“I’m between, at the moment,” Sophie said. And bymoment, she meant it had been six months.
“Still, I thought my purpose was to deter men from trying to take advantage of you. Why is it your wish I do so as your boyfriend and not simply as your bodyguard?”
“I think I can answer that,” Ms. Birdie said when Sophie didn’t immediately reply. “You see, as her boyfriend, you’ll not onlydeter gentlemen from getting handsy, but you’ll also deter them from hitting on her.”
“As in asking her out on a date?” Stone asked. “Would that be so bad?”
“Actually, it would. You see, we can’t have Sophie getting too chummy with any of her choices because they will need to remain eligible for the bachelor auction. It would be a shame if one of them was off the market when the event rolled around.”
“She’s a professional…or at least I assume she is if you hired her,” Stone replied. “I would think, as such, she can behave in a professional manner around the men she interviews and just say no to date opportunities.”
“Stone, darling, I get the feeling you’re here under duress,” Ms. Birdie said. “That is probably my fault, since I called in a favor with Clarabelle to have you help us out. If that’s the case, please just say so, and we will search out another to protect our Sophie. Clarabelle can repay the favor another day.”
“That won’t be necessary,” he said. “And please forgive my surliness. It appears that being out of commission has soured my normal cheerful position.”
It was Sophie’s turn to snort. “Please. Like anyone in this room believes you’re anything but what you’ve shown so far.” It was too bad he wasn’t a billionaire; he could be her grumpy billionaire candidate. Not that she got the feeling he was salvageable.
He raised a brow her way. “Is that your way of saying you’d preferNaked Runwayfind another bodyguard?”
For more seconds than Sophie could track, they stared antagonistically at one another. “Let the record show, it’s my belief you will be the worst fake boyfriend in the history of fake boyfriends, but if you’re up for the challenge of going undercover as a guy I’d actually date, then sure, I’m all in. You?”
“Let’s do this,” he snapped.
Sophie swallowed hard. What in the devil had she been thinking, provoking him to say yes?
Isabella stood. “Frankie, how about we have the Glam Team give Stone a makeover to kick this off.”
“Oh, hell no,” Stone said, then grimaced. “I mean, no, thank you.”
“Isabella might have said it like it’s an option, but let me assure you it’s not,” Frankie said. “You will be reppingNaked Runway. So of course you will be prettied up for the position.”
“It is standard operating procedure,” said Isabella. “Sophie, you mentioned a Cinnamon Roll hero was your type?”
Sophie tilted her head and eyeballed Stone. In what world could this bald hulk of a man be turned into any semblance of that kind of book hero? “I did.” She wrinkled her nose.
“If this boyfriend thing is nonnegotiable, I’d prefer to go undercover as the shady past hero,” Stone said.
“Sophie, are you okay with that?” Ms. Birdie asked.
“Truthfully, I’m not.” Sophie gave a fairly convincing sigh of regret. “It will be awkward enough pretending he’s my boyfriend, but I could never pull off pretending an attraction to that sort of man. It’s just not in my DNA.” She did a Vanna White gesture with her hands around the words on her T-shirt for emphasis.
“Then the Glam Team will have its work cut out for them, turning Stone into a sweetheart,” Frankie mused.
“This, I can’t wait to see,” Sophie said, smiling serenely at Stone.
“I just bet you can’t.” He gave her a hard stare. “But just remember, once I’m transformed, I expect you to sell it to the public that you can’t keep your hands off me.”
She grimaced. “I’m not an actress; I can’t just fake lust. You’re going to have to do your part as well.”
“Excellent point, both of you,” Ms. Birdie said. “I suggest—and it’s only a suggestion—why don’t the two of you take a week to get to know one another? If, at the end of that week, it’s determined you cannot pull off the fake boyfriend plan, then we will pivot…perhaps hire a female bodyguard to protect Sophie. She could go undercover as Sophie’s girlfriend”
“Or we could just dump the whole idea,” Frankie said. “It does seem to have a lot of potential pitfalls. I’d hate to invest a lot of money in a new project only to have it flop. It was bad enough that the prince bailed on us after only one year. Not to mention, I need her first column ASAP.”
Sophie gulped. “Please don’t cancel my column. I’m quite certain Stone and I can muster up some chemistry. Ms. Birdie’s idea to have us spend time together before duties commence is brilliant.” She glanced at Stone, willing him not to rain on her happiness. “Plus, I’m sure I can find a book boyfriend ASAP to kick off my feature column.”
Stone cleared his throat. “Did you say one of the book boyfriend tropes you were in search of was a New York City playboy?”
Sophie nodded.
