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I sucked in a breath through my nose.
By the time he finished this diatribe, Rowe was breathless, his hair was a curly mess from where he’d run his hand through it, and he looked on the verge of tears.
Meanwhile, I felt his words like a hard jolt of caffeine to my system, making my heart beat faster and excitement buzz beneath my skin.He felt this, too. He felt the connection between us as powerfully, as illogically, as I did.
“And what happens now?” I made myself ask. Despite the man’s heartfelt story, despite how much I wanted him, I forced myself to remember that he could still have ulterior motives—billions of them. Whether he was telling the truth now or not, how foolish would it be to trust him? “You’ve told me the truth. Aren’t you afraid I might spoil your plan? I could go to Justin Hardy myself right now and make sure you don’t get that meeting.”
I wouldn’t, and not only because I tried to pretend Justin didn’t exist. But Rowe didn’t know that.
He nodded slowly, his face pale. “I guess you could, yeah. You could tell the real Sterling Chase who I am, tell all the guys on the board since you’re friends with a couple of them, and they could tell everyone they know.” He drew himself up as tall as he could, like he wanted to meet his fate bravely. “But lying sucked, too. When you kissed me in the barn earlier, it was the most incredible—” He broke off with a headshake. “But it wasn’t reallymeyou were kissing, and deep down, I knew that. And even when I was telling myself, ‘Just a little longer, just another hour or two,’ I knew I was making things harder. Worse. Because the more time we spent together, the more I wanted… and the harder it was to remember that guys like you don’t go around kissing guys like me. Not in real life. So, I’m glad you know everything now. I wish I’d made myself tell you sooner. And I’m sorry if I hurt you.”
Ah, fuck.He sounded so freaking young. Because hewasyoung.
What had I been doing at twenty-four? Well, not impersonating a billionaire, no… but only because I hadn’t had to. Instead, I’d had the equally audacious idea of founding a company with my best friends, even though none of us had really known what we were doing. If we hadn’t already had my family money and connections, it all might have ended very differently, especially for my friends who hadn’t had trust funds to fall back on.
Rowe was right—the only difference between being labeled a reckless idiot and a daring entrepreneur was whether your plan succeeded or failed.
My heart gave up its last attempt to harden against him, and the need to hold him in my arms intensified.
“Rowe, do you know who I am?” I asked softly.
“Well, I know you’re not a PA. But your name’s gotta be Bash since that’s what everyone…” He blinked, and I could see the gears in his mind turning. His forehead crinkled for a moment before his eyes widened in realization. “Oh, no. The woman downstairs earlier called you Mr. Dayne. As inSebastian Dayne. I didn’t put it together until now.” He squeezed his eyes shut and thunked his head against the back of the couch, revealing the pale skin under his chin. “You’re on the board at Sterling Chase.”
The urge to run my lips across that skin and down over his Adam’s apple, to nudge his collar down with my nose and inhale the intoxicating scent of his skin, was nearly overwhelming.
“I am,” I agreed. “Which is how I knew you weren’t Sterling Chase from the very beginning. From literally the moment you introduced yourself.” I leaned toward him, no longer fighting the magnetic pull. “Because Sterling Chase is the name of the company, not a real person.”
“I freakingtoldJoey—” He frowned. “Wait. So all this time, you knew I was…”
“Inventing a quirky billionaire persona who was a cross between British butler and someone onReal Housewives? Yes.”
I expected him to be annoyed, but instead, he exhaled in shaky relief. “Oh, thank fuck. I was worried that when the real Sterling Chase came back, you’d be in trouble. Or that you’d have to call the police and testify against me for identity fraud.” He covered his face with his free hand, then pulled it away a moment later. “Wait,areyou going to call the police?”
“Rowe. You’re not hearing me.” I grabbed his hand, then the other, and brought both to my lips. “You remember I already knew your name before we started this conversation, right? I’m telling you, I knewlast nightthat you weren’t Sterling, and I invited you to the polo match anyway. As of this morning, I knew exactly who you were and where you were from, and I knew you’d been lying. When I kissed you… I was definitely kissing Rowe Prince.”
“Oh.” He looked up at me again while the air seemed to shimmer around us with heated possibility. “Oh. So, then…”
“Wait. One more thing.” I took a deep breath and screwed up the courage to set a critical boundary even though my gut—and my heart—wanted nothing more than to make this man’s dreams come true. “Look, I cannot hear your pitch, okay? I am not going to put in a good word for your project to the development group at Sterling Chase. I don’t want that between us.”
Big brown eyes blinked at me. “No, of course. Shit. I’d never ask you to do a special favor for me.”
That was what everyone said. Maybe it was even what everyone wanted to believe about themselves. But I knew for a fact that people could and would anddid.
Rowe, however different and special he might be, was not immune.
“Also… I can give you contact information for plenty of people at incubators here in town who are decent humans. Please don’t pursue Justin Hardy anymore. He’s unscrupulous, and I don’t want him to take advantage of you.”
Rowe bit down on his bottom lip… which made me want to free it so I could bite on it myself. “Thanks for offering, but you don’t have to do that, Bash. I’ve already contacted more than a dozen companies, and there was no interest—”
“I know a lot more than that,” I insisted.
“Now you’re just bragging,” he teased, but he sobered quickly. “I think you’ve got the right idea. Let’s not talk about business or any of this tonight, except…” He twisted in his seat until he’d gotten to his knees and pressed a hand to my cheek, forcing me to look at him—as if I could possibly look away. “I know we’ve both told a lot of lies in the past day, but I’m truly sorry for my part in it, Bash.”
I tugged on his hand until he got the message and moved over to my lap, straddling me and wrapping his arms around my neck. The edges of his lips turned up, and his eyes danced.
“I’m sorry for your part, too,” I said with a grin. Rowe’s mouth opened in indignation, but I pressed his lips with a finger. “Let me finish, tiger. I can’t honestly say I’m sorry I pretended to be your PA. Truthfully, I wanted an excuse to spend more time with you. I find you incredibly, overwhelmingly attractive, Rowe Prince.” I paused, watching the emotions play over his face. Shock, disbelief… hope. “I want you naked in my bed.”
Rowe’s eyes widened again, and his cheeks flushed. “You do?” His voice came out breathy and unsure.
