The Pretend Girlfriend (A Billionaire Love Story #1)(86)

A confetti fight ensued, carpeting them both in thousands of those little squares, and leaving an utter mess on the floor. At one point, Aiden just grabbed the bin and upended it over Gwen's head, leaving her shrieking as the paper leavings piled high on her shoulders.

They finished, exhausted from laughter, sinking into the old chairs. Gwen's cheeks ached from smiling, and her throat felt a little raw. Aiden leaned his head back against the chair and closed his eyes, looking totally relaxed. He reached one hand out across the table, and she took it.

"Thanks," Gwen said, "I really needed that."

"We both did," Aiden agreed.

And then, to her surprise, Aiden stooped down on the floor and started collecting all the confetti, dumping it back into the bin. "We can't leave a mess," he said when he saw her look, "That wouldn't be nice."

She moved to help him, starting an avalanche of the paper squares from their piles on her shoulders. Within a few minutes, they had most of the mess cleaned up.

A couple squares had lodged themselves pretty nicely in Aiden's hair, escaping his attention. Gwen debated whether or not to tell him, since it was so adorable. When he went to put the bin back in the shredder, she picked them off his head.

"Now, why don't you head on up and I'll meet you in a few minutes? I'm going to bring this back and hope she doesn't call the cops. One police beating per day is enough for me," Aiden said, leaving her with a kiss.

Back upstairs, she and Aiden took their party to the couch. The lighthearted tone continued for a bit, but Gwen felt a growing concern that she needed to voice.

"What do you think he's going to do now?" Gwen said.

Aiden took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Henry, you mean? Something bad, likely."

That sent an unpleasant shiver down her back. She liked the symbolism of shredding the contract, but Henry Manning was tenacious. He wasn't going to stop. And that felt all the worse now that she and Aiden had really started a genuine relationship.

"Do you think we can take it?" she asked. Thinking about Henry and whatever his next scheme was opened the floodgates to all sorts of negative thoughts. Like how she still hadn't patched things up with Beatrice.

"I do and we can," Aiden said, "And do you want to know why?"

This is so corny, Gwen thought, her inner middle-schooler coming out. I love it! "Why?"

"Because, Gwen Browning, I think I've fallen for you. Hard."





Chapter 27


When Gwen first proposed the screening, she meant just the two of them in her living room watching her old TV.

But Aiden took the idea and ran with it, which, given his reserved nature, was pretty shocking.

"You've really never seen this before?" Gwen said. They both leaned a little to the left as the Town Car made a turn. Through the windows, Gwen could see the tall buildings of downtown Manhattan rising to impossible heights around them.

The Town Car was an island of black in a sea of yellow. The sound proofing kept the honks and shouts and the shriek of tires to a minimum. Gwen was just happy she wasn't the one driving.

"No. Why is that so surprising?" Aiden said. When he saw her nerves from the traffic, he took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"It's just... I thought it was just one of those things everyone saw," Gwen replied.

Aiden gave her a sage nod, and said, "Well, soon enough I'll be able to say, definitively, that I have in fact seen When Harry Met Sally."

And they were seeing it in style. It was amazing what some decent press contacts and money could get you. The traffic got a little worse as the big car nosed onto an older street lined with brownstones. They had to be close to that theater by now.

"This is the one that you and Beatrice debate over, isn't it?" Aiden said.

That touched a nerve. B would have loved to see this movie on the big screen. Of course, just about any screen was large compared to the one in her living room.

It hurt that she couldn't share this with her closest friend.

"Do you think I should call her again?" Gwen said, pushing a hand into her purse, her fingertips brushing against the cool, smooth cell phone case.

"I could speak with her, if you like. Maybe if I explain things to her..." Aiden started, but Gwen cut him off.

"No, I really think it has to be me. I'm the one who needs to apologize... if only I could figure out how. She called you when I went to see Henry... That means she still cares, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah it must," he said, putting an arm over her shoulders and pulling her closer. She felt the warmth of his body against hers, smelled the clean scent of his aftershave. For a few moments, she fought with herself. It would be so easy to just sink into him, to just fall into her senses and enjoy being so close. But she also really wanted to get in touch with her friend.

It was nice that Aiden offered to help her out, but Gwen could just tell that she needed to do this herself. If only Beatrice would take a call, that is, Gwen thought while she listened to her call go straight to voicemail for the umpteenth time.

"Nothing?" Aiden said, a concerned frown creasing his forehead. She loved the little wrinkle that formed between his eyes.

"Nada... and stop frowning like that! You'll give yourself wrinkles!"