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He shook his head. “The clothes and bracelet are the cost of doing business.”
She scrunched her face. “What cost of doing business?”
“You are here at my request. You cannot wear the same clothes every day. Hence, it’s my responsibility to clothe you.”
“You are a piece of work.”
He frowned. “Because I like to keep things balanced?”
“Whatever you call it. It’s kind of weird. And don’t think I’m not noticing that you always have to win arguments.”
“I win because I’m right.”
She picked up her fork and began eating, deciding she wasn’t even going to try to debate that. But after the first delectable bite of toast, for some odd reason or another she pictured him as a child, a genius in an elementary school filled with ordinary kids, and she laughed.
“I’ll bet that attitude worked out really well on the playground.”
He shook his head. “It didn’t. That’s how I met Jason. When things would turn ugly, he would race over and run interference before somebody decked me or before I hit someone. He was also smart enough to direct me to a few YouTube videos that taught me how to fight.” He smiled again. “I got pretty good.”
And how was she supposed to not laugh at that? “How long were you in public school?”
He chewed a bite of toast, obviously pondering that. “Every year until somebody finally figured out I might be a genius. At thirteen, I took a test that proved it and instantly got offers for scholarships for university. I spent one year at MIT and in the end decided that wasn’t for me.”
He’d discarded the Massachusetts Institute of Technology? “Seriously?”
“The thing was, I already knew everything I needed to know about computers. As a kid, I’d bought a few books, torn apart a few motherboards and I was up to speed. But I didn’t know anything about business.” He shrugged. “So that’s what I studied. I knew I wanted to work in this field, but not as a grunt. I wanted to own the company. So I needed to study how to run one.”
And he’d figured all this out at fourteen. “Smart.”
He laughed. “Exactly.”
She let that settle in for a second, her mind wrapping around the double meaning and not able to let it go. “Did you just make a joke?”
“I guess I did.”
And he seemed genuinely surprised. Which was equal parts of cute and breath-stealing. She’d seen him relaxing with her the night before. She’d noticed him staring at her as if he couldn’t look away. He was every bit as attracted to her as she was to him. And he wasn’t after money, or an introduction to the princess. If anything, he didn’t want to meet her royal family. He needed her to pretend to be his girlfriend and if anything he was more than honest about it.
It was getting harder and harder to see him as someone like Brad. And harder and harder not to see how he relaxed around her, how he talked to her, how they clicked.
They finished their breakfast and walked outside into the sunny December morning, where his limo awaited. In a few minutes, they were back at the boutique, where Jennifer, the store manager from the day before, happily greeted them. Kristen hadn’t seen the price of her gown yesterday afternoon, but she guessed that if Jennifer got a commission, it had been a hefty one.
“Good morning!”
Dean said, “Good morning. We’re going to an important lunch in a few hours, but our trip was so unexpected that Kristen didn’t have time to pack. So we’d like to see everything she’ll require for an upscale lunch.”
Jennifer all but bowed. “Of course.”
Dean shoved his hands in the pockets of his black leather jacket. “I was thinking in terms of something like a suit.”
Kristen balked. “A suit? What am I? Seventy?”
“A suit is appropriate,” Dean said, glancing around at the various styles of clothes they offered.
“A sweater dress can be just as appropriate.”
“It’s a business lunch,” Dean argued.
“Not really. It’s a Christmas lunch with friends or a bunch of guys you hope to make your friends,” Kristen countered, deciding this was one argument he was not winning. “And besides, I’m not a part of your business.” She almost said, “I’m supposed to be your girlfriend,” but she caught the way Jennifer was looking at them, her wide eyes speaking of her curiosity. So, she smiled and said, “I’m your girlfriend.”
