Page 17 of Do It With Me

Rolling my eyes, I sent him a few of the pics I’d taken in the mirror—and tried not to overthink it.

Me: Which one?

His response didn’t take long.

Prof Holden: You look amazing in all of them, but I’m partial to the blue one.

I smiled before I could stop myself.

Me: Thanks, I’ll buy that one, then.

I tucked my phone away, ignoring the flutter in my stomach. I picked up my regular clothes and slowly changed back into them. All these dresses had made me feel like a princess and I couldn’t wait to tell my mom about the fitting. I was also excited for Holden to actually see me in the navy blue one. I was absolutely not admitting that to Mercedes, though.

Fire and ice, I reminded myself. A business arrangement that ends with me being fifty grand richer. That’s all this is.

After giving myself a quick, stern pep talk about it, I was just about to step out of the dressing room when my phone buzzed again.

Prof Holden: Buy the green one too. Wear it to dinner with me tonight. We should get to know each other before we pretend to be a couple in public.

I stared at the screen for a second, my pulse quickening. Dinner. Tonight. With the dangerously charming sex machine.

“Everything okay in there?” Mercedes called from outside. “Things have gone really quiet on your side of the door.”

“Uh, yeah. All good,” I said. “Just, uh, apparently, I have a dinner date with him now too.”

“With the billionaire?”

I sighed. “Yeah. With the billionaire.”

Mercedes whooped. “God, I love this for you. Dibs on the maid of honor spot.”

I rolled my eyes at her. “Stop.”

“No, I’ll never stop believing that true love finds people when they least expect it.” Her eyes sparkled with joy. “It happened to me and it will happen for you. If not with Holden, then with someone. I just know it.”

“Thanks.” I appreciated her excitement. I did. It was just that deep down, I didn’t quite know what to think about this. It made sense that we should at least appear mildly comfortable with one another by the time we got to a wedding, but he’d never mentioned dinner before.

So why the change of heart?

When I got back to the apartment, the place was quiet. Mom was asleep, her soft snores drifting down the hall, and Bree was at the table, her laptop open and a mug of tea beside her.

Her eyes lit up when she saw the garment bags draped over my arm. “Oh my gosh, you went shopping?”

“Yep. Although I was mostly sweating and trying not to faint at the prices while my friend passed me dresses. It wasn’t so much shopping as it was trying on.”

Bree stood and peeked into the bags. “These are gorgeous. What’s the occasion? Are you getting married and you forget to tell me?”

I laughed. “For what these things cost, I probably should wear one of them again when I get married, but it’s not that. I’m just going to dinner tonight. With my professor.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “Oh, you little devil. Working on some extra credit?”

“No, absolutely not. It’s not like that. It’s… complicated.”

“Mm-hmm,” she said, smirking as she unzipped one of the bags. “Well, complicated looks fantastic in silk. Sit. I’m doing your hair and makeup. I’ll get you an A. Don’t worry.”

“Bree, really, it’s not like that.”

“No arguing. Didn’t you say your professor is some big shot businessman?”