“I doubt she wants it back. I wouldn’t if I were her. I’d be too busy hiring the nastiest divorce lawyer I could afford,” he says. “And if Chad bothers you again, tell him to go fuck himself.”
The muscles in Josh’s jaw twitch as his eyebrows snap together. His grip on the steering wheel tightens until the knuckles turn white. Probably he’s remembering how I said “fine” to Chad’s ridiculous bet. I shouldn’t have involved him so deeply.
I flame with embarrassment. “I’m sor—” I stop short, in case Josh really was serious about kissing me. “I messed up.”
“No, you didn’t. Anybody would’ve done the same.” He considers for a moment. “But don’t worry. We can stay engaged.”
I straighten in shock. “Really? You don’t mind?”
“Nope. I was actually about to propose the same thing, except for six months.”
My shoulders sag with relief. Whew, I’m glad he’s being so accommodating, although part of me harbors guilt that he’s doing this to salvage my pride—again. “Great. I’m happy—and grateful—to hear that. You don’t even have to stay for all six months, just three. And then you can dump me. That way, it’ll all be neatly tied up.”
“That’s ridiculous.” He scoffs. “You’lldumpme. Nobody’s going to believe it, otherwise.”
Uh…What? My brain freezes again. He must be confused—nobody will believeIdumpedhim. “Normally whoever has less to offer clings to the one with…more going on.”
“That’s right.” His eyes slide toward me for a second before returning to the road. “Normally.”
“Are you—” I stop and recalibrate.You know what? I can just pretend he considers me that amazing.Cinderella got to feel like a million bucks until midnight. Why shouldn’t I do the same?
“Am I what?”
“Nothing.” I clear my throat, then realize six months is a long time. He brought up kissing me earlier. Does he think I might want something more? Everything a couple does when a relationshipisn’tfake? “I won’t get in your way at all,” I say.
“How do you propose to do that?” Amusement softens his voice.
“Um… Like not expecting you to do things that, um, I can do myself?” I say awkwardly.
He frowns. “I’m not following.”
I cringe inwardly. This is awkward as hell, but I want to clarify everything before we head into this. “You have, um, personal needs, and I’ll let you do whatever’s…necessary. Just—please—do it discreetly. It’ll be embarrassing if everything becomes public, you know? At the same time, I can totally take care of my, um, issues if they ever present themselves because I have, ah, my own ways.” Shit, I’m babbling. I press my lips together.
His jaw flexes and the lines between his eyebrows deepen.What part of that annoyed him?I don’t think I’m being unreasonable by asking him to be careful. I mean, it’s for both our reputations. Plus Prescott seems pretty strict, and I don’t suppose he’d be okay with his son “cheating.”
“Do you know what my family motto is?”
“The Huxleys have a motto?” I chew on my lip, feeling like a kid who slept through class and missed a very important lesson. “Up or out?” It’s a phrase the lawyers at Huxley & Webber seem to use a lot.
He frowns. “That’s the firm’s unofficial policy. No, it’spietas et unitas. Loyalty and unity.”
“Wow. That’s cool,” I say quickly. “Better than ‘up or out.’” Should’ve known that wasn’t the family motto, since it can’t really be applied to families. But then, I haven’t had coffee. And didn’t get much sleep last night.
“So obviously cheating doesn’t fit into the way we Huxleys are expected to live our lives,” Josh says.
“Yeah, no, of course not. But it’s not really cheating if we agree it’s okay ahead of time. We just have to be discreet, so nobody else knows.”
“No. Nothing stays secret forever.” The car stops at a red light, and he turns and gives me his full attention. Thoughts I can’t read cross his face, and something volatile burns in his eyes as they trace mine. My mouth dries. “If you ever let another guy touch you while we’re together, I’ll personally rip his legs off and shove them both up his ass. Then I’ll fuck you until you remember you’re mine. Just because the engagement is fake doesn’t mean we fool around with other people.”
His eyes narrow to brilliant slits I can’t look away from. Every word out of his gorgeous mouth is totally wrong, but so freakin’ hot. My cheeks are warm enough to feel feverish. I squirm to ease the ache between my legs, wishing my boxers weren’t so thin. I’d better not leave a wet spot on his leather seat.
When I don’t say anything, his eyes darken. Then I realize maybe he mistook my suggestion to mean thatIwould like to cheat on him. “I wasn’t saying I’d do it with other guys. I have,ah, tools. And plenty of batteries. Thanks to Amazon subscribe and save, I get fifteen percent off on Energizers.”
Josh stares at me like I’ve sprouted flowers from the top of my head, then his gaze drops to my crotch briefly before rising to meet my eyes. “Are you telling me that you managed to save a vibrator or two when you evacuated?”
My face heats instantly.Shoot.I totally forgot about the fire incinerating everything. “No. Of course not,” I say hastily.Does he think I’m wearing a toy right now?Still, the point I was trying to make seems important. “But you need a variety. Don’t like to sleep with the same woman twice—”
“I don’t need a variety. And a Huxley does not cheat. Period.”
