Page 28 of About That Rule

ROBERTO IN THEexpensive suit was laying it on pretty thick. Poor guy had no idea she wasn’t going home with him, but there was nothing wrong with having a little fun. Besides, he had a lilt of a Spanish accent, and who didn’t love an accent?

He was hot. Gabriella and her friend were both eyeing him up.

Samantha was ready to get her flirt on. That was, until her stupid husband stood up, almost knocking his chair over, and stomped off to the bar.

They still had eight more weeks of pretend marriage. If he kept this up, two months were going to be brutal.

“What does your job as a social media consultant entail?” Roberto asked, leaning closer to her.

She loved her job and could talk about it all day. Unfortunately for her, she had another man to deal with.

Tilting her head at him, she gave a teasing smile. “Let me go grab a drink at the bar, then I can tell you all about it.”

Roberto grabbed at his chest, like his heart was aching. “Ah, a blow off.”

He made her laugh. She shook her head no, denying how she was actually shutting him down, even though that was the case.

“But you have a drink,” he told her, holding on to her hand as she stood up.

She gave him a regretful smile. “I have a feeling I’m going to need more than one.”

He glanced at the bar, then back to her, as if he figured out the reason for her departure was the man stewing at the bar. It was her cue to leave the table. She headed to the bar where Nate stood all by himself.

While he wasn’t loud and boisterous like Jason, Nate was hardly ever alone. Women flocked to his dark and mysterious look. But he was definitely giving off the vibe of proceed at your own caution. This was a new side to him, and she wasn’t sure she was a fan.

Standing next to him, she tapped her hip to his. “What’s wrong?”

He turned to stare at her. His piercing grayish-blue eyes were swimming with anger. Samantha lifted her nose up with annoyance. Nate and his bad attitude needed to stop.

“Answer me,” she pushed. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” he said through a clenched jaw. “I guess you could say I’m not fond of watching my wife flirt with anything that has a dick.”

“Are you kidding me?” she whisper-yelled.

His eyes never left hers. “Does it sound like I’m joking?”

“No. It sounds like you’re jealous,” she snapped.

Nate’s hand dragged through his hair. “There’s no way I’m jealous.”

“Really?” she shot back. “Let me remind you how you’re the one freaking out because another man is talking to me.”

“Is it really horrible of me not to want you blatantly flirting with other men in front of me?”

This reaction from him made her pause. It seemed like he cared, which was so far from anything he’d ever said he wanted before—let alone with her.

“That goes against the rules,” she gently reminded him.

The rules were there to protect them. With Nate’s struggle with jealousy and her ongoing confusion of wanting him, it was like they were sailing on a sinking ship. She clutched to those rules like a life vest.

“FUCK THE RULES,” Nate responded with heat.

This was taking a turn. Sure, a demanding and angry Nate when he was going all alpha was hot as well, but his behavior needed to be in check. The rules he helped make, he was disregarding all of them because some guy was flirting with her. None of this made sense.

“Nate…” Samantha was going to reason with him. If he kept acting like this, he was destined to regret it. She didn’t want him to confuse this façade of a marriage for something real. Not when he’d made it perfectly clear it wasn’t what he wanted.

“Samantha…” His tone was nothing but serious.