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“Of course it isn’t. First of all, it’s fake.”
She moaned and flipped onto her stomach, face buried in the silk-covered pillow.
“We don’t have to do this today. Or at all. It’s your call, Avalynn. You still have control over everything that happens.”
“Do I though?” Her voice was muffled so the words were difficult to make out.
His fingers twitched toward a spot on the small of her back he spent so much of the past six months touching that he knew the curve without even laying a hand on her. Without looking, he knew how high to raise his hand to touch that spot and guide her to a tour bus, onto a stage, into a crowd of people. He’d guided her around the country and halfway through Canada. If this case wasn’t solved soon, he’d wrap up the US tour with her and travel through Europe at her side.
He pulled his hand back. “You always have a choice. I mean that.”
She twisted her face to see him.
His heart gave a sharp tug.
Okay, his brother wasn’t completely wrong. Juliusdidhave a crush on Avalynn, but so did ninety percent of the men in the world. She was as close to perfect as any woman could ever be.
After the concert she’d sequestered herself in her room with her therapist on the phone for two straight hours. He hoped to hell she got some of the weight off her chest. Not only was there a sex tape of her, but the non-consensual part could really fuck her up. And it would take time to heal from.
His chest burned with fury, but he stomped on the coals for now. All that mattered was he would end this once and for all. One way or another.
“The jeweler will be here in half an hour, Avalynn. Do you want me to cancel the appointment?” His voice came out with a tenderness it never had before.
Whatever urge had made him step up and suggest that he stand in as her fake fiancé, he had no regrets about it. He’d vowed to protect her, and dammit, he would.
This went beyond an act of duty. Hewantedto.
When she rolled onto her side, her pale brown hair fell across her cheekbone. Without even pausing to think about what he was doing, he reached out and brushed it away.
Her eyes widened. Slowly, he retracted his hand.
“I don’t want to cancel the jeweler. I’ll get up.”
He nodded and stood. “Here’s your tea.”
As he walked out of her room, he clamped his hand into a fist. The feel of her silky hair and her even softer skin—
Fuck, he had no business touching her unless it was in the line of duty.
Maybe he’d let the idea of standing in as her fiancé go to his head. Very soon he’d bepretendingto touch her the way a man touched the woman he loved. But that private moment that just happened back there? Not acceptable.
In his room, he paced back and forth for ten minutes before the text came through from his brother that the jeweler had been thoroughly checked out by Sentry and was on his way up to Avalynn’s suite.
When he knocked on her door again, she called out in a much stronger voice. The tone belonged to a woman who knew who she was and where she was going in life—and it was not in a sinking ship.
She would make the best of this situation. For herself, for her career. And for the millions of people who loved her.
He let the jeweler in, along with her PR team and manager. A second rap on the door had him admitting the entire Sentry team.
The jeweler took a place of honor on a chair in the sitting room. He carefully unpacked the locked case he’d brought with a selection of engagement rings. Clay had already warned him not to talk, and Heidi made him sign a non-disclosure agreement—and probably doled out a threat or five before ever allowing him to come up to Avalynn Ray’s suite.
Avalynn had changed into a pair of worn jeans that flattered her curvy figure and a simple white T-shirt that clung to her breasts. When she moved, the cloth rode up her tight abs to reveal the barest sliver of golden skin.
She’d left her long hair loose. His gaze caught on the lock that he’d stroked off her beautiful face, forcing his hand into a fist for the second time in an hour.
He filled his lungs with air and slowly let the breath trickle out as she held his stare a beat longer than usual.
Waving toward the sofa, he invited her to sit. Once she did, he lowered himself to the cushion beside her.
