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She stared harder.
“You’re really good at whistle tones, like Mariah Carey.”
The metal chair tumbled to the ground as Amelia pushed to her feet. She glared at him, breathing heavily. “Are. You.Kidding me? What happens when someone asks me to sing?” She turned her back on him, then whirled right around to glare again. “The Nymphomaniacs? Are you for real? Is this a joke?”
He frowned. Why was she being so unreasonable? “I had to come up with something on the fly. There had to be a reason you were never around, so it had to be a job that required a lot of travel.”
“Flight attendant!” Amelia threw her arms out to the sides. “There. Was that so hard?”
“Flight attendant,” he scoffed. “Who’d believe that?”
She blinked at him, shaking her head. “This is insane. You’re insane.Imust be insane for agreeing to this.”
“Look. It’s not a big deal. Just tell them you need to save your voice and you can’t sing for them. Oh, and your stage name is Kitty Catelli.”
Anger blazed from her eyes. “Absolutely not. Kitty Catelli? How’d you come up with that? Let me guess: Someone asked you for my name and you panicked, and then a cat walked by?”
Leo pinched his lips, turning his palms up. “Well…”
“Oh my God.” Amelia took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Leo,” she said, then pinched the bridge of her nose. “What if someone googles me? What if they look up The Nymphomaniacs and see that a) the band doesn’t exist, and b) I’m not in it?”
“Well, you’re a private person,” he answered reasonably. “You don’t like having your photo all over the place. I’ve told them that already. It’s totally fine.” He didn’t get what the big deal was. The cover story was fine.
She leaned her hands on the table and stared at him. “I’m a singer in aband—a band that presumably is trying to make money by promoting their music—and I don’t like having my photo taken? How is that believableat all? Why would I have a stage name if I don’t have an online presence anywhere?”
Hmm. He saw her point. Still. “Look, Amelia, it’s not a big deal. Everyone bought it. You won’t have to sing anything. I’ll cover for you.”
Her chest heaved as she inhaled, eyes blazing. “No. I’m not doing this.”
She made to leave, but Leo jumped out of his chair and caught her around the waist. He tugged her close, trying to ignore the way she felt warm and sweet beneath his palm. “Wait.Wait, Amelia.”
“No.” She scowled at him. “I’m not doing it.”
“Hey, I’ve already helped you with Ben. You owe me.” It felt slightly dirty to say the words, but he couldn’t let her slip away.
“I don’t owe you shit.”
God, she was hot when she was like this, all stubborn and angry. Leo’s arm was still around her waist, and he spread his hand so it spanned her lower back. She felt like heaven to touch.
But he couldn’t have her. Amelia was a business owner. She was intelligent. She was beautiful and stubborn and driven, and she deserved a whole lot better than a guy who’d answered to the name Pestilence for the last three years of his college degree and hadn’t quite shaken the reputation ever since. What could Leo possibly provide that Amelia would want, other than a night of hot sex?
He knew his value, what little of it there was. He knew Amelia deserved a lot better.
But Leo was also selfish, and he couldn’t stand the thought of not having her beside him at his company retreat. So, he used the only tool at his disposal. “What are you going to say to Ben when he messages you?”
Her hands had curled into his shirt and her knuckles pressed against his stomach. He wondered if she’d even realized she did it. “Ifhe messages me,” she corrected.
“He’ll message you.”
Blond brows tugged together, and a line appeared between them. She bit her lip and looked up at him. “I don’t know.”
“I’ll help you through it. You’ll have a date with this guy by the end of the week.”
She dropped her gaze to his shoulder and pinched her lips. “You’re the worst.”
Leo couldn’t help the smile that curled his lips. She’d come to the retreat with him. He had more time to spend with her. “Yeah. I am.”
She pointed a finger at him. “I’d better be able to attract the love of my life by the end of the week. That’s the only way this is going to be worth it.”
