“Me? You’re the one who showed up out of the blue with a contract in hand asking me to lie for you. You could have asked anyone. You could have gone up to any woman in the world and had her sign on the dotted line. You could have even fooled one into signing an ironclad prenup and then just dumped her when you had your way, and yet you came to me, the one woman in the world who did not want to be whisked away by the Ethan Cole. Seriously Ethan, why me, why not anyone else?”
“Because I don’t trust anyone else,” Ethan replied. “Isn’t that your whole thing? Isn’t that the secret of the great Amy Haven? Don’t trust anyone, don’t let anyone in.” Ethan pulled the car up to the back door of the house. “You know what? I take back what I said. The two of you are perfect for each other.”
“Don’t even think about coming back to the room and trying to climb in that bed with me. I do not give a damn who I am supposed to impress or convince. I don’t care what our agreement says. Don’t be such an ass, and don’t lecture me on being myself, or I will catch the first flight home and leave you here to play patty cake with your billionaire buddy.”
Amy got out and slammed the door before heading inside. She watched Ethan turn the car around and head back down the driveway. What the hell just happened? she wondered. Her mind reeled as she tried to make sense of everything Ethan had just said. Ethan, guy who had a new girlfriend every week was going to lecture her about opening up? As she got ready for bed, Amy wondered where Ethan had gone after he dropped her off. She was willing to admit that she had gone a bit far in her flirtation with Logan, but it wasn’t like Ethan was her actual husband or even her boyfriend. This was supposed to be a business relationship, and already it was turning into something else. So what if she had made him jealous? She had watched him with a parade of women over the years, and she hadn’t batted an eye. Why should he get so worked up over her spending two days with a cute guy who actually liked her?
She got into bed and waited for Ethan to knock on the bedroom door. The longer she waited, the more she began to wonder about the other part of what Ethan had said, the part about caring about her. She wasn’t naïve enough to believe that yet. Sure, he was fun and handsome, and he was good company, but so was Logan. But she wondered, what if Ethan did care about her? What would that make their marriage? She didn’t know if jealousy counted as caring, but it was a lot more than he had shown her before that point. Her head hurt as she tried to think it all through. She turned off the light and closed her eyes. She was sure of one thing: it would take more than a piece of paper to make her care what Ethan thought. If he wanted to prove to her that he actually cared, he’d have to show it.#p#分页标题#e#
Chapter 10
The next morning, when Amy woke up, it took her a few moments to process where she was and what was going on. It wasn’t the waking up in a strange room part that got to her. Years of crisis management had meant years of staying in hotel room after hotel room across the country. What threw her for a loop were the pillow and the blanket on the floor next to the bed. Had Ethan come back in the middle of the night? And if so, had he actually slept on the floor like she had requested?
Amy grinned as she thought of what Ethan must have looked like sprawled out on the floor. She grabbed a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt from the luggage Ethan had packed for her. She took a quick look through to see what else there was. It seemed like he had gotten her clothes for almost any occasion, everything from snow pants to lingerie. Amy did a double take as she found the lingerie. She walked to the ensuite bathroom and brushed her teeth before grabbing a bathrobe for a little extra warmth. She figured it would be good enough for getting breakfast.
As Amy walked down the stairs to the kitchen, she heard the sounds of cooking and someone whistling. She could already smell the bacon and the home fries and she could feel her stomach beginning to growl. She assumed the person she heard would be Hank, and she was surprised at how much the smell of breakfast and the sound of someone happily cooking away made the giant lodge feel like a cozy home.
She almost fell over when she walked into the kitchen and saw Ethan standing over the stove, flipping French toast in a pan. If he had gotten in after she had gone to bed and was already awake for long enough to make breakfast, how in the world did Ethan look so awake? His crisp gray t-shirt clung to the contours of his torso, and Amy couldn’t help but sneak a peek at his ass before he turned around to see who had arrived.