Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 100277 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100277 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
She sighed. “Star—”
“I’m serious about Rafe.” I tried not to flush at the lie. “We’re in a relationship. A committed one. You trying to set him up with other women while he’s seeing me is not only rude, but it’s unkind to me. And you don’t strike me as a cruel person.”
Pippa blanched. “Oh . . . Star . . . I . . . you’re right. I’m very sorry. I . . . just wasn’t sure after our dinner if you were serious about Rafe. But now that I know you are, I promise I’ll back off.”
I nodded. “Thank you. I’d appreciate it.”
Her eyes gleamed with remorse. “I really am very sorry.”
Guilt flooded me. Ugh. I’d said what I said for Rafe’s sake. The whole point of our deception was to get his sister-in-law and mother off his back. That didn’t mean it wasn’t horrible, making Pippa feel bad when I was the one lying to her. Reaching out, I took her hand and squeezed it in silent apology. Though to her, it would seem like reassurance. “I know. We’re good. Let’s just move on.”
She gave me a tight smile. “Okay. Thank you.”
“Enjoy the rest of your night.”
I left her at the entrance and strode back into the ballroom, seeking Rafe. He’d turned in his chair. A frown marred his brow. But it melted as our gazes locked.
Then, as I crossed the room toward him, his eyes drifted down my body.
Rafe had given me a bonus to buy suitable clothes to attend events with him. I’d found a designer dress on Fifth Avenue that was exactly my style. A bohemian-print maxi dress in black and copper, with billowing sleeves that tightened at the wrists. It had a nipped-in waist with a high neckline to offset the fact that there was a daring slit up one side of the full skirt.
Rafe’s gaze lingered on my bare leg as it flashed in and out of the layers of skirt as I walked toward him.
By the time I reached our table again, I was flushed from his perusal.
He didn’t move, meaning I had to brush up against him to sit down. When our eyes met, his were hooded. We stared at one another, the rest of the room, the music, the chatter fading around us.
Then finally, Rafe broke the silence. “What did you say to Pippa?”
I looked away. “I just told her politely that you and I are serious and she needed to back off from setting you up with other women.”
His silence made me look at him.
There was that unreadable expression on his face again.
“Shouldn’t I have?”
Rafe cleared his throat. “No, you did the right thing. I appreciate it. Thank you.”
“I felt like a lying asshole,” I murmured, guilt-ridden.
He placed a hand on my knee under the table, drawing my gaze to his. If he moved his fingers, he’d push the slit of the dress open and touch bare skin. “Hey, you’re not the liar. I am. You don’t need to feel guilty about this. This decision was mine.”
“And mine to agree to it.”
His hand squeezed reflexively. “Do you . . . want to stop?”
I want your hand to slide northward.
There.
I’d admitted it.
At least to myself.
In knowing I was this attracted to Rafe, I should have told him yes, that I wanted to end this now before it got messy.
So why couldn’t I bring myself to say those words?
Instead, I shook my head.
Rafe’s shoulders relaxed and he took his hand off my knee. “Good. And seriously, thank you. Having her off my back helps me a lot.”
I scanned the room for Pippa again. She was always talking to someone different. “Where’s Hugo?”
Rafe followed my gaze. “Business trip.”
“You know, I think she might be fixated on you to avoid fixating on the fact that her husband doesn’t seem to be around a lot.”
He leaned toward me but his eyes were on his sister-in-law. “You’re probably right.”
“Was your dad away a lot?”
“Yes, and no. He somehow always made time for his family. My dad is an excellent delegator. I think that’s how he got the balance right.”
“But Hugo isn’t the same?”
Rafe pursed his lips. “No. He’s more of a control freak than our father. Takes too much upon himself . . . I think he’s so determined to make the company work, to prove to our family that he can, that he forgets the most important lesson our father taught us: family always comes first. Maybe I’ve forgotten too.”
Seeing the guilt that matched my own, I leaned into him. “Rafe, we can stop this. I wouldn’t be put out if you changed your mind. I would understand completely, in fact.”
He sighed, his gaze still on Pippa. “They never need to know. And it just . . . gives me some space.”
Did it really, though? He didn’t have to dodge the weekly matchmaking efforts of his mom and sister-in-law, but he did have to make an effort to pretend to date me.