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“Can you really pay?”
He laughed and stood up, walking over to his nightstand. He grabbed his phone and began tapping at the screen. He turned and showed it to me.
It was a bank account. Clearly listed in the savings was over a million dollars.
“Why the heck do you have this much money in the bank?” I asked, shocked.
“Where else would I keep it?” he grunted.
“Investments. Property. I don’t know, but I do know you shouldn’t just have that kind of cash sitting around.”
He laughed again. “I told you, I don’t give a shit about the money. But that’s enough proof that I can pay, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it is.”
He tossed his phone onto the bed and sat back down. “So, should we talk terms?”
“Okay,” I said, nodding.
“First, you can’t tell anyone the truth. Not your best friend, not your parents, not some stranger on the internet. Understood?”
“Okay,” I said, nodding.
“Next, you have to maintain the illusion as faithfully as possible. That means we sleep in the same room, maybe we kiss for the cameras, hold hands, all that shit.”
“No sex,” I said quickly.
He smirked. “No sex,” he agreed. “Contractually, at least.”
“This is all business, Nash.”
“Of course. All business.” He leaned back in his chair, appraising me. “Think you can handle this so far?”
I nodded, my heart beating fast. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Last condition. You get paid if and only if we make it through the entire book tour without getting caught. If someone figures out the truth, then you don’t get paid. If you tell someone on the last night, you don’t get paid. Understood?”
I nodded. “Sounds fair.”
“Okay then. That’s it for me.” He smiled. “Anything you want to add?”
“Just one thing. No sex,” I said. “I can handle the fake relationship stuff, the kissing and hand holding and all that, but when the doors are closed, we’re just business associates.”
“No sex,” he agreed. “I’m not interested in forcing you to fuck me if you don’t want to.”
“One last thing,” I said. “I need you to make me understand why you want this marriage thing, because right now I think you might be an insane person.”
He laughed, leaning back. “If you think I’m insane, why are you here?”
“Like I said, I’m here for the money.”
“Fair enough.” He paused for a second, thinking. “Simple, really. I told you some of it already. The publisher has me by the balls, and I’m not a fan of that.”
“So how does marrying me help?”
“Because I need to get my shit together and play by their rules. That’s going to be your job.”
I stared at him. “So I’m your babysitter?”
He laughed. “Not exactly. I have enough of those. No. Your job is exactly what I described, no more or less.”
I sighed. “You think that if you’re married, you’ll somehow stop acting like an ass.”
“Something like that, sure,” he said, laughing again.
I wanted to say something else, but there was a knock at the door. Nash stood up and opened it. The room service guy brought in a tray and placed it at the end of the bed, not sparing me a second glance. Nash tipped him and then closed the door behind him as he left.
“Hungry?” he asked. There was steak and whisky on the cart.
“No, thanks.”
“I suggest you eat,” he said. “Because when we’re done here, we’re getting on a plane.”
I stared at him. “What?”
“You and me, babe, we’re flying to Vegas.”
“Why?” I asked, surprised. “When?”
He picked up his glass of whisky and shot it back. “As soon as I’m finished with this steak.”
“But I don’t have any clothes or anything like that.”
He shrugged. “I’ll buy you new things.”
I frowned. “I can’t let you do that.”
“You’re about to be my wife,” he said. “I have to be able to buy you presents.”
“But why Vegas?”
He laughed, sitting down with the steak in front of him and digging in. “You didn’t think we were getting married at the Philadelphia courthouse, did you?”
“I didn’t think about it,” I admitted.
“No, we’re getting married in Vegas, baby.” He grinned hugely at me. “We’re doing this right, so get ready for a wild ride.”
I sat back, letting the shock roll over me. I hadn’t prepared myself to leave that night, but he had a point.
And I was committed to this. I could tell this wasn’t just some crazy prank or something like that. Nash may have been dangerous and seductive, but he wasn’t a psychopath. He was in a bad situation and wanted to find his own way out of it.
So we were going to Vegas. In about ten minutes.
Things were moving fast, and I had a feeling they were going to move faster still.
8
Nash
I stepped out of the hotel room door and checked the hallway. Selena followed me, moving quietly, as we went to the stairwell. I pushed open the door and we went down the steps, moving fast and quiet.
