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“And believe me.”
She breathes out.
“Yeah, thought so,” I say.
“Trust needs to be earned.”
“How have I made you not trust me? I haven’t fucked anyone since all this started. And—”
“Ryder.” Her voice is still low, but now censure has joined in with the snark. “You have something you’re paying me to do and yet here you are, sabotaging. You might not think you aren’t, but you are. You just keep on flirting and doing you. And guess what? That’s not going to get you what you want.”
“I also can’t be someone I’m not.”
“But you have to change. Or seem to.”
“I’m paying you—”
“You have to do the work, Ryder. Do you want to prove you’ve changed? Because even pretend change doesn’t involve you chatting up some blonde babe while out on a date.”
Frustration threatens to swamp me. The girl came up to me, came on to me. I didn’t cause a scandal. I didn’t do anything. And Elliot keeps upping her ante. She keeps making things harder. She keeps pushing.
“I told her I was with someone. And I damn well called you my fiancée.”
“Ryder—”
“You were there. I told her I was with my fiancée.”
She clicks her tongue. “Why would you do that? I don’t understand.”
“I thought it would be a good buffer. I thought—”
“Pity you can’t be your own buffer. Do that yourself. You know, with your mouth and your actions.”
“I was being smooth.”
“No.” She glares at me. “I’ve been insulted by two women tonight in there. One you fucked, the other you would be probably fucking now if I hadn’t come up, and I can’t always be there. You need to be able to keep it under wraps, Ryder.”
What the hell’s she talking about? Two women? The blonde was an idiot, and was rude, but… “What do you mean, two?”
“I was accosted in the bathroom by some woman.”
“How is that my fault? I didn’t set anyone on you.”
She slides a little closer to me and drops her voice a little more and I can’t stop myself from placing my hands on her hips, tugging her closer so she’s flush against me. I’m telling myself it’s for the game, for the show, but she feels good. She’s warm and soft and right and if I keep going along this line of thought, I’m going to end up with a raging hard on.
“You slept with her. That much was obvious.”
“I don’t hand out special markers, Perry, so how is it obvious?”
Elliot lets out a frustrated sound. “Because she’s your type. Like the blonde.”
“Maybe,” I say, “I did sleep with the other woman, but stop with the type thing. I like women. I’ve fucked a lot of them. We both know this. But I can’t stop my past coming up.”
“You can’t stop yourself gathering cards and numbers now, either.”
“That’s not fair.” I’m aware we look like two lovers having a moment right now, but inside the heat that flared has died back to embers and the hard on that threatened has retreated. “I didn’t ask for the number. I talked to her because she talked to me. End of story.”
“And you’re going to tell me if you didn’t have this whole thing you need to prove you wouldn’t fucking her right now?”
