The Pretend Girlfriend (A Billionaire Love Story #1)(66)

Gwen sat on the foot of her bed and looked again at the poster, fantasizing even as she hit the call button to try B again.

They could go to all the museums, to the Tower of London, Buckingham Palace. They could eat fries (what did the Brits call those again? Gwen couldn't remember) and fish out of those cute newspaper wrappers... So many possibilities. It could be wonderful.

On the other side of the door, Aiden's cell rang. He answered it, his voice growing muffled as he paced back into the living room.

"This is B; you know what to do." It was Beatrice's voicemail. The tone sounded to leave a message, but Gwen hung up instead. She'd already left like a thousand voicemails. In fact, she was a little surprised that the service still accepted more. Hadn't she filled it yet?

It was no use, Gwen knew. She dropped the phone on her comforter, then let her body fall back against the mattress. The springs whined as she stared up at the ceiling.

I'm going to have to decide all on my own, she thought.

And that was the problem. Gwen couldn't trust herself. Not when it came to Aiden, at least. I must be really falling for him, she realized. Apparently all it took was a handsome face and a cold attitude.

Okay, calm down, she told herself. You can do this. You can make the right choice. Wasn't that what being an adult was all about: making choices for yourself? She could see the temptation to not become a grown up, then. It was definitely ironic; she'd spent most of her childhood and youth wanting nothing less than to be her own woman, and now that she was, she just wanted someone else to tell her what to do.


And right at that moment, the only other person around she could consult was Aiden. He would definitely tell her to go with him. That was obvious enough. That just meant she couldn't trust his judgment, either.

Gwen glanced at the clock, keenly aware of the little bit of breathing room she possessed closing in around her.

Grabbing up the phone, she started once more finding B in the contacts list. It was no good, she knew. It would only be her friend's voicemail again. Yet the urge, the small, guttering hope, persisted to try and call.

Wasn't that the definition of being crazy? Gwen wondered. Yeah, it was something about doing the same thing over and over again, expecting it to turn out differently.

Looking at her desk, her laptop waiting patiently beside a pile of books, made her think about school again. She really didn't want to work on that paper, or study for the midterm. Just the mere ideas sent her stomach boiling with anxiety.

Her eyes crept up to the poster again. In less than a day, I could be looking at the real thing!

Yes, that sounded nice. Gwen was young; there was plenty of time to get back to school. It would just be one extra semester, after all.

Her heart fluttered, and her skin broke out in gooseflesh as she arrived at her decision. The anxiety turned to excitement, and that was how she knew that it was the right choice. I'm really doing this! I'm really going to England! Gwen thought.

Now, to tell Aiden the good news, she thought.

Out in the living room, she found Aiden standing by the window, facing away from Gwen and looking at her incredible view of the adjacent apartment building. He wasn't on the phone anymore. His hands rested on his hips, his elbows pointing out. It really emphasized his shoulders, and she watched them rise and fall gently with his breathing.

It was a nice, quiet moment. One she felt somewhat loathe to interrupt. But at least she was doing so with good news, right? She anticipated getting another of those rare Aiden smiles when she told him. Her fantasy continued, wondering if he would catch her up in his arms and spin her around in circles as they laughed and kissed...

"Gwen? Hello?"

She snapped out of it. At some point during her fantasy, Aiden had turned around to face her. Her cheeks heated as she wondered about how long she'd been staring at him all glassy eyed.

"Yes, hi," she said, hoping her smile might hide the flush in her cheeks.

"Is everything all right?" he said.

"Better, actually..." she took a deep breath, trying to remind herself that this was the right choice, "I'm in. Let's do it; let's go to London tonight!"

Aiden reacted in the precise opposite fashion she'd been hoping for and expecting. His eyes widened a little, he licked his lips, hung his head, and turned away from her again.

Acid started eating away at Gwen's stomach. "What? What is it? Did I take too long? I'm sorry..."

It's my fault! Gwen thought. I took too long deciding, and now we won't be able to catch the flight!

It was a ridiculous realization. Even if they had missed the flight, she knew, there would be more tomorrow. And it wasn't like Aiden didn't have the money for more tickets. But that still couldn't stop her for blaming herself.

Aiden shook his head, sighing his philosopher's sigh once more while he stared out the window. "No, it's not you."

Now her heart decided to detach itself and sink down through her innards. Aiden didn't want to go anymore! What had changed? Immediately, her thoughts went to him somehow knowing about her betrayal of his trust by telling Beatrice the truth about their relationship.

But how could he possibly know about that? I haven't told him.

"I'm sorry," Gwen started, "I couldn't help it..."

Aiden held up his hand to silence her. "Can it wait? I just got off the phone with my assistant. It hasn't hit the news yet. I can get a conference going and head this whole thing off before it gets out of control," he walked past her, the air stirring in his wake, "Come on, I'm going to need you there, too."