on. But they can’t find out I brought you here as my fake boyfriend!”
I kept up my smile for Margaret’s benefit. She was still looking over at us. “That’s true,” I said grudgingly. “I guess it’ll look like you brought me to ruin your sister’s wedding if Tripp tells them you paid me to be here. Your mom already suspected something like that when we got here, right?”
She nodded. “Exactly! I mean, I didn’t bring you here for that reason, but they probably won’t see it like that.” She let out a groan. “What the hell am I going to do?”
“Well, you’re not going on a date with that slimy fucking reptile.”
“But I kinda have to, don’t I?” she said despondently, her eyes filled with doom and gloom. “Or he’ll tell everyone our secret. Unless we can think of another way to get rid of him that doesn’t involve violence. But I’ve been thinking about it all night, and I have no clue.”
“What if we call his bluff and ignore him? He might not tell anyone.”
“But he might. I don’t want to risk it.”
I nodded slowly. “Okay. How about this? He can tell everyone whatever he wants. We’ll just say he’s some crazy asshole we’ve never met before.”
Georgie chewed her bottom lip as I spoke. Then she shook her head. “No. Mom saw me talking to him in the hall the other day when I ran into him. I can’t pretend I’ve never met him.”
“Right. Shit.”
“For all I know, he could’ve even recorded our conversation. He’s obviously an insane asshole, so I wouldn’t put it past him,” she said. “And when we talked, he specifically asked if I was here with my ‘fake boyfriend’. I said yes. So he could actually have evidence of me admitting it. Urgh…” She trailed off and sighed.
I looked down at the cocktail menu again, my mind whirring. Then I looked up at Georgie, a slow, confident smile spreading across my face. This time, it was real.
Georgie’s forehead wrinkled. “Why do you look so pleased?”
My smile grew wider. “Don’t worry about Tripp, doll. I know exactly what to do.”
25
Georgie
“I’m fucking done with you, Georgie.” Nate narrowed his eyes at me. “You’ve done nothing but act like a crazy bitch the whole time we’ve been here!”
I shook my head, my eyes widening. “What? How can you say that to me?” I said. “I haven’t done anything wrong!”
He threw his hands up. “Are you fucking kidding me? You’ve done everything wrong!”
I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear as Nate shouted at me. As I did so, I glanced ever so slightly to my left to make sure Tripp was still hunched behind a hallway statue, listening to our conversation.
Nate’s idea was genius. We were going to get rid of Tripp in the smartest way possible—by making him get rid of himself. It hadn’t taken too long to plan out. All we had to do was plant ourselves right near his suite at a time we knew he’d be there, and then we could let the games begin.
I knew where his suite was, seeing as he’d given me the room number when he told me to meet him there tomorrow evening, and luckily for us, it was on the third floor. Just a few doors down from Nate. That was very convenient for our plan.
We’d waited till after dinner, then hung around in Nate’s room, peeking out whenever we heard anyone in the hall. At half past eleven, we’d finally spotted Tripp returning to his suite from wherever he’d been for dinner… and thus began our best-laid plan.
We’d started pretend-arguing at Nate’s door, and just as we suspected, Tripp stopped to listen. Of course, we pretended we didn’t see him—we were apparently too caught up in our argument to take heed of such things. We also pretended we didn’t see him shrink back and hide behind a decorative hallway statue to continue eavesdropping.
He didn’t know it, but we had him exactly where we wanted him.
“I just can’t take it anymore, Georgie. I thought you wanted me here as a fake boyfriend, but now you’re all over me all the time like a maniac. And now I find out you’ve poked holes in all my condoms!” Nate threw his hands up. “I really should’ve known better. They always say, don’t stick your dick in crazy….”
I sighed dramatically. “I swear, I didn’t mean anything by that. I just think penises need to breathe.”
Nate rolled his eyes. “Bullshit! You’ve been hinting at me for a baby this entire week. You even named our alleged future kids. That’s crazy.”
I affected my most pleading voice and held my palms up. “Nate, can’t you just picture little Evan and Jessica? And little Harold?”
“No, I can’t. Because I’m not insane,” Nate said, twirling a finger at the side of his head. “We just met three weeks ago! We can’t have a fucking baby, okay?”
I sank to my knees. “Please, Nate! We’re perfect for each other. I knew it from the second I saw you… you need to be the father of my children. We’re soulmates!” I said. “And you know, a woman only has a certain amount of time.…”
“Oh, is that why you came up with this awful poem? Or song, whatever it is?” Nate asked, tilting his head to the side.
I shakily got to my feet. “What poem?”
He shot me a look of contempt. “Don’t play dumb. I found it crumpled up in the trash can earlier,” he said, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket. “This poem.”
He began to read extra-loudly.
“Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy, but I think we’re soulmates, please give me babies.” He looked up at me. “It’s all in capital letters too. That’s normal.”
I almost lost it at that point. I was so close to laughing, but somehow I managed to hold on. “It was just a draft. I thought it was romantic,” I said. “Don’t you like it?”
“I’m sure Carly Rae Jepsen would like it. She could probably sue you for it.”
“But…but…” I conjured up some crocodile tears. “I thought you were the one, Nate….”
He rolled his eyes as I began to cry, my face crumpling with faux grief. “Well, I’m not,” he said sharply, shaking a finger at me. “Look, I’ll keep this act up if you want. You are paying me, after all. So in public, I’ll pretend to be your boyfriend while we’re on this island, just like we planned. But in private, you leave me the fuck alone. Got it?”
I shook my head wildly. “Please don’t do this, Nate. Give me another chance,” I begged tearfully.
“No. I told you, we’re done. No more sex,” he said firmly. Then he sniffed derisively. “It was terrible anyway. Like fucking a whiny starfish.”
“So? Sex is for procreation, not enjoyment!” I screeched.
“Right. Whatever. I’m telling you, as soon as this wedding shit is over, I’m gone. I’m taking my money and never speaking to you again. Got it, Georgie?”
I shook my head slowly and took a step back. “I was wrong about you. You’re not the one! You’re just a faker.” I wiped the tears from my cheeks as he turned away. “You wanna know something?”
Nate sighed, turned back to me, and rubbed his jaw. “What?”
“You might’ve temporarily blinded me with all your bullshit charms, but I think there was someone else for me this whole time.”
He sneered. “Oh, yeah? Who would want you?”
I folded my arms and raised my chin proudly. “Tripp Huntington-Davis. You might remember him from the photo shoot?”
“Oh, come on. That guy doesn’t want you.”
I nodded vehemently. “He does! He’s asked me out more than once now!”
Nate chuckled. “Sure he has, Georgie,” he said sarcastically. “Christ, you really are insane.”
He swiped his keycard in the door and started to head inside, purposefully blocking my body with his own so that I couldn’t follo
w.
“Don’t worry, I don’t even want to come in anymore,” I said smugly. “I’m going to go find Tripp. He’s actually here on the island, and he’s made it pretty clear he wants me. So maybe he’s my soulmate.”
Nate didn’t reply. He simply slammed the door shut.
“I’m telling you, I’m going to find him!” I called out. “You’ll regret this when you’re childless and alone, Nate!”
“Whatever, psycho!” he called back to me.
With that, I took off down the hall, muttering to myself. Then I looked up and saw Tripp, still half-hiding behind the statue. His face was frozen into a twisted expression of horror.
“Tripp!” I said, my face lighting up in a broad smile. “Oh my god, you were right yesterday. This thing with us… it’s fate! I was just talking about you, and here you are!”
I hurried toward him, arranging my features into a dreamy expression. He simply stared at me the way someone with their feet trapped in a railway track might stare at an oncoming train.
“I’m sorry about the things I’ve said to you in the past. I think we can work through it, don’t you?” I said as I halted before him. “I mean, I understand why you tried to blackmail me now. You were just forcing me to see the truth about us. We belong together.”
“Georgie…. uhh… yeah,” Tripp muttered. “It’s nice to see you, but I….” He began to move toward his door. “I really have to get to bed. It’s late.”
“Oh, that’s okay!” I said. “I’ll see you tomorrow at eight.” I gave him a big wink.
All the blood seemed to drain from his face. He coughed. “Right. About that. I forgot, I have to leave tomorrow morning, first thing. Lots of business back in the city.”
I let my face fall the appropriate amount. “Oh. But we’ll still see each other, right?”
“Of course. I’ll call you,” he said, hastily swiping his keycard. The light turned green, and he pushed his door open. “Goodnight.”
“Night,” I said brightly. As his door swung shut, I called out. “Wait, you don’t have my number!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll, er…. I’ll find it,” came his voice from the other side. I heard the telltale sound of furniture scraping, and I snickered. Holy crap. He was actually moving something up against the door in case I tried to break in.
He wasn’t coming out anytime soon.
I headed back down the hall and let myself into Nate’s suite with my spare keycard, choking back giggles as I kicked my shoes off.
“How did it go?” Nate asked, crossing the room when he heard me enter.
“He’s currently barricading himself inside his suite, and he said he’s leaving tomorrow morning. For business reasons.” I put the word ‘business’ in air quotes. “So unfortunately, I won’t be able to go on that amazing date with him,” I continued, my voice thick with sarcasm.
A broad grin stretched Nate’s lips. “That’s great. Problem solved.”
I nodded. “Thanks for helping, seriously. I don’t know what I’d do without you and your brains.”
“Of course.” Nate held up his hands, palms facing me. “Sorry I called you a crazy bitch so many times. Hope I didn’t take it too far.”
I shook my head. “You didn’t. We had to sell it. I’m sorry for naming our future child Harold, though. That really took it too far, didn’t it?”
He feigned an offended expression. “Hey, nothing wrong with that name.”
I threw my hands up. “Fine. You can have Harold.” I smiled and let out a sigh of relief. “I actually still can’t believe the plan worked. It was so…”
I paused as I struggled for the term, and Nate raised an eyebrow. “So on the nose?”
“Yes! That’s it. I can’t believe he fell for it. We barely had to do anything, and he went and took himself out of the equation.”
“I told you, the man is a moron.”
I nodded, smiling gleefully. “True.” My smile broadened, and I snickered. “You know, I think that’s the most fun I’ve had pretending on this trip so far.”
Nate winked. “I guess faking it can be good sometimes, huh?”
That was all it took for me to fall apart. I burst into a fit of hysterical giggles, and Nate followed suit like it was contagious, echoing my laughter with deep, throaty chuckles.
I couldn’t stop for a good three minutes. I didn’t care when my sides started to hurt, and I didn’t care if I looked stupid or laughed in a weird way, even though I’d been told in the past that I sounded like a demented hyena when I giggled really hard. I didn’t need to worry about anything, because I was with Nate. He didn’t judge me. He supported me endlessly, and he’d always shown me that.
My laughter stopped short at the thought, and my breath hitched in my throat. I stared up at Nate as he towered over me, his lips still twisted with mirth. He was so damn handsome. So trustworthy and kind. So utterly perfect.
And just like that, the wild tempest in my mind finally stilled.
Every fear, every concern, every haunting memory, every reservation… it was all melting away like ice under a blazing sun. All because of Nate. In him, I’d found someone I could truly trust. I’d found someone I could open up to and be myself around. And my god, I wanted him. No, I needed him. I needed him so badly I didn’t even want to think anymore. I just wanted to exist in a purely physical state. My body and his, twining together.
“Nate,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “Kiss me.”
He stepped closer, immediately pulling me into his arms. “I thought you’d never say it.”
Possessive need filled his gaze as he looked at me. He grabbed my head and leaned down, hands weaving through my hair as our mouths meshed together. He tasted like mint and felt like freedom. Freedom from all the years of closing myself off from lust and emotion.
I let out a little gasp as his tongue arched against mine, kissing me so hard and deep that I ached. It was wild. It was hard. It was rough. It was by far the best kiss I’d ever had. Something was coming back to life deep within me; something I buried a long time ago.
Pressure quickly mounted between my thighs, and I clung to Nate’s shoulders. He deepened the kiss, pushing me toward the bed. One of us knocked something off the coffee table on our way, but we didn’t stop for even a second to see what it was. We didn’t care. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was this moment, this feeling, this kiss.
Nate’s hands worked my dress, accidentally tearing it with his impatience. He yanked it down my body, his hands moving straight to my bra to palm my breasts as the dress finally fell away, pooling on the floor by my bare feet. My own hands went to his jeans, demandingly pulling at the button and zipper. A low growl vibrated in his chest when I slid a hand inside his briefs, my fingers delicately dancing over his hardness. I couldn’t remember the last time I did this; couldn’t remember the last time I made a guy groan from the mere touch of my hand. But holy shit, it felt good. I’d been missing out. All this time I spent worrying and second-guessing everything, and I could’ve just let go and had this.
Nate pulled back for a second to step all the way out of his jeans and help me take his shirt off. Then he returned his hands to the back of my head, lips crashing against me again. He moved a knee between my thighs as we kissed frantically, and I couldn’t help but grind myself against him to try and soothe the throbbing need in my core. It didn’t work. I needed more. So much more.
“I want you,” I whispered between kisses. “I want you so bad.”
Nate’s fingers moved back to my breasts, sliding inside my bra cups and running over my stiff nipples. With each brush against my nipples, there was a hot sensation sparking within me, running from my spine to my core. “I fucking want you too,” he muttered against my ear as he moved his hands to my back and unclipped my bra. “Let me show you just how much.”
Yes, please…
I didn’t need to say it out loud. He already knew.
The air between us felt charged with electr
icity as he pushed me onto the bed. Flames licked at my thighs, my core growing slick at the thought of finally having him inside me. The man I’d secretly wanted for weeks. The man who’d taken center stage in all my dreams and fantasies as long as I’d known him.
The man I could finally admit I wanted out loud.
As Nate settled his weight on me, I whimpered softly. His hands moved down between us, stroking and caressing my thighs before moving underneath me to my ass, deftly slipping beneath my panties. He roughly squeezed the soft skin there, making me moan. Then his fingers traveled up again, reaching for the front of my panties. He smirked wickedly and ripped the thin lacy fabric right off me. I let out a gasp as he pulled my legs apart, and my breaths began to come fast and shallow. Any moment now and he’d be inside me.
“You’re sure you want this?” he asked, his eyes dark with need.
I nodded with urgency. “Yes!”
“Say it.”
I swallowed hard. “I want you to fuck me,” I murmured. I wasn’t shy with him anymore. I was just so turned on I could barely speak coherently.
He smiled knowingly and finally slid himself out of his briefs. I looked down, my eyes widening at the sight of his cock. Just like every other part of him, it was beautiful. Smooth. Big.
He settled between my open legs and guided himself to my entrance. His jaw tightened, and he pushed forward. My readiness was apparent as he met my wetness, and he slid himself inside easily and buried his cock to the hilt, making me cry out with every delicious inch. I wanted it just like this. Hard. Fast. Nate seemed to read my mind as he drew back then slammed back in, just as quick and rough as I wanted it. My moan was as loud as his pleasured grunt as our bodies joined with desperate lust.
One hand pressed against the headboard for leverage as Nate began to thrust harder, his groin crashing onto my clit with every movement. The bed rattled from the force, and he began to grind himself deeper and deeper, until my clit throbbed so hard that I jerked and screamed, unable to help the sounds spilling from my lips as waves of pleasure shot through me like lightning.
Mr. Man Candy: A Fake Boyfriend Romance Page 21