Sweet Liar (Dirty Sweet, #1)(17)

And I had lost control. Really lost it. Almost gone too far, even.

The whole thing had left me flustered, and now there was a real chance I wasn’t going to get this apartment.

“It’s...I’m...this isn’t at all what it looks like,” I explained to the agent. I ran a hand through my hair, creating a floppy mess if I were to judge by the uneven way it felt on my scalp. “I sincerely apologize. It was inappropriate and discourteous and—”

“Just tell me one thing,” Mr. Jones interrupted. “She’s not really your daughter, is she?”

“No! God, no.” I thought about it after I’d answered, what that must have looked like to the man when he’d walked in on us. It had been bad enough that we’d behaved so badly in an flat I hadn’t yet leased. The fact that he’d also thought we were father and daughter was…

Well. Maybe it was funny.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why we said that she was.” The grin that had slid onto my face made my latest apology seem insincere.

Fortunately, Jeff Jones was smiling too. “It’s fine. I understand. I’m sure I’d play that game too if I were with a woman so…”

“Young?” Yes, I knew she was too young. He didn’t need to throw it in my face.

“I was going to say willing. But maybe her youth has something to do with it.” He peered over my shoulder, which made me have to glance behind me as well, insuring he wasn’t seeing anything he shouldn’t be seeing.

He wasn’t. Audrey was dressed now and was simply straightening the tie of her wrap.

That didn’t stop Jones from leering at her. “You’re a very lucky man, Mr. Locke.”

“Yes. I am,” I said sternly, subtly enforcing a claim on her that I didn’t have. His leer bothered me. A lot. I probably wouldn’t have responded so possessively otherwise.

His smile faded, and the man looked appropriately cowed. He opened his mouth and closed it twice, as though trying to discern the best way to react.

I put him out of his misery and nodded at the file in his hands. “Are those the papers for the lease? Can I sign them now?”

“Oh! Yes. You may.” He led me to the kitchen island where he spread out the contract in front of me. “Since we had you pre-approved before today, we’ve got all the finance and reference information that we need. You just need to initial the first two pages and put your John Hancock on the last, and I can hand over the keys right now.”

He handed me a pen from inside the breast pocket of his jacket.

“And the terms of the contract are…?”

He used the pen to point to the paragraph answering my question. “Six months or until the unit is sold. If you’re planning to purchase outright—”

“I am.”

“—then you’ll just want to make sure the sale goes through before the lease expires.”

“I’ll do that straight away.” I took the pen and signed where he’d indicated.

When I was finished, Audrey sidled up next to me and clutched onto my arm. “Is it ours now?” she asked coyly.

I narrowed my eyes in her direction but didn’t dispute the pretense that we were buying the flat together. It didn’t feel necessary to confuse the agent any further, and besides, I was quite comfortable with the man believing Audrey was unavailable.

“Not quite yet, my dear, but we do get to have the keys now.” I let the agent hand one to her so as not to destroy the latest ruse. I pocketed the duplicates. “Mr. Jones is going to put together an offer for us so we can buy the place outright.”

“Sweet!” she exclaimed gazing up at me, and her eyes twinkled so spectacularly that I couldn’t help imagining for a moment that we really were purchasing the place together. A pied-à-terre where I would teach her everything she wanted to know about her body and mine. As though she were a student, perhaps. The fantasy was “sweet.” Delicious, even.

Too delectable to keep thinking about for too long.

I cleared my throat, forcing the fancy to dissipate from my head. “Do you need anything else from us?”

We briefly discussed an amount to offer the seller and decided the agent would pull up a few comps and get back to me before we confirmed the final number. I shook hands with him, watched with ire as he kissed the back of Audrey’s hand, and then walked him to the door.

Once he was gone, I turned back to my companion and realized my mistake—I was again alone with Audrey. And this time there would be no one coming back to interrupt us.

Her expression said she’d realized the same thing. She didn’t seem quite as upset about it as I was, though.

I thought quickly. “I shouldn’t suggest this, but—”

“Yes. You should,” she encouraged, stalking slowly toward me.

“Perhaps you’d like to join me somewhere for lunch.”

Her face fell. “Oh. Then you aren’t going to help me out after all?”

Jesus, she was enchanting. Magnificently so. The pout of her mouth, the way her top lip formed a sharp V, the liquid almond of her eyes—it was impossible to deny her. I’d be a liar to say that I could.

“I’m not saying that. I just think this might be a task best suited for a different time. I’m picking up my son this afternoon, and I need to stop by the office to chat with Nate and Weston and Donovan about a few things while we’re all in the same place. Also, I have to bring my belongings from the hotel to the flat. Surely you have plans with Sabrina.”