Oh no, that definitely wasn't going to work. Being cramped up with him in the jet was as close as I wanted the two of us to get. I couldn't even imagine sharing a bed with him. Well, I could, but it involved his body pressed against mine, heat, pleasure, and disaster when it all came tumbling down.
"Could you sleep on the couch?" I asked as I dropped my purse on the bed.
"We can't share? That couch is probably going to kill my back.”
I gave him a sideways look. "I doubt it. They don't look like the type to cheap out on stuff like that."
"There's plenty of space in here," he pointed out.
"Not enough. If you don't want to take the couch, I can take it for myself. I don't mind."
Dane waved a hand. "Never mind, I'll take it. I'm leaving my bags in here though. It would look really weird if someone came by and found all my stuff out by the couch."
"True. Keep your things in here."
We unpacked and put our things away. Once everything was done, it was time to meet the bride and groom. I took one last look at myself in the mirror to be sure I was presentable before I took Dane's arm and we strolled from the cottage.
Only one other couple had arrived and they'd decided to rest up. When we found Catherine and Robert, they were walking around the garden hand in hand. I thought they made a cute couple. She was still that all-American sweetheart with her hair falling down to her shoulders in a perfect blonde curtain. Her eyes were stormy blue, but her smile was sweet. Robert, on the other hand, was tall with tanned skin and sandy hair. His eyes lit up as he smiled at her and I could see how deeply in love he was with her. I want that someday.
"Hey," Dane called as we approached them. "How are you two?"
"Dane," Robert boomed as he walked over and clapped him on the shoulder. "It's good to see you. This must be your fiancé."
Dane looked down at me with adoring eyes. Heck, he was a good actor too. "Yes, this is Savannah."
"Savannah, it's wonderful to meet you," Robert said warmly.
"Likewise," I said, extending my hand and shaking his. "I've heard a lot about you."
"Probably a bunch of bullshit if it’s coming from Dane." He snorted. "He loves to tell all the old stories about how bad I was back in college."
"There were a few of those," I admitted. "I think you're charming though."
"I like her," Robert said, looking at Dane. "She's just right for you."
Catherine cleared her throat and Robert quickly introduced us. Once we'd let go of each other's hands her eyes darted over Dane. They slowed up at the muscular expanse of his chest and lingered a little too long on his lips. "Dane," she purred. "It's so good to see you."
"You too, Catherine."
Wait, do they know each other? There was something about the way they looked at each other that set my teeth on edge. Catherine grinned at Dane and I gripped his arm a little tighter. Robert's eyes glanced away and I quickly pulled Dane back away from her a bit. "We should grab a drink and get to know each other," I said cheerfully.
"That sounds like a great idea," Robert said, as he perked back up. "Let's show them the bar, honey."
So we sat around drinking champagne and talking. On the surface, it was all about the wedding and what we'd been doing lately, but I couldn't shake the feeling that under the pleasant chit chat, another conversation was running. One that I was excluded from. To compensate I kept a hand on Dane's thigh. Every once-in-a-while Catherine’s eyes would cut in that direction, then she would go back to blatantly checking him out right in front of her fiancé and me.
Who does that?
She does realize she's getting married in a few days, right?
As if that wasn't bad enough, she continued to make Robert uncomfortable. It wasn't hard to see as the poor guy was squirming in his seat every time she checked out Dane. I was getting more and more angry at her.
Thankfully, Dane saved me. "We should get some rest, guys," Dane said after about an hour. "But we'll see you in a little bit."
"Sounds like a plan." Catherine smiled. "See you soon."
They waved and we walked away.
I waited until we were inside of the cottage with the door closed before I said something. I didn't want anyone to overhear, but I couldn't do my job properly if something weird was going on. And I didn't help people cheat. That was one of my main rules and I would never break that one. "Robert seems nice," I ventured.
"Yup, he's a great guy."
"That Catherine was a bit odd though, wasn't she? I mean she kept checking you out and flirting the whole time. Is she always like that? Do you know her?"
Dane ran a hand down his face. There was hesitation in his expression as he walked over to the couch and settled himself into it.
I walked over and joined him.
"That's kind of why I hired you." He sighed. "Catherine's the reason why I needed you to be my fake fiancé in the first place."
Savannah
That’s why he’d hired me?
It was all because of her?
What exactly is it that he thinks I do?
Jealousy twisted my gut and I felt sick to my stomach. I wanted nothing to do with someone who thought it was okay to use me as a prop. Wasn’t Robert his friend? Why would he do that?
I knew I needed to ask questions first before I let myself explode. I never had much trust when it came to other people, but I had to work with Dane. At least for the weekend, I had to be sure we were on the same page. Even if it did drive me crazy to see there was obviously something going on that I knew nothing about and I was going to be used to further the deception. And Catherine? She was definitely after Dane. On the weekend of her wedding. What the hell is that about?
I stared at Dane. Crossing my arms over my chest, I frowned. Clearly, I needed to set the record straight before we moved further. “What do you mean by that, Dane? You do know that I won’t be used to cover up cheating? If you still have feelings for her then you need to hire someone else for this job. I’m not going to help you break up a marriage.”
Dane held up a hand. “That’s not what’s going on at all. I’m sorry I wasn’t clear. I have no intentions of stopping this marriage okay?”
“Then what is it?”
“Catherine is my ex, but we broke up a long time ago. Well, before she started dating Robert. He’s a great guy, but he’s no dummy. He told me she kept talking about me, and would get a certain look whenever I was brought up. It happened enough to where he figured out she might still have feelings for me. He almost didn’t invite me to the wedding because of it.” He wiped a hand down his face and sighed. “He’s my best friend, Savannah. The last thing I wanted was to miss out on something like this, or let a rift grow between us, so I said I was engaged too. Of course, I wasn’t, so I hired you. I just want to see my best friend walk down the aisle. And I also want to send a message to Catherine that I’m not available.”
My eyes roamed his face as I tried to figure out if he was really telling the truth. I didn’t see even a hint of a lie in his sincere eyes. My arms dropped and I reached out and squeezed his arm. It must have been tough for both of them. Robert was obviously deeply in love and wanting his fiancée to only want him, for her to have eyes for another man must be living hell. And Dane only wanted to keep his friendship so he had gone to all this trouble, which I really respected and loved that about him.
They were both in a bad position, but I had to commend Robert too, for letting Dane come to his wedding and be around Catherine. Most men I knew wouldn’t let that happen in a million years if she’d shown how she secretly felt. I felt a flash of hatred for Catherine. What a selfish, spoilt little rich girl. God, I would never want to be the reason two best friends split up. I knew how much pain it caused.
“Do you still have feelings for her?” I asked, examining his face. Some part of me almost didn’t want to know. If he said yes, then what? I’d wasted my time and would have to go back home, but it was more than that.
I d
idn’t want to be around the woman that Dane had feelings for. I could accept what Dane and I had was only one night and so long ago in the past that it shouldn’t matter, but it still mattered to me. I’d never gotten over it completely. How could I?
Dane was my first.
And no matter how much I wanted to move on, I never could. He stuck around in my mind no matter how long went by. I was hoping and praying he would say no, but my belly clenched as I waited for him to say yes.
Dane shook his head. “No. What we had was nothing. I never had any desire to marry her, and I certainly never loved her, so I broke up with her. I thought we were both on the same page, but apparently not.”
I took a deep breath. “Well, that’s good to know. You have no idea how many times someone has tried to use me as a prop to break-up a friendship, or cause chaos at someone’s wedding. It’s disgusting and I could never do it.”
“I would never do that,” he said, shaking his head. “Especially not to Robert. He’s looked out for me more times than I can count. Yeah, we were goofy in college, but he was the one that was there for me when I couldn’t seem to get my shit together. Robert pulled me to class hungover and out of it more times than I could count. Hell, I wouldn’t even have graduated without him.”
I smiled. “That was really sweet of him.”
“Yeah. That’s why we’ll always be best friends, and why I need to make sure he walks down that aisle so he can have the life he wants. Catherine will lay off when she realizes I want nothing more to do with her.”
“I really hope so,” I said softly. To be honest, I was still stunned by her rude behavior. Robert seemed so devoted to her, but she flirted in front of him like it was nothing. He was strong enough to have kept it together without losing his mind. I wasn’t so sure I could have done the same. I probably would have called the whole thing off ages ago.
A knock came and both of us glanced at the door. I went over to answer it.
On the other side, Catherine looked me up and down before she stepped into the cottage. She only smiled when her eyes landed on Dane.
I bristled.
She was just so blatant. If I was his real fiancé, what did she think was going to happen? Maybe she thought she could scare me away. I’d make sure she realized that wasn’t going to happen even if it was all a façade.
“Hey,” she said to Dane as she stretched her smile a mile long. “We’re having brunch in the garden right now. Why don’t you come out and join us?”
“Uh, yeah great,” Dane said. “That sounds like fun.”
“Perfect. Come on, we’re having drinks and I can introduce you to some people,” she said as she leaned a little too close to him for my comfort.
She irritated me. I couldn’t stand the way she tried to get as close to him as she possibly could without actually overstepping boundaries of decency. I moved past her and wrapped my arms around his waist. Then I pressed my body against his torso. He glanced down at me, surprised, but I knew I was saving him too. I pressed my body against his more firmly.
Warmth radiated from his body to mine and I felt the first stirrings of desire wake up inside me. I hadn’t touched him like this in such a long time. Memories that should have been long gone and buried flooded back until I couldn’t help but think about him in ways I shouldn’t. I wanted more of his body pressed against me. I wanted to touch him, explore every inch until he was weak underneath my fingertips.
Catherine glared at me.
I realized she was irritated I’d come up and interrupted them. Good. I wanted to rub it in that Dane would never be hers. Obviously, that was the reality check she needed and I was happy to give it to her. “Food sounds good,” I drawled as I smiled at her. “I’m sure Robert has more embarrassing stories about Dane that I’d love to hear.”
Dane laughed. “Don’t encourage that man. He really gets a kick out of telling them.”
“Good. I’m happy to listen.”
I pushed myself up onto my toes and brushed my lips against his. Slowly, I deepened it until our lips moved against each other. His tongue darted across my lip and what should have been innocent was clearly not. At least on my end.
My body heated up all over. Heat swept through me from head to toe until I was sure my cheeks and neck were swept with red. Dane trailed his fingers along my shoulder and down my spine. That didn’t help. I shuddered against his mouth and nearly melted against him entirely.
I’d completely forgotten that Catherine even existed. In my mind, she wasn’t there anymore. It was just the two of us pressed together as his hands held me in place. I quieted the deep moan that wanted to slip free. I knew I had to make it look like nothing but a simple distraction. Just part of the game. Except I’d never kissed any other client like this before.
Slowly, I pulled back and blinked up at him.
Dane’s eyes were hooded and dark. His face was a picture of pure lust.
I imagined him looking at me like that when we fell into his bed together. I wanted nothing more than to feel his tongue in my mouth, but I quickly realized what I was thinking.
What on earth are you doing?
He was still staring into my eyes.
I blinked. I knew better than to do something like this. A job was a job and I would certainly complicate it if I let things go too far. I quickly pulled away from him and plastering a smile on my face I turned to face Catherine.
Her hands were balled into fists by her sides.
Round one: Catherine, zero. Savannah, one.
“Sorry,” I said sweetly. “I guess I’m not in the habit of us being around a bunch of people. It was just too good to resist.” I lifted my face up to him. “We should freshen up and join them. We can have our fun later, but I know I could use a little something to eat now.”
“Me too,” Dane said as his eyes cleared and he nodded. “We’ll meet you there, Catherine.”
“All right then. I’ll see you in a few minutes,” she said tightly. Her smile had completely evaporated. Catherine turned on her heels and stalked away.
The cottage door slammed in its frame and I wanted to laugh. I probably would have if my body wasn’t so hot and wasn’t humming with electricity. I needed to get away from him for a minute. “I’m going to go freshen up,” I told him as I quickly walked away.
I slipped into the bathroom and leaned up against the door. I couldn’t believe I’d kissed him like that. It sent a clear message to Catherine, but a confusing one to my body. Every inch of me wanted more.
I turned on the cold water and quickly splashed my face until I didn’t feel so hot. Once I was done, I retrieved my makeup bag to fix myself up. Only once every hair was in place and my makeup was perfect did I calm down. The ritual of getting ready put me back into work mode and I was ready to do what I’d come there to do.
Eye on the prize, babe. Don’t flirt with the client. Be professional.
Dane was someone I worked for currently. Nothing more. Nothing less. I couldn’t let my previous ties to him complicate things. And that’s all that would happen if I didn’t get my head on straight.
I walked out of the bathroom and found him sitting at the kitchen table.
When he saw me, his eyes travelled up and down my body.
That gaze of his continued to do things to me that weren’t even fair. I tilted my head. “Ready to go? We don’t want to miss it.”
“Yeah,” he said as he stood up and adjusted his clothes. “Ready to go.” He chewed his lip for a second. “Savannah, look…”
I knew exactly where he was going to go, but I didn’t want to talk about it. All of it was part of the job. We didn’t need to discuss it and make my body even hotter than it already was. I waved a hand and laughed airily. “Look it was no big deal. Just part of the job.”
“Are you sure?”
I nodded. “Of course. Now really, we should go so we’re not late. Okay?”
“Okay,” he said, but he looked unsure.
I smiled. As long
as I pretended it was no big deal then it would stay no big deal, right? There was no point in turning it into a huge thing. I gathered my bag and headed for the door. We still had to get through the entire wedding together. I didn’t have time to let my feelings distract me.
Savannah
The gathering was held on the lawn with long, white tables and delicate white table cloths. The colors were the recurring blue and white that permeated the wedding theme. Candles sat on the tables unlit in hurricane glasses and food was being brought out by the wait staff and placed in front of the guests.
It had really picked up from when we’d been out earlier. More guests had arrived as they laughed and mingled. Whenever someone new arrived, they went up to Catherine and Robert and kissed their cheeks. Robert looked so happy.
My heart went out to him. I really hoped he wasn’t making a mistake. Someone like him didn’t deserve to be taken advantage of. I could only hope that she would come to her senses before it was too late. Either she’d lose him, or he’d be miserable with her if he went through with it and she was still all over his best friend.
“There you two are,” Robert called as he spotted us. “Come over to our table and eat. I’m starving. All this wedding stuff can really take it out of you.”
“I’ll bet,” I said, looking around. “It looks like there’s a never-ending list of things to do.”
“Oh yeah, and Dane here is going to be a part of it.”
Dane woke out of the quiet zone he’d been in since we’d left the cottage. “Wait, what? I thought I just had to show up and look amazing. Wasn’t that the deal?”
“Not exactly.” He chuckled. “I mean, no shit, you’re my best friend and all, so I figured I didn’t need to point that out considering how close we are, but then again I forgot that you’re kind of a dumb ass sometimes.”
Dane flipped him off. “I am not. I just have a lot on my mind.”
“Like your gorgeous fiancée?” Robert asked as he winked at me and grinned.
Pretend You’re Mine: A curvy girl romance Page 4
