I pull away, remove the condom, and stride to the bathroom to get rid of it. I’m back in a flash. I drink in her naked body. Her beautiful pale skin is spotted with red blotches from the rush of blood from her climax.
I did that to her.
“I swear, this fake relationship is paying dividends.” She laughs.
I don’t.
A zip of irrational anger rushes through me.
I pinch my lips together.
She frowns. “Did I say something wrong? Because lighthearted Kaz just left the carriage house.”
I sigh. “Harley, we don’t have to keep up the pretence of a fake relationship. I think we’re well past that. What we share isn’t pretend. It isn’t to me, anyway. Why don’t we see where this goes?”
Myriad emotions play off her beautiful face. “Kaz… I…” She wraps her arms around her body. “I have nothing to offer you.”
“Why do you keep saying that?”
She dances from one foot to the other. “You took in a stray cat that needed shelter.” She points at herself over her head. “I can’t stand on my own two feet. You’re my boss and roommate,which means I depend on you for a paycheck and for a roof over my head.”
Her dismissive words land like a blow against my ribs.
My face falls. “What?”
“Being your fake girlfriend is… part of the agreement to help you reach your goal?—”
“I hate the way you put yourself down. You have a lot to offer?—”
“Our relationship serves one purpose.”
It’s like Jekyll and Hyde. How can she be this detached?
She bites her lower lip. “The goal is to turn the attention away from your drama queen of an ex in the hopes the Montana brewer you’ve been courting, without much success, will give you a chance to make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
Her words hang heavy between us.
Heat sizzles up my back.
I scrub a hand on the base of my neck, unable to make sense of her reaction.
Am I bad at reading people?
The hum of her rejection is the only sound filling the room as I come to grips with her crushing decision.
The fact we’re having this conversation just after I made her come so hard, her eyes were rolling in the back of her head and we’re still naked is even more dejecting.
I kick an invisible ball on the floor. “If you’d rather keep it to our arrangement with benefits, then I should let you know, the list of nominees for the upcoming RISE Awards—New York State’s Restaurant Industry Spotlight on Excellence Awards was announced today while you were in the changing room after skating.”
She flinches.
Yeah, sweetheart, you’re not the only one who canflip on a dime.“Number 22 is nominated in the Best Restaurant NYC Classic and Rising Star categories.”
“That’s amazing, Kaz.” There’s no levity to that comment. And her somber expression is testament to that.
I soldier on. “My chef and sous chef will be present with their significant other. So will the rest of the kitchen staff.”
“They must be over the moon.” She forces a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes.
