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I chuckled at that, realizing how ridiculous it sounded when it came out of her mouth. I leaned back in my chair, contemplative.
“The thing is, I made a bet thinking I was going to win. I lost. And what I put at risk was something I actually can’t afford to lose.” The thought of losing my father’s beloved car, one of the last things that we ever rode in together on our last boys’ trip before he passed away, was unbearable, even when I knew it would go to my best friend. It’s not like Ethan would trash the car or even sell it. Nevertheless, I couldn’t part with it. I was kicking myself for ever even entertaining the idea in the first place.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to not lose what I mistakenly put at risk,” I continued. “Can you understand that?”
“More than you realize,” she said softly, then shifted in her chair. “But you need my help to win? What kind of bet is that, anyway?” She continued without allowing me time to answer. “Like, why would you need a girlfriend in order to win the bet?”
That was a fair question.
“It’s the one thing Ethan thought I wouldn’t be able to do,” I explained. “He thought it would put me off the bet. My friends don’t believe I can be in a relationship longer than one night.” I hesitated, wondering if I should elaborate. Knowing the truth about my intimate habits might be a deal-breaker for her.
“One thing that you can understand about me, Aspen,” I continued. “Is that I’llneverlie to you. Hence the background check in front of you and all the personal details I normally keep close to the chest. I’m not exactly a relationship person. I love sex, and I love women, sometimes more than one at a time. I always make sure I’m upfront about my relationship stance and everything is always mutually consensual and beneficial. But my friends love to give me shit about it.” I sighed. “Plus, I might have made a similar bet against my friend, and he’s delivering some payback, even though he found the love of his life out of it. You’d think he’d be grateful, not spiteful,” I said, and a flicker of amusement played over her features.
“Anyway,” I continued, getting back on point. “It’s not that I’m against the idea of monogamy, but it’s never suited me. I don’t like being tied down. I enjoy playing the field and I’m not shy about it. Most of my friends have been falling in love, getting married, or getting engaged, and they thought it would be funny to make me pay for the fact that I’m in my thirties and still behave like I’m in college.” I shrugged.
There were definitely times I wished I had someone I could count on. Someone I could trust. Someone who shared mypassion for life. Someone who cared enough to notice when I slipped into one of those shadowy spaces—the ones where the grief of losing my parents and running their empire and constantly questioning if I was making them proud threatened to swallow me whole.
But I already had nearly everything I could ever want—an NHL team, numerous successful business ventures, amazing friends, and the best sister anyone could ask for. What more could I really expect from life?
Often, I wondered if losing my parents was the price I had to pay in order to have what I do. Asking the universe for a person to love me…reallylove me and understand the parts about myself that I couldn’t even get a grip on seemed like pushing it.
“Wait,” Aspen said. “This little deal of ours. How is it going to convince your friends if you justsayI’m your girlfriend, but you’re out there having threesomes every other day?” she asked.
“Why just every other day?” I teased.
“Recovery time,” she said, eyes widening.
I laughed, shaking my head. “I don’t need that much recovery time.
“Jesus,” she muttered under her breath.
“And I have no intention of doing that while I’m with you,” I hurried to add. “I’ll take this as seriously as I would any other business venture,” I explain, and the declaration made me think about the other investments that my assistant had lined up for me to look at later in the day. While I loved my hockey team and my other franchises, I was getting restless. I was itching for a new project. This was certainly new.
“If you agree to this,” I said. “It’ll be purely professional between us. To the outside world, you’ll be my girlfriend. One I’ve been dating for three weeks already. You’ll attend events with me, hold my hand, call me darling or babe or whatever it ispeople call each other in relationships these days, and in return, I’ll pay you a million at the end of the three-month contract.”
Aspen chewed on her bottom lip as she looked through the documents again, scanning the information about my background. The little anxious move was cute as hell and this side of sexy. I couldn’t help studying her lips, all lush and kissable. And she was undeniably gorgeous, her colorful hair slightly chaotic as it framed her delicate face. And those eyes…they were absolutely killer.
I cleared my throat, shifting in my seat as my instincts took over. If she’d been anybody else, I would’ve already been working my charm on her and seeing if she’d be up for a little consensual no-strings-attached fun. But due to the nature of this deal, she was strictly off-limits.
Aspen closed the folder and looked at me. “No violence, no arrests. Squeaky clean, Crossland. That seems rare for a billionaire, doesn’t it?”
I cocked an eyebrow at her. “I’m aware there are some wealthy individuals in the world who use their power to take advantage of people because they don’t have a moral or ethical bone in their bodies. That’s not who I am, and that’s not who my friends are. We have money, and we’ve worked for every dime, but we don’t abuse it.”
Aspen nodded, studying me. “I’m seeing that,” she said, but tilted her head. “You said you don’t pay for sex.”
“I don’t,” I said matter-of-factly.
“But you want me to be your girlfriend for three months…and you’ve said you’re going to be monogamous during that time. So, how does that equate to you not paying for sex?”
My lips fell apart, no words escaping as I noted the uptick in her breathing.
Wow, she came in here fully thinking that I was contracting her not only to pretend to be my girlfriend, but use her for sex?
Jesus, and she was ready to agree to that?
I didn’t fault anyone who made money as a sex worker, but that wasn’t what I was trying to do here, and I was equally shocked she was contemplating accepting the deal while she assumed that was what came with it.
“For the outside world, I’ll be your loyal boyfriend. You won’t find me with anyone else during our three-month contract,” I explained, wanting her to know I wasn’t taking this situation lightly. “But for us…we won’t be having sex.”
