Chapter 0126
1 flushed from his words; I didn’t take him for someone who would care about such a thing, especially not when it came to me..
“You shouldn’t be too hard on him. He’s your nephew…”
“Which makes it worse,” Gavin muttered. “He’s family and my family never raise their hand to women. It can’t go without punishment.”
I knew there was no changing his mind on this; I bit the inside of my cheek and stared down at my hands.
“He asked me to be his girlfriend,” I whispered, making Gavin tense from beside me. “And I said no. He was angry with me… he said some pretty cruel things.
“Why did you decline his offer?”
He didn’t sound accusatory, more just curious like he was trying to keep the conversation going. My heart swelled a little more thinking that maybe he did care for me… at least a little bit.
“I didn’t feel the same way about him,” I admitted. “I didn’t want to hurt him… but I didn’t like him in the same way that he liked me.”
Gavin nodded, his expression softening.
“And he got angry,” he said softly; it wasn’t a question, but I nodded anyway.
“Yes,” I confirmed. “He got angry.”
Gavin wrapped an arm around me and pulled me into his side, wrapping me with his warmth and comfort. I felt my body relaxing almost immediately and my heart eased.
“I thought we decided that the other night was a mistake, and we were going to pretend it never happened,” I blurted before I could stop myself.
“You decided that.”
I raised my brows and looked up at him.
“And that’s not what you wanted?” I asked him.
“I wasn’t really thinking about it,” he admitted.
“And now?”
He was quiet for a moment, at first, I didn’t think he was going to answer my question, but then he let out a shuddering breath.
“And now, I think we should be together.”
My heart stilled in my chest and my jaw all but dropped.
“I’m sorry… what?”
Chapter 0126
“Let’s be together.”
+25 BONUS
Even though he had said it twice, I still wasn’t sure if heard him correctly. I stared at him blankly, not sure what to say in response. Was he kidding? Do I laugh? Do I agree? Did I want to be with him like that?
He was Irene’s father and my ex’s father–in–law.
Not to mention my boss.
This was a recipe for disaster!
The corner of his lips tipped upward into a smile, and he bent to brush a chaste kiss across my lips.
“I’m not saying let’s get married, or even mate,” he said as he kissed the bridge of my nose. “I’m saying, let’s be together. It’ll get my mother and Daisy off my back and get Ethan and Walter off yours. Meanwhile, we can scratch each other’s itches and have a little fun.”
I raised my brows, suddenly understanding what he was saying.
“You want to have a fake relationship?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t say fake,” he replied. “Maybe something like friends with benefits.” He tucked a strand of hair behind my car and grinned down at me. “With plenty of benefits. You can’t deny that we are sexually compatible, and we are attracted to one another.”
I corked my brows at him.
“You are attracted to me?” I asked teasingly.
He rolled his eyes, but I could see the playfulness on his face.
“Focus,” he murmured, bobbing my forehead gently with his knuckle.
“It’s been a while since I did this whole dating thing and I’m a little rusty,” he admitted. “But now that I’ve had a taste of you… I don’t think I can just pretend it didn’t happen.” His tone grew sultry at the end and a shiver crept up my spine as my cheeks flared with heat.
I bit my lip as I peeked up at him.
I was definitely going to regret this at some point, but I couldn’t help myself. I nodded, my eyes locked onto his.
“Okay,” I said softly. “Let’s be together.
He grinned but then his face grew serious.
“Of course, we can’t tell anyone about this for right now. go public. We need to keep this a secret. The media can’t find out. Are you okay with that?”
My cheek flushed again, and I felt a pain in my chest from his words. He saved me from being Ethan’s dirty little secret… but now he was making me his.
Yeah,” I ultimately said. “I’m okay with that.”
