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“Just friends.” Kane held out a hand.
“Just friends,” Iris said, letting out a little sigh. They shook on it, their palms heating at the touch, and Iris wondered why she suddenly felt bereft. This was the right choice for both of them, and she’d already had a long week of emotional upheaval. It was likely that which was clouding her thoughts at the moment. Looking up at him, she smiled. “I’ll take that guest bedroom. I’m about two seconds from falling back asleep.”
It was a lie, of course, and Iris lay awake for another hour, detailing every moment of their kiss, deliberately keeping her spirit guides on mute.
She wasn’t ready to hear what they had to say.
Chapter 12
Not once but twice the night before, Kane had gone and stood outside the guest room door, his hand poised to knock before he’d retreated. A part of him wished she’d never kissed him.
The other part would never forget it.
Her taste was imprinted on his soul now. The feel of her lips seared into his mind. It was as though Iris’s kiss had thawed him, and now he was feeling…well, everything. Lust being at the forefront, naturally.
She’d kissed him like a long-lost lover coming home. His body had instantly responded, and he was certain he would have continued to the bedroom with her had she been up for it. Even if it wasn’t the best choice for either of them at the moment, sometimes needs won out over rational thought.
But as soon as she’d pumped the brakes, Kane had followed suit. Iris wasn’t wrong. They both were in a terrible position to be starting anything with someone else, particularly someone they both respected. Neither of them was interested in hurting the other. Instead, they had a nice friendship blooming.
And that is where it needed to stay.
Even though he’d pleasured himself twice to her image the night before.
Kane picked up his phone to text her, shaking his head at the memory, and wondered if she had similar confused feelings. He’d only dropped her off a few hours ago, noting that she was much like him and reluctant to speak before coffee in the morning.
Kane: His father’s betrayed him. Put his name out to the press with a contest stating that the first woman to get a proposal from his son gets a million dollars. Now his PR agent has to work even harder to protect him from the press or lose her job. They’ve gone to Scotland to hide.
Iris: Why Scotland?
Kane: The Highlands offer a lot of wide-open spaces with not a lot of paparazzi. I’m thinking it best to have them hole up in a one-bedroom cabin, though.
Iris: I thought he was a rock star? Can’t he afford a place with more than one bedroom?
Kane: Can. But it would tip the press that someone rich and fancy is hiding out there.
Iris: Ah, I see. So it’s the “only one bed” trope. Does he offer her the bed?
Kane: Of course not, he’s a rock star.
Iris: I don’t like him.
Kane: But I have to make you hate him first to redeem himself. How will he do that?
Iris: Maybe he comes out in the middle of the night and sees her uncomfortable on the couch?
The text brought up how he’d felt last night when he’d woken her up, not wanting her to become stiff from lying in an awkward position, and she’d wound her arms around his neck. He realized he could use those emotions in his book, already jotting down notes on a notepad by his computer.
Kane: That’ll do it.
Kane watched as the little bubbles of text typing showed up, then disappeared. He waited for her to write more. When nothing came, he wrote back.
Kane: Out with it.
Iris: Well, why is the dad putting a bet on his only son? And why doesn’t the PR woman just pretend to be his fiancée then? Wouldn’t that get people off his back and stop the dad in his weird contest?
All good points, Kane thought, jotting down her feedback. He would need to mull that storyline a bit but, if so, he could make it a forced proximity and a fake dating situation, which were fan favorites.
Kane: I like how your brain works. I realize I didn’t tell you about the will. There’s more at play here forcing the father into doing this. It’s a battle between father and son over who will get the record company. The stipulation in the will states the son has to marry Grandpa’s chosen bride. If not, Daddy gets the company. And Daddy wants what he wants. Even if it means running over his son in the process.
