Page 43 of Lease to Love

Then there was Summer.

She was already in.

Not just accepted. Beloved.

If she was beside me, people would look at me differently.

Not because I suddenly became trustworthy, but because somebody they trusted had decided I was worth standing next to.

I looked at Summer.

She was still watching me, waiting.

And then the variables aligned.

The live had already happened.

The story was already out.

Her ex had given her a reason to need a boyfriend.

I needed a reason for Langston Park to believe I wasn't the enemy.

The block association gala was in a week.

And Summer had just accidentally handed me an opening I'd spent months trying to create.

I can use this.

The thought landed with such clean, uncomplicated logic that I almost smiled.

Not because it was funny.

Because it was useful.

For once, the problem and the solution had walked through the same door.

"What if,” I said slowly, “what if we didn't end it right away."

Her eyes sharpened. "What?"

"What if we let it run? Long enough to be believable. Long enough that when it ends, it ends like a regular breakup. Not like..." I gestured toward her phone. "That."

She stared at me.

The confusion on her face gave way to suspicion so quickly I almost respected it. "Why?"

The question surprised me. "Does it matter?"

She folded her arms. "Yes. If we follow through with your idea, I get my ex handled. My name gets cleaned up. The whole neighborhood gets to watch me be unbothered and moved on with the richest man in Langston Park."

She pointed at me. "And you get what? The joy of knowing you did me a favor? Nah."

I held her gaze.

"Roman Sterling doesn't do things for warm and fuzzies." She gave me a look. "I want to know what you get out of this."

Damn. This woman was sharp.