Besides, I told him I needed space.
And now this is happening.
It’s foolish, but I only told him I needed space because I actually really like him.
How am I supposed to pretend to be his girlfriend when I already feel something real?
But then there’s the money.
Two hundred thousand dollars.
The number is…
Too big. Too life-changing to ignore.
That’s the kind of money people like me don’t casually get offered for a simple job like pretending to be someone’s girlfriend.
My thoughts snap back to how badly I want the dream of having my own business, and suddenly, everything I said about simplicity feels fragile. Like it could crack under the right pressure.
Pressure like this.
Levi reaches out and takes my hand.
“Think about it,” he says. “Don’t give me an answer now. Take the weekend and let me know by Monday. Can we do that?”
He searches my eyes, tentative.
I nod slowly, my mind trying to process everything. “Yeah… I can think about it. Sure.”
He gives my hand a gentle squeeze before letting go. “Thanks. You know where to find me.”
“I do.”
He dips his head and for a second it feels like he wants to say something else.
His gaze lingers on mine, steady and unreadable, before he finally steps back and walks away.
Once again, I’m left watching him go.
Chapter Eleven
LEVI
“Look at his little face,” Louise gushes, tickling baby Dominic’s stomach.
Knox is holding his son, humoring our stepmother with one last tickle before nap time.
I’m not sure there’s going to be a nap time for my nephew. Dominic is blowing raspberries and giggling, or as close to baby giggles as it gets for a four-month-old.
We’re all gathered around the living room. Some of us are seated, some standing, enjoying the rest of our family get-together. The room smells faintly of roasted meat and something sweet from the kitchen, the warmth of it clinging to the air.
Louise’s playlist hums softly through hidden speakers in the background and the entire house carries that lived-in comfort money can’t buy no matter how much of it you have.
This is the most laid-back you’ll ever see the Vale family outside of Christmas.
We’re all busy people, but we meet once a month usually on Saturday or Sunday for a good old-fashioned family dinner. Dadpicked Saturday this month because most of us are going to be away over the next few Sundays.
At times like these, I almost miss those simpler days when contracts and clients didn’t exist. We were just kids, thinking the world would be like this forever.
