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“I’m tired of her controlling every part of my life and that of everyone I care for,” he growled. “Resisting her, ignoring her, and attempting to rebel against her haven’t worked for me, okay? I’ve tried it all. She’s like a nasty rash that just won’t go away. So I’m testing this new tactic, where I pretend to comply in order to relax her guard just enough so that I can sneak around undetected and find something to end her tyranny and garner myself a little fucking freedom for the first time in my life.”
Glaring my way, he hissed, “Is that a good enough answer for you?”
Well.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to compliment him for his strategy or cringe because the relationship between him and his mother was obviously not healthy. I’m telling you, rich people and their fucked-up families. It was freaking dramatic as hell.
“You know,” I murmured. “Not to nitpick about your plan or anything, but an obedient son probably wouldn’t backtalk his mother as much as you do.”
He shrugged non-concerned. “Except I’ve always been that way with her. If I suddenly straightened up my attitude now, she’d just get suspicious and most likely figure out my game plan.”
The man had an argument for everything, didn’t he?
“Fine,” I announced, letting him have his way on this. It honestly didn’t matter to me either way. “Let’s get our stories straight.” I splayed out a hand. “How long have we been dating?”
“Three months,” he answered without hesitation.
I lifted my eyebrows, wondering if he already had all the details worked out in his head, until it struck me that by the three-month mark, a normal couple would have done more than just kiss.
So, idiot me, I blurted, “Have we had sex yet?”
He glanced over and raked his gaze down to the plunging neckline of my uniform. “Oh, hell yes.”
“Really?” I arched my eyebrows in warning. “You think I put out that fast, huh?”
“No idea,” he answered. “I just know I wouldn’t last that long without charming, bribing, or flat-out begging to get my way inside you.”
Oh. Well, in that case: wow. Sign me up.
Heat bloomed inside me, because picturing him being desperate enough to beg for me was just so freaking hot. Aside from Diego—who didn’t count because he hadn’t even known enough about me to really want me—had any man ever fallen to the point of that kind of desperation, just for little ol’ me? I don’t think they had. It suddenly made me want to be in the situation he described.
“All right, fine,” I allowed. “But just so you know, I’m really good at it.”
He cast me a knowing glance. “Being that I’m still with you after three months, I’d say that’s a given.”
Lord, he definitely knew how to cast a heated look, didn’t he? The hot places inside me began to boil over into other areas.
Clearing my throat, I tried to get back on track.
“I have a feeling your mother’s not going to ask that many questions about the intimate portion of our relationship, though, so what else should we know? Where did we meet?”
“Hmm.” Finally, the man seemed stumped. Then he asked, “What about your café? I could’ve met you there while you were working when I stopped by for a piece of—”
I cut him off with a snort. “I’m sorry, but I can’t see a guy like you ever frequenting a place like Trudy’s.”
He glanced at me in surprise. “Except I was just there, frequenting it?”
I took in his neatly pressed suit. “Only because of me. And not to sound rude, but normally we don’t serve the suit-and-tie crowd, and I can’t really envision you wearing anything else. I mean, do you even own jeans? Or a hoodie? The neighborhood where Trudy’s is located is nowhere near the upscale, posh side of—”
“I doubt Lana will do that much research. We’ll keep that part of the story as is. When you served me a cup of coffee, I took one look at you and fell helplessly under your spell.”
I sniffed out a harsh, disbelieving laugh, but said, “Okay. If you say so.”
“What?” Watching me curiously, he asked, “Don’t you think it’s possible?”
“I mean, not really,” I admitted. “But whatever.”
“Isn’t that how you captivated Mr. Daffodils so thoroughly?” he argued. “Why don’t you think you could do the same with me?”
