The Pretend Girlfriend (A Billionaire Love Story #1)(87)

Secretly, she loved the thought of spending enough time with him to watch those wrinkles develop, to watch the way they both changed and grew together over the years.

And that was a nice thought, if a somewhat new one. This whole thing with the contract made their relationship seem short-term, able to end at a moment's notice. Ever since they'd decided to become a real couple, Gwen had let herself begin to wonder if Aiden could be Him. With a capital H. The guy she spent the rest of her life with.

Aiden sucked in a breath through his teeth, then let out a sigh, "I guess it's good I can afford Botox, I suppose." Then he poked her in the side, right below the ribs, where she was most ticklish.

She regretted telling him about that spot. Well, almost regretted it. They laughed while she struggled against the seatbelt and swatted at his hands.

The driver, a long-suffering soul, pretended not to notice the tussle in the backseat.

The tickle fight devolved into a make out session, each of them holding the other. It was hard to kiss when you were out of breath, Gwen noted. Her burning lungs demanded that she unlock her lips from his and take a few deep breaths, but every other nerve in her body kept telling her to keep going, saying things like how romantic it would be to faint from kissing.

It felt so good that Gwen wondered just how far they could go in the back of this big car. The windows are tinted, a devilish voice mentioned.

And Aiden, for supposedly being in such great shape, panted for breath when they finally did part. He tugged at the knot of his already loose tie, a flush of heat rising up his neck.

Regaining some of his composure, he said, "She probably just needs time and space. You're right: she did call me to go help you, and yes, in my professional opinion, that does mean she still cares. Just wait."

Gwen didn't like the sound of that, but it made sense. It just conflicted with her desire to get this fixed up right now. Yesterday, if possible. Patience was in short supply.

"You're right..." she started.

"Of course I am," Aiden broke in, giving her a full-wattage grin.

That earned him a poke to the hip, his most ticklish spot. That threatened to turn into another pitched tickle battle until the driver gave a polite clearing of the throat from the front seat.

"We've arrived, sir," the driver said.

They quickly sorted themselves out, Aiden pulling the knot of his tie tight while Gwen tugged her dress back into place. It wouldn't do to step out and be seen all disheveled. This was a charity event, after all.


The driver opened their door, Aiden stepping out first and offering his hand to her so that she could follow.

A somewhat narrow red carpet greeted them, leading up to the front entrance of an old movie theater. It had one of those old marquees that jutted out over the sidewalk in a huge white triangle so that pedestrians walking in either direction could read it.

Gwen's heart fluttered a little when she craned her neck so she could see the title of the movie spelled out in those big blocky letters.

A bored-looking man sat in the glass booth between the doors, waiting for the flood of rich people to come and pay some outrageous price for tickets.

There were no cameras or reporters here, thankfully. Aiden had thrown it together so fast that Gwen doubted anyone in the press knew about it yet. No, he'd just had his assistant get a hold of many of the regulars who attended his other events.

More black cars, Town Cars and limos and whatnot, started coming down the street.

"We're the first ones here," Gwen said.

"Looks like it," Aiden replied, urging her towards the booth.

While it was extremely cool that Aiden did this, she kind of wished they were back at her apartment. Watching the movie at home made it so much easier to talk, for one. She could pause the DVD player if things got particularly heated. She doubted the projectionist would put a stop to the show if she thought of something to say.

Whenever she and Beatrice watched it, they always ended up in a huge debate. Said debate was usually fuelled at least in part by alcohol, and it didn't look like this place had a liquor license.

"Two please..." Aiden said when they got to the booth.

Again, Gwen wished B could be there with them. She got so lost in thought that she didn't even hear how much the tickets were.

It's okay, she thought, there are lots of good things about seeing it here, too. Like sitting in a dark theater with her boyfriend. Was this the kind of show where they could kiss? Or would the other rich people notice and sneer or something? And there was always popcorn. Delicious, salty popcorn.

But then she thought twice about it. Would there be popcorn? Everyone was dressed all nicely, so maybe not.

Her initial elation at the big-screen showing wore off, and Gwen wondered if Aiden would take her home if she asked. He would, she knew. But that brought the guilt on. What would that be saying? He put this all together, and now she didn't want it anymore?

"Is everything okay?" Aiden asked, putting a hand on the small of her back to guide her away from the ticket booth. He held two silver tickets in his other hand.

"Yeah, fine. This is great. Really awesome," she said, hoping he bought her false enthusiasm.

The next car pulled up to the curb. Gwen glanced at the occupants as they climbed out. Then she did a double take.

"What?" Aiden said, noticing her expression and following her line of sight. "Oh," he finished.