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I blinked out of my stare, not noticing that Bristol had turned back around and was intently watching me gaze at her brother. Heat flushed my cheeks, but I did my best to be as casual as she was.
“So, my brother just brought you to my show,” she said.
I simply nodded.
“He's super proud of you,” I said. “There was no way he was going to miss it.”
She smiled, but there was pity washing over her features as she looked at me. “And you said you've been together for three weeks?”
Oh, this was the part where the baby sister interrogated the new flame. Luckily, we’d prepared for this.
“Four,” I answered. It wasn't exactly a lie. Crossland and I had been in a mutual agreement since the moment we met.
Bristol cringed, and I tilted my head in question. “Sorry,” she said, smoothing her features. “I love my brother, don't get me wrong. But he's kind of... he doesn't exactly scream monogamy. And I like you. You're sweet and funny and seem to have your shit together, and I just don't want you to be?—”
“Torn to pieces?” I cut over her, and she chuckled softly.
“Yeah, something like that.” She shrugged. “I've never seen him with a woman longer than a weekend. Sometimes two or more, but never one and never thesameone. And now here you are, smart as hell, nice as hell,andhe's brought you to my show.”
I kept my grin in place, using all the skills I'd learned from schooling my features in front of my parents whenever they popped back into our lives. It was a sticky skill, being able to be different versions of yourself at any given moment. A survival mechanism I learned early on in life.
The blowups were less likely to happen if I didn't have a reaction, not that Bristol was on the attack, but the talent came in handy.
“Don't worry,” I said, waving her off. “I know exactly who your brother is. Anyone with Google capabilities knows who your brother is.” I tilted my head. “On the surface anyway.”
Crossland was absolutely every inch the playful bad boy that the media portrayed him to be, but after spending so much time with him, learning about him and watching his habits, I was learning there was a lot more to him than he let people see. One of those things being the immense responsibility he took on not only for his companies and business endeavors, but his family.
And that we had in common.
“If you know him, and his reputation, then what...”
“What am I doing here, a month later?” I filled in where she left off.
Bristol laughed and nodded.
My eyes trailed around her, grazing over the still-concentrating Crossland, who hadn't once stopped working the entire flight.
What am I doing here? I'd been asking myself that for weeks, and the obvious answer was the money. The future he promised with the only condition being playing a simple little game.
The kiss and the banter we'd shared after it lit up something beneath my skin.
Crossland's eyes trailed up over his laptop, meeting mine, like he’d felt me looking at him.
A sweet zing traveled the length of my body at being caught, and I quickly returned my focus to Bristol.
“Don’t worry,” I finally answered her in my most confident and playful voice. “It's a mutually beneficial relationship. I'm not after his heart, just his wallet.”
Bristol laughed, and the tension faded. She was honest and direct and talented—exactly the kind of woman I'd want on my team—so lying to her about this fake relationship with herbrother probably wasn't the best way to earn her friendship, but I’d skirted around the truth as much as I could.
Bristol blew out of breath, leaning back in her chair. “Good luck with that,” she said. “Cross may be frivolous with some of his expenses, but if you try to play him, you'll lose.”
The protective undertone of her playful comment hit home. “I know it,” I said honestly. “I promise, I'm not audacious enough to think that I have the capabilities of winning with someone like him.”
Bristol gave me a respectful look and smiled. “I don't know,” she said. “Like I said, I've never seen my brother with anyone as long as he's been with you. So regardless of what you say, there's got to be something here. And I'm always going to be on his side—big brother and all that—but I hope you know what you're doing. Anyone who thinks my brother's heart is up for grabs is in for a rude awakening.”
“I appreciate the heads-up. But his heart is the last thing I'm after,” I said the last part as I glanced behind Bristol again, finding Crossland’s eyes still very much on me.
And there was something in them, some sizzling hint of a challenge that had me coiling up inside in an achy way I hadn't felt in a very long time.
