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His hand tightened around hers, a grin slowly curling his lips. “That’s the best idea I’ve heard all night.”
“Good.” She pulled him toward the door and sent him a dazzling smile that made his stomach jolt. “Because, I’m more of a late-night coffeehouse kind of gal. I think I saw one down the block.”
He hesitated for only a second, his head spinning. This wasn’t how he’d expected her to react to the news. He half wondered if he was making this all up in his head. But then she tugged on his hand again and his legs moved of their own accord, following her back into the club.
Maybe this deal would work after all.
Chapter Seven
Georgia bit her lower lip and stole a glance at Alaric’s serene face. His eyes were closed, his dark lashes resting against his sharp cheek bones. A soft, low breath escaped his parted lips as his chest rose and fell. A scruffy layer of stubble had grown overnight across his jaw. She had the sudden desire to run her fingers over it.
She couldn’t believe that Alaric Hammond was sleeping next to her. If someone in high school had told her this would happen one day in the future, she would’ve told them they were crazy.
“Girl, you’re drooling,” Angela whispered in her ear with a snicker as she passed by on her way to the airplane lavatory.
She pressed her lips together and felt the blood rush to her cheeks. Readjusting her ear buds, she leaned back into her plush first-class seat and tried to focus on her music. They were almost to New York City. Georgia was scheduled to appear on the popular morning show, Tomorrow’s News, in preparation for the release of her new album, and then there were award shows and all sorts of public appearances to make.
It had been her publicist’s idea to bring Alaric along for the entire week. She was loving the tabloid coverage of Gigi Weber with her new bad-boy billionaire. Georgia had never seen Sally look so happy. Subscriptions were at an all-time high on Spark and it was all pointing toward a stellar album release. Life couldn’t get much better for the team.
Of course, that was all thanks to the man snoozing next to her. It had been his idea to run with this deal. And it had been his honesty four nights ago in the alleyway behind the club that had cemented into Georgia’s mind just how important this deal was to both of them.
Alaric had made a big mistake in his past and he’d paid plenty for it. If she could help him get back into the good graces of his company, she’d gladly do it.
And spending time with him wasn’t turning out to be so bad, after all. They’d talked on their coffee date for hours, catching up on life since high school, until the staff had to shoo them out. It had almost felt like a real date.
Georgia liked getting to know the real Alaric. She was starting to see glimpses of the man she’d connected with online. He had a maddeningly cocky streak to him, but there was also a sensitive man below the cold business exterior. Someone who desired to be better. To give back to the world. It made her almost wish this relationship was real. That every touch, every glance wasn’t motivated by a contract.
Alaric shifted in his seat, drawing her attention once again. He opened his dark brown eyes and gazed sleepily at her, stretching his muscular arms high above his head. “Are we there yet?”
She popped a headphone out of her ear and nodded. “Almost. I can’t believe you slept this entire flight. I can’t seem to get comfortable enough to rest on these things.”
“It’s a rare talent.” He gave her a dashing smile that made her heart flutter. “When my business was just getting off the ground, I was flying all over the world every week. Had to take sleep where I could get it.”
“I don’t think that’s going to work for me. Thankfully, I’ve got my makeup artist to hide the lack of sleep,” she replied, tugging on the dark circles under her eyes.
“Yes, I suppose that’s a benefit to being a woman.”
He smiled again and looked past her, his eyebrows raising. Georgia turned to see what had caught his attention. Sally stared at them over her phone, a calculating look on her face. Alaric reached over and placed his hand on top of Georgia’s, rubbing the pad of his thumb in lazy circles on her palm. She gulped at the sudden contact, feeling her face burn bright red.
“I think your publicist is in love with me,” he whispered into her ear, his breath warm on her neck. “She won’t stop staring.”
“Either that, or she’s in love with the money you’re making her,” she muttered back. “She’s seeing dollar signs. I think she’s convinced I got this interview on Tomorrow’s News because of you.”
“It can’t be because of her utterly gorgeous and talented client, now can it?” he asked with a soft chuckle. “No, I think you earned that interview by yourself.”
Georgia ducked her head, her heart pounding. Did he really think those things, or was this all a part of the fake relationship? It was starting to become difficult to separate fact from fiction. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to let her heart get swept up in the process.
“Let’s call it a group effort.” She pulled her hand out from under Alaric’s and moved to put her ear buds back in her ear. The tingly feeling on her palm lingered. “Wake me up when we land, will you? I think I’m going to try and catch a few z’s.”
She knew he was watching her, but she closed her eyes and leaned back in the plush seat and stretched her legs out. Time to shut out the world.
And give her heart a good talking to.
?
Alaric watched from the green room as Georgia appeared on the TV screen in front of him. She was chatting with the two hosts of Tomorrow’s News, sitting on a stool with her legs crossed in a short black skirt and fishnet tights. They were complimenting her on her newest album and prodding her for information about her love life.
Georgia folded her lips in and smiled mysteriously at them, raising the tension i
