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“Because there’s no playbook for kissing your fake husband.”
“Technically, I’m yourrealhusband. We kiss for people all the time. Why can’t we kiss for ourselves?”
I adjust my position in the chair. “That seems complicated.”
He shrugs. “Life is complicated.”
I stare at him, wondering where this is coming from. I was the one who was pretty much begging for him to make things complicated at the gym today. If he wanted more of me at that moment, he could’ve had me. But he didn’t. I don’t know what’s changed since then, but he’s being far more direct than I was expecting.
“Can I ask you something, Winnie?” Archerasks, his voice calm and collected. It occurs to me that I’d love to see him in a boardroom. I have no doubt he commands it easily.
I hold eye contact. “You can ask me anything. It’ll depend if I answer it or not.”
He nods, his dark eyes roaming my face as if he’s looking for answers. “You told me you were never going to trust me. Did you mean it?”
His question surprises me. I thought he’d ask if I wanted to kiss him again or maybe even mention the rules I’d requested. But instead, I’m stunned for a moment because I didn’t have an answer prepared for the question he ended up asking. “I want to mean it,” I answer truthfully. I don’t want to put my trust in another man again. And while Archer is different than I was expecting, there’s history between our families. I don’t want to blindly trust him because he’s a great kisser.
“I make it a point to never trust people,” he admits. He sits up in his chair, trailing his thumb along his bottom lip as he thinks deeply about something.
“That makes sense.”
His finger taps against his lips as he stares at me through heavy eyelids. “But it seems like it’d be easy to let myself trust you.”
I give him a sad smile because I want that. Between our early morning walks and our late-night dinner conversations, I’ve started to care for him. Of course, I want him to trust me. But we were both raised by powerful men who make it a point to not trust a soul. It’s safe to say we both may have trust issues. “We both know better than to ever really trust each other,” I answer.
He frowns. “I’d like to think I’ll earn your trust.”
“Why?” Archer doesn’t strike me as the kind of man to care if somebody trusts him, so I don’t know why it matters to him whether I trust him or not.
“Because I’d really like to kiss you again. In private where I can take my time with you.” His eyes rake down my body, and I find myself squirming in my chair all over again. I want to tossthe food aside and crawl across the table and tell him to do just that.
“Then what’s stopping you?” I feel like I pretty much panted that question, but I can’t even be embarrassed by it because I’m so turned on by the thought of kissing him again…by doing more.
“You said you wanted rules, so that’s what I’m giving you. One rule. We’ll finish what we started when you trust me.”
My mouth snaps shut in shock. He’s constantly surprising me, showing me that he’s not who I thought he was. “That wasn’t what I meant by making rules.”
“What rules were you thinking of, then?”
I shrug because I can’t remember what rules I wanted to make in the first place. Maybe that we shouldn’t kiss—or that if we do, we’re clear that things can’t get weird. We’re still at the beginning of our marriage; we have to somewhat get along. And if we’re blurring the lines behind closed doors, will that complicate things further?
“So it’s settled. Once you trust me…” His face breaks out into a wolfish smile—one that’s full of promise—that makes my stomach fill with butterflies. “Once you trust me, we’ll have a lot of fun.”
“Are you saying you trust me, then?” I ask, trying to pretend that he isn’t looking at me like he’s picturing me completely naked. God, how does he have the ability to undress me with nothing but his eyes?
“Is there a reason I shouldn’t trust you?”
“I’m the daughter of your biggest competitor. What if my father arranged the marriage so I could get a foothold into your family and Moore Hotels?”
This makes him laugh, like the thought of me ever doing that is so outlandish the only thing he can do is laugh. “If anyone got a foothold in anyone’s company here, it’s me getting one in your father’s.”
He has a point. My father has barely talkedwith me since Archer and I got married, let alone asked me to get any inside information. He probably knows that Archer isn’t dumb enough to tell me anything I could use against his family. “Still. We’re not supposed to trust each other.”
“You could use the same argument for us being married. We were probably the least likely to end up wed, yet…” His eyes roam my face slowly. “Here we are.”
“You’re something else,” I respond because I don’t know what else to say.
He sits up, taking a drink of his wine. “So it’s settled. The rule is we’ll be able to enjoy being married even more once you admit that you trust me.”
