by Maria Luis
An anxious giggle tore from Lizzie’s throat.
It was one of those moments where the more you tried to tell yourself not to laugh, the more unnatural it sounded and the more impossible it was to stop.
And that was her, right here, right now.
The awful giggling? There was no end to it.
It was on a loop, high-pitched and constant, and tears sprung to her eyes, and there was nothing she could do to stop the madness.
Gage did it for her.
He dropped to his haunches, picking up the dropped necklace off the floor. Then, still squatting, he peered up at Lizzie, brim of his ball cap shielding the top half of his face. “This yours?”
Heat rose to her cheeks as a naughty visual ended her stifled laughter with a strangled cough. He was at the perfect height to . . . Don’t you dare think about him going down on you in the middle of your place of work, while there are CUSTOMERS ten feet away.
But Gage Harvey tempted her like no other, and it was with every ounce of professionalism that she calmly took the necklace from him, squeezing the pendant in a tight fist. “Yes, thank you, Officer.”
“My pleasure.” Princess. She could see that he wanted to say it, could see the way his black eyes snapped with annoyance and his full mouth tugged down with displeasure.
Lizzie stepped back, away from temptation, away from the visual of him throwing her leg over his burly shoulder and pressing his lips to the apex of her thighs. “Are you interested in finishing up today, Mrs. Simpson?”
The woman hmmed and hawed, then boldly stuffed her breasts back into her corset as though she had no company at all aside from her husband. “I suppose we can call it a day. You got some good photos, Lizabeth?”
“Absolutely.” Lizzie stepped around Gage, fighting the urge to look back at him. “I’ll have everything edited within forty-eight hours. If, for any reason at all, some of the photos aren’t to your liking, you can come back in.” She flashed a bright smile, her YouTube smile. “All on me. How’s that sound?”
Carli Simpson’s mouth stretched wide with joy. “You’re one of a kind, Lizabeth, one of a kind. I can’t imagine anyone who can compare.”
Oh, the irony.
“Harvey, shift’s almost over,” Officer Simpson said, taking his wife’s purse and slinging it over one arm. “Wanna take the cruiser back to S.O.D.? I’ll take the wife home now, since I’m here anyway. Clock me out?”
A long pause, in which Gage lifted his NOPD hat off his head and swiped it against his pant leg. “Go right ahead, Kevin.” He looked to Lizzie. “I can handle it from here.”
11
The door to the studio clicked shut with a tinkering of an old-fashioned bell, leaving Gage alone with Lizzie.
Gage moved to the display of windows, noting the blinds as well as the deadbolt. “Mind if I lock this?” he said casually, engaging the bolt and sliding the lock home before she could answer.
He needed a moment to gather his thoughts, to get the image of his coworker’s wife’s breasts out of his head. The fact that he often met up with Kevin Simpson for pickup basketball games, and that Carli stopped by S.O.D. unannounced at least once per week, meant that this whole showdown was beyond abnormal. It was damn near scarring.
The last thing he needed was to sit down at their dinner table, the two Simpson kids flanked to his right and to his left, and be thinking of their mother’s nipples.
Fuck.
He scraped his hands through his hair, then dropped his NOPD hat on the closest set of counters. Distracted himself with soaking in Lizabeth Vittoria’s studio, as though she hadn’t completely lied to him. Lied to the world. Did her brother even know that she took photos of naked people?
Gage shook his head, fingers curling into fists at his side.
From what he could see, Naked You was all white walls and white floors. There was so much white, there was a good chance he’d stepped into the North Pole. His gaze snagged on a white fluffy area rug in one corner of the room. She didn’t seem the sort to buy actual polar bear fur, but damned if that wasn’t where his mind went to first.
He flicked his gaze to her, absently noting the very still way she held herself, as though nervous to make a move. Her rapid blinking gave it away—either that, or she had one of those damn false lashes poking her.
“How long you been pretendin’ to be Lizabeth Vittoria?”
His deep baritone startled her, he saw that. Her caramel-accented bun twitched on the top of her head, and she clutched that blue necklace in her palm like a lifeline.
“Naked You started a few years ago.”
Gage recognized that he was taking her omission too personally, especially as he’d only known her for a week. Under that. Maybe six days. Seven. Hell, it didn’t matter, not really. What did matter was that she’d put him in a position where he’d been forced to lie to a coworker.
And, no, their fake relationship hadn’t made the circuit around S.O.D. yet, but it was only a matter of time before someone saw their trending photos and videos on social media, and put it all together.
Then, what would he say?
That his girl had seen half of the city naked? Not much of an issue, except that there was a good chance that if Carli Simpson was here, then Lizzie had photographed a good number of the other wives and girlfriends in the NOPD. Cops were worse than TMZ and People put together—there was no such thing as a secret within the police department.
Hell, everyone was still talking about how Heather Hull had nailed her husband with a taser—while he’d been buck-ass naked—in some sort of ridiculous form of foreplay in their house. And that didn’t even take into account the time Jarvis Reed had stood up in roll call and called out his Lieutenant for being a liar when the L-T had claimed he’d never let a dude suck him off . . . and yet he’d let Jarvis Reed do just that the night before.
So, this whole Naked You thing?
It would only end terribly.
Gage had spent way too many years working his ass off in the department to be brought down by this—by becoming gossip fodder for his coworkers.
You hypocrite. You didn’t have an issue with faking a relationship for the cameras but this you’ve got a problem with?
Yeah, he did.
Because this one involved people he knew firsthand.
Lizzie could lie to whoever she wanted to, but Gage wouldn’t do it. Not for the sake of keeping her identity a secret, which was clearly what this whole Lizabeth Vittoria thing was about.
He stopped by the sofa Carli Simpson had perched herself on and gripped the padded back. “How are you able to keep this a secret within the department? Your brother knows everyone.”
She wrung her hands before her, then straightened her back as though determined to stand him down. “I never show my face on social media with Naked You, not ever.” She paused, almost deliberately, then added, “Generally speaking, I also do some research on my clients before they come in. Finding Mrs. Simpson’s husband here was not part of the plan.”
“How often does it go off script?”
Her chin lifted at his dry tone. “In three years, it’s happened twice, today being the second time. It might not have occurred to you, but I’m a businesswoman, Gage, which means that I do my homework. I don’t allow for slipups.”
He lifted a brow. “Today you did.”
“Today,” she bit out, her crystalline blue eyes narrowing, “was an exception. One I’d prefer you kept to yourself.”
“Trust me, princess, this shit goes no further than me. Plus”—his hands settled on the back of the sofa again—“if you recall, I’m not dating Lizabeth Vittoria. But it seems that Lizzie Danvers and I have a date with the Simpsons.”
Her hands flung into the air and she let loose a frustrated half-scream. “God, you are so frustrating!”
Screw this.
Gage cut around the sofa and closed the distance between them. “I’m frustrating?” he demanded, jabbing his thumb into his chest. “Do
you hear yourself? Let me get this straight. You browbeat me into agreeing to this fake relationship. Thirty days, you said. Fine, got that part. But you never once stopped to ask how I’d feel about the deceit, about telling all my buddies I’m with a girl, when we both know that it’s not real.”
Her mouth pursed. “You could have told me no.”
Gage’s teeth clacked together. “I did.”
“You didn’t.” She neared him, hands already outreached as though she planned to shove him back to relieve her anger. He stiffened his core in preparation. “You didn’t,” she repeated. “Instead you asked for one night in my bed.”
Silence.
Only the sound of their heavy breathing saturated the studio.
It was foreboding.
It was also hot as hell.
“What the hell are we doing here, Lizzie?” His fingers itched to sink into her heavy hair, to loosen the bun and watch the strands frame her face. Gage dragged in a heavy breath. “I’m not looking for complications, and I’m sure as hell not looking for a real relationship. You want me to play the boyfriend card? We can do that, but this”—he gestured at her studio—“I’m not joining this aspect of your life. I’m not getting any deeper than what we agreed to. That’s not what our deal was about.”
Dark lashes swept down, shielding her blue eyes from his stare. “From the way you’re acting, I’d say you’ve never seen a naked body before.”
What?
Everything he’d said and that’s what she harped in on? Crazy. He told himself that at Inked every day—stay away from crazy. Clearly, he couldn’t even take his own advice.
“I’m not a virgin.” Damn. But he’d wished the words hadn’t come out sounding so stuffy.
Lizzie took notice. Her unpainted lips pulled into a victorious smile. “Sounds like you might be,” she said, patting his arm as though to say there-there, like he was some hopeless teenage boy without a shot in hell of getting laid. “What a shocker. The big, bad Gage Harvey can’t take a little skin? Too much . . . nipple for you?”
At the word “nipple,” his cock twitched, hardening with the possibility that maybe nipple-action with her might be a thing that happened today.
Gage didn’t know whether to walk out of Naked You immediately, or throw Lizzie Danvers on the damn sofa and strip her naked.
Both are solid options.
“It’s not the—” Okay. Breathe in. Done. Breathe out. Done. Gage pulled his thick, polyester uniform away from his heated neck. “I value honesty, princess. I’ve spent years in the biggest hellholes this city has to offer. I’ve seen shit you’d never even believe could be true.”
“My brother is in the NOPD,” she said, brows lifting to taunt him with the unspoken word: remember? “I’m pretty sure I can harbor a guess as to what you’ve seen.”
He didn’t think so.
And not because Nathan Danvers hadn’t been in the trenches, but rather because it was common practice not to tell your significant others or family members everything. Some stuff was just too much. Some sights were not meant for civilians.
He’d learned that the hard way watching his father and mother.
Learned it even faster with Michelle.
So, no, he didn’t think Lizzie would ever understand. Not unless she lived it herself, and he’d never wish that upon her. Ever.
Softening the harshness in his tone, Gage said, “My point is, I’ve spent years being lied to every day by society.”
“Clients?”
He frowned at the familiar term, then made the quick connection to her brother. “Yes, by clients. Doesn’t matter. What I’m trying to say is that I’m not looking to hold any more secrets outside of the job. I’ve got enough of them already on my plate, and I’m not looking for an extra serving.”
“I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying right now.”
Hell, he wasn’t sure he did either. But it felt necessary to lay it all out there for her now, before she realized she wanted something more. That she wanted him to stick by her while she led two very different lives and lied to each party about who she was.
Because this Lizzie looked nothing at all like the Lizzie he’d met at Inked, the Lizzie he’d watched on her channel, the Lizzie that thousands around the world flocked to for inspiration in the form of eye shadow and lipstick.
This Lizzie sounded a little too jaded, a little too rough, a little too raw.
A little too much like him.
She was safer to him as the bubbly girl who talked frivolously about contouring shades. He already wanted that girl in bed, under him. Sex and only sex.
He didn’t want to be tempted with more.
Gage refused to be tempted with more—he’d been burned once, and he had no interest in going back for a second round.
“You can count me in for lending you a hand for ThatMakeupGirl,” he said in a low voice. “We agreed to sex, once. I didn’t sign up for multiple identities and a heavy dose of soap opera drama.”
She scoffed, loudly. “You’re the only one bringing drama into this, Gage. You, not me. I asked you to just not say anything and you flew off the handle.” Glancing up at him, she threw out, “Makes me wonder if you’re the one hiding something and you’re lashing out.”
Gage flinched and she let out one of her ball-clenching, husky laughs. “Seems like I hit a nerve, hmm? Unsurprising. Men like you are all the same. Strike too close and things get ugly.”
Wait.
Hold on.
Men like him?
He stepped forward, intending to set her straight, but she cut him off with a raised hand, and a silky, “I’ll let you know when I need you next. I’ll be too busy photographing naked people for the next few days, though. I hope you understand.”
What the hell?
He’d been summarily dismissed.
As if she hadn’t figuratively kneed him in the balls, Lizzie breezed past him to the front of the studio, unlatched the deadbolt, and swung open the door. Turning her face to him, she finished him off: “I’ve got a sneaking suspicion we’ll be breaking up mighty soon. But don’t worry, I’ll let you have your last moment of fame before I send you packing.”
Gage snatched up his NOPD hat off the counter, shoved it on his head, and bent to whisper in her ear before leaving. “Enjoy your spree of nipples, princess. Let me know if you’re interested in something that only a man has to offer.”
Her smile was all snark. “An orgasm? There’s a reason God made fingers and vibrators, Gage. I doubt I’ll be needing that one night with you after all.”
And then she slammed the door in his face.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, but the woman was infuriating.
12
Ping!
Ping! Ping!
Ping-ping-ping-ping!
“Oh, c’mon already!” Lizzie stabbed the OFF button on her camcorder, cursing under her breath as she snatched up her phone. She knew what she’d find—exactly what she’d found all morning since Scott had announced his engagement on social media.
Pity DM’s.
Other than nasty dick pics, pity direct messages straight to her private inbox on Instagram were the worst.
Especially when there was no reason for the pity because she didn’t care.
She swiped open the first message from sExiiBeAsT109: Gurl, u R waaaaayyyy uglier then Scott’s new boo. Just sayin.
Lizzie’s fingers tightened around the phone. “Well, I’m just saying that you need to learn how to spell.”
She opened the next and cringed. “Oh, no. No, no, no.”
A quick tap and she deleted the photo of two hairy ball sacs, along with the caption, how do u like dem apples?
It went without saying that those types of apples did not keep the doctor away.
The next DM was from Momz1989: Hey, Lizzie, just wanted to reach out and say I heard about Scott. You’re so lucky to have dumped that dirt bag. I know you want to show all of us that we shouldn’t ever trust a player,
but…it looks like you’re having fun with that Gage fellow? He’s hot, girl! Keep him.
Easier said than done. She and Gage hadn’t spoken since the Simpson Incident or, as Jade had taken to calling it, Nipple Gate. Four days. Lizzie hadn’t reached out to him, and he hadn’t reached out to her.
And her followers were letting her know just how much they wanted news.
What Lizzie needed was a drink. Now.
Ping! Ping!
“Oh, shut up,” she ground out, more irritable than she’d been in a good, long while.
Scott’s impending engagement couldn’t have come at a worse time. Because just last night, Lizzie had recorded an entire segment about how #badboyirredemption was coming to a premature end. It had nothing to do with her blowup with Gage and everything to do with Lizzie’s growing need to step away from her channel. To focus on Naked You. To focus on anything, really, where her face wasn’t instantly recognizable.
Yes, she still had obligations. There was the launch of a new eye shadow palette next month in collaboration with a major beauty brand. She couldn’t completely fall off the face of YouTube without causing detriment to all those who had placed their trust in her.
But she needed a break.
She needed time to breathe.
And then her plan to upload the video this morning had been sidelined by Scott’s announcement—he was engaged to a fellow YouTuber, an acquaintance of Lizzie’s in the beauty world. A month, or thereabouts. That’s how long it had taken him to find a new sucker and reel her in with his baby blues.
Well, Lizzie couldn’t exactly put up her video now, not when it would look as though she was the tossed aside ex-girlfriend.
Wine.
She needed wine.
Five seconds later, she was throwing on a pair of heels, her cell phone pressed between her ear and her shoulder.
“Pick up, pick up, pick up.”
“Hello?” came Jade’s Spanish-accented voice.
Lizzie could have cried with joy. Play it cool. Don’t be desperate. “Hey, girl. What are you up to?”
