Читать книгу A Deal Made In Texas - Michelle Major - Страница 12

Chapter Three

Christine felt her mouth go dry at his words. She’d changed him?

“At least that’s what my family needs to believe,” he clarified.

“Schuyler agreed not to tell anyone,” Christine argued, although the thought of how she’d go about convincing people that she and Gavin were really a thing made goose bumps dance along her skin. Talk about the adventure of a lifetime.

“We told her not to tell anyone.” He traced his thumb in circles against the sensitive skin on the inside of her wrist. “But there’s no way she’s going to be able to resist.”

“So we’ll need to convince your family this is real,” she whispered. “Your parents will be upset they didn’t know.”

“They’ll understand,” he assured her. “I’ll make sure they do.”

“I hate lying to your father...to anyone in your family. They’ve been so good to me.”

“This isn’t going to change anything,” he promised.

But Christine knew nothing would ever be the same. She should stop this charade right now, march downstairs and explain to Schuyler that it was all a big misunderstanding. Although she was sober, maybe she could pretend to be drunk. Blaming her crazy behavior on alcohol might give her a decent excuse.

Gavin’s jacket began to ring. He stood and moved toward the bed, pulling his phone out of the pocket of the discarded tuxedo coat.

“Hey, sis,” he said into the device. “No, I’m not coming back down.” Pause. “Yes, she’s with me.” Pause. “I don’t think she’s going to care about the bouquet.” Pause with an added eye roll. “Don’t go there, Schuyler. I told you this is special. She’s special. Let me enjoy it, okay?” Pause. “I understand and appreciate it. I love you, too.” Pause. “Okay, I’ll see you at the brunch in the morning.”

He punched the screen to end the call then tossed the phone on the bed again.

“You missed the bouquet.”

Christine stood. “I’m okay with that. You shouldn’t be annoyed with Schuyler for calling. I don’t want this to complicate things with you and your family.”

He moved toward her. “My family is always complicated, especially now that the Fortunes are involved. My only concern is you. As much as I appreciate what you did earlier, if you aren’t okay with this arrangement, we’ll end it.”

Here was her chance. A dance, a few kisses and she’d go back to her normal life before the clock struck midnight, like some sort of Fortune-inspired Cinderella.

But she couldn’t force her mouth to form the words. Despite this whole thing being fake, she wasn’t going to miss her chance at getting to know Gavin. Under what other circumstances would a man like him choose to date someone like her?

Not that she was down on herself. Christine liked her life and felt comfortable with who she was. Usually. But she wasn’t the type of woman who could catch Gavin Fortunado’s attention. Until now.

“I don’t want it to end,” she said, embarrassed that she sounded breathless.

Gavin didn’t seem to notice. He cupped her cheeks in his hands. “Me neither,” he whispered and kissed her. Once again it felt like fireworks exploding through her body. The kiss was sweet and passionate at the same time. He seemed in no hurry to speed things along, content to take his time as he explored her lips.

Then his mouth trailed over her jaw and along her throat, her skin igniting from the touch. He tugged on the strap of her dress, and it fell down her shoulder. He kissed his way from the base of her neck to her collarbone. Her body was all heat and need. She wanted so much from this moment that she couldn’t even put it all into words.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.

The compliment was like a bucket of ice water dumped over her head. She wrenched away, yanking her dress strap back into place.

“Don’t say that,” she told him, shaking her head. “You don’t have to say that.”

Confusion clouded his vivid green eyes. “In my experience, women like to hear those words.”

She swallowed. How was she supposed to respond without sounding like she was fishing for something more? That wasn’t the case at all. In fact, she felt the opposite. She didn’t want or need him to tell her she was beautiful because it simply wasn’t true.

Christine prided herself on being pragmatic about her appearance. Growing up, she’d been a chubby girl with thick glasses and bright red hair that was more frizz than curls. Her mom had forced her to keep it in frizzy Annie-style curls that were anything but flattering. Christine had spent years enduring teasing, much of it led by her younger sister, until she’d become an expert at not being seen.

Aimee, with her larger-than-life personality and classic beauty, had been happy to step into the spotlight. She went to parties and on dates, while Christine spent most of her high school years in her room reading or listening to music. No one in her family seemed to notice or care as she slipped further into the periphery of their lives.

She’d decided to change things when she went away to college. She’d gotten contacts and started running, shedding the excess pounds that had plagued her for years. A bevy of expensive hair products helped her tame her wild mane, and the color had mellowed from the bright orange of her childhood. Her dad had called her “baby carrot” as a kid, and her sister had amended the nickname to “jumbo carrot” due to Christine’s size. Even though she thankfully hadn’t heard the nickname in years, it was how she still thought of herself.

She took pains with her appearance and she knew she wasn’t ugly. She was decent-looking, in fact. But beautiful? No, not to someone like Gavin.

“This is not real,” she said, both for his sake and to remind herself.

Gavin’s thick brows furrowed. “That doesn’t mean—”

“What’s your favorite color?”

“Um...blue.”

“Mine’s purple.” She crossed her arms over her chest, aware he was still staring at her like he couldn’t quite follow the direction of her thoughts. Join the club. Her mind and heart felt like they’d survived an emotional tornado, hurricane and maybe a tsunami thrown in for good measure, all in one night. “Favorite food?”

“Pizza.”

“I like burgers and fries.”

His mouth quirked. “That’s kind of cute.”

“Burgers aren’t cute.”

“You’re admitting you like them as opposed to giving me some line about loving salmon and kale. That’s cute.”

“I take yoga classes and run before work. What do you do to work out?”

One brow arched. “So you’re flexible?”

With a groan, she stepped around him toward the hotel room desk. “Do you want me to write all this down?” She picked up a pen and the small pad of paper with the hotel’s logo.

“The ways you’re flexible?”

“Gavin, be serious. You were the one who said your family would find out about us. We need to have our stories straight.” Christine clutched the pen and paper to her chest and fought the urge to whimper as Gavin ran a hand through his hair. She could see the muscles of his arm flexing under his white shirt. “When did we meet?”

“We’ve known each other for years.”

“Right. I mean when did we—”

“It was Thanksgiving break my senior year of college. I was getting ready to retake the LSAT after my not-so-stellar performance the first time around.”

Christine inclined her head, surprised and charmed he’d remember the very first time they met. “You were studying in the conference room at the Fortunado Real Estate office. It was quiet because of the holiday.”

“And I was bitter because my buddies had flown to Aspen for the weekend.” He started undoing the buttons of his shirt, casually, as if it wasn’t a big deal for him to be undressing in front of her. Of course, he wore a white T-shirt under the formal shirt, so it wasn’t a true striptease.

Christine’s heart stammered just the same.

“You were the only one in the office,” he continued. “You kept bringing me coffee and takeout.”

She shrugged. “It was my first week working for your father and I wanted to be helpful in any way I could.”

“Do you remember what you told me after I’d complained to you for the millionth time about life being unfair?”

She shook her head. She hadn’t remembered speaking to him at all. She’d graduated college a semester early and had felt lucky to be hired by Kenneth right away. It had taken almost a year on the job before she believed her boss wouldn’t walk into the office and tell her he’d made a horrible mistake taking a chance on her. Having Gavin in the office during the quiet lull of the Thanksgiving holiday had made her so nervous. All she’d been able to do was refill his mug and send out for sandwiches.

“You told me to channel my inner Elle Woods.”

Christine gave a soft chuckle. “I loved Legally Blonde.”

“Clearly. You gushed about the movie. I didn’t know what you were talking about,” Gavin said with a grin. “I went back to my parents’ house and rented it.”

“You watched Legally Blonde?”

“Oh, yeah. I not only watched it, I was also inspired. I mean, if Elle Woods could get into law school, what excuse did I have?”

She snorted a laugh then pressed her hand to her mouth. “Tell me you didn’t use scented pink paper for your admissions application.”

“Not exactly.” Gavin draped the crisp white shirt over the back of the desk chair then held up his hands, palms out. “If you tell anyone I said I was inspired by that movie, I’ll deny it. But I might have Reese Witherspoon to thank for my law career.” His smile softened. “And you.”

Christine felt her mouth drop open. “I...had no idea.”

“It seemed like a stupid thing to admit at the time. But I’ve never forgotten. You helped me then, and now you’re saving my bacon once again. I owe you, Christine.”

“It’s not a big deal,” she said automatically. But it was. It was that time he’d spent in the office poring over law books that had given her an initial glimpse of who Gavin truly was on the inside. Through the years she’d remained convinced he was more than the rakish attorney who was always scaling mountains or hurling himself down ski slopes in his off time. Back then he’d been nervous, vulnerable, and she hadn’t been able to resist him. Just like she couldn’t now.

She lifted the paper and pen. “We should still go over some more details if we’re going to make this relationship believable.” Not that it would be difficult on her part. One look at her face and it would be clear to everyone that she was already half in love with Gavin.

“How about we watch a movie while we talk?” He winked. “Elle Woods for old times’ sake?”

“Sure,” she whispered.

He picked up his jacket then patted the bed. “Make yourself comfortable. I’m going to order something from late-night room service. Can I tempt you with a hamburger?”

Christine started to shake her head but her stomach rumbled. “No cheese and medium-well, please.”

He nodded. “Got it.”

She placed the paper and pen on the nightstand and climbed onto the bed, butterflies racing across her stomach. She was in Gavin’s bed. Or on it. Close enough.

He used the room’s landline to place the order then clicked the remote to turn on the TV, searching until he found Legally Blonde. “I haven’t watched this movie in years,” he told her.

“It holds up,” she said, choosing not to share that the movie was on her regular rotation of Saturday night rom-coms. It struck her that tonight was Saturday and here she sat watching a movie, as had become her weekly routine. Only tonight instead of curling up with her black lab, Diana, she was in one of the most beautiful hotels in Austin with Gavin.

She loved her dog, but this was way better.

Her nerves disappeared as soon as the movie started. She and Gavin talked and laughed, and then ate when the food arrived. He cleared the empty plates when the movie ended, placing the tray outside the hotel room door.

“I think you should stay a bit longer,” he said, checking his watch. “The reception isn’t scheduled to end until midnight, and knowing my family, they’ll be closing down the place.”

“I don’t want to keep you from going to sleep,” she said, stifling a yawn.

“Apparently, I’m not the one who’s tired.”

“It’s been a kind of crazy night for me,” she admitted.

“If you want to go I can—”

“We could watch another movie?” She smiled. “Something with lots of action to keep us awake.”

“Good idea.” He returned to the bed and flipped through channels until he found an old James Bond flick.

“Who’s your favorite Bond?” she asked.

“Sean Connery.” He moved to the center of the mattress. “In case you’re interested, I make a pretty good pillow.”

Her girl parts went wild. She scooted closer, and he lifted one arm, tucking her against his chest.

“I bet you’re a Daniel Craig fan,” he said, resting his chin on the top of her head.

“Every woman with a pulse is a fan of Daniel Craig.”

She felt his chuckle against her ear, and the rhythmic up and down of his chest. As bizarre as the night had been, it was the stuff of her fantasies to be cuddling with Gavin. If only the night never had to end.