“Well, you’ve succeeded.”
He chuckles, taking another step closer, his cologne wafting over me. “You’re funny. I think we’d make a great team, you and I. You with your musical talent, and me with… well, everything else.”
I roll my eyes internally, my patience wearing thin. I don’t know if it’s the fatigue or if I’ve spent too much time with Grey, but I’m so done with this bullshit. “What is this, Daniel?”
“What is what?” he asks, feigning ignorance, a smug smile playing on his lips.
“All this,” I gesture vaguely, feeling the frustration bubbling up. “You hanging on like a fly.”
He chuckles, the sound low and patronizing. “Is that so? And here I’ve heard you’re shy.”
Somehow, his brand of arrogance is only annoying and not as infuriatingly hot as Grey’s is. My patience is now long gone, and I cross my arms, staring him down. “You never talked to me before. Why now?”
“Well…” He pauses, his smug demeanor slipping as he runs a hand through his hair. “Okay, I wanted to discuss this at a later point when we had hung out a bit and become friends, but I guess you’re not as easily impressed as I’m used to. So whynot play with open cards from the start? You’ve certainly already gathered what the plan here is.”
What is he even talking about?
“No, Daniel, that’s why I’m asking. Whatisthe plan here?”
He sighs deeply, his shoulders sagging as he leans against the balcony railing. “Okay. So… our mothers want us to marry.”
“I’m sorry, what?” I say, stunned by his bluntness.
Although am I really surprised?
Mother basically told me the same.
“I know, I know. But you know how the game is.” He shrugs. “You know it as well as I do. And honestly, I always thought you were cool.”
“You thoughtIwas cool?” I repeat, raising an eyebrow.
Bullshit. No one’s ever thought I was cool.
I’m so not cool.
Uncrossing my arms, I take a step back, but Daniel takes a hesitant step closer, his demeanor shifting from smug to slightly earnest. “Yeah, I mean, you’ve always been different. You do your own thing, you’re smart, independent. That’s pretty cool.”
I shake my head, the frustration building. “This is ridiculous.”
And he’s such a liar.
“I know it sounds crazy, but hear me out,” he says, reaching out as if to touch my arm but thinking better of it, letting his hand fall to his side. “Our mothers think we’d make a perfect match. And honestly, on paper, we do.”
I stare at him, my mind racing. “I’m not going to marry you, Daniel. This is insane.”
“I know. I’m sorry, okay,” Daniel’s tone softens. “Listen, how about this? I can keep my side chicks, you can keep yours. And I promise I will never embarrass you or disappoint you. Publicly, I will be the best and most loyal husband there ever was. I will keep everything as private as possible as long as you do too.”
Side chicks?
The words echo in my mind, and I can’t hide my disgust. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“They’ll want at least two kids from us, but I promise I’ll make it good for you,” he says, wiggling his eyebrows in a way that he probably thinks is charming. It reminds me of how Misha jokes, but where Misha’s flirty demeanor is endearing, Daniel’s attempt is repulsive. I want to say something, to tell him how ridiculous he sounds, but he continues, undeterred. “Maybe I’ll be the one who will turn you back straight again.”
“I-what? I’m not gay!” I blurt out, my frustration boiling over. “And even if I were, that’s not something you can turn on or off. What the hell?”
“You’re not?” He appears genuinely surprised.
“No! Who says that?”
