“Tucker. Focus.” The guy is like a golden retriever with too many toys to pick from. “What is the proposition you’re making me?”
“Go?” A little hand grabs at my wide leg jeans, yanking on the softened fabric. “Mumum, go?”
Once again, Tucker gets distracted, dropping to a crouch so fast I lose my hold on his remarkably strong jawline. He gets down on my daughter’s level, greeting her with a warm smile. “Hey, Little Bird.” He holds up the toy I’m just now realizing is a sparrow. “Would you like this?”
“Yah.” She nods both her head and her fist before reaching out with sticky strawberry hands to collect the furry, squishy creature. Her little fingers immediately start squeezing at its beak. As soon as she pinches down, the thing makes a squawking noise that has both her and me jumping in surprise.
My toddler recovers before I do, cackling as she squeezes again. Again there’s a squawk.
But without the element of surprise to distract me, I’m able to identify the actual source of the sound.
My daughter seems to have figured it out too, because her next squeeze isn’t on the bird’s beak, but on Tucker’s nose.
And of course, he squawks again, resulting in Birdie belly laughing so hard she stumbles. As soon as she regains her balance, her little hand is gearing up for another grab.
“If you don’t stand up, she’s just going to keep squeezing parts of you to see what sound you make.” He’s going to end up with a finger in his eye and one ear half ripped off.
Tucker boops Birdie on the nose before standing, his eyes trained on me. “She’s really cute.”
I angle a brow at him. “The proposition?”
“Bossyandimpatient.” He waggles his brows at me. “I like it.”
Oh my God. How does anyone hold a conversation with this guy?
I guess maybe they don’t. Maybe that’s how he gets so many women into bed with him. It’s not because he’s gorgeous and ridiculously charming. They just can’t get him to hold a train of thought and decide to focus on something that doesn’t require much talking.
“I want you to pretend to be my girlfriend.” Tucker finally lays out what brought him here.
And I’ve got to admit, I’m a little shocked. “Why? You don’t want a girlfriend.”
“Exactly.” He glances down as Birdie yanks on his jeans, but instead of shooing her away, Tucker scoops her up, propping her on one hip as he continues talking. “My mother is hell-bent on getting me and my brothers to settle down, and I know she’s coming for me next.” He tips his head, looking me over. “But if I already have someone, she can move to whoever’s next in line.”
I’m not sure I’m understanding him correctly. “You want to pay me twenty thousand dollars to pretend to be your girlfriend so your mother doesn’t try to get you a real girlfriend?”
Tucker beams at me. “Yes.”
“For how long?” I want his money. Desperately.
But I have a job waiting for me in Maryland. My start date is in three weeks, and there’s no way I can push it back.
For the first time, Tucker looks uncertain. “I was thinking it would be sort of a long-term contract.”
Suddenly, twenty thousand dollars isn’t sounding as lucrative. “I’m gonna need you to give me your definition of long-term.” To be fair, as far as I know, the man has never been in a long-term relationship. Long-term to him could be a week.
Please let it be a week.
“The duration is negotiable.” Tucker backtracks a little. “Twenty thousand dollars for two weeks, and then we reevaluate.”
I would think he was kidding if the man hadn’t shown up on my doorstep with flowers and a toy for my daughter, but I still can’t help but laugh. “You really don’t like the idea of a relationship, do you?”
“Relationships are fine for other people.” He shrugs, but the movement seems stiffer than before. “They’re just not my thing.”
At least he’s upfront about it. But I do see one potential problem with his plan. “Won’t your mom be suspicious if you’re supposed to be with me but still spending time with other women?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “Because there won’t be any other women.”
“So you’re going to stop…” I’m not sure how to explain his social life, so I stick with something general. “...socializing?Even though we won’t be having sex?”
