Page 7 of My Real Love Affair

Cash cleared his throat and moved toward the door. “Summer, would you come in, please?”

The woman who entered the study was everything I usually found attractive in the most superficial way possible. Tall, slender, elegant, with the kind of beauty that looked effortless but probably required a team of professionals to maintain. Her blonde hair was styled in perfect waves, her makeup was flawless, and her designer dress showed off her perfect body.

“Austin, I’d like you to meet Summer. She’s going to be your date to the wedding.”

Summer stepped forward with a perfect smile. “It’s lovely to meet you, Austin. I’ve heard so much about you.”

I stared at her, then at Cash, then back at her. “This is a joke, right?”

“No joke,” Cash replied smoothly. “Summer has been carefully selected and thoroughly vetted. She’s signed a comprehensive NDA, and she has one very specific role at Saturday’s wedding: to keep you out of trouble.”

The full scope of what was happening began to sink in. They weren’t just asking me to behave at a wedding. They were assigning me a babysitter. A beautiful, professionally trained babysitter who would monitor my every move and report back to my family like some kind of spy.

“You can’t be serious.”

“Dead serious,” Cash said. “Your days of embarrassing the family are behind you, Austin. Your behavior has proven that you require a short leash and a shock collar.” He nodded toward Summer with something that might have been approval. “You’re lucky the one I got for you is pretty.”

Summer’s smile never wavered, which was somehow more unsettling than if she’d looked uncomfortable with the arrangement.

“This is insane,” I said, looking between Cash and my father. “You can’t just assign me a handler like I’m some kind of unruly dog.”

“We can and we are,” Cash replied so calmly it made me want to punch him. “This is what accountability looks like, Austin. If you can’t manage yourself, someone else will manage you.”

I turned to my father, hoping for some kind of support or at least acknowledgment that this plan was completely insane. Instead, I found him nodding his approval.

“I think it’s an excellent solution,” Armand said. “Summer is experienced in managing difficult situations.”

That’s what I was to them, a difficult situation that required professional help.

“And if I refuse?” I asked, though I had a feeling I already knew the answer.

Cash and my father exchanged a look, and I realized this conversation had been choreographed long before I’d entered the room.

“Austin, can I speak with you privately for a moment?” Cash said.

He didn’t wait for an answer, just headed toward the door that led to my father’s private terrace. I followed, mostly because the alternative was continuing to sit in that study under my father’s disappointed gaze and Summer’s artificially pleasant smile.

She looked like a robot. Or one of those Stepford wives.

Cash closed the door behind us and turned to face me, his expression more serious than I’d ever seen it.

“This is it, Austin,” he said without preamble. “Your last shot.”

“My last shot at what?”

“At being part of this family.” The words hung in the air between us like a death sentence. “Dad’s not going to say it to you because he loves you, but I will. If you mess this up, if you embarrass the family name one more time, he’s cutting you off. Completely. His lawyers are already on standby.”

I scoffed. “You’re bluffing.”

“One more public scandal, one more embarrassment, and you’re done. No more trust fund, no more family support, no more Bancroft name opening doors for you.”

Everything I’d ever known and taken for granted could be gone with one more mistake. Yeah, I had distanced myself from them, but I still had the name and my trust fund.

“This is bullshit,” I hissed. “And Summer is fucking creepy.”

“Summer is non-negotiable. She’s going to be with you until you prove you can be trusted. Think of her as training wheels for your life.” Cash’s expression softened slightly. “Look, I know this feels extreme. But we’re trying to save you from yourself here.”

“By assigning me a professional babysitter?”