“That’s it. Give in. Say yes.”
“You…didn’t want…me…this morning.”
Such a pretty lie. If only it were true, it would make everything easier. There wouldn’t be this hard knot in my chest whenever she invaded my thoughts, or whenever I saw her.
“It doesn’t have to be for long,” I coaxed, plunging my fingers deeper, despite how hard it was to say those words. “A year or two at most. Then you’d be free to be with whoever you choose.”
She jerked away from my hold and shoved me. I tripped a step back, the loss of her like the sudden loss of my balance.
“You think that’s what I want? Who do you think I am? You think that I’d accept just any man’s touch?” She slapped me. “I have more self-respect than that.”
My cheek prickled, and I smiled. “I know.”
“Stop. Just stop.”
“So, you don’t want to be my wife?”
“What I want is what we had. Not these games. Not the lies. I want my friend back. I want the man behind the pen who made me learn to forgive and believe in myself again. I want to be happy when I think of you.”
“What if I give you that?”
Her scoff was weak and humorless. “You’ve been back less than a day, and you’ve already whiplashed me so hard my head hurts. I wouldn’t believe you if you promised me the moon.”
Her cream sheened on my finger. Eyes stuck on hers, I sucked it off, the taste of her exactly like I’d imagined: sharp but sweet with a little musk. Delicious and problematic. One taste was never going to be enough. Her throat pulled and fell in a slow gulp.
“I need you, Ainsley.”
“For a charade. Marriage means something to me. You know that. I won’t fake something with you.”
“Then go on a date with me. Decide after.”
Her mouth fell open. Her forehead creased.
“I need a wife, fake or otherwise, but I’d rather it be someone I trust. Someone I care about. I’d rather it be you. Try it out,mia piccola civetta.” My little minx. The nickname suited her. She tempted me like no one else. I lost all reason when it came to her. “Give me a chance. You might convince me to want more.”
Her body gave a shiver, and I couldn’t help my half smirk. I was a betting man. Ainsley didn’t give in to people easily, so I was betting last night was a choice. I could work with that. If I had to become a husband, I’d rather I be hers than anyone else’s.
“You’re a manipulating jerk, you know that?” She paced the rug—three steps forward, turn, three steps back, turn—until she finally stopped. “One date. One. That’s all you get. We’ll see if you have what it takes to ensnare me.”
“Oh, baby, you know I do.”
She rolled her eyes at me, then huffed her way across the room. I watched her body prance—from the sway of her hips to the bounce of her ass—then shook my head straight. She’d always driven me crazy, from the obstinate kid who didn’t think things through to the pen pal I never wanted but needed, andnow the woman with a body and temperament I could get lost in but shouldn’t.
“We’ll see,” she added saucily and tossed the door open.
Tore and Vinny waffled in and out of view.
“It’s not nice to eavesdrop, you know. Way to set up standards for Lou and Boyan, you two.”
“You didn’t have to be so quiet,” Tore said. “This better stay strictly professional. She’s my kid sister, after all, Renzo.”
“Yeah, no. Let’s not put the tag kid anywhere close to me anymore.” Ainsley patted Tore on the back as she walked past him. “By the way, if you guys want to lock down the Dimakos clan, Bee’s waiting for a call, if you dare.”
“We don’t need her,” Tore called after her.
“Don’t be a pussy,brother. You know you do.” She glanced back at me one more time. “Don’t keep me waiting too long. I don’t take rain checks.”
“Oh, come on. The woman’s the damn devil,” Tore called after Ainsley as she waved over her head, turned the corner, and disappeared from view. “She’s always fucking with my accounts and shit. I’m not calling her.”
