Page 57 of Wicked Dares
The finality in his statement hits something in me I didn’t expect. It feels like that loss again, but I ignore it.
“I can do that.” I nod.
“So… are you saying yes?” His shoulders are set tight, like he’s holding himself in check, but the desperation in his eyes gives him away.
I draw in a breath. “Yeah. I’m saying yes.”
He smiles, visibly relieved. The tension in him eases, and he looks more like himself again. “Looks like we have a deal, then.”
He puts out his hand to shake mine. I take it and shake.
“Deal.” God, I just agreed to be his fake girlfriend. And I’m getting paid. It sounds like one of those crazy things you see in the movies. I definitely won’t be writing home about this.
“I’ll have a contract drafted tomorrow,” he says. “But, um… we have to keep this quiet. I can’t risk anyone finding out; it might get back to Arthur.”
“Sure. I kind of have to tell Alexis, though. I can’t lie to her, and she knows I don’t have that kind of money.”
“Okay. Just her, though.”
“Thank you.”
“No. Thank you. I owe you big time. Finish the wine, and I’ll take you home.”
“That’s okay.” I smile. “I’ll be fine getting back on my own.”
“I insist. It’s late, and remember I have a bad habit of not being able to take no for an answer.”
I grin back at him. “Okay. I’ll accept the ride.”
“Good.”
He’s not wrong to think my apartment building isn’t safe. It isn’t. But it was the best I could do.
I plan to find somewhere better as soon as I can. But right now, I have to focus on becoming Levi Vale’s girlfriend.
Taking a sip of my wine, I let the words settle. I just opened a door for myself, but I don’t miss the irony in this.
I move across the country for a fresh start—and I find him.
A man offering me the kind of money I could never dream of to build my business. Instead of getting things off the ground by thirty, I could have something real by then. Something bigger. It’s a good dream to have.
Something that feels like possibility.
For the first time since moving to New York, I don’t feel like I’m barely staying afloat. I feel like maybe I’m standing at the edge of something bigger.
That’s the part I’m holding on to.
And in six weeks, I could have everything I want.
Chapter Thirteen
PIPER
Sunday mornings are supposed to be lazy. Filled with the scent of something warm like freshly made bread and strong Arabica coffee, along with the comfort of a cozy bed.
I had the coffee and the bed part; everything else has been go, go, go.
But in the best of ways.
