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“You couldn’t possibly.” He held out a hand to me, but it was the look in his eyes that drew me toward him. “Come tell me more stories.”
It turned out that Bash meant that literally. He settled me on one end of the sofa and took up a spot on the other end. Then he proceeded to ask me questions. My favorite movies. My favorite books. My favorite foods. My most embarrassing moment.
Just like earlier, at the polo match, I forgot to be nervous. I forgot I was supposed to lie. I forgot I was supposed to maintain distance. And that was when it all went wrong.
“So what you’re telling me,” Bash said mock-sternly, “is that you jumped on the horse because you wanted to impress a boy—”
“Hey! You asked for my most embarrassing moment, and that was it. And I’ll have you know, I did it because I wasdared. It was a debt ofhonor. It didn’t impress anyone… especially after I fell sideways across the saddle with one foot still in the stirrup and bumping against Apple Butter’s back while he went leaping through the neighbor’s field. You’d be surprised how much it hurts to fall into a row of soybeans.” I shook my head. “I was the king of misfortune.”
Bash met my eyes. The edges of his lips were still turned up, and all I could think was how much I wanted to tease them with the tip of my tongue. We’d slid closer together, incrementally, until we were turned toward each other, our knees mere inches apart.
“On the contrary,” he whispered. “You’re the Prince of Lies.” His voice was low, almost sultry, utterly compelling…
Which was why it took me several seconds to realize the slight emphasis he’d put on the wordPrince.
My heart skipped a beat before thudding double time, and my glow of happiness burned off, leaving me with a cold flare of humiliation. “P-pardon?” I breathed.
“I thought you told me Sterling Chase has been a champion polo player since high school?”
Oh.Fuck. Pumpkins all the way down. My imaginary clock had struck midnight, and I hadn’t even heard it.
“I… I…” I darted a glance toward the door.
Bash’s hand reached out to clasp mine. “Easy,” he said, gentling me like he’d done earlier with Starlight. “Answer me.”
I licked my lips. “It could be that I like to tell tall tales,” I whispered. “Maybe I told that story b-because it was more exciting than the boring life of an elite child in polo lessons.”
He surprised me by letting out a laugh. “Now,that’sthe damn truth. Polo lessons are only fun if you aren’t sharing them with your asshole neighbor Eric.”
That was oddly specific. As if he spoke from experience.Personalexperience.
I eyed the expensive clothes Bash wore. The shoes I really should have noticed were Italian leather. The elegant, subtle cologne that must have cost a fortune. And then the square, black watch on his wrist. With his hand so close to mine, I could make out the brand name on the watch face, which I’d never thought to look at before.
Hermès.
It was amazing how much a person could willfully not notice. How he could put facts together wrong in his mind. But now that I saw them, I couldn’t unsee them. And the picture that was coming together now…
“You aren’t really a PA, are you?” I accused.
Bash’s big hand tightened around mine. “No, sweetheart.” He looked up at me from under his eyelashes. “And you’re not really Sterling Chase.”
Ah, fuck.
EIGHT
BASH
I wanted Rowe Prince.
This wasn’t a surprise—I’d wanted him from the moment he’d slid into my hiding place at the gala and told me he was a quirky billionaire. But talking with him, hearing the light, husky sound of his laughter and the stutter-gasp-sigh of his breath when we touched, seeing the way his brown eyes went soft and melty when he looked at me—all those things that couldn’t be faked—had made me want him even more.
I’d found myself, for just a second, wishing that this could be real. Thathecould be real. And that had been a fucking shock.
Dev was right. I needed to know who this man was, to separate the lies from the truth, before this went any further.
“I, uh… I think I’d better go.” Rowe’s voice sounded thready with nerves, and his eyes kept darting from the window to the door like he thought he might be arrested at any moment.
“Please don’t.” I squeezed his hand in reassurance. “Stay. Tell me the truth.”
