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She laughed, lowering herself into the seat and sliding the napkin in her lap. “Well, your plating skills are pretty epic, Mr. Wade.”
“Why thank you, Miss Robertson.” I followed her, picking up the wine and filling her glass, then mine. I slid into the seat next to her and raised my glass. “To us.”
Her cheeks flushed the cutest pink as she clinked her glass against mine. “To us.”
I downed every drop in my glass, knowing that there was no way for me to sit through two courses and not get the arrangement issue off my chest.
She eyed me strangely, barely sipping hers. “Should I be worried?”
I covered her hand with mine, kicking myself when I felt her tremble. “Hell no! I mean, I hope not.” I withdrew my hand, the worst case scenario wreaking havoc on my nerves. What if I told her I wanted more and she told me she just wanted the money? What if I'd misread her and she didn't feel the same way? What-
I shut off that train of thought. I didn't imagine the way she looked at me, nor the way she touched me. And even if I was delusional, I didn't live my life based on what ifs. I got shit done. I took calculated risks.
Sure, there was a chance that she could tell me no. But the alternative was continuing down the path I paved, and I refused to do that. She deserved more. I deserved more.
So I just spat it out.
“I know we agreed that I would pay you to play my girlfriend. It was meant to be a mutually beneficial arrangement for us both. A safe arrangement.” I put it all on the line. “I can't tell you that the way I feel about you is real then pay you like you’re performing some service. I want to be yours and I want you to be mine. I don't want a timer ticking away in the back of my mind. And to be honest, thirty days just isn't enough time. I want months. Years. I want you, Penny.”
She gaped at me in stunned silence and my stomach plummeted.
Fuck. I'd rolled the dice and now, I'd lose it all. Not to mention the fact that if she got any paler, I might have to call 911.
She raised her glass back to her lips and followed my lead, downing her wine in a couple of gulps. She abandoned my gaze, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. When she looked back at me, I braced myself for the worst. She was going to breeze out of my life as quickly as she breezed into it.
“You want me?” she whispered tentatively.
Hope ignited in my chest and I cautioned a smile as I nodded my head. Just in case that wasn't enough, I confirmed it vocally. “Absolutely.”
She bit her lip, but her smile had a mind of its own, giving it all away. She wasn't going anywhere.
“Get over here,” she breathed softly.
I did a double take. “What?”
She let go of her delicious bottom lip and the look on her face was straight up predatory. It was a look that gave me no choice but to obey. “Get over here.”
I nearly lurched from my seat. By the time I reached her, she had risen to her feet, her chin up, the woman before me everything I wanted and more.
She crooked her finger. “Closer.”
She didn't have to ask twice. Our bodies were close enough that I could feel her breathe. I could dive into her heated gaze.
She wrapped her arms around my waist and squeezed me tight. “I want more too, Xander. You can keep the money. I want you. Nothing else but you.”
I lifted her up and her squeal of delight filled me as I spun her. All the things that kept me on the ground and stuck in neutral floated away.
I put her down, but other parts of me were still in full celebration mode. “We better eat up, because I plan on making all kinds of love to you tonight.”
I expected her to slide back into her seat and scissor her way through her lasagna so we could crash into each other, but she did the opposite. She peeled off her jacket, then stepped out of her dress. She stood before me in nothing but her bra and panties.
“I always liked having my dessert first,” she grinned.
Chapter Five: Penny
When I got Xander's text to come over to his place for dinner, I completely forgot the five minute text rule. I'd already turned off my read receipts, too embarrassed for him to see that I wasted no time opening his texts as soon as my phone alerted me that I had a new message. I literally had to flip to a timer and put my phone outside of texting range when I saw the invite because my first instinct was to send a 'YES!' in all caps with a flurry of happy, heart eyes emojis.
I didn't need a crystal ball to know that we would likely end up naked and tangled up in each other. I'd been prepared in kind, scrubbing myself from head to toe and making sure I was ready to pick up where we left off at the winery. Even with all the questions about the arrangement, and my worries that every day I fell deeper and it would make the goodbye even harder, I couldn't do the smart thing and stay away.
