Page 50 of Pucking Daddy

Jaxon nods slowly. "Take whatever time you need."

He steps back, giving me space to breathe. "I should let you get some sleep. We can talk more tomorrow."

He is halfway to the door when I speak.

"Jaxon?"

He turns.

"If I agree to this—and I'm not saying I am—there would need to be rules. Boundaries. We can't just..." I gesture vaguely at the air between us, hoping he understands what I can't say out loud.

"Boundaries," he repeats. "Right. Of course."

But his eyes drop to my mouth again, just for a second.

Fuck.

"Goodnight, Zara."

"Goodnight."

I stay seated. After staring into nothing for a while, I pull out my phone and text Danny.

Me:

What’s left on the student loans?

Danny:

I’ve told you before—this isn’t yours to handle.

Me:

Danny…

Danny:

160,000 $

I stare at the number. One hundred sixty thousand dollars. I’ve barely made a dent in it so far.

Danny:

You still there?

I don’t answer.

Danny:

Don’t do anything stupid, okay?

I sit in the dark living room for a long time after that, staring at the city lights, trying to figure out how my life turned into something this complicated.

A marriage of convenience. To my boss. To the man I’ve already slept with once and can’t seem to stop thinking about.

What could possibly go wrong?

***