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“So just go with the flow?”
“I’m sure we’ll both screw something up, but I’ll most likely break out in hives if I do it any other way.”
My eyebrows rose in humor. “I will go so far as to say I don’t plan on seeing any other woman, so long as you’re willing to stick around?”
Her smile broadened, and she seemed much more comfortable with that approach than anything since I brought all this shit up.
“And that scores you even more points in whatever the fuck we’re doing relationship-wise,” she said, bringing her face to mine for another simple kiss.
I smiled against her lips. “Good to know,” I said, grabbing her shoulder to deepen the kiss so I wouldn’t disrupt the scarf. “I’m taking notes.”
“Smart man.” She turned and headed toward the cans.
I watched as she walked away. The jet lag was starting to set in, and all I could think about was getting her sexy ass back to my bed.
Chapter Sixteen
NAT
This whole relationship idea that Spencer had dropped on me after his sudden mood change came from out of nowhere. I certainly wasn’t expecting him, of all people, to go there with me.
I didn’t reject it altogether, perhaps because I had some phenomenal wine in my system and felt bold. Still, truthfully, I was finding myself caught up in the atmosphere of the village, restaurant, and Italy. So, I was fine to play around with the idea of turning the romance up a little. It was fun, it was a vacation, and hell, it’d probably help us sell our fake marriage a little better.
All things told, the sex was off the charts, Spencer was more enjoyable, and I was having a great time with this. I wasn’t getting too attached, though. I was no fool. So, when I would catch him staring at me with that look of his from across any room we were in, I would immediately push away the warm feeling it gave me.
Perhaps this was how all people dated. It wasn’t wrong to be guarded; it was smart. Not going all in with a man you hardly know was merely prudent.
“So, you two are dating?” Bree asked.
“Listen,” I said in somewhat of an authoritative tone, “one might call it dating, but that’s only because he and I aren’t enjoying the company of other people in our beds. That’s it.”
“Nat,” she said, “get real for a moment.”
“I am real,” I answered her. “And in being real, I want to stay close to why you called. It’s about the Haverton estate and whether you and Alex will take on this architecture project?”
“I have to go overpriced with Alex,” she answered. “Now, back to something more pressing.”
“A three-million-dollar commission split between you and me seems more pressing than a fling I’m having right now.”
“Nat,” I could hear my best friend’s frustration, “I know exactly what you’re doing.”
“Looking at the clock and realizing it is ten in the evening for you, way past your bedtime, and it’s way past my morning coffee time.”
“You’re avoiding what’s going on. You can call this whatever you want, but it’s dating. You’re off the market, and Spencer is your man, and you’re Spencer’s woman until one of you hurts the other.”
“Are you trying to scare me or something? Because it’s not working,” I nonchalantly raised my hand to study my nails.
“No, I’m trying to tell you that you’re both playing with fire, and one of you is going to get burned. I don’t want you hurt.”
“Are you saying this because you feel like Spencer will screw me over after we get home? That we’re just caught up in the moment?”
“Yes, and—”
“Good. Because I also think we’re both a little caught up in the moment. As I said, this is just one hell of an exciting fling. It’s a step in the direction of dating, and you and I know that’s pretty huge for me.”
“And if you fall for him? You just said you’re stepping in the direction of dating. What if you fall for Spencer? You and I have talked for countless hours about why you won’t commit to a man or open up to one, and here you are doing that.”
I felt my heart pick up the pace and exhaled it away in a quiet breath. “Bree, darling, I know you mean well, and this business about Spencer and me playing around with the idea of dating has got all your flags up. I assure you that I will be just fine. This heart is guarded and surrounded by stone that not even Spencer Monroe could break through if he tried. I choose who I will and will not let in. So please just laugh at this and know that you won’t be asked to be my maid of honor soon. Let me have a little fun.”
