Page 227 of Promise Not to Fall for the Rich & Famous

Nash couldn’t form a word, but he did manage to nod encouragingly, furrow his brow, and remain standing upright, so score one for him.

“It's sort of like a fake relationship contract, onlyourrelationship is real. The good news is that I’d get to meet your family. I’ve been dying to do that.” She began counting out again, starting first with her thumb. “We go public with the relationship, you come to Dallas with me, and we agree to stay together until at least two months after the movie releases, which is sometime in the spring.”

Nash was still stuck on the fake relationship part.

“Oh, and they worked in some monetary compensation for you since you’d be coming to Dallas with me and everything, but if we both fulfill our ends of the contract, I'll be free from any agents or obligations. And, of course, you and I can stay together if things are still going well, which I hope they are..." She pinned her lips together. Her face went red.

Monetary compensation? That was insulting. Did they just assume folks out in the country were penniless? They were sorely mistaken on that count. The Copelands owned and operated a lucrative cattle ranch and owned miles upon miles of land. Still, if he was leaving work for a time—to go to Dallas with Ellie, no less—he guessed compensation made sense.

Nash waited for her to continue, hoping she could make more sense of it all, but she didn’t say another word; she simply gathered a larger portion of that hem into a fist and twisted it mercilessly.

"I don't think…" Nash started to say. He stopped there, not sure how he even meant to finish that sentence. He didn’t wantto get involved in some sort of Hollywood contract. It felt dirty and skeezy, and it had money attached. Money he could pass on to Uncle Lloyd, who’d be forced to keep a few ranch hands on to make up for Nash’s absence.

Ellie could meet the family,a voice reminded.Dang, he wanted that. Wanted it badly enough to throw all his doubts out the window, but the good sense in him wouldn’t let him do that either.

"I know it's a lot," Ellie said. “If I were you, I probably wouldn't want to do it either. Why don't you take some time and think about it? I'll walk back to the cabin on my own, and you can give me your decision tomorrow.”

Nash shook his head. “No,” he said, motioning to the trail. “I’ll walk you back.” Which meant they wouldn’t be hanging out later like he’d hoped.

As they headed back to Ellie’s cabin, his emotions seemed to be caught in a wicked windstorm, flinging from one end of the spectrum to the next. He should be glad she didn’t want to end things. Glad that she wanted him to come to Texas with her, but a different emotion was taking the lead. Was it…humiliation? Shame?

Yes, both. He felt as if he’d been duped somehow.

At the back entrance of her cabin, Nash shifted his weight from one foot to the next, not even sure what goodbye was supposed to look like in all his uncertainty.

“Well,” Ellie said with a shrug. “Sorry to drop all this on you. I know it’s heavy. And it’s not even your burden to bear, so I’m not asking you to do it as a favor to me. Just do it if you want to.”

Nash nodded, suddenly anxious to get a moment alone and sort through his thoughts.

"Okay. I’ll see you later,” Ellie said, but she didn’t step away toward the gate. Instead, she moved closer to Nash, right into hisspace, her hands sprawling across his ribs, circling his sides, and then gliding around his back.

Her head was bowed, but soon she lifted it in staggering stages, eye level at his chest, his jaw, and then his eyes as Nash looked down at her. She looked as vulnerable as he felt.

But then, a wave of determination welled in the blue depths of her eyes, and soon, Ellie pressed herself up on her toes. Her hand moved up, too, wrapping around the back of his neck a moment before she pressed her lips to his in a strong, persuasive kiss.

Nash’s hands found her curvy hips and greedily pulled her closer. He kissed her in return, feeding off a growing sense of desperation and fear.

Did he really stand to lose her so soon?

Was all of this some sort of ploy?

He slowed the exchange of their kiss, moving into long, yearning presses and intimate, lingering pulls.

Asking.

Testing.

Pleading. Was this real, or had it been fake from the start?

The whimper that seeped through Ellie's parted lips, the tension in her hands as she nearly clawed the nape of his neck, told Nash that itwasperhaps real for her, too.

When she pulled back at last, Ellie looked at him, her ocean eyes welling with tears, and bit her lip as she searched his face. "I won’t be angry at you if you don’t want any part of this. In fact, I’d like to keep seeing you either way.” She shrugged, but he sensed the stakes were higher for Ellie than she was letting on. Sensed there was a lot more to this deal that she wasn’t telling him.

“I’d like that too.” The moment she stepped away, a sense of emptiness crept in, eroding the peace he’d felt with her near.

Ellie looked hopeful for a blink, but the expression fell as quickly as it came. “Tomorrow?” she asked.

Mind spinning, heart aching, Nash managed a nod. “Tomorrow.”