Dating Games(36)

“And your other conditions?”

“It’s more of a…request.”

I arch a brow. “And that is?”

“I’d appreciate your word that you’ll commit to me for the duration of the summer and not end this arrangement early. I need a woman by my side for all the social events that fill the summer season in the Hamptons. So in the event Trevor has a change of heart and wants you back, I’d request you hold him off until the end of summer. After that, we walk away and never have to see each other again. By then, I’m hoping this project will be underway. I’ll make up a story about how you’re still in love with your ex, which isn’t a stretch, and we’ll go our separate ways.

“So… What’ll it be, Guinevere? Will you be my fake girlfriend?”

I stare into space, considering his proposition. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch a glimpse of Trevor. Instead of the frantic energy that surrounded him before, he’s calm, he and Theresa seeming to laugh off the mishap. He brings her hand up to his mouth, peppering soft kisses against it. I don’t remember the last time he looked at me that way.

Resolute, I return my attention to Julian. What do I have to lose? Trevor’s already moved on. Why should I torture myself by waiting for him to come to his senses? After twelve years, maybe I deserve to have some fun myself. A summer in the Hamptons at what I can only imagine to be a luxurious beach house may be exactly what the doctor ordered to mend my broken heart. What could possibly go wrong?

“Yes, Julian. I’ll be your fake girlfriend.”





Chapter Fourteen





“Do I want to know whether tonight was just a coincidence?” I ask once we’re in the back seat of the town car and on the way to Chloe’s apartment.

“Whatever do you mean, Guinevere?” Julian flashes a conniving smile.

I blow out a breath, crossing my arms. “You know exactly what I mean, Julian. Trevor showing up at the same restaurant we happened to be dining at is a bit suspicious, wouldn’t you agree?”

“New York’s not as big as people think.”

Not saying a word, I narrow my gaze at him like my mother always did when she knew I was being purposely evasive.

“And what would you say if I did plan it?”

“First, I’d say you have impeccable stalker abilities. Perhaps that’s your true calling.”

He curves his body toward me, grinning deviously. “Who said it’s not? You did figure out I have a secret kill room in Jersey City. You don’t lure people to a kill room without properly doing your research…or, as you referred to it, stalking.” He winks before leaning back against the seat.

“That’s right. How could I forget about the kill room? Okay then, Dexter…”

He laughs at my nickname for him, a twinkle visible in his eyes, even in the darkened car.

“Care to share how you knew Trevor would be dining there tonight?”

“Simple.” He rests his elbow on the center console, drumming his fingertips against the leather. “Theresa is actually a close friend of my neighbor in Southampton. They went to prep school together or something. I just so happened to see her post on Instagram yesterday that she’d bought a new dress for a dinner date with her beau. Friends asked where she was going, and she spilled. No information is too difficult to find out these days. Not with social media.”

“So you did stalk her.”

“Again, I prefer to call it research.”

“Okay. So you knew where they’d be. How did you get a reservation? From what I know of that place, they have a waiting list a mile long. You need to book months in advance.”

“That’s true, unless you know someone.”

“And you know someone.”

“I know a lot of people.”

“But does Trevor know people?” My voice is low and wavers slightly. “Or did Theresa just go in my place?” I suck in a breath, another possibility crossing my mind. A more heartbreaking possibility. “Or was it Theresa’s date all along?”

I never even considered that Trevor had cheated on me. He didn’t seem the type. Plus, we lived together. I would have noticed if he came home smelling of another woman’s perfume. Then again, there were plenty of nights he never came home at all. Was he lying to me the whole time?

“Does it matter?”

“What?” I shift my gaze to Julian.

“Does it matter?” he repeats, this time more forcefully. “At this moment, right here, right now…” He brings his hands to cup my face, an intensity in his eyes causing a surge of desire to pool in my stomach. “Does…it…matter?”

I swallow hard, trying to calm my racing heart, on the brink of insisting it does. Whether Trevor made that reservation for me or Theresa is the difference between me opening my heart to him again or constructing a wall and never allowing him in. But Julian has a point. All evening, I barely thought of Trevor and Theresa, despite them sitting mere feet away. Every ounce of my attention was devoted to Julian. I was in the moment with him. He was all that mattered.

“No,” I say softly. “It doesn’t.” My words come out sounding surprised, and I am a little. Regardless, they’re true. Right now, there is no Trevor or Theresa. It’s just Julian and me.