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But wouldn’t it just make this thing between us even messier? Wouldn’t it go against everything that I’ve been saying?
Yes. But still …
I mull it over, imagining being fake engaged to Finn, and a smile tickles my lips. We’d have so much fun with it. I can see him hamming it up for photographers on the sidewalk before we went into a restaurant for dinner. The way he’d introduce me to people as his fiancée, knowing I couldn’t argue. It would be so, so nice to slip back into how things were as long as he knows the truth.
As long as he didn’t start to believe in what’s not real. I don’t want to be responsible for that.
“Hey,” I call out.
“Yeah?”
“If we’re exchanging money for sex, isn’t that prostitution?”
His laugh is loud, and it makes my smile grow wider.
“No. That part’s free,” he says.
I take a drink. “Does this mean that if I agree to this, you’ll start fucking me again?”
“What kind of a fiancé would I be if I didn’t fuck my soon-to-be wife?”
My core heats as I head back to the living room. Finn remains on the couch just like I left him. His eyes find mine as soon as I round the corner and he comes into view.
“If I agree to this,” I say, setting my drink on a coaster. “We’d have to be sure that we’re on the same page about a few things.”
“Of course. What do you propose?”
“Well,” I say, taking my seat again. “What would be required of me? I wouldn’t be in your contracts, right? It’s just you.”
“I’ll clear everything with you beforehand. You’ll have the authority to nip all of it in the bud.”
Wow. Okay. I settle against the cushions. “What do we tell people in our lives? Like, how do we explain this to Branch and Layla? My mom? Your parents?”
He takes a long, deep breath, and I nod. This is a complication.
I’m surprisingly fine with lying to the world, but I won’t lie to our family. Sure, that conversation with my mother might be a little awkward, but she deserves to know the truth. I can only imagine the amusement Branch and Layla will find in this—if we do it.
“We can discuss it,” he says. “Personally, I want to be honest with the people close to me. But, yeah, we can talk about it.”
I smile. You’re such a good guy.
He leans forward, his elbows back on his knees again. This time, his gaze is intense. His smile slips. Lines form around his eyes.
“I do have one request,” he says, his voice softer this time.
A bubble of anxiety forms in my stomach. “This is the catch, huh?”
“No. I said it’s a request. That doesn’t mean it’s a catch. You can turn me down.”
“Turn you down about what?”
He licks his lips. “You’ve been very clear that you’re not a relationship kind of woman. I think I’ve been pretty clear lately that I’d love to have one with you.”
He pauses, searching my face for a reaction. I try my best not to give him one because I don’t know where he’s going with this. All I’m certain of is that the ground has started to wobble.
“Again, this is a request,” he says gently. “But I would love it if you went into this with an open mind and just gave me a chance to show you how good we can be.”
“Finn …”
