Renovations had already been completed for the rest of the center. But part of the Glo Johnson Charity Fund had been earmarked toward turning this space into a place that would make my grandmother proud, and Nora had left that particular task for me to oversee.
Instead, here I was, ogling her grandson in the still-dilapidated dance studio.
Guilt gnawed my insides as I set my dance bag down in front of one of the clouded-over mirrors.
"You should probably stretch out before class starts." I doggedly kept my eyes trained away from Cole as I unzipped the protective cloth from around the barre. "This is the advanced class, so it's going to be intense."
"I'm sure I'll survive your dance class for little girls," he answered, voice surly.
"Hey, I'm just trying to warn you," I answered, folding the cloth and setting it aside behind my dance bag so none of the girls would trip over it. "It's not like I made you come here with me."
"True, but you did decide to put on that pink leotard and leg warmers after I told you I was coming."
I scrunched my brow. "What does my outfit choice have to do with your foul mood?...Oh!"
My breath caught when I turned around and found him standing much closer than I'd anticipated. Like, right there, towering over me.
Cole arched a dark-blond eyebrow. "You're either putting on an innocent act, or you truly have no idea what the sight of you in a leotard does to a man."
His voice remained all ice. But his eyes...They burned now.
Something warm and liquid pooled below my navel. Until I reminded both myself and him, "It's not my fault you decided not to keep your standing date with Juliet last night."
"Not your fault," he repeated. That burning green gaze dropped to my lips.
I'm right. I know I'm right, but I feel all kinds of flustered as I remind him, "I didn't sign that other contract. If you have needs, then you should call—well, not Juliet. You need to leave that poor woman alone. Maybe a discreet sex worker or, you know, a robot without any feelings whatsoever? I hear they're doing amazing things with AI sex dolls these days."
"Hmm." Cole glanced to the side. But then that burning green gaze switchbladed right back to me, and he took a deliberate step forward.
I didn't realize I was stepping back until my mostly bare shoulders brushed against the cloudy mirror behind me, leaving me ensnared beneath his gaze with only a sliver of space between us.
"There will be no other sex partners, Sunny. For me or for you." His words punctured the small amount of air between our mouths. Like bullets. "Either you give me your terms and conditions for signing the contract, or we both suffer through this fake engagement until it's time to part ways. Whatever you choose, I will not abide cheating. No flirting with other men. If you purchase a dildo, I want you to run it by me first."
I'm not sure what I was expecting when I suggested he go find somebody else to get off with, but it wasn't this. I swallowed. "Seriously? Not even a dildo? How about if I already had one packed when I moved in?"
"Do you have a dildo?"
"Well, no," I admit. "A pocket vibrator does the job just fine. I was just saying..."
"You were just testing my boundaries." His eyes flickered with some emotion I couldn't read. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Sunny. If I were you, I'd just say, 'I understand, Cole. I understand every word you've said.’"
"So a long vibrator would be fine? Like, one of those powerful wand massagers? Just as long as it wasn't shaped like a?—"
"Sunny..." he growled before I could finish, his tone dangerous and low.
"Fine, I understand!" I gave in with a smothered laugh and held a hand up like a Girl Scout in the sliver of air space between us. "I promise to run it by you before I bring any men or sex toys home. Can we be done with this weirdly intense conversation?"
"Sure," Cole answered, his tone returning to normal.
But, instead of taking a step back, he raised both arms and braced a hand on either side of my head. Much like his step forward, the action felt deliberate.
"Um, what…what are you doing?"My heart pounded, andmy voice came out breathless with confusion…and something else I didn't want to name.
"We're making our debut as a couple at the CEO of the Year dinner tonight," he pointed out. "We need to make my grandmother and everyone else believe we're in the throes of a new romance. So madly in love, I put a ring on your finger after only seven weeks of dating."
"And that has what to do with you holding me hostage against this wall?" I asked, still breathing hard.
I could distinctly feel a bead of sweat on my forehead now.
