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My cheeks flush and I’m grinning like a schoolboy who received his first blow job. I don’t blush over a woman. She’s like the sun shining on a clear day, easygoing. Feisty. The only woman who I can’t seem to keep my mind off of. I don’t tell her about the women I fuck. I’m sure she sees it in the tabloids and I’m not going to go into depth about Poppy either.
I shrug. “She’s Poppy.”
She rolls her eyes and leans back into the plastic chair. “That’s it?”
The techno music blasts through the speakers, and the large screens show a music video with various flashing bright colors. The rink is dead this Tuesday. Good. The fewer people, the better.
My phone dings with a message, so I grab it from my pocket, seeing Lake’s name pop up across the screen.
Lake: I don’t know if you still like Poppy, but she needs your help. Can you be her fake fiancé?
I call Lake immediately and she answers on the third ring.
“Why does she need a fake fiancé?” I rush out, unable to keep the anxiety out of my tone but excited to learn about something Poppy needs—me.
I hear the sound of a door slamming in the background. “Her mother cut her off because she broke up with Link.” She pauses. “She needs a fake fiancé so she can get back in good graces with her mom. She meets men on the internet to ask them. I’m worried about her, Jasper.”
My blood boils at hearing this. Why the fuck would she put herself in danger just to get her mother’s approval? The fact that a man could hurt her makes me want to go apeshit. Poppy is reckless.
“Hello?” Lake asks.
“I’m here.” I try not to let my anger bleed into my voice.
“She has an invitation to the American Billionaire Club for their annual masquerade ball, but I’d feel better if you offer to be her fake fiancé. I’ll even pay you to do it.”
I’m part of the American Billionaire Club, but I don’t usually go to the social gatherings. I use my membership to help me with business, and I have occasionally taken women to one of their sex rooms. It’s fun and exclusive. People can be as kinky as they like without any judgment.
Poppy needs me—and I need her. I need to negotiate with her, and hopefully, I can convince her to be my wife.
Lacey gives me a puzzled look, raising her eyebrows. A waitress wearing a white uniform sits a jug of beer and a cup in front of me. Lacey grabs the pitcher and pours beer in the cup, bringing it to her mouth before I snatch the cup from her and set it in front of me. She frowns, folding her arms across her chest.
“I’ll do it. You don’t have to pay me.”
Lake sighs through the phone. “Thank you.”
Little does she know that I’m doing it for my own benefit, not out of the kindness of my heart.
“You’re a good man.”
I shake my head as if she can see me. I’m far from a good man, but I also don’t correct her either. People don’t know how selfish I am until it’s too late. I hide my selfishness through my charming ways.
“No problem.”
“Let me know what happens. Atlas just walked through the door,” she says before the line goes dead.
“Who was that?” Lacey asks, standing up and holding on to the edge of the round table.
I stand up and walk beside her on the skates. We step onto the ice rink and skate slowly, as people pass us by. A short woman almost runs into me, but I move out of the way at the last second.
“Atlas’s wife.”
“What’d she say?”
I sigh. “Poppy is in trouble, and she needs me to propose to her.”
Shock colors her rosy cheeks, and she giggles like a schoolgirl. “Oh, shit. You’re really going to go through with the marriage.” She bumps my arm and twirls around me. “I’m going to be a groomsman.”
I nod. “You better start picking out your dress to be the flower girl.”
