by KB Winters
“I did tell you I get a little less gentlemanly as the night progresses…” I replied, flashing her a wolfish smile.
She shifted in her seat, leaned back again, and I caught a peek of the rounded tops of her breasts down the front of her dress.
Check please!
After deciding against dessert, I settled the check while Penny excused herself to the ladies’ room. When she returned, I was standing by our table, and as she neared, I extended her my elbow in the same gesture I’d first made when we’d been escorted to the table by the brunette at the hostess station who’d eyed me like I was a juicy steak.
Penny giggled softly and took my arm. “I didn’t have that much to drink,” she said to me.
“Come on, just play along.” I grinned back and we walked through the restaurant and were ushered outside with well wishes from the front of house staffers. “So, where to?” I asked once we got outside, the brisk spring air made me wish I’d brought my bike. Then I’d have a leather jacket to offer her.
Penny didn’t seem bothered by it. “Aren’t you supposed to be planning this?”
I barked out a laugh. “I believe your instructions were Paso Doble, Saturday, seven o’clock.”
She laughed and nodded. “I can be kinda bossy sometimes.”
“That’s all right. Better than the ‘what do you want to do’, ‘I don’t know, what do you want to do’ circle.”
“Oh, just shoot me.”
I laughed and wrapped my arm around her waist. She flinched at the contact but relaxed once she pushed my hand up higher on her waist. Not that I’d dipped too low…but oh well.
“We’ll never be those people,” I assured her. “It seems to me that we’re both a little too high spirited for that mundane attitude. We’ll argue and bicker over evening plans instead.”
She eyed me as we made our way aimlessly down the sidewalk. “You know, you’re sure comfortable with these big words like us and we. Normally those are trigger words for guys. I’m fairly convinced that men hear words like us and we at some kind of frequency that makes them go berserk and run off like a scared puppy.”
I roared with laughter. “Flattering!”
“Well, I just call it like I see it!”
We’d reached the end of the sidewalk and traffic whizzed by, making it impossible to cross until the light changed. The hum of the city rang in my ears but went quiet as I spun Penny around to face me and right there on the sidewalk, tipped her chin up, and swept over her lips with my own.
She pulled away at first, her blue eyes gleaming in the lights of the city, and then she slowly closed them again. I kissed her again, this time more urgently. Her lips tasted like the sweet margarita she’d drank at dinner and I lapped the remains from her tongue as I invaded her mouth.
From somewhere behind us, a catcall and wolf whistle broke into the moment and we pulled apart, laughing at ourselves. Still grinning, I blindly flipped the bird over my shoulder, hoping the jeering pedestrian got my message.
“Get a fuckin’ room!” a voice called in response.
Penny laughed harder and rolled her eyes. “Gotta love NYC, huh? Such charming people…”
I nodded and kissed her again. “He’s got the right idea though…you wanna go back to my place for a nightcap? We’ve had a shockingly small amount of alcohol tonight.”
She considered my offer and then nodded slowly. “Sure. I’d love to.”
Oh, she had no idea.
Chapter Eleven
Penny
In the time it took Miles to flag down a passing cab, I asked myself what the hell I was thinking at least a dozen times. There was no doubt that Miles was everything I wanted in a one-night stand. He was hot as hell, laugh out loud funny, and I’d even caught a glimmer of his sweet, marshmallow side that I doubted he’d let many people see.
The scary thing was, when I realized—sliding into the cab as he held open the door—that I didn’t want him to be just a one-night thing. Gone in the morning and just another steamy memory added to my fantasy, spank bank. That was assuming I didn’t drink too much and lose track of the details faster than I lost my clothing.
When he said we it made my heart flutter in absurd little circles that got my mind wondering what it would be like to actually be with a guy like Miles. Not just for the night. To have him call me up in the middle of the night to talk, to hear him call me baby, to be by his side for the life-long adventures he’d mapped out for himself. A real somebody.
As he slid in beside me, he rattled off the address to his hotel for the driver, and we set off. It was too late for me to pull the rip cord. I glanced over at him and he slid over to wrap an arm around me. He placed a finger along the angle of my jaw and set his thumb on my chin, tipping my face up to his. His eyes were dark and hungry, but he paused. “Is something wrong, Penny? You look worried all of a sudden.”
I swallowed hard. “I’ve just played this game too many times, Miles.”
“Game?” He wrinkled his brow, clearly not following me.
“I’m not saying you’re trying to mess with me, or anything like that, and I actually really like you. More than I thought I would…”
“Gee, thanks,” he retorted sarcastically, still holding the side of my face. “Come on, you can tell me. What’s wrong?”
I rolled my eyes at myself before meeting his stare again. “Miles, just shoot straight with me, okay? That’s my only real condition here. I just want you to be honest with me. I don’t need you to sugar coat this, or dress it up with promises, or throw around words that make it seem like you’re looking for something more than a one-night or a one-weekend thing. I’m a big girl, I won’t get hurt or offended.”
His brow creased. “Who said this was a one-time thing? In fact, I’m pretty sure you already called me out for that, and I told you if that’s all I was into that I would’ve stayed in Georgia. So where is all this coming from?”
My heart beat faster and I searched my mind for a sidestepping reply that would get me out of the conversation I’d started. Miles didn’t appear to be trying to make me look stupid, but I felt it all the same. I tried to drop my eyes from his intense stare but his hold on my jaw held firm. “Never mind,” I said lamely. “Don’t worry about it. I just…got confused.”
He smiled softly. “That’s not what I’m trying to do.”
“Then just tell me…why did you call me? Why did you fly all the way here to go to dinner with me? It just doesn’t make sense.”
He chuckled softly. “You’re not gonna make this easy on me, huh?”
I arched a brow. “What do you mean?”
He released the hold on my jaw and dropped his hand to his lap, leaving his other arm draped along the backseat of the cab. He glanced ahead, through the front seats and out the windshield at the dark city streets as we wound through traffic. When he brought his eyes back to mine there was something even more startling about them. “Total transparency? There is something I wanted to ask you. I was waiting until we got back to my hotel.”
“Why?” I shook my head slightly. “I’m not following.”
He chuckled. “No, no. I don’t mean that in a sketchy as hell way. It’s just not the kind of thing I wanted to talk about in the back of a cab.”
“Okay, well now I’ve gotta know!”
“We’re almost there.” He chuckled and glanced over to look out his window. “Patience.”
I pouted but then quickly became distracted by his fingertips on my shoulder, gently, almost mindlessly, massaging the exposed skin under the one-inch-thick straps.
We didn’t speak for the rest of the fifteen-minute ride, both of us lost in our own thoughts. When the cab pulled up in front of the hotel, Miles paid the driver and hopped out, holding the door for me as I exited. He grabbed my hand and led me inside the gorgeous hotel and together we confidently strode to the elevators as though we were long time lovers on the way back to our room.
Miles took us to the twenty-second floor, ne
arly the top floor, and down to a large suite. “It was the best I could get on short notice,” he said, grinning as he opened the door with his key card.
“Not bad,” I said, returning his easy smile as I stepped into the suite. It was very chic with sleek leather furniture, marble floors, and soft lighting. It appeared to have two rooms off the main living area. I walked in front of him a couple of paces to get a closer look at a series of photographs that hung in two orderly rows above the longest of the two couches. Each one captured a different angle of the main bridges of the city. They were stunning black and whites and I stashed away the idea to try someday.
Miles crossed to the wet bar. “Water? Tea? Something stronger?”
I spun away from the photographs. “I don’t know anymore…” I laughed softly. “One minute you’re talking hot hookup and now it feels like you’re waiting to drop a bomb on me.”
Miles chuckled. “It’s not a bomb.” He paused, as though confirming his statement with himself, and then went back to rummaging through the fridge. “Here, this should do the trick either way.” He produced a dark bottle and after opening it, poured two generous glasses of red wine.
He brought them across the room to where I was standing and handed me a glass. I breathed in the sweet smell and took a sip, letting the notes burst and melt on my tongue. “Mmm. That’s exquisite.”
“Not bad,” he agreed, after taking his own sample. “Come on, let’s sit.”
I frowned and took a place on the couch. This was getting less hot by the minute. By now, we should be halfway through tearing each other’s clothes off, panting, and crashing through the door of one of the bedrooms.
Miles chuckled and I blushed, wondering if he’d somehow read my thoughts through my decidedly cranky expression. He took the seat beside me and turned his body to angle my way, our knees nearly meeting.
I drew in a silent breath and lowered the wine glass to rest on my thigh. “All right, I’ve been patient long enough.”
“Patient-ish,” he corrected, smirking at me.
I stared at him, unblinking.
“All right, all right.” He chuckled as he nodded. “Whew. There’s really no easy way to bring this up…”
Oh shit…he has an STD. That has to be it, right?
What a pity. We could have had such fun together.
“Penny, I have to get married.”
I sat perfectly still for a moment, my back ramrod straight, and then burst out laughing as I realized that not only is that what he actually said—out loud—but that he was serious.
Miles raked a hand through his hair. “Shit…”
I tried to rein in the giggles, to avoid pissing him off and from spilling any of the amazing wine. “Okay, hold on, I’m sorry. But, what the hell? Are you for real?”
Miles didn’t crack a smile and mine fell away.
Mission abort! Abort! How the hell am I gonna get out of here?
My expression shifted from disbelief to horror and my heart plummeted into my stomach. “Wh-what?”
He sighed and started again. “The only reason I was at the gala that night was because it’s this ridiculous agreement I’ve made with my parents. After years of nagging me to be more present in their lives—they’ve turned to blackmail. If I don’t go to the holiday gala, they take away my trust. Now, it’s not enough that I show up and act the part. This year, they told me that they’re upping the ante. If I’m not married by Christmas—”
“Of this year?” I choked out, the pieces rapidly coming together.
Miles nodded. “Yes. If I’m not married by this Christmas, not only will they shut off my trust, but they will have me taken out of their will and I’ll lose my inheritance.”
“Holy crap. I thought my mother was a tyrant…”
My head was spinning so fast I thought it might spin around and go full on Exorcist right there in the middle of his hotel room.
Miles tried to smile but it didn’t quite work. It ended up more like a grimace. “So, when we first met, I’d just finished having that chat with them and I’ve been stewing over it ever since. I hadn’t made up my mind what I wanted to do but then I saw your picture on the magazine cover, and…I know it sounds insane, but I thought of all the people I knew, you’d understand and maybe, just maybe, be willing to play along with me for a little while. If I get married and play by their rules, I’ll get the rest of my trust all at once.”
I couldn’t have been more dumbfounded. It was something like being woken up from a dead sleep by a bucket of ice water.
Miles shot up from his place on the couch and paced the living room in from of me, his footsteps the only sound in the room, other than the thundering sound of my heartbeat in my ears. “Listen, I get it if you want to scream at me and tell me I’m a jackass. I should have brought this up sooner but I was having a good time at dinner and wanted to see where the night led.”
“Miles, stop.” He turned around in a crisp move I could only assume was military march precision. “You don’t have to apologize. You haven’t done anything wrong. I’m just…struggling to wrap my mind around all of this.”
He barked out a laugh. “Welcome to my world. I’ve had five months to try and figure it out and I don’t think I’m any closer.”
“Come sit,” I said, patting the place he’d abandoned. “I have questions but I can’t think with you stalking around like that.”
He did as I asked and waited, every muscle tensed.
I sucked in a long, slow sigh, and released it just as slowly. “Okay. So, you have to be married by Christmas? What are your thoughts for how this would work? I mean…obviously not forever, right?”
I didn’t know why I bothered to ask, it wasn’t like I was actually considering offering myself. Besides having a bonafide hottie for a husband, what other perks would it offer me?
“I don’t know. My thoughts right now are that it would have to last long enough to make my parents get off my case, then a separation period where we pretend like we’re working on it, and then a clean cut divorce. I’ll have my money and the monkeys off my back and can open my garage and live my life in peace. At least until they cook up their next scheme.”
“Garage?”
Miles nodded. “Yeah. That’s the real reason I’m even willing to play their bullshit game. Like I was telling you at dinner, I’m looking to transition to the reserves and need something else to do with my life. I like working on bikes, riding bikes, and figure that’s my best bet for a normal life. I don’t have any interest in working for my father’s company or any of his golf buddies’ businesses. That’s not my world. I want to wear jeans, drink beer on my back deck, travel, and live life on my terms.”
“Why can’t you do that now?”
“Cause a business like the one I want to build is too damn big, and too damn expensive without access to my trust money.”
“Gotcha. So, you play the game, get married, get the cash, and build your own business.”
Miles nodded. “It might not make sense. I mean, why not go get a business loan or something, right?”
I shrugged. “It’s a valid question. Seems a helluva lot easier.”
He laughed. “Probably true. But…” his voice drifted off as his eyes flitted off to the in-laid marble fireplace along the opposite wall. It wasn’t turned on, but he stared at the hearth as though he was mesmerized by the invisible flames.
I reached out and set my hand on his arm, feeling the rock solid muscles of his forearm and the soft smattering of dark hair. “Miles?”
He brought his eyes back to mine and a stab pricked at my heart at the look of pain in his eyes. “I get that it’s asking a lot. I know we don’t know each other at all—but I think we could help each other. My parents know everyone in the publishing world here in the city. I’d make sure you’d get your book published.”
I sat back in my seat and exhaled. It was tempting. The offers hadn’t been pouring in and I desperately wanted to get the book in my hands bef
ore making my trip to visit my dad at the mausoleum on the anniversary of his death. But it was a steep price to pay. A year of my life pretending to be in love with someone—even if that someone was Miles.
“Listen, Penny, I’m in town for the weekend. So why don’t you give it some thought and we can take some time and get to know each other first.”
I raised a finger, stopping him. “I have one condition.”
He looked taken aback, but smiled. “Fire away.”
“No sex.”
“What?” The smiled faded, leaving a puzzled look in its place.
I nodded. “You heard me. If we’re going to do this and not get tangled up in some stupid web, we can’t be together like that.”
Miles was too much for me to take. I couldn’t have all of him for a year and then walk away unscathed a year later. If this was temporary, then we would have to stay detached. I could pretend, but sleeping together would blow everything up.
Miles groaned and flopped against the back of the couch. “But we’d be so good together.”
I laughed. I didn’t doubt it. “Not the point.”
He shifted his gaze at me, pausing a beat as though he hoped I’d reconsider after getting a good view at his long, lean torso. Which, I did. But I shook my head. “That’s my term. Take it or leave it.”
He sat up. “All right, but I have an addition.”
I waved my hand. “I’m listening.”
“No sleeping with other people either.”
I held his dark eyes and realized he was serious. “What the hell? So you’re voluntarily locking yourself out of sex for at least a year? Are you sure there’s nothing wrong with the plumbing?” I dropped a meaningful glance at his crotch.
He leaned in and captured my lips in a kiss so hot and searing that it burned away all doubt that he was fully operational. When he pulled away, I sagged backward on the couch, fighting to catch my breath. “What the hell was that?” I panted, throwing him an angry glance.