Page 104 of The Troublemaker
“So what do you propose?We sit here all night and let it get worse?”
I lean back on the dresser, crossing my arms.“I don’t know.”
He stands.“I say we go out.Let’s go experience why we love this city so much.”
I cringe.“There are people out there.People who think we’re married.”
“Yeah, we’re not hiding anything from them.”I raise my eyebrows, and he laughs, taking my hand.“The question is, do you want the privileges that come with being married to Easton Bailey, or do you want to hide out?”
I glance down at my jeans and T-shirt.“I’m thinking the hide out option.”
I’ve rarely gone out with Easton in public, at least not without Tanner.We’ve met at a bar here or there and eaten out a few times, but mostly our time was spent at his place.
“All right, no rolling out the red carpet tonight.”He stops me in the doorway from the bedroom to the sitting area.“If you promise one thing.”
“Promise?”
He’s yet to let go of my hand, holding it between his on his chest.“You allow me one night when I can use my name and show you the doors it opens in this town.”
“Easton, I’m not into all that fancy stuff.”
He steps closer.If we don’t get out of this room soon, I’m going to strip down and tell him to take me.And I’m pretty sure he’d welcome it.
“I’m not either, but I’ve never really done it, not with a woman, and I want my first time to be with you.”
My heart flutters.“And who will watch Tanner if your nanny is dressed up, dining at a Michelin-star restaurant?”
He pulls me into him.“That’s what our friends are for.”
He says the wordouras if they’re mine too, but let’s be honest, the minute this fake marriage contract is done, my friendship with them is too.He’ll go on with his life and find some woman they’ll like just as much, and one day I’ll see pictures of them all at a ski resort or something and think I knew them all when.
“So, what do you say?”Easton bends at the knees so his eyes are level with mine.
I’d agree to just about anything to get out of this room right now, so I say, “Yes.Now, let’s go eat some greasy pizza or something.”
He smiles, and it’s wicked and full of promise that tonight will be one to remember.
And that’s exactly what I’m afraid of.Tonight will haunt me forever because I’ll never have another one like it again.
ChapterThirty-Nine
Hadley
Easton tips his baseball hat down as we leave The St.Regis and turn right, my hand tucked into his.He definitely has a plan on where we’re going, and he walks us to a street that isn’t filled with people.
“Do you like Mexican?”he asks, our pace not leisurely but determined.Clearly, he doesn’t want us to be stopped.
“Who doesn’t?”
He squeezes my hand.“People I don’t want to be friends with.”
We get to a quieter part of the city, and he stops in front of a cozy-looking Mexican restaurant with a red-painted door and a small ceramic chili pepper as the handle.
“You’ve been here before?”
“I wouldn’t have chanced it tonight with you if I hadn’t.”
He opens the door, and I step inside.The scent alone could end me.The restaurant is small and filled with conversation.Lit strings of bare bulbs hang low over mismatched tables.Every seat is taken, and nobody is looking at their phone.The music is live, a trio in the corner playing something that makes my hips want to move.
