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I took a steadying breath and looked up into his eyes, a pretend loving look on my face. If nothing else, I was going to do my job right. “Yes, you did,” I said. “But it’s okay. I know exactly what I am, James. You should, too.”
He stared down at me, his eyes intense. “You’re not a timeshare, Audrey. You’re a beautiful, kind woman. You’re way too young to give up on yourself.”
I simultaneously loved and hated the fact that my body was on fire beneath him, and that I wanted to remember every word he was saying.
“I’m not giving up on myself. But I also don’t lie to myself,” I said, giving him a tight smile that betrayed none of the wild emotion that was going on inside me. At its core, being an escort was just like being an actress, and that had never been more true for me than right now.
“Not lying to yourself is good—we should all try that more often,” James said. “But you’ve said some negative things about yourself this afternoon. Don’t. Don’t talk about yourself that way.”
I hadn’t realized I’d said anything bad about myself. I didn’t want to think about it. Instead, I put on my actress mask and changed tactics, quickly. “Are you lecturing me?” I asked, suddenly playful.
He watched my face, trying to read me.
“No,” he said, “I’m trying to help.”
“Is trying to help a thing with you?” I asked, teasing, trying to break the tension. “Are you one of those do-gooder sorts of billionaires?”
He gave me a small smile then, following my cues. Even though the vibe between us had changed, his powerful arms still gripped me. My body was still molded around his. I tried not to think about that—because if I did, I might try to climb on top of him right here.
That was ill-advised for several reasons.
“Hardly. And I don’t have things,” he said.
“Maybe you do,” I chided, trying to keep my voice even. “You just don’t have anybody to point them out to you.”
“Well, then please, over the next two weeks, be the pointer-outer of things,” he said, and I could tell he was relaxing a little. He was holding me close, and I could feel him stirring against me. Still, he didn’t back away, emboldened by the crowd. I wanted to climb up on him and wrap my legs around him, to find out exactly what he had going on underneath that suit.
I could feel his mother’s eyes on us. At the very least, we were successfully convincing her that there was something between us. What that something was, I wasn’t sure. It was more complicated than I’d thought.
Even though my body was on fire, I shivered against him.
“Now finish that drink,” he said commandingly. “We have to go meet the rest of the firing squad.”
“I’m ready when you are,” I said, and even though he made me feel off balance, I was sure that I meant that for a lot of different things.
James
Putting my hands on Audrey in the middle of the restaurant might have been the stupidest thing I’d ever done. But telling her to stop saying bad things about herself was much, much more treacherous.
She was just supposed to be a date. Not a girlfriend. Not a relationship. A date. No strings. No ties. No games.
I hadn’t even been planning on f**king her.
And yet here I was, my aching erection pressing up against her thigh, my entire family within spitting distance. And it wasn’t the erection that was the problem, although it was certainly uncomfortable and inconvenient given the present circumstances. The problem was that I felt protective of her. The problem was that when she called herself a timeshare, it cut me. And when I said something that hurt her feelings, I felt like shit. I felt sorry.
So. Fucking. Inconvenient. Feelings were for the weak, or for those who didn’t know any better. And that wasn’t me.
Maybe it’s because I’m around my family and I’m unsettled, I mused. But that didn’t make it any better, or any safer.
Still, I pulled her to me and almost kissed her, right there. I could feel her body through her dress, hot to my touch. But I stopped myself. I didn’t need to give Todd and Evie any ammunition against us.
“Let’s do this,” I said tightly. Audrey exhaled loudly, and I couldn’t help but smile at her. I felt exactly the same way—that is, if she felt both frustrated at not getting closer and relieved that we were finally apart.
I grabbed her hand and headed to my brother, grabbing two glasses of wine from a passing waiter. We were probably going to get piss drunk, but that was okay. Given the curious, icy stare Evie was giving Audrey, we were going to need to.
“There he is,” Todd said. He pulled me in for a quick, strong hug.
