“Miss Bell?” Jade bursts into laughter as soon as the elevator doors are closed and Andre is on his way back down.
“Shut it.” I throw a ball of tinsel at her.
“What the hell is all this?”
“August didn’t have any decorations. Like nothing. He told me to decorate.” I lift a shoulder.
“You bought all this crap?” she says.
“No,he did.”
“You guys went shopping together?”
“No, he gave me this.” I pull the little black card out of my pocket and wave it in the air before tucking it away again.
“Hayley, are you sure this whole girlfriend thing is fake? Because from where I’m standing, it’s looking awfully real.” Jade sits on the edge of the sofa.
“Trust me, it’s fake. This is August Wade. He would not want me as his real girlfriend,” I assure her.
“Pfft, he would be lucky as hell to have you as his real girlfriend.” Jade stands. “Okay, let’s Christmas the shit out of this place. I’m loving the color scheme.”
Chapter Fourteen
Sleeping next to Hayley all night and not touching her is fucking hard. It’s even harder when she rolls over and unknowingly wraps herself around me. I’ve never been so patient in my life. I think I deserve some kind of award for mylevel of restraint. I had to slide out of bed early and release myself in the fucking shower like a goddamn horny teenager.
It will be worth it. I know she’ll come to me eventually. She will be mine, and it’ll be on her terms. Which is exactly what she needs. I could seduce her. I could have her naked within minutes and giving in to what we both want, but then there’s the risk of her hating me more than she already does.
When I get home, to Santa’s fucking workshop, it all finally looks organized and… not so bad. “Babe, you here?” I call out from the foyer.
“Babe?” The question comes from a voice that doesn’t belong to Hayley.
“Shut it,” Hayley responds as I enter the living room.
Ignoring her friend’s glare, I walk over to Hayley. My lips land on her temple. “Hi.” I make a point to eye her handiwork. “It looks great in here.”
“Thanks. This is Jade. Jade. August.” Hayley makes the introductions.
“Wade,” I correct her. I was kidding when I said no one calls me August but her and Colton. “Nice to meet you, Jade. Are you coming tree shopping with us?”
“And ruin this whole Hallmark moment? Never.” Jade shakes my hand. “I’m glad I got to meet you,Wade. Look after my girl,” Jade says and then wraps Hayley up in her arms, which turns into an awkward hug, considering the size of the woman’s stomach.
I wait for Hayley to see her friend out. When she comes back, I raise a brow at her. “What’s a Hallmark moment?”
“Ignore her. Pregnancy has turned her brain to mush.” Hayley laughs off my question. “Are you… wearing that?”
I look down at my custom-made three-piece suit. “Ah, yeah?”
“Okay then. You ready to go?”
I then look at what Hayley is wearing. A pair of cut-offs that show her long, tanned, toned legs. Legs I want wrapped around me. “Fuck, you look good in those,” I tell her and watch that familiar blush creep up her face.
I don’t think this woman knows just how fucking gorgeous she is. I’ll have to make it my new full-time job to tell her every chance I get until she believes it.
A few minutes later, I’m walking Hayley down to the garage. I press the button on my Audi RS, and she stops short. “Um, August?”
“Yeah?”
“This is what you want to take?”
