Reluctantly Yours(18)

“Not just for you,” I mutter under my breath.

She motions to her chest. “I can barely breathe and I spent twenty minutes adjusting my boobs in this damn thing!”

My eyes immediately drop to Chloe’s chest. The top of her dress is tight which pushes her breasts up, exposing generous cleavage. Her hair is pulled back away from her face, creating an unobstructed view. She looks hot. There’s no point in denying that, but her outfit would do better at a night club, not a dinner at an upscale restaurant. It’s incredibly short which is wild because Chloe is so petite. Bea must be out of practice. There haven’t been many women in my life to pick clothing out for.

I’m regretting not picking her up at her apartment. There’s no way to change her outfit now, so we have to go with it. Chloe pulls on the dress hem for the fifth time.

“Stop fidgeting. You look fine,” I assure her, stealing another glance. More than fine. She looks fucking delectable. And distracting. Which makes me second guess this whole arrangement. But, there’s no backing out now, we’re minutes away from walking into the restaurant.

“I hope you didn’t strain yourself giving me that compliment,” she says.

I reach for her hand and start walking toward the entrance of the restaurant.

“What’s with the hand holding?” she asks, rushing to keep up with my longer stride.

“It’s so you don’t run away.”

Chloe hums in disapproval, but doesn’t fight me on it.

“Thank you for the champagne last night,” she says softly.

“It was nothing,” I say.

“It was something.”

I don’t respond. There’s nothing to say. Hell, I don’t know why I did it. When I reached the car and directed Marcus home, I found myself pulling out my phone and making the call. I don’t want to analyze it.

“Who are we having dinner with?” she asks.

“A business associate, Fred Hinkle, and his girlfriend, Frankie.”

“Frankie’s a girl? I thought it would be two old guys and I’d be the little lady to keep all your gentlemanly manners intact.”

“This isn’t a regency novel. It’s two business associates having dinner with their girlfriends.”

Chloe halts suddenly, our arms pull taut, but my forward momentum causes her heels to skitter against the concrete.

“Girlfriend? You said it was a date.”

I continue walking, and with a stutter step, she falls back into stride beside me.

“Pretend it’s one of many that we’ve been on.”

Chloe stops again. “No, no, no. I thought I was just here for decoration. Now I’m supposed to be pretending to be your girlfriend?”

“Why is that a problem?” I ask.

“A little background would have been nice. How did we meet? How long have we been together? Things that could have been discussed if you actually picked me up.”

“I was busy with work.”

“On a Saturday?” she asks.

“I work every day,” I reply.

“You must really love your job.”

“Love has nothing to do with it. I work hard because people depend on me. SCM is the top media company in the country and I intend to keep it that way. This dinner is important. I need it to go well. I’ve got a business deal in the works with Fred. His company is up for sale, or will be soon, and I need him to like me in order to be the one to purchase it when it does.”

“And he doesn’t like you now?” Her lack of surprise is evident. The way her lips quirk to one side and her eyes widen with feigned shock.

I shrug. “He doesn’t know me. This dinner will help him get to know me better.”

“Yeah, I can definitely see how bringing a fake girlfriend to dinner will strengthen your bond. It’s all making sense now.”

“I need you to appeal to his girlfriend, Frankie. Keep her engaged so I can talk with Fred.”

“Are you calling me charming?” She smirks.

“It’s a stretch, but I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

I place my hand on Chloe’s back as we walk through the door and to the host stand. I shouldn’t be surprised that my hand nearly spans the width of her. I lower down so my mouth is near her ear. “I know how much you value your job, so I know you’ll figure it out.”

My hand detects a quiver moving down Chloe’s spine, but she keeps her gaze ahead.

I check in with the hostess and she motions for us to follow her.

Fred and Frankie are already seated at the table when we arrive. They stand up and I make the introductions. I do a double take when I see Frankie’s dress. It appears to be the exact same dress as Chloe’s, except in a bright fuchsia color. Frankie is a good six inches taller than Chloe so what was short on Chloe is barely covering Frankie’s assets. I suck in a breath, wondering how this is going to go. Experience has taught me that women don’t like it when they are dressed similarly.

“Girl, I love your dress!” Frankie beams. “Is Balmain not the best designer ever? Fits like a glove. Fred could barely keep his hands off me in the car.”

I guess in Frankie’s case, she enjoys not being the only one half-dressed for dinner.

“I’m sure you had the same problem, Barrett.” She winks at me while waving her nails playfully. Her nails are just as long as they were last week when I met her at the wedding, but they have a new design. Pink, orange and yellow layered. They look like a blinding sunset.