An Unlikely Deal(24)

I go on full alert. Her reaction is muted now, but I can't help but think of the way she freaked out in Chiang Mai. She's definitely done something she's afraid I'll find out about.

Unease knots my gut.

Focus on what I want first. If I get that, I'll have the opportunity to figure it out.

"Half a year," I state firmly.

"What?" She turns toward me, dropping her hands in her lap. "How did I steal half a-"

"No. I want half a year. With you. Twenty-four weeks."

"And just exactly how did you arrive at that number?"

"A week for each month you stayed away."

She snorts. "Perhaps you should ask your brother to stay with you for twenty-four weeks."

This again. Now I'm glad I had that call. "I already spoke with Blake."

"Oh?" Her eyes are sharper now. "And?"

"He said he didn't do anything to you."





Chapter Ten



Ava

I glare at him. "You're kidding, right?"

"I trust him. It's not his style to interfere in relationships."

"Of course! Why would you ever doubt your awesome brother? Let's doubt the gold digger."

Lucas inhales sharply. "I never considered you a gold digger. You know that."

"Right. That's why you kept showering me with money and gifts … and a freaking Lexus. Because I'm not a gold digger."

"I gave you those things because I wanted to help. And you needed a new car anyway. That rattrap you were driving was a time bomb."

My mouth twists at the familiar argument. The beat-up, dilapidated Nissan, as far as Lucas was concerned, was going to give out on some deserted road frequented only by serial killers and rapists. I give a sudden and theatrical mock-gasp, as though I just recalled something, and cover my mouth with a hand. "Oh, and I forgot. I'm also supposed to be your mistake!"

And a dumb one too from the way liquid heat lingers in my veins. God. How can I still respond to Lucas like that? My body should know better.

"Ava," he growls out my name in a warning. "I've never said you were a mistake."

The old mortification surges, and I feel my cheeks and chest heat. "Not to my face, you didn't. So what? You think saying that crap behind my back makes it better?"

His mouth parts. "I didn't-" 

"If you didn't talk about me as a mistake or a gold digger, why did your brother call me those things the moment we met? How did he get that impression?"

"I already told you I spoke with him, and he said he doesn't remember saying anything of the sort. You're mistaken."

I stare at him. He's so, so earnest, his gaze direct and steady. This is how he was able to get me to succumb to him in the first place. I couldn't turn him down when he looked at me like that, like he meant every syllable.

So why did Blake say those things? Did he really deny everything to Lucas?

I feel like my world is upending again, my resolve weakening. The truths I knew are no longer true, and I only want to believe what Lucas is telling me.

Don't be an idiot.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice …

I can't afford to repeat the past. I drop my eyes. "It doesn't matter anyway."

"The hell you say."

A knock interrupts him. He curses under his breath and answers the door. It's room service.

The man keeps his gaze straight ahead and brings our food in. If he senses the tension in the suite, he doesn't show it. He lays everything out, confirms that the order is correct, has Lucas sign a slip and disappears.

"Eat," Lucas says, retaking his sectional.

"I told you, I'm not hungry."

"Humor me, Ava."

The cold, quiet rasp of his voice lets me know he's close to his breaking point. I grab a fry and nibble on it, while he helps himself to the steak. If he's disappointed by how small the portion sizes are, he doesn't show it. Japanese people consume not even a third of what Americans routinely polish off in one sitting.

"As I said, I want you back for twenty-four weeks."

"If you need a fuck buddy, surely you can get Faye Belbin to fill the role," I say.

A tinge of something that looks like satisfaction glitters in his gaze. "Jealous?"

"You wish."

"I told you, I didn't sleep with her while I was with you. She and I were over years ago. Ask her to confirm if that will help."

I laugh. "You haven't been listening to anything, have you? I don't trust you. I don't trust the people around you to tell the truth, Blake being the most recent example."

"I trusted you." He speaks quietly and evenly. "I didn't come to Osaka to fight, Ava. And I can't stay in Japan for long, so you'll have to quit your job and come back home with me."

Both my eyebrows rise. "Are you out of your freaking mind? There's no way I'm quitting my job for you."