Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
B it by bit, what just happened trickled in as Dominic drove, both of us silent. I stared out the window, my T-shirt too tight against my chest.
“I’ve had two other arrangements like this before,” Dominic said. “The last one ended three months ago. Kelsey. Look at me.”
“What did you have with Raven?”
“That was one date. Not an arrangement.”
“Ah.”
He pulled over at a vista point overlooking the Columbia River, the sparkling blue water so wide it was like a choppy lake. The engine slipped into silence.
“We have chemistry,” he said, twisting in his seat to face me. “I want to enjoy it. I’m committed to staying unattached, but I want to explore what’s between us.”
I shook my head slightly. “I’m sorry. That’s not for me.” It was like my body had turned to lead—I ached and didn’t want to move. It would be useless to pretend I could manage something like that, even though it made me sick to have to end things with him.
His eyebrows drew together, and his forehead wrinkled as he watched me. Finally, I faced forward in my seat, staring at my hands clasped together in my lap.
“It was too soon.” He tapped on the steering wheel. “You needed to know what I can offer…”
Already grieving losing him, I stayed quiet. I wanted to recline in the luxurious car seat, close my eyes, and float in the limbo land before the goodbyes.
“We’re going to lunch.”
He drove us to a brewery restaurant on the waterfront, and I followed him inside as docile as a lamb. When he picked a booth seat and sat beside me, I leaned into his warmth. He wrapped an arm around me.
We ordered food and pints of beer. I liked being on the inside of the tall booth, out of sight of the door and bar. You like the cuddling .
“Do you have any questions?” Dominic asked, back to his urbane and detached self.
I turned the coaster under my frosted pint glass. “I really like you. But I’m not considering it.”
His lips brushed the shell of my ear, and I shivered. “Dating is more of a gamble,” he said. “I’m straightforward. There’s a lot I can offer.”
He thinks he can pay you.
Sighing, I put my head on his shoulder. “I bet.”
“I’m not going to disappear because you said no today.”
My fingers twitched. I had to put them in my pockets to keep from touching him. With a monumental effort of will, I sat up, prying myself away from his warmth.
We should both move on —the words stuck in my mouth. Easier to write it to him in a message. I’m a simple farm girl. Not a rich man’s…whatever.
Our salads arrived, then his fish and my burger. “Are you a pescatarian?” I asked.
“For the most part. There’s plenty of fresh seafood from the Oregon coast.”
Too busy paying off debt, I rarely bought seafood. Dominic and I were worlds apart in so many ways. I cut my burger in half.
“Ophelia wants to see you. She’s demanding that you visit today.”
“In Portland?”
“Yes.”
“I’m…not using my car this week.”
“Why? Although you don’t need to. I’ll take us.”
I rubbed my forehead. “It’s a little embarrassing. I’d rather not say.”
He took my hand and squeezed it. “What happened? Hey.” His eyes bored into the side of my head. “Tell me.”
The man made it seem like a crime to want a little privacy. I blew out a breath, crumbling under his stare. “My ex drained my accounts. I’m waiting until I get paid—on Monday—to fill up the car.”
“Jesus.” He shook his head, letting go of my hand.
“Yeah.” I finished the dregs of my pint.
“Don’t you have credit?”
“I do.” I’d worked hard to build that credit. “He maxed out my cards—I’m disputing the charges.”
Dominic scoffed and pulled at the collar of his sweater.
My stomach shut down. A seagull swooped by outside the window as I slowly blew out my breath.
“Would you like a box?” our server asked.
“No—”
“Yes.” I pinned a minuscule smile on my face. “A box would be great.”
As we walked out of the restaurant, Dominic put his hand low on my back. My throat tightened. I needed journal pages and a week of quiet evenings to process everything he’d said—his arrangement. That kiss. How much you liked it. Goodbye was already moments away.
“We need to talk,” Dominic said, pulling out of the parking lot. “I’m taking us to the waterfront.”
I hung my head. The take-out container slid between my feet, the smell of the food wrong in his new car.
Dominic found an empty spot by the water. “I need your help,” he said.
“You do?”
“My aunt is distressed. Fixated on the family’s future. I’m not sure she’s…going to recover.” He clenched his jaw. “She’s frailer than I’d realized.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I want you to pretend to be my girlfriend.”
“What?”
Dominic huffed, one side of his mouth turning up. “Give her what she wants. Hopefully, some peace.”
I rubbed my hands together, blinking at him. “She…well, at lunch, I thought she wanted to see you settled. A girlfriend—isn’t the same thing.”
He shrugged. “True. But it’s a step in the direction she’s hoping for.”
“I suppose.”
“You’re probably wondering if it’s about the inheritance.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“It is.” He smiled at my open-mouthed expression. “The most important thing is putting her mind at ease. She’s fretting. It might hold back her recovery. I want her to relax and have the satisfaction of winning.”
“She’ll believe you?”
He held his hands up. “Maybe. The real issue is Sebastien. My cousin is—wild. Has addiction problems Ophelia doesn’t know about. I don’t want to tell her. I’d like to create a trust for him with her money. Manage it for that branch of the family. If Sebastien has children someday, there’ll be something for them.”
“Huh.” Was he serious? “We’d pretend for today?”
“It’s a start. We’ll see what happens.”
“I…” Didn’t know what to say to him. His eyes were like a smoky quartz gemstone, hard and sparkling. “Guess so.” Procrastinator. You don’t want to face your problems.
He grinned at me—the dimples in his cheeks were stunners, hitting me like arrows.
I sank down, resting my cheek on the soft leather upholstery. Blinded by his shiny exterior? Actually, it was the whole package.