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Alex steps up beside me and wraps her arm around my waist and instinctively, I do the same before resting my chin on the top of her head.
“Absolutely perfect. We are just so gosh-darn excited to see this space,” Alex blurts.
Gosh-darn? Who even says that nowadays?
“If you’re sure.”
He’s turning away when Alex speaks again and I could murder her. “Well, if I’m being honest, George, Bastian here…” She pats me on the chest as she rests her cheek against my chest. “He surprised me this morning when he knows how much Iloathesurprises.”
With a chuckle and a knowing look, George replies, “Oh. My advice, young man, is to do whatever makes your lady happy. If she doesn’t like surprises, don’t surprise her. It’ll make for a much easier life.”
A goofy grin spreads across her mouth and in this moment she’s never looked more beautiful. She actually looks free and happy. Everything inside of me is telling me to push her away and get the fuck out of here, but I fight through the urge and paste what I’m sure is a crazy looking grin on my own face.
George frowns slightly—probably wondering why he met up with two clearly crazy people by himself—before the corners of his own mouth tip up.
Great. Now we’re all smiling likefuckingloons. Although George’s seems to have a hint of concern within it.
“You were saying?” I ask, in an effort to ease the awkwardness that’s settled over us.
Ever so slightly flustered, George looks away as if to find the words he was going to speak. “Oh. Yes. Well. This is the main space. There are two function rooms, a large one and a smaller one. The VIP area is on the lower floor, just over there.” He points to a red velvet curtain at the opposite end of the room. “Just behind that curtain. I tell you what, why don’t you two go and explore and I will wait here.”
“That sounds like a great idea,” I reply, a more natural smile now on my lips.
We’re no more than ten paces away from him when Alex asks, nostrils flaring, “Are you going to tell me why I came here as your legal counsel but have somehow become your fake fiancée?”
For a fraction of a second, I wonder if I can distract her with sex, but the look of anger on her face tells me that won’t work this time. This isn’t the place for that either. A quick glance behind me tells me George is busying himself by the bar and not intent on listening to me being ripped a new one by Alex.
With a hand on her elbow, I guide her to the opposite end of the club. “Look, I will explain everything when we get back to the apartment and have some privacy. Just, please, don’t make a scene here.”
Her head is turned away from me, and I watch the grinding of her jaw as she processes what I’ve just asked of her. She draws in a slow, steady breath, blowing it out and repeating the process. Her anger is palpable. I’m not sure how I can get her to go along with my plan, not when she’s so clearly furious with me. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe I should have left Alex back at the apartment. There wasn’t really any need for her to be here today.
She pulls me from my thoughts as she sighs softly. “Fine. I won’t make a scene, but don’t take that as me agreeing to go along with this stupid farce in the long run.”
She walks away from me, looking around the space and effectively shutting me out until we meet back up with George half an hour later and have to play pretend again.
This was a bad idea, but at least it’s only for this trip, which will be over in a couple of days. It’s not like we’ll have to spend long with George in that time anyway. I’m sure we can make it through a couple of meetings and maybe one dinner.
When we approach him, George ends the call he’s on with a whispered, ‘I love you’, before asking us, “What do you think?”
Some of the concern seems to have left him, and with my arm around Alex’s waist, I give him an easy smile. “It’s great, and with a little bit of modernization, I can see the space working for my next club. I’ll have my legal counsel draw up the paperwork.”
His eyes dart to Alex at my last statement and I wonder if he knows. A sense of unease washes over me and I tighten my grip on Alex as if that can somehow make him believe my lie any more.
“And what do you think, Alexandra?”
“Please, call me Alex. I love the club and the old charm of Chicago you have running through the features. I think Bastian will only add to that charm.” She turns into me and presses a palm over my racing heart. “Don’t you think, baby?”
Her chin is tipped up to me, and as if it’s the most natural thing to do, I cup her cheek with the hand not around her waist, dropping a soft kiss to her plump lips. As I pull away, my gaze drops to her mouth. I watch as her lips part as she sucks in a breath and the slight widening of her eyes tells me she wasn’t expecting it.
Neither was I, Alex.
George clears his throat, forcing my focus back to him.
“I couldn’t agree more, princess,” I murmur.
Her nails dig into my chest punishingly as she grabs at my shirt, and I know there will be hell to pay later.
“Look at you two. I remember love like this, and let me tell you, it just gets better as time goes on,” George says gleefully as he clasps his hands in front of him. “Now before you get anything drawn up, there is one thing that is very important to me.”
