“Do you live in your suit?”
“No.” Another sip of his cocktail. “Sometimes I’m naked.”
The picture of exactly what his perfect body looks like flits through my mind, and I push it aside. “You’re changing the subject,” I say, setting my glass on the table. No coaster. “What do you want?”
“Shit, Sabrina, you already know what I want. I want to hire you.”
“You need a girlfriend. A fake one,” I say, making sure I understand the request.
“Yup. For the next month or so, I need to be completely enamored with a woman. And I need her to pretend to be devoted to me.”
“Vegas warts and all,” I murmur as I contemplate his bosses’ ultimatum.
“You think the plan is crap?” he asks.
I feel a jolt of pleasure—of pride—when I realize he’s really asking. That he really wants my opinion on something this important to him.
“Actually . . . no,” I say slowly, chewing an olive. “I’ve discovered that a man can get away with just about anything so long as the same woman appears on his arm at the right society events.”
He sighs. “I was kind of hoping you’d tell me the plan was total shit so I wouldn’t have to go through with it.”
“Not excited about having a little lady in your life?” I keep my voice light and joking, carefully hiding the relief that he’s in no hurry to settle down, even just for pretend. It helps ease the sting of what he’s about to ask me to do:
Find him his fake girlfriend.
Even knowing it won’t be real, the thought of finding some perfect woman to be his ally for the next month . . .
I shove the regret aside. “Okay, so, your fake girlfriend. How long do I have to find her?”
“Ah . . .”
I frown at his discomfort. “You just said you need to hire me. You need me to fix this, right?”
“Yeah, but . . .” He drags a hand down his face.
“What am I missing?” I ask, my heart pounding just a little in anticipation of something coming my way that I’m not going to like. “You need a girlfriend; I’ll find you a girlfriend.”
“I don’t want a girlfriend. I mean, I do, but . . .” He lifts his head and locks his gaze with mine. “I want you.”
“What?”
“I want you to play the part, Sabrina. No, that’s not right.” He looks down quickly, then meets my eyes again. “I need you.”
My breath goes out on a whoosh.
I’ve heard him wrong. Surely I’ve heard him wrong.
The air seems to go still, as though we’re in some weird alternate-universe vortex. Because an alternate universe is the only scenario in which he’d ask me that. Or that I’d consider saying yes.
“No,” I say. “No freaking way.”
He sighs, as though I’m being unreasonable. “I’m not asking you to go steady, Sabrina, just . . . pretend.”
“Doesn’t matter. Not interested.” I snatch up both our glasses and head to the kitchen. Conversation over.
“Double your rate. I can afford it.”
“I don’t doubt it, but this isn’t about money.”
“Then what is it about?” he asks, following me into the kitchen.
“We’d destroy each other,” I say, whirling around to face him. “Surely you realize that.”
He runs a hand down his face again. “I do realize that, but I’m short on options.”
I snort. “Please. I could come up with a dozen women who’d die for the part. Most of them we wouldn’t even have to pay.”
He and I both stiffen a bit at my words, recalling a night years ago, the night that started us on our path to destruction.
Matt touches my arm. “Sabrina.”
“I don’t accept money in exchange for my company,” I say quietly, shrugging off his touch. “You of all people know that.”
“I do know that, but I’m also desperate,” he says, his voice urgent. “I need someone who knows the score. Someone who I won’t have to worry about getting the wrong idea. Someone who I can part ways with after my image is restored, no worse for wear.”
“And you think that’s me? Your mortal enemy?”
“I want you because you’re my mortal enemy, Sabrina.”
“Why?”
His eyes lock on mine. “Because of all the women in my life, you’re the one I can count on to never fall in love with me.”
5
MATT
Tuesday Night, September 19
When I first met Sabrina Cross, I thought she was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
Four years later?
I still think it.
The woman’s a perfect ten. Fantasy-worthy curves. Her long coffee-brown hair is streaked with gold, her eyes piercing and blue, her features as feminine as they are stubborn.
She’s also a royal pain in the ass.
I hate that I find her attractive, but I thought I’d resigned myself to the fact.
Tonight, however, my attraction to her is trickier.
For starters, she’s not even remotely trying to be hot. Her hair’s in a messy knot, makeup washed off for the night. Her pants, while sinfully tight, are of the comfortable “night at home” variety. And I wasn’t lying about my surprise at the sweatshirt.
I’ve only ever seen Sabrina in tight dresses or slinky negligees.
This version’s . . . softer. And absurdly appealing.
But you know what’s not soft? My cock.
Also, the murderous glint in her eyes.
“No way. No way in hell.” She puts her glass on the counter and reaches for the vodka, clearly intending to make herself another drink.
I pull the bottle of Grey Goose from her hand and begin to make us each another martini.
We’re going to fucking need it.
“I just need you for a month,” I say, trying to keep the impatience out of my voice. “People will believe it. We’ve known each other for years, and it’d be more plausible that Ian set us up than me suddenly dating some new thing. Plus, I can count on you not to get . . . the Cinderella complex or whatever.”
Sabrina blinks. “Cinderella what?”
“You know . . . fancy dresses, the ball . . .”
Her eyes go wide. “Ball?”
“Gala. The Wolfe Gala. I need you to go with me.”
She laughs and hands me the vermouth bottle. “Of course you do.”
Okay. So she’s going to be a hard sell. I was prepared for that.
I measure the vermouth, dump it into the shaker, and turn toward her. “Triple your rate.”
She shakes her head emphatically. “I don’t need money.”
No. She doesn’t. Her place is nearly as lavish as my own, and even if it wasn’t, she’s not the type of woman who does anything for financial gain. I learned that in a big way four years ago, and I paid the ultimate price:
Her.
“Okay, forget the money,” I say, going to the ice maker and filling the shaker. “What do you want?”
She tilts her head. “What do you mean?”
“There’s got to be something you want. If money doesn’t incentivize you, name something that does.”
“Your head on a silver platter?”
I ignore this and keep my attention on the cocktails. “Seriously. Name your price.”
She fishes an olive out of the jar and pops it into her mouth. “Seriously. You have nothing I want.”
I could kiss her sassy mouth, lick the salty olive brine off her lips, and prove her a liar. But right now, there’s something I need more than her body, though barely.
I set the lid on the shaker and pound it shut with a punch of my fist, harder than necessary. The woman’s damn stubborn.
I lift it to my shoulder and shake it with all the frustration coursing through my body. Frustration over the idiots in Vegas, the dipshit from the WSJ, the fact that my bosses and my clients can’t see past the drama of it all.
That I have to rely on someone other than myself to save my job.
That it’s this woman in particular who can save my job.
But then, that’s not exactly true. Sabrina’s right. I could find someone else. I could probably even find someone who would keep her emotional distance.
The truth is, I don’t want someone else. I want someone I can trust, and though I’d rather die than admit it to her, I trust Sabrina.