The cat crawled onto his lap, circled once, then lay down. He rubbed the cat. Purring commenced, loud like a generator during a power outage. “Not jealous, sleepy.”
“Sleepy, yes, but staking her claim.” As if on cue, Blossom stretched. “She’s made herself at home.”
“A totally different cat from the one screeching on the flight here.”
Emma could say the same thing about herself. She sipped her tea.
AJ set his cup on the railing next to the swing. “I asked my grandma if she wanted to adopt Blossom, but she thinks she’s too old. Doesn’t want Blossom to get attached and then grieve when she dies.”
“Cats do grieve. Blossom has been through that with the passing of her last owner.”
“Sounds more like an excuse. My grandmother likes to travel to see her kids, grandchildren and friends. A cat would mean added responsibility.”
“I don’t blame Lilah for wanting to have the freedom to do what she wants without having to worry about a pet. I can’t have an animal due to my job. Not many clients want a live-in nanny who comes with their own dog or cat.”
AJ’s gaze narrowed. “I thought you’d want my grandmother to keep her.”
“Only if Lilah wants Blossom,” Emma explained. “The cat needs to be with someone who wants to adopt her, someone who will love her the way she deserves to be loved, not out of some sense of obligation. That’s why I keep saying a forever home. Animals get attached. Change is hard on them.”
“I see that, but having my grandmother keep Blossom would have been the easiest solution to my problem.”
Emma liked AJ, but sometimes the guy didn’t have a clue. “Blossom is not a problem.”
“She is until I find her a place to live. Excuse me, a forever home,” he corrected. “And no worries. We made a deal. I’m a man of my word, but I might not be able to find Blossom a forever home for her until I get back to Seattle.”
“That’s okay. I’ll take her back to Portland with me. I’m going to need approval for an out of state adoption anyway.” Warmth balled in the center of her chest at the thought of the cat having a family of her own. “I appreciate you keeping your word.”
“No need to sound grateful. This was something you wanted. I’m not doing it out of the goodness of my heart.” He sounded like a CEO again. “I’m getting something out of this in return.”
“I hope having a pretend girlfriend has been worth it.”
“Best spur-of-the-moment decision I’ve ever made.”
“You think?”
AJ nodded. “No drama. No need to buy presents. No talk about the future. Might have to try fake dating when I get home.”
“Go for it.” Her voice was flat, not encouraging, but the idea of AJ with another woman unsettled Emma. She stared into her tea. “Don’t forget the big donation to the shelter. Pretending hasn’t come without a price.”
“A tax deductible donation is better than blowing money on some sparkly bauble I’ll see only once or twice.”
“You sound so jaded.”
“No. Just the reality of my situation.” He rubbed his chin. “Something my father reminded me of last night.”
“Your dad talked to you? What did he say?”
AJ stared over the edge of his coffee mug. “He wants me to have my lawyers draw up a prenuptial agreement for you to sign.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope.” AJ half laughed. “He said I’d done well for myself and have a lot to lose.”
“You do,” she agreed. “Your dad is a smart man. Another way the two of you are alike.”
He rubbed Blossom, who rolled over so AJ had better access to her tummy. Emma envied Blossom’s proximity to AJ. All night she’d thought about curling around his warm body. Of course once they touched, those thoughts would have turned steamy, but from afar, all she wanted was the closeness.
“Knowing he’s concerned must make you happy.”
“I never thought he cared,” AJ admitted. “I was surprised.”
“Your father cares. Your grandmother and mom have told you that. But this is proof from your father. A man who doesn’t care about his son would never bring up the need for a pre nup. He’d let you marry a gold digger and let her steal your fortune.”
“Gold digger nanny?”
She shrugged. “It works for illustrative purposes.”
Blossom’s purring stopped. The cat slept soundly.
The silence was soothing, the lack of conversation comfortable.
Emma sipped her tea, staring at the bay. A bird swooped down to catch breakfast. She wondered if one of the boats she’d seen motoring out of the harbor earlier belonged to the Cole family, and if they were having any luck fishing.
“My family believes we’re contemplating marriage,” AJ said finally. “We’re going to have to come up with a breakup scenario I can tell them after we leave.”
Emma’s heart panged. She didn’t want to think about going home to her studio apartment alone. Not when she liked being surrounded by family and dreamed of being surrounded by AJ.
The corners of Emma’s eyes stung. She blinked. Once, twice. Okay, that was better. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. We have a couple of days left here. Someone might figure out we’re not really dating.”
“Won’t happen. If my dad’s talking about a pre nup, we’ve convinced them.”
She giggled. “Hard to believe.”
“I know.”
“You can tell them we got tired of having a long-distance relationship but I didn’t want to move to Seattle and you weren’t moving to Portland.”
“That’ll work unless you move to Seattle.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do. But your family would never know if I moved.” The thought of never seeing Lilah or any of the Coles again made Emma’s hand shake. A good thing the party was on Saturday. Getting attached to people she barely knew was beyond stupid. “But I must admit having a fake boyfriend has been more fun than I thought it would be. I’d forgotten how nice it is to hang out with someone. I’m going to have to get out more, make new friends when I’m back in Portland.”
“Are you talking friends or men?”
“Both,” she said. “Until now I haven’t been...something. Willing? Ready? I don’t know. But I want a real boyfriend. Our spending time together has been really nice.”
She expected him to smile, but AJ didn’t. “How do you usually meet men? Online?”
“No. I’m too...”
“Old-fashioned.”
“Yes. I don’t date much due to my work and being more of a homebody, but I’d rather meet someone in person or through friends or the rescue shelter.” Talking about meeting other men felt weird, somehow wrong. But he’d asked so she wanted to answer. “Though I should figure out if I’m moving to Seattle first. Wouldn’t want to meet the man of my dreams and then move away.”
AJ stared at the cat. “Long-distance relationships are tough.”
He would know after Natalie. “I’ve never been involved in one. But don’t you go out with women all over the world?”
“Yes, but I only date casually wherever I might be,” he explained. “That’s different than being in a committed relationship and not seeing each other every day.”
“A fake relationship does have some perks, then.”
“I like knowing the expectations ahead of time.”
“Doesn’t that put a damper on the overall romance with no spontaneity, no surprises, no future?”
His gaze locked on hers. “You’ve surprised me.”
“You’ve surprised me, too.” Self-preservation screamed to look away but she couldn’t. Fake relationship or not, something connected them, something beyond Libby, the cat, his family and this trip to Haley’s Bay.
Emma’s pulse rate kicked up a notch. Her body’s response to a glance, a touch, his kiss was one of those surprises. And her heart...
His arm slipped from the back of the swing to around her shoulder. “
What if we expand our agreement?”
The bass drum boom-boom-boom of her heart turned into a snare roll. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come. Her tongue felt too big.
“I want to kiss you,” AJ continued.
She looked around. “No one’s here to see.”
“Exactly.”
The implication of his words bounced through her like a basketball. “We’re just pretending.”
“I know that’s the deal. I also know I said I wouldn’t touch you when we’re alone. But I want to. Badly. That’s why I’m asking. There’s chemistry between us.”
So he felt it, too. The realization didn’t make her feel any better. “That doesn’t mean we have to experiment. Some chemical reactions are highly combustible. Others don’t react at all.”
“Aren’t you curious which we’ll be?”
Emma was, and that scared her. She had a feeling there would be an explosion of epic proportions. AJ Cole wasn’t like other men she’d known. Thoughts of him filled her mind and dreams. At times he left her feeling warm and fuzzy inside, but then he’d put her on edge and make her want to scream with frustration. His kisses frightened her most of all because in his arms she found a sense of belonging, a place that felt like home, somewhere she might want to stay. Forever.
But she knew better. There wasn’t such a thing as forever. Nothing lasted. Not home. Not family. Not love.
Warning bells rang in her head. She wet her dry lips. “Curiosity can have serious consequences.”
“One kiss without an audience, just you and me.”
“And Blossom.”
“She’s asleep. No one will know. Not even the cat. It’s only one kiss.”
Emma hesitated, torn between following common sense and giving into desire. “One kiss saved Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, changed their entire lives.”
“You into fairy tales?”
“Not at all, just...”
“Using them for illustrative purposes,” he finished for her.
She nodded.
“We’re past the first-kiss life-changing stage.”
Emma wasn’t so sure about that. AJ’s first kiss had changed the way she thought about him, and each kiss since then. Since meeting him, a part of Emma wanted to believe happy endings were possible. Silly. She should know better.
“You’re also awake, not under a spell,” he added. “No magic in your nanny bag, remember?”
True, except being with AJ felt magical at times. A kiss, not a practice one or a pretend one but a for-real one, would let her know...
Emma wasn’t sure what, but she might figure out something important. She wanted a kiss without anyone watching, without any reason or motivation for either of them, mainly him, to perform.
One kiss. What did she have to lose?
Taking the initiative, she leaned forward and kissed him. Man, he tasted good. Warm like sun shining down on them, with a hint of coffee—French roast. Yummy
He pressed his mouth against hers, deepening the kiss. His arm came around her shoulders. She pressed against him, arms circling him, wanting to get closer, wanting more.
One kiss. Oh, boy, this was so much more than a kiss. His lips breathed life into her heart. His touch made her feel desired.
Real, pretend, she couldn’t tell the difference. The lines had completely blurred, and she didn’t mind one bit. She could get used to this.
He moaned. Or maybe the sound came from her. Emma wasn’t sure what was happening. She had never felt this away before and didn’t want the feeling to stop.
His kiss ignited a fire low in her belly and heat spread through her. Hunger and need took over. She ran her fingers through his thick hair. Wanting to get to the place where it was only the two of them, and nothing else mattered.
“Mmmeorrrrrooooowwwrrrrreeee.”
Emma jerked back. Her butt hit the porch with a loud thud. “I guess it doesn’t get more real than this.”
Blossom sat on AJ’s lap as if nothing had happened. He looked stunned. “Let me help you.”
Emma took the offered hand and stood. “Told you she was jealous.”
“Her tail got caught between us. She didn’t like that.”
“For someone who claims not to like cats, you sure do stick up for her.”
“Why do you assume the worst when you like her?”
“I...” Emma wasn’t about to tell him he was wrong, except the sinking feeling in her stomach told her that he was right. “Maybe because I love cats and you hate them, but Blossom likes you better. Not quite fair, is it?”
“She likes you, too. You’re the one she uses for a pillow at night.”
“I’m softer.”
“You also smell better, but stop trying to change the subject. Let’s talk about the kiss.” He stared at her, desire clouding his eyes, his breathing uneven. “I’d call it highly reactive.”
An experiment she wanted to repeat. “I’d concur with that finding.”
“We need more data points to explore this further.”
Anticipation hummed through her. More kisses sounded great to her. But real kisses, any kisses, would complicate an already-convoluted situation. “We can’t. I work for you. Exploring any more would be—”
“Inappropriate.”
Dangerous, but she’d go with his reason. “Yes.”
“But that kiss—”
“Was amazing.” She wasn’t going to deny the truth. “But we were never meant to be involved in a real relationship.”
“Relationships are too complicated.”
O-kay. She was missing something here. Not surprising given her lack of experience. Time to figure out what he meant by exploring this further. They might be talking about two different things. “What are you suggesting?”
“A fling.”
“You want us to have a fling?” The word tasted like sand in her mouth.
“Yes. Stop working for me. Let’s have fun together.”
“Here? At your grandmother’s house?”
“This is the perfect place given the time we have left here, and we have my grandmother’s permission.”
Emma’s stomach churned. AJ didn’t want her. He wanted to have sex with her. Why should she be surprised? He was not only attractive, but a billionaire who dated casually. To him, asking the pretend girlfriend sharing his bed to be his real-life lover during vacation would make total sense.
But to assume she’d be game... He didn’t know her at all. The realization both hurt and angered her. Emma’s blood pressure spiraled. “Thanks, I’m flattered, but no.”
“No?”
His amazement in that one word made her bite back a smile. Having so much money must mean people never said no to AJ. Well, if that were the case, this would be good for him because he was going to hear the word again from her. “No.”
He started to say something, then stopped himself. “Care to give me more than a two-letter answer?”
“Sure.” Emma didn’t want to aggravate him but she could give an hour-long speech as to why a fling would be a bad idea. “Playing make-believe is fine, but a fling is a good way to get hurt if real feelings become involved.”
“I’m not looking for something serious.”
Emma had never been seriously involved. But that was only because she hadn’t met the right man. Okay, up until this point she hadn’t wanted to meet the right guy, but after getting to know AJ, what she wanted was becoming clearer. “You’re not looking for a committed relationship?”
“That’s the last thing I want,” AJ answered honestly. “I’m not sure I will ever have interest in that kind of relationship.”
“You don’t plan on getting married someday.”
“No.”
Relief pushed aside any disappointment. Her affection for AJ was growing and yes, he tempted her, but they wanted different things from relationships and life. Getting romantically involved with him would be a mistake. “Marriage is something I want. Having a fling would
be a bad idea. I don’t think I’d be able to keep my feelings casual, and even if I wasn’t seriously involved I might miss meeting the man I’m supposed to marry. Trust me, my saying no is the best thing for both of us.”
* * *
No. AJ stood at the harbor, waiting for the boat. Emma’s rejection stung. She’d been firm, but nice. Still he rubbed his chin as if he’d been hit with a left jab.
No was a word AJ heard in business negotiations, from the board of directors, from this family. No was Natalie’s answer when he begged her to wait until he returned to Haley’s Bay after his freshman year before marrying Craig Steele. No was AJ’s answer to women who wanted to get serious.
Emma’s no meant she didn’t want to get started with him. Her unwillingness to have a fling intrigued AJ. The way she kissed back told him she was interested.
So what was wrong with her? Didn’t she know what he could offer her? Emma needed some fun in her life. She didn’t have to take everything seriously, including romance. He wanted her to be happy. He wanted her to see that she was an amazing woman who deserved to have someone take care of her in return.
AJ could do all those things if she said yes. She wouldn’t regret a thing. He had no doubt she would be thanking him when they were finished. All he needed to do was convince Emma to go from his bed buddy to vacation lover, but how?
Challenges revved his brain and kept his adrenaline high. This would be one of the best because of the reward he’d receive at the end. He had two days to change her mind.
AJ smiled, forming a plan of attack. Definitely achievable.
A horn blasted. Declan waved from the stern. Their father stood behind the wheel driving the boat to the dock. Memories of being picked up like this when AJ was a kid rushed back. Weekends and summer days spent out on the water. His dad had taught him and Ellis, then they taught Flynn, Declan, Camden and Grady. Bailey got too seasick to go out on the boat. Plus her wanting to wear skirts and dresses annoyed their father. Maybe AJ wasn’t the only outsider.
“Climb aboard,” his father yelled over the engine. “We’re wasting time.”
AJ jumped on board. He looked around. “Where are Ellis and Camden?”
“Out with tourists.”
A few minutes later, his dad steered the boat through the mouth of the harbor. AJ enjoyed the ride. He hadn’t been on the water like this in over ten years. He lifted his chin, letting the wind whip through his hair and over his skin. Spray shot up, wetting his sunglasses.
Haley's Bay 01 - The Billionaire's Nanny Page 15
