For an instant he looked uncomfortable. Then his expression cleared. “Melinda and I would suit. You and I wouldn’t. Which makes you—”
She licked her lower lip, her spine tingling at his sudden fascination with her mouth. “Interesting?”
“Trouble.”
Ah, trouble. She’d been christened with that name often in her life, until she’d finally redeemed herself in the eyes of the town. Well, mostly. The ex-naughty girl had turned good. And good she would stay, after a short, intriguing detour into bad.
An image of the two of them outside the charity event flitted through her mind and she instantly felt her body begin to warm.
“You want a fake lover,” she said, trying for nonchalance.
Cory winced. “I prefer short-term corporate functionary, but yes, as you wish.”
“And you need her, like, now.” The pictures had basically sealed his fate there. Their fate.
A hint of a smile lifted his ridiculously kissable lips. Now that she knew exactly how kissable, she couldn’t drag her gaze away. “Like, yes.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Somehow he’d turned what had seemed like the worst thing ever—her newly cultivated good-girl reputation sullied for public spectacle—into a proposition that was more than intriguing. In several ways.
It would definitely look better if they seemed like they were serious about each other and not just exploring pleasures of the flesh in the great outdoors. Her career and her community standing were too important for her to risk, even when the weather forecast was steamy with a chance of orgasms.
But since she could accomplish more than one aim by providing him a little assistance, why not go for it? She’d always been…curious about Cory unbuttoned, and the guy clearly was at the end of his workaholic rope. Heck, if the way he’d made her come the other day was any indication, maybe that hot sex forecast wouldn’t be a onetime thing. Those photos and his offer had given her an in to his private inner world, and she was taking it.
And she was up for any and all sign-on bonuses.
Vicky grinned. “You need a short-term girlfriend. Well, you’re looking at her.”
Chapter Three
Cory undid the buttons of his suit jacket, unsure why Victoria’s golden-brown eyes gleamed. It was a little eerie, truth be told. He felt almost…objectified.
God, he needed sleep.
Though he’d come over for the very purpose of commandeering her into service, he’d sustained a bout of clarity since being confronted with Victoria—and her mile-long legs. He had sought a woman who would do her girlfriendly tasks with a minimum of fuss, but Victoria was an oncoming locomotive. Loud, full of steam, and liable to mow a man down if he didn’t move quickly.
She’d just had to answer the door in the skimpiest outfit he’d ever seen outside a bedroom. And of course her breasts plumped against her top just perfectly, and her caramel-blond hair curled enough to look wild, and the chain she wore showed off the silken curve of her neck.
Keep her talking. Don’t think about anything below her eyebrows. Hers or yours. “You know, despite the pictures, maybe this isn’t such a good idea. We work together, in case you’ve forgotten. The magazine’s success is paramount.”
“All that means is we already know how to accomplish things.” She shifted and the discreet diamond stud in her nose caught the light. “Besides, this is only a business deal, right? Just one more merger to broker. You’re not asking me to pretend to be your fiancée, for pity’s sake. Just your girl. I can do that.”
Just your girl. Those words shouldn’t have tightened knots in his gut, but they did just the same. “Interesting code you have. Fiancée is going too far. Girlfriend isn’t.”
She shrugged. “Call me weird all you want, but one involves planning a wedding. I would never pretend about something like that. When I put on a man’s ring, you can bet it’s never coming off.”
The last thing he wanted to think about was her wearing a man’s ring. With effort, he gave her a mocking smile. His idea or not, coming there was a big frigging mistake and he had to rectify it. Quickly. “No rings here. But I suspect the requirements would still be out of your realm.”
“What requirements?”
Yes, what requirements? He didn’t have any, other than she be low-maintenance, capable of attending corporate functions, and a talented actress. She’d also be quiet and demure and laid-back. Victoria? Not so much.
She was just way too sexy. He needed someone to distract his parents from their matchmaking witch hunt, not distract him from his work with her tiny little dresses and her perky little ass and that smug smile he wanted to kiss right off her face.