Chapter 15
I admit, the whole idea is almost too delicious to pass up.
I could go out with Dom while also making Rex jealous?
“You want me to make Rex feel like shit by going out with you?”
His grin tells me that’s exactly what he has in mind. Just the thought of it makes me turn pink again.
“And what do you get out of this little arrangement, sir?” I raise one eyebrow at him.
“I want a renter who stays put in my Airbnb for the next eight weeks and leaves me a good review.”
I shrink into the couch a little. I was hoping for a different answer.
“Got it. I can leave you a decent review.” I straighten up my spine. “That seems fair. You don’t even have to go through the trouble of taking me out on a fake date.”
He laughs, then his face curls into the same wicked grin he gave me yesterday. “I also want to get to know the girl who proposed to a guy on national television, then dropped everything she had to run across an ocean to finish a film script . . . You kind of fascinate me.”
“Oh.” I blink at him a few times.
“Is that a good enough reason?”
I shrug, wobbling my head back and forth, giving it some thought. I’m all for a real date, but a fake one? What if Rex found out it was all just an act?
“Take your time considering it,” he says. “I’m in no rush here.”
He then hops to his feet and starts measuring the window frames. The shirt he’s wearing slides up above his board shorts, revealing a little sliver of smooth, tan skin. Knowing the row of abs lying just underneath that fabric makes my pulse quicken, then settle right between my legs.
I swear he did that just to entice me.
Admittedly, it’s working.
“What would this fake-dating situation entail?” I’m curious, though the whole idea feels ridiculous to entertain, especially since I’m here to escape from drama, not get involved in any more of it. “And how can I know for certain that Rex won’t find out it’s all just for show?”
He stops what he’s doing at the window and turns to face me.
“Well, I’ve never faked it with anyone, but I imagine that I’d just treat you like any other woman I’m taking out on a real date. Especially when Rex is watching. Or any other boneheads.”
My stomach slingshots toward the floor, imagining how Dom treats a woman he’s interested in. Even if it’s all just pretend.
“So, you’d open car doors for me and act like the perfect gentleman, I imagine?”
“I didn’t say anything about being the perfect gentleman.” He cracks a smile that breaks the mounting tension between us — just a hair.
The pink in my cheeks pounds into something a bit more red.
“Kidding. But I’d make my intentions clear in front of Rex, if that’s what you’re asking. We’d have to agree on some boundaries.”
I tuck my lips into my mouth, biting the lower half, trying to stop a shit-eating grin from taking over my face. I want to say that he doesn’t have to be kidding about not being the perfect gentleman, but I don’t. It’s been ages since I allowed myself to flirt like this with another man, and it feels delicious — similar to taking a bite from the most decadent chocolate cake after a painfully long diet.
Small bites , I tell myself. Make it last .
“Give me an example,” I prod. “I need to know what I’m buying here, before I sign on the dotted line.”
Dom sets his tools down next to the boxes, putting his hands on his hips, sizing me up. My pulse quickens while he takes me in, but I force myself not to look away. Whatever this guy has going on is magnetic.
“Well” — he takes a step closer — “usually when I take a woman out, I make sure she knows that she’s the only woman in the room to me. And that goes for all rooms. This one or any other.”
His voice is gravelly. His eyes burn into mine while he takes another slow step in my direction. I bite my lip again and shift my weight on the couch.
Okay, Airbnb guy. You’ve got some game.
“Technically, there are no other women in the room right now, so that’s an easy one.” My tone is challenging but nonchalant, like I’m egging him on, whether I mean to or not.
“Oh, I’m not done yet.” He twists his face into a suggestive grin before straightening his features out again. Then he rubs his jawline and takes another step toward me, getting back into character. The whole effect of his steps drawing closer — tightening the gap between us — while he’s staring at me with that look on his face — it’s all making my heart beat out of control.
“I’d also make sure that there’s no doubt about who you’re with while we’re out.”
“Mmm, that seems like it might be a bit trickier to do.” I frown slightly.
“Not when you’re with me.” He sounds arrogant, if not a little cocky. “Trust me, no one will question who you’re with when we’re together. I don’t really like to share when I’m out with a beautiful woman.”
“Rex would hate seeing that kind of thing.”
“That’s the idea.” He smiles. “But you’d have to be okay with me taking up space.”
“Taking up space?”
“Beside you. Existing in the same bubble. It has to look natural.”
“Natural,” I repeat, cocking my head to the side. “It’s been so long since I went out with anyone else, I’ve practically forgotten what a first date looks like.”
“Stand up.”
“I don’t think I need—”
“Stand up,” he repeats more forcefully, though a playful smile tugs at his lips.
“You can just—” But I stop talking when I see the look on his face. He’s definitely serious about me standing. “Okay, fine.” I get to my feet, then cross my arms over my chest, feeling a bit goofy for going along with the charade, even if I’m thoroughly enjoying it. It’s like we’re actors in a play and Dom is the director.
“The attraction has to look mutual, not like you’re repulsed.” He circles one finger toward my arms, which are laced protectively over my chest.
I huff and bring my arms back down to my sides, shifting on my feet.
“This is all a bit silly,” I protest, but he’s already closing the space between us.
“Liv.” He says my name gently, his tone suddenly warm and buttery smooth. “Can I call you Liv?”
Call me anything you want , I want to say. Especially when you say it like that. “Sure. Most of my friends call me Liv.”
“Liv. You look absolutely gorgeous tonight.”
Then he takes another step toward me as his eyes pour down my body, like melted bronze against my skin.
“It’s morning still—”
“Shh.”
I stifle a laugh as he takes the last step between us, but my breath hitches in the back of my throat when he slides one hand around my waist, bringing me into him. He keeps the one hand drawn around my spine, but squeezes his palm against my skin, pressing my body into his. I instinctively place a hand on his chest to pace us.
I swallow hard. Dom smells spicy and raw, like his cologne has been mixed with the fresh waves he probably surfed this morning.
He releases me to step back, but, as he does, he bends down to brush his lips against my cheekbone, right where my cheek meets my ear, kissing me so lightly that it sends another round of shivers down my limbs. I have to fight my knees not to buckle.
“Ready to go, sweetheart? My car’s waiting out front,” he says softly, right into my ear, sending goosebumps down each arm.
Fuck me.
I open my mouth to reply, but nothing comes out. I inhale deeply, collecting myself when he pulls back, his eyes still staring intensely into mine, making everything else in the room fade away.
My heart pounds and, without thinking, I wet my lips like I’m about to be kissed.
This is all a show, Liv , I remind myself. He’s just that good.
I scold myself for believing that any of this is real, forcing my heart rate to slow back down to normal.
“That was decent.” I sigh, looking up at him from beneath my lashes.
He finally clears his throat, removes his hand from my back, and scratches the back of his neck with it, like he’s not sure what to do with himself again.
The spell is over, all heat dissipating back into the air like a puff of steam rising between two pots of boiling water.
“Decent?” He laughs, looking bewildered. “That was some of my best work.”
Okay, that makes me laugh.
“Alright, it was perfect.” I roll my eyes a little, trying to act like I didn’t just nearly hyperventilate from that mini masterclass in seduction.
“Will Rex buy it?” He grins wickedly.
“I think everyone within a twenty-mile radius will buy it.” I fight the urge to fan myself.
“Good.” He looks pleased with himself before turning back to his stack of boxes. “Then leave that silly disguise here. You won’t need it tonight.”
I redden and grab my ugly hat off the table.
“Honestly, it might be best if I just leave it on whenever I leave the townhouse. I don’t want to cause any extra trouble for you and your friends tonight. You’d be pretty horrified at the things total strangers have said to me when they recognize me.”
“You won’t need it because this little act is coming with us to the bar, too. You deserve to relax while you’re here, and you can’t do that if people are going to be all over you. You’re stuck here for the next two months. It’s the least I can do.”
There’s nothing in me that wouldn’t love this added protection and sense of security, without having to worry about people recognizing me. I can already feel my social anxiety go down a notch.
“My sister had a guy friend in college who switched into fake-boyfriend mode anytime someone was giving her unwanted attention. Worked like a charm. I won’t do anything that’ll make you feel uncomfortable, but I’m happy to stick with you, even after we leave Rex in the dust. Stay close by.”
Men have been unnaturally aggressive since that clip, like it put out a bat signal to every creep in New York that I’m single now, each of them ready to fill Rex’s shoes, or tell me how weird I was for trying to propose.
“Thank you.” I scrunch my nose, not sure how to respond. I’m still trying to get my heart to slow its pace from those fake moves.
“It would be my pleasure.” His deep voice sounds thick and easy, like nothing about this offer bothers him. Meanwhile, my insides are still screaming for another faux embrace. “I’ll finish this up, get a little work done, then swing by to pick you up around five fifteen. At your back door.”
“Back door?”
“Didn’t Juju mention they start their happy hour out back around five o’clock? You can walk by Rex and Juju looking hot as hell in whatever you decide to wear, while he slurps down his drink and tries not to drool over you.”
I laugh, appreciating where his head is at.
“Brilliant.” I stand up. “This all feels like it’ll work. Mutually beneficial. Seemingly believable.”
I stick my hand out to him for a handshake, like we’ve reached the fever pitch of our absurd little negotiation and it’s time to make it official.
His face transforms into triumph, the mac daddy of all smirks. That little performance of his won this round and he knows it.
“So we’re on for tonight?” He holds his hand just out of reach.
You’d be crazy to say no to this, Liv , Abby’s voice rings in my head. I can’t imagine telling her later that I’ve turned this man down. She’d probably rush here on the next flight just to assess my sanity in person.
“It’s a deal,” I agree.
Our hands meet somewhere in the middle, mine disappearing into his once again, and I briefly wonder if he felt a zing of anticipation up his arm like I just did.
I pull my hand back first, then turn toward the door. If I stay here much longer, we might have a hard time staying in neutral — or mostly neutral — territory.
“I’m going shopping.”
I’m not in the right mindset to work on my script today, and the cutest dress I brought with me is currently crumpled up on my bedroom floor with a big orange blob across the crotch from that rogue chicken.
“Atta girl,” he says appreciatively, flashing me another look that makes everything in me flush deeply. “I’ll finish up here and be gone before you get back.”
He turns back to the window, reaching both arms up over his head again to measure the top of the vaulted window frame. A solid four inches of his bare torso comes out to play. I haven’t been in the habit of checking out any other men in recent years, but now I can’t look away. And if I’m being honest, I really don’t want to.
You’re single now , I remind myself. Look all you want.
But he turns — catching me in the act of ogling him. I shift my eyes away before he can see me blush.
Too late.
“By the way.” He pauses until I meet his eye. “I meant what I said about Juju. She doesn’t hold a candle to you.” My joints turn to Jell-O, making my limbs suddenly feel heavy and warm. “And in case you’re wondering...” He waits again to make sure I’m looking right at him. “I could see it written all over Rex’s face that he knows it too.”
“Whatever.” I turn toward the door so he can’t see how red I’ve become. I don’t know what else to say. “Thank you, by the way, for getting over here so quickly to hang those up.”
“Nah, don’t thank me. I should be more involved in these rentals.” He grins at me over his enormous shoulder before turning back to his project. “At least with this particular one anyway.”
Then Dom’s drill screams to life, ramming thick screws into the drywall, his biceps springing to life overhead. I quickly shut the door behind me, fighting the urge to spy on him just a little bit more.
I’m excited. For the first time in weeks, I have plans that don’t involve hiding.