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Actually, that’s something he failed to talk about much tonight, and if I weren’t feeling sorry for myself, getting distracted by experiencing a “real” date—within a fake scenario—I’d have brought it up sooner. “Your father’s not going to be convinced by social media,” I state. I don’t know much about him, but I doubt you get to become the mayor of Vancouver without a deadly combination of intelligence and cunning.
He shakes his head. “No. That’s why I need you in this until I either convince him I don’t love Jack anymore, or I get Jack back. It could take a while, and I don’t want him fucking with Jack’s hockey career in the meantime.”
“No wonder you were willing to give me a gold card for my troubles.”
“Mmmhmm. How would you rate my treatment of you?”
“It was satisfactory.”
His eyes narrow. He keeps them on the road. “Satisfactory, as in needs improvement?”
He would go all perfectionist, but I’m one too so I get it. “As far as a date goes. It’s not real. We’re not even friends. It was as good as it was going to be.”
I don’t have friends, but the few times I began friendships—before they hurtled like a comet into the ocean—we hung out because we had chemistry. Platonic chemistry, but chemistry, nonetheless. Rhett and I don’t even have that. We’re business partners.
“Do you have a plan for convincing your father?” I ask.
“I only have the beginnings of a plan, which I don’t like. I’d rather be working with something foolproof, but I’ve never deceived my father to this level before. We may have to make adjustments as we go.”
“So, we’re flying by the seat of our pants. That’s just great, Elkington. If you’re going to be my fake boyfriend, you need to step it up.”
“How so?” He cocks a brow, keeping his eyes focused on the road.
“I want a man I can rely on and that includes fake boyfriends.”
“That can mean a lot of things. Elaborate.”
“Like, if I’m sitting around with a group of people and we have a problem we can’t solve, I want to be able to say, don’t worry, my man will know just what to do and then I call him and he does.”
His brows knit together. “You do? You seem like the sort of guy who wants independence.”
I sigh. “Why do people think it’s either or? I’m independent with lots of things, but I know my limits … most of the time. Having a confident man who I know will take care of me when that’s what I need is sexy as fuck.”
I’d kill to have that.
He pulls into the drive that will take us up to the house. We’re well ahead of the house curfew schedule. I don’t know why Merc felt the need to point it out. As if I’d hang out with Rhett longer than I had to.
Once the car is in park, I move to get out, but the door is locked. “Um.”
“Stay there,” he says, getting out.
I only have enough time to contemplate crawling over to his side to escape. The passenger side door opens, and he acts like he’s my attendant. Sliding out, I ignore the offer of his hand and push my way past him. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“What? I’m being a gentleman.”
“By locking me in your car? That’s the behavior of a serial killer.”
“You would have gotten out on your own otherwise.”
Even when I’m standing, I have to look up to meet his eyes. He’s got at least a foot on me, but I make sure the power of my glare reaches him way up there. “Is that an Elkington rule?”
“It’s my rule. I like an old-fashioned style of romance.”
“Good God, Rhett. You don’t need to be romantic with me. Is this because I gave our date a satisfactory rating?”
“Not the only reason, but part of the reason.” It’s all of the reason. He needs to be number one for everything. “That’s how I like to treat my partner.”
Weird. He’s oddly sweet if you’re into that kind of thing. “If I agree to wait until you’ve gotten out to open the door for me, will you cease locking the door?”
