Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Elise
T he last time I’d been this nervous, I’d been signing my name to the small business loan at Silverton Bank.
It seemed silly to feel so anxious about essentially having a week-long sleepover, but I hadn’t spent the night at someone else’s house in recent memory, and I hadn’t shared space with Luc like this ever.
Maybe worst of all, I’d found myself buzzing with a level of anticipation I hadn’t dreamed possible. Teasing out what that meant was confusing, and so sometime in the night last night, I’d let myself off the hook.
Luc was a good-looking man who had proven to be thoughtful, gentle, kind, and safe. It was okay that I was excited to spend more time with him and see behind the curtain a little.
In this version of the story, I was the street urchin helping the undercover royal escape the mean streets only to discover he was a prince. And now, the only way to get into the castle was to pretend to be a princess, worthy of him outwardly, but knowing I possessed no wealth and nothing to offer.
Though honestly, that was less a fantasy and a bit more like reality than I cared to admit. So maybe instead, I’d flip the script. Maybe I would play an heiress on the run, and he would take me in for my protection. And while there, maybe there’d be only one bed, and we’d huddle together for warmth…
Ultimately unhelpful, thanks, brain.
I wouldn’t mind seeing Luc’s place and getting a feel for his life, even if we were still in the Lalaland of a fake relationship. In that sense, it was better than anything real because it was all just for fun. There were no stakes.
Yeah, totally no stakes at all. Suuuuure.
Shoving that unhelpful commentary aside, I refocused on the simple distraction of seeing his home and how he lived. Plus, I really enjoyed Aurelie and Michele, so more time with them was a plus, too.
But as I set my kindle and water bottle on the side of the bed farthest from the door, it hit me.
We’d be sharing a bed. His sister, brother-in-law, and grandfather believed we’d already been living together, so the setup needed to look at least a little like I’d spent a decent amount of time here. Considering I’d never stepped foot inside this home until twenty minutes ago, that would be a feat.
“I’m not sure I’ll remember where everything is,” I said, turning to find Luc hovering by the door to his bedroom. “I don’t want it to be too obvious.”
“They won’t care. We can blame it on the fact that you’ve only just moved in. And we could say we spent more time at your place while we were dating since it’s closer to town, which is technically true.”
His small smile made me reflect the same back at him.
“I guess we’ll see.”
“They’re not going to be here until tomorrow, though. Since Odette doesn’t arrive until then, they decided to stay the extra day, so we have tonight to ourselves.” He swallowed, then rushed to add, “To get familiar with things, I mean.”
“Right, of course.” Ugh. This was so awkward, it almost hurt. I didn’t want this weirdness between us, but it was entirely new territory. I simply didn’t know how to get past it. “Mind if I use the restroom?”
I slipped into the primary bathroom as he excused himself. Like everything else in his home, this bathroom was exquisite. Bright white free-standing tub that looked big enough for two, a shower with a rain shower head I was genuinely looking forward to using, and beautiful gray cabinets with what looked like almost iridescent white granite countertops. I wasn’t sure what kind of stone it was, but so far, I loved his taste in everything. It tended to be a notch cozier than minimalist. Masculine, yes, but comfortable.
A few minutes later, I found him in the kitchen—another stunning space with beautiful natural stone counters, a deep sink, and stainless steel appliances. Sleek wood cabinets and top of the line equipment wherever I looked.
“Would pizza be okay for dinner? I got groceries today but I’m exhausted and tomorrow will be a long day. I’d love to just sit on the couch and watch a movie with you.”
How had he just verbalized what felt like a fantasy?
His hopeful expression could’ve convinced me to do just about anything, but this? Absolutely.
“That sounds perfect. Yes, please.”
Ten minutes later, we’d ordered the pizza and both changed into our lounge clothes. I had bright pink sweatpants, a black T-shirt, and a sweatshirt overtop while he’d chosen some dark gray jogger-style sweatpants and a soft-looking black T-shirt. Inevitably, he looked incredible in his more relaxed clothing, and I had to make a personal choice not to ogle his assets when he walked past me to get the remote.
Extremely difficult. The man was an absolute work of art and between the scruff, the shirt stretching across his biceps and chest, and the style of those somehow slouchy and yet fitted sweats, I was doomed.
His shirt looked so soft, and the way it dropped down from his pecs like there was nothing but brick wall between there and the waistband of his pants had me swiping a hand across the blanket resting on the back of the couch and imagining it being the stretch of territory that lay under his shirt.
“What are you in the mood for?”
My head snapped up and heat exploded on my cheeks.
There’s no way he can know what you were just thinking about.
Nope. Couldn’t be possible. And yet, what was I in the mood for? Yikes. A question I couldn’t answer.
He studied me, his head tipped to one side, and added, “I mean to watch—what kind of movie?”
“Right. Yeah. Um, action? Something action-y. With cars.”
So that went well .
Totally normal response.
He chuckled softly. “How about a Mission Impossible movie? I heard your friend Winnie’s pretty into those.”
“Oh, that girl is obsessed. Yes, let’s do that.”
There was always a female lead and some nice tension between her and Ethan Hunt, but if we stuck to the first movie, it was pretty low-key. I couldn’t handle seeing a romance and having any kind of kissing scenes while sitting in a room with this man in that state of dress.
He sat at the other end of his sectional couch and pulled up the movie to stream it. Before long, the pizza arrived, and we chatted along with the movie. He made notes about how realistic some of the spy craft was, and it hit me for the first time since all of this started that Luc was a hard core ex-special ops soldier who actually knew stuff about spy craft. What?
“Okay, can we stop for a sec? I’m just realizing I know nothing about what you did in the military and that’s a big gaping hole in the story if I’m clueless about that. You were in for more than a decade, right?”
He nodded, his face unreadable. “Fourteen years by the time I got out.”
“You didn’t think about retiring like some of the guys?”
That’d been what Bruce, Tristan, Adam, and Beast had all done. I thought I’d heard Wilder Saint had started Saint Security right when he got out, and Bruce joined him a while later. Kenny was too young to retire, but he’d been injured so I’d always figured that made the difference for him.
“I got in a bit later than most of them. Wilder joined when he was seventeen, Bruce when he was about that, and I didn’t get there until nearly twenty-one.”
I laughed. “Practically an old man,” I said, marveling at the bravery it would take anyone to dive into military service, let alone someone who’d hardly become an adult.
“Ultimately, I wanted permanence, and I couldn’t see myself staying if Beast, Barbie, and Stone were leaving. When Stone brought it up, Barbie and I were on board. Beast had already planned on leaving since he’d clinched retirement around the same time Bruce did. Plus, I don’t need the retirement pension or healthcare that comes with hitting twenty thanks to my mother’s life insurance policy and other assets, so that gave me a lot of freedom to leave many don’t have.”
His eyes dropped to his hands and something about the movement made me ask, “Does that embarrass you?”
He exhaled sharply. “No. I’m not ashamed of the wealth my family has, so much as I feel strongly it is theirs. But I have repeatedly and consistently benefited from it, and with the trust, I’d still have more money than most people can imagine managing”—he cringed—“and then I say things like that and I sound like a total ass.”
I laughed at the dismay on his face. “You do. You really do.”
He smiled and it felt like the temperature went up ten degrees. Goodness, he was handsome, and that self-deprecation paired with acknowledging his privilege… it was deadly.
Couldn’t keep focusing on that. I wanted to keep him talking. As willing as he was to tell me facts about his life—his family, his wealth, even the lie he’d told that got us here—I wanted to know him. The hints of humor and softness he let sneak through were basically catnip.
“What did you do? I have no idea what a day-to-day job would be like in the Army, let alone whatever fancy place you Saint guys all worked.”
“I was a CMOE which means I’m really good at getting into places even when they’re locked.”
The half-smile he shot me now was no better than the full-out one. This one had a boyish quality that made my stomach flip. Again.
“Wait so you could break into buildings and stuff?” I hadn’t thought about that being an actual job for someone in the Army.
“If there’s intel or an asset somewhere that’s locked down, I was the guy who figured out the plan to get in and then took lead on making that happen.” His gaze dropped to his hands again. “It was really fun.”
I giggled then because it was so completely wistful and surprising, though I couldn’t say why. “You miss breaking into places?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “Is it bad if I say yes?”
“As long as it doesn’t end up leading you into a life of crime, I guess not.”
We shared a smile, and all I could think was how much I liked him. He was funny and subtle and a little surprising. Who liked breaking into buildings? I would almost think it didn’t fit him except he’d talked about being impulsive as a kid and then rebellious in his early adulthood. Then he’d found an outlet—legal burglary. What a weird thing to enjoy, and yet here he was.
And yeah. Just so appealing.
“No plans for a criminal life. I could go for a Robin Hood situation maybe, but I figured Saint is about as close as I’ll get without being active duty and I’ll take it.” He leaned back and stretched his arms wide. “My grandfather would be horrified to know such a thing.”
I laughed at his admission but sobered. We hadn’t fully discussed what’d happened last night beyond planning to move me in. I’d added to his lie, and now we were waist deep in it.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this? I realize it’s a little late to ask, but I feel so bad that I let my temper get the best of me.”
He stood and padded toward me with weirdly attractive bare feet, then held out a hand when he reached me. I took it, pulse climbing when our fingers connected, and he tugged me out of my spot on the couch.
“I have never been happier to be fake-engaged to someone than I was when you said what you did. Thank you for thinking so quickly.”
He was staring at me so intently, those gray-green eyes pinned on me, and his hand holding mine felt so good. So safe and right and yet thrilling.
Everything I learned about him made me like him more. He had such a noble heart and yet a silly side I never would’ve imagined existed. No wonder he liked Kenny so much.
All these little pieces added up to someone I found myself caring about more and more. I enjoyed being around him, and I looked forward to seeing him. I liked him, even though a huge part of me said that was just about the most foolish thing I could do right now.
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him to kiss me—just to try it while we were living in this fantasy world—when his phone rang and the moment evaporated with the sound.
For the best. This wasn’t a fantasy. This was real life, and kissing Luc wouldn’t help me remember that.