Page 39 of My Real Love Affair

He held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay. No baby girl. Even though you like it.”

I glared at him. He grinned back, unrepentant.

“Fourth, you have to comment on my posts to keep up appearances online. But you can only use approved emojis.” Iwrote out examples. “Roses, nail polish, sparkles—those are fine. Peaches, fire, water drops—absolutely not.”

“You’re taking away my fun. What about an eggplant?”

“I will cut your balls off.”

He chuckled. “Ouch. No knife emojis either.”

I ignored him and kept writing. “Fifth, you don’t interrupt me during my content creation time. I block out specific hours for styling, photography, planning, and engaging with my audience. That time is sacred. I treat my career like a career, and I expect you to respect that.”

Austin’s expression sobered slightly. “I do respect it. I respect what you’ve built. I wouldn’t have asked you to do this if I didn’t.”

The sincerity in his voice caught me off guard. I looked up from my notebook to find him watching me with something that looked almost like admiration.

“Thank you,” I said quietly, then cleared my throat and returned to my list. “Sixth, you have to attend a boyfriend training session with Cleo.”

“A what?”

“Boyfriend training. Cleo will coach you on how to show up at events with me, how to interact with my audience and what kind of content works for my platform. She knows my brand inside and out.”

“Your friend is going to train me. Like a puppy. I am housetrained if that helps.”

I scratched the pen across the page. “No puppy pads.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “This is insane. I love it. What else?”

“Seventh, no overnight stays. We keep our private spaces private.”

“That’s going to look suspicious if we’re supposedly dating.”

“Then we’ll be creative with our scheduling. But I’m not waking up with you in my space or vice versa. That’s too intimate for what this is.”

“I live at a hotel right now, anyway.” He shrugged. “But if I get a penthouse with a hot tub, you sure you don’t want to come over? You. Me. Bathing suits and bubbles.”

The man was insufferable. I was not going to humor him.

“And eighth, this is the most important one, Austin. No lying. To each other, I mean. We can lie to everyone else about what this is, but we have to be honest with each other. About expectations and if something isn’t working. Complete transparency between us, even if the rest of the world doesn’t get that.”

The playfulness dropped from his expression entirely. He leaned forward, elbows on the table, his dark eyes locked on mine.

“No lying,” he repeated. “I can do that. Can you?”

“That’s why I’m insisting on it.”

We stared at each other across the table, and for a moment, the restaurant faded away.

“Anything else?” he asked in a husky voice.

I reviewed my list one more time, then shook my head. “That covers it. For now.”

“For now? You planning to add more?”

“I reserve the right to amend the agreement as needed.”

“Of course you do.” But he was smiling. “Can I see?”