“Or?” Her eyes snapped up to his, sharp and interested. Fuckyes. He could make this work for both of them.
He relaxed back into his chair. “Neither of us does long-term relationships. Yours last longer than mine, but we’re not in it for the long haul, right?” At her nod, he continued. “So we take this weekend to have as much sex as we want, knowing that neither of us is going to let any long-term feelings get in the way.”
Her brow furrowed as she pulled her hair from its ponytail. His fingers itched to tousle those brown strands, but he forced himself to stay still.
“Only sex,” she said slowly. “Only this weekend. And then we’re back to being high-paid escorts for each other so we can fool the world into thinking that we’re two functioning people capable of finding love.”
He snapped and pointed at her in approval of her concise rundown. “That’s exactly it. I’ll keep convincing my dad’s clients to take me seriously,andI get the novelty of sleeping with the same person many days in a row.”
“Hmm. What do I get out of it again?”
Her stare was bold now, and he leaned forward and smiled wolfishly. “You get the house of your dreams and the novelty of having many orgasms in a row.”
“I suppose it’ll help sell our fake relationship better.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder, and her threadbare T-shirt pulled against the hard points of her nipples.
He bit back a groan. God, she was responsive. And that’s exactly why he needed to remind both of them about the parameters of this new stage of the plan.
“So we get it all out of our systems this weekend, and then when I finish up in a few weeks, it’s back to being friends.”
“A few weeks?” Her mouth turned down at the corners.
“I thought you’d be glad to have all the work done.” He pointed to the torn-up kitchen behind her. It bothered him that he’d deviated from his schedule and left her with bare walls for as long as he had.
She dismissed the kitchen with a wave of her hand. “Yeah, of course. It’s just…” Another flash of white teeth against pink lips. Then she tipped her head and ran a hot gaze over his body. “In that case, we’d better use the time we still have left before Sunday.”
He didn’t bother to hide his delight that she’d just agreed to turn her body into his personal playground. “The things I’m going to do to you,” he murmured.
With a pretty blush, she pointed toward the staircase. “Bedroom. I want those pants off in the next sixty seconds.”
She didn’t have to tell him twice.
* * *
Three hours,three orgasms, and one trip to the lumberyard later, Aiden was balanced on a ladder, hammering a support beam into place under Thea’s balcony.
“Do you mind if we have company during our sexcapade weekend,sweet cheeks?”
He glanced down at where his sunglasses-wearing pretend girlfriend was stretched out on the lounge chair she’d dragged into the grass to watch him work. “Only if it’s not your stepdad.” He swiped at his sweaty brow.
She wrinkled her nose. “Ew. Of course it’s not.” She held up her phone. “Mabel texted to ask if she and Jake could stop by.”
“Tell her they can only come if Mr. White-Collar’s willing to get on a ladder and help me run a string line to check how level the center beam is.”
“I offered to help you with that!”
“And I was the sexist asshole who said no to you dangling from a ladder.”
She huffed, then brightened immediately. “Honestly, that’s fine. The view’s way better from down here anyway. You could charge clients more to work shirtless.” She peered showily at him over the top of her sunglasses, then grabbed her phone to tap out a text. He turned back to his work with an amused shake of his head. Because this April was unseasonably hot and the backyard was in full sun during the afternoon, he’d ditched his shirt an hour ago. And he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this purely content. Sex with an enthusiastic woman, followed by hard physical work under the sun and the promise of another night in her bed. All the elements for a perfect day.
In short order, Beaucoeur’s most popular morning-show host and her accountant boyfriend appeared around the side of the house, each brandishing a bottle of wine.
“I love your new place!” Mabel called, and Thea leaped up to hug her as if they didn’t see each other at work every day.
“Thank you!” She gestured over her shoulder. “Don’t mind my houseboy.”
Mabel pushed her sunglasses on top of her hair and turned to eyeball him. “Looking good, Adonis.”
“Gotta keep my tan even,” he called back.
