Chapter 17
17
ADRIAN
I pull the Ferrari into the circular driveway of Dominic’s sprawling Hamptons estate. The white mansion rises before us, all columns and balconies and sparkling windows. Rowena’s eyes are wide as she takes it all in.
“Wow, your boss knows how to summer.”
I smirk. “Just wait until you see the inside.” A nervous tension settles on my shoulders as I come around to help Rowena out. This weekend has to go perfectly.
The front door swings open and Dominic strides out dressed in swimming trunks and a light-blue linen shirt, silver hair shining in the afternoon sun. His sharp gaze lands on Rowena as she steps out of the car. I watch his expression closely, trying to gauge his reaction.
Surprise flickers briefly in his eyes, quickly masked. Rowena is not strictly my type—she’s a fresh-faced natural beauty, not the plastic Barbie doll or fellow Wall Street shark he probably expected. Her clothes are pretty but not expensive. Today was probably the first time she ever drove in a Ferrari.
Dominic takes this all in, and his mouth curves into a warm smile. “Adrian, welcome! And this must be the lovely Rowena.” My boss steps forward to shake her hand. “A pleasure to finally meet you, my dear.”
“Likewise, Mr. Fulton. Adrian has told me so much about you.” Rowena unleashes a dazzling smile. I loop my arm around her waist, pulling her close.
Dominic’s gaze drops to the diamond glinting on her finger. His eyebrows lift almost imperceptibly. Good, he’s noticed I’m committed to this whole family thing.
“Please, call me Dominic,” he insists. “And make yourself at home. How was the drive? Not too taxing, I hope, especially in your condition?”
“Oh no, it was very pleasant,” Rowena assures him. “Adrian found me this amazing doctor in the city who put me on a new medication. It’s made the morning sickness a million times better.”
She leans into me affectionately as she speaks. My chest expands with pride and warmth. Barely a minute in, and she’s already making me look great, propping me up as the doting fiancé. So far, she’s nailing this fake relationship act.
Dominic nods, looking impressed. “Excellent, I’m so glad to hear that. Well, please come in, both of you!” He waves over a sharply dressed valet who hurries to collect our bags from the Ferrari’s trunk.
As Rowena and I follow Dominic into the house, I can’t help thinking that this crazy scheme could work.
In the foyer, Dominic gestures expansively at the lavish interior. “Welcome to my humble abode,” he chuckles. Humble, right. The place practically screams billionaire, from the gleaming hardwood floors to the original artwork gracing the walls.
I keep Rowena close, my hand resting lightly at the base of her spine. The casual intimacy feels surprisingly natural, and I catch her glancing up at me with a small, private smile. An unfamiliar warmth stirs within me.
Through barely parted lips, she mouths. “Please tell me we’re actually here to steal a few paintings.”
I suppress a laugh as Dominic gestures at the space.
“The house has quite a history,” he remarks as we walk. “It was originally built in the 1920s for a silent film star. Rumor has it she used to host scandalously wild parties here.” He winks conspiratorially.
Rowena’s eyes widen. “Really? That’s fascinating!” She’s playing her part beautifully, showing just the right amount of interest but not being too obsequious.
We emerge onto a sprawling patio overlooking the beach. Preston is already lounging by the pool with his picture-perfect family. His wife, a blonde with a megawatt smile, waves enthusiastically.
“Adrian.” Preston gives me a polite nod. Civil but not warm. We’re each other’s competition and we both never forget it. He’d cut me down at the knees if he could, and I’d do the same.
More introductions are made as Rowena charms the Harrises effortlessly.
“Why don’t you two go get changed and join us?” Dominic suggests. “Let me show you to your room.”
We follow him back inside and up a sweeping staircase. He opens a door, revealing a spacious bedroom with a stunning ocean view. And a single, gigantic bed.
“I’ll leave you to settle in,” Dominic says, oblivious to the sudden tension in the air. “See you by the pool!” The door closes behind him with a muted click .
Rowena and I stare at the lone bed, then at each other. Her cheeks flush pink. “Um, I guess we should have expected this.”
“It’s fine,” I assure her, though my pulse is inexplicably racing. “I can sleep on the floor.”
Her hazel eyes widen with surprise before darting to the unforgiving hardwood. She shakes her head vehemently. “No, no way. I can’t let you do that, Adrian. You’ll wake up with knots the size of golf balls.”
“I’ve slept on worse.” In my early days as a trader, I once spent the night on the floor of my cubicle with a Bloomberg terminal as my pillow. This would be a definite upgrade.
Rowena crosses her arms, fixing me with a determined stare. “Absolutely not. I’d feel terrible knowing you were down there while I’m in this big comfy bed by myself.” She plops down on the edge of the mattress as if to emphasize her point.
I arch an eyebrow. “What are you suggesting?”
“Well…” She tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “We’re both mature adults, right? I’m sure we can share the bed without it being weird.”
My heart pumps too much blood in the wrong direction at the thought of lying beside her all night, our bodies mere inches apart. I swallow. “If you’re okay with that, I’m fine, too.”
She nods, biting her lip. “It’s a big bed. We’ll just stick to our sides.”
“That is if you feel comfortable sharing with an international art thief.” I attempt to lighten the mood.
Her bright smile is my reward. “As long as you don’t also steal all the covers, we’ll be fine.”
“Deal.”
Rowena springs into action, rummaging through her duffle bag. She grabs a bikini and slips into the attached bathroom. “Be right back! ”
She closes the door behind her.
While she changes, I strip out of my suit and pull on my swimming trunks. I’m tying the drawstring when I hear the bathroom door open.
I turn expectantly, but nothing could have prepared me for the vision that emerges. Rowena is an absolute smoke show in a blush pink string bikini speckled with tiny blue flowers. The triangles of fabric barely cover her ample cleavage, and the low-slung bottoms reveal her toned thighs and flat stomach, not yet showing any signs of the baby.
My mouth is literally hanging open, and I’m blatantly staring at her incredible body like an ogling teenage boy. Quickly, I avert my eyes, heat rising up my neck. When I chance a glance back at her face, her cheeks are flushed pink. She definitely caught me gawking at her.
“You, um, you look great.” Trying to recover, I give a small, awkward cough. “That color suits you.”
She smiles shyly, her eyes flickering downward. “Thanks. I wasn’t sure everything would still fit with the pregnancy.” Rowena chuckles nervously. “I swear my boobs have already grown a size…”
I turn away and close my eyes briefly not to be tempted to stare at her chest again. “Oh yeah, definitely. Everything fits… snug, I mean, well.” I cringe inwardly at how unsmooth I sound.
Rowena glides past, drawing a sheer blue sarong from her bag and securing it with a casual knot at her hip. The see-through fabric does little to conceal her long legs. “One of the many perks of pregnancy, I guess.” Her tone is lighthearted but there’s a glimmer of uncertainty in her eyes, like she’s second-guessing bringing up her changing body.
She has nothing to be self-conscious about. I step closer and take her hand. “Rowena, you look beautiful. Pregnancy suits you.”
Color blooms in her cheeks again but this time she holds my gaze. “You think so?”
“I know so. You’re stunning, inside and out. Any man would be lucky to have you on his arm.”
Including me, I realize with a jolt. I’m going to have zero problems playing the role of doting boyfriend this weekend.
“Oh, okay, because I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Preston and his wife look like life-sized Ken and Barbie dolls—so perfect it was almost creepy.”
“I suspect Preston gets his hair highlighted.”
“Maybe it’s a wig,” she jokes. “His mop looked so unflappable I wondered if it were a plastic helmet.”
I laugh and I’m still smiling as we make our way downstairs to the pool area, where Preston, Ella, and Dominic are lounging on chaise chairs while the kids splash around in the water, their laughter mingling with the crash of waves beyond.
“Even their kids look unreal,” Rowena mouths to me as we cross the lawn. “I’m already getting comparative parent anxiety.”
I lean down and whisper, “I’m sure you’ll be an amazing mom.” Then I guide Rowena to the last free beach lounger, my hand placed on the small of her back—its new favorite position. The warmth of her skin seeps through the thin sarong, sending tingles up my arm.
As we sit side by side, Ella turns to Rowena with a friendly smile. “So, Rowena, what do you do for a living?”
“I’m a software engineer,” Rowena replies, fidgeting with the string of her bikini in a way that’s too distracting. “You?”
“I work for a non-profit that promotes youth literacy.”
“Oh, wow, that is an amazing mission.” Rowena’s hand unconsciously drops to her still-flat belly. “I’d love to also get more kids into coding from an early age.”
“You work at a toy company?”
“No. I wish. I used to be on Wall Street.” Her mouth twists into a line that, if not exactly disgust, is close. Then she looks at me and her face brightens—I’m not sure if it’s part of the act or not. “Where I met this guy. But I recently left my job to focus on… other things.”
Ella nods, intrigued. “Other things?”
She glances at me, as if asking for permission to… say she’s pregnant? I give a subtle nod. “Well, we’re expecting and I was exhausted all the time.”
“Oh, wow.” Ella congratulates us and as the women discuss pregnancy woes, I find myself distracted by the way the sunlight plays across Rowena’s skin, highlighting the gentle curve of her shoulders and the swell of her breasts beneath the bikini top.
I force myself to pay attention to the conversation, chiming in with the occasional comment to back Rowena’s story. But try as I might to focus on Rowena’s words as she spins our well-rehearsed tale about how we met and fell in love, my attention is drawn to her lush figure barely concealed by that tiny bikini.
I’m not the only distracted party, though. I catch Rowena’s gaze flitting over my abs and chest more than once as she talks.
I decide to mess with her a little. Flexing subtly, I make my pecs bounce. Rowena stumbles over her words mid-sentence. She quickly recovers but avoids meeting my gaze, suddenly very interested in the pool tiles.
I have to bite back a grin. So the attraction isn’t just an act on her part. The discovery sends an unwise thrill through me. I shouldn’t read too much into it. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t pleased by her admiring glances .
Feeling reckless, I slip an arm around her bare waist and tug her against my side.
Rowena’s breath hitches almost imperceptibly. She gazes up at me, her lips parted, eyes hooded. For a charged moment, I forget we’re playacting. Forget the audience watching us. My mind is consumed by how badly I want to capture her lips with mine and?—
Preston’s boy dive bombs into the pool, splashing everyone and shattering the spell. We break apart, Rowena’s face flushed, as Ella shouts after her son to be more respectful.
When Ella turns back expectantly toward us, Rowena seems dazed.
“What was I saying?” she asks.
Ella chuckles. “Oh, you were only about to tell us how Adrian proposed!”
I flash a grin, projecting ease I don’t quite feel. What am I doing? I’ve no idea, but some devil must’ve possessed me because next, I switch position, sliding behind Rowena on the beach lounger and wrapping my arms around her waist. Her sun-kissed skin is warm under my palm, and the faint scent of her coconut sunscreen fills my nostrils.
I drop my chin onto Rowena’s shoulder, our cheeks nearly touching. “Do you mind if I tell the story, Sunshine? You know how much I love reliving that moment.”
Rowena turns her head to look at me, our noses almost brushing. For an agonizing instant, I’m positive she’s going to pull away, to put some distance between us. But she doesn’t. Instead, she leans into my embrace, a soft smile playing across her lips.
“Sure, Bunny,” she teases in an intimate tone. “You tell the story. ”
Heat radiates from my hairline down to my thighs as more of her bare skin presses into mine.
I look back at Ella and go for a dramatic flair. “It was a dark and stormy night…”
Rowena laughs, the sound bright and musical. “Oh, come on! It was not!”
I grin down at her, tightening my arms around her waist. “Okay, okay. It was a perfect summer evening, with a sky full of stars and a gentle breeze blowing into the city from the ocean…”
As I launch into the fabricated tale of our engagement, there’s a tiny part of me that wonders what it’d be like if the woman in my arms were truly mine, if the love shining in her eyes was real and not just a reflection of the setting sun.