Crash Into Me(38)

"So you hit the jackpot? This is great!"

I bit my lower lip. Tilting my head right and left, I said, "Yes and no. That's what I need your keen insight for."

Jordan stopped and raised one eyebrow. "I know that lip thing. Something's gnawing at you. And what's this yes and no? I've seen this man in the flesh, my friend. It's a yes. I nearly fell over dead when he showed up at the apartment. The watch that he wears alone is worth more than anything I've ever driven. And the way he says things...it's like honey dripping out of a jar."

I couldn't help but blush. Tristan was stunning, and when he stood in front of someone dressed in a suit and tie, he made quite an impression. There was no doubt about that. His physical side was a resounding "Yes!" without a doubt. It was the other parts of him that I wasn't sure about.

"He does have a way when he speaks, although I'm thinking he might have said more to you than to me by the way you're talking."

We began to walk again. "Oh, he didn't say much at all, but there's something about how the words come out. You have to tell me, Nina. Does he sound that sexy when you're...alone?"

"Since I have to assume he didn't tell you we're sleeping together, I guess it's that obvious?" I asked, wondering if I was telegraphing the fact that I was actively having sex with him.

Jordan turned her head to look at me for a second and then turned back to face forward, wrinkling her nose a bit. "Actually, it was the way he acted. No man comes to pay a woman's rent for six months and arrange to take everything she owns to his house if he isn't sleeping with her, Nina. You're obviously making him happy."

Happy. Now that was the tricky part. I sighed and blew the air out of my lungs in a heavy breath. "That's the problem I need your help with."

"You aren't going to say he's not happy with you, are you? You've been dating for less than a week and already he's taking care of you like you're a kept woman. Seems pretty happy to me."

"I'm not sure he is happy. I'm not sure about much of anything where Tristan Stone's concerned, Jordan. He had me sign a contract that I thought was for the job as an assistant curator at his hotel downtown, but I haven't done any work in that area yet. He bought me a new wardrobe for the job that literally cost nearly ten thousand dollars, Jordan, but he picked out all the clothes himself."

Pressing her hands to above her heart, she said, "I think I'm in love."

I stopped her and grabbed her arm. "I'm serious. I think I'm being paid to be his sex slave."

Jordan's laugh was so loud the children playing nearby stopped to pay attention to us. I guess it sounded funny now that I'd said it out loud.

"Sex slave? Nina, you're his girlfriend. That's how he's supposed to act. Girlfriends of wealthy men always have honorary titles and things like that. You're not expected to actually work."

I leaned in close to her and whispered, "Then what am I getting paid for?"

Jordan laughed again. "Honey, this is how wealthy men are. Think of it as an allowance. Instead of the kind you got when you were a kid, when you had to clean your room and do the dishes, this is the kind where you make him happy and he makes you happy with his money."

"But that's the problem. I don't think I'm making him happy. He goes to events and never asks me. I seem to be only the woman he keeps around his house."

"Hmmm....well, I don't think you're getting a bad deal. His driver takes you places, he does nice things for you, and you like him, don't you?"