“Smooth and spicy.” Trace raised his paper cup in a mock toast. “I’ll drink to that.”
Ash went a ridiculous shade of red again, but she didn’t hide her head. She kept her eyes trained on him. He took a sip of the drink, which had cooled to the perfect temperature while it awaited his arrival and savored the play of spices and sweetness over his tongue.
“Good?”
“It is good. I’ve never had one before.”
“You’ve never had a chai tea latte?” Ash’s beautiful lips parted. God, he wanted to grab her and taste those lips. Force his tongue inside her mouth and stroke it in the most sexual way… as if there was any other way.
This is supposed to be fake here. She knows that, but then again, it doesn’t mean it can’t turn out to be something real. He’d seen enough cheesy romances to know how this fake boyfriend, fake fiancé crap went. Boy and girl hung out. Hooked up. Had a fight. Made up. Happy ending. Every single time. He wasn’t even a romantic and he knew the deal.
He wouldn’t mind having the same ending.
Then he could buy his private island and become a happy hermit with a happy hermit wife. He wasn’t against love. He was more against romance. He was against the bullshit that came along with it, but this whole fake boyfriend shit really cut to the chase.
It put him exactly where he wanted to be. Which was why he agreed. Of course, Ash could learn that later. Because he already knew that she was perfect. She was funny, beautiful, witty, well-spoken. And sexy as hell. She was one sweet package, wrapped up in layers of insecurity.
He’d love to be the one to break through those layers and teach her just how incredible she was. Show her just how sexy… That is going to have to wait. Business and pleasure never mix well. Business first. Pleasure second.
Unless he found a way to combine them together.
CHAPTER 6
Trace
“Uhhh…. Are you still here with me?”
Trace snapped out of his thoughts. “Sorry. Long night.” He ran a hand through his hair.
Ash’s face fell and he realized she’d obviously misinterpreted what he’d just said. “I- look, it’s okay if you have someone else on the side. Or others. This is fake. You don’t owe me anything. You’re doing me this incredible favor, why I have no idea, but honestly, I have to say, you’re my savior at the moment. I haven’t got to the part where I grovel and thank you, but I’ll skip to it. Thank you. Thank you a thousand times. You’re a good man with a heart of gold. All your wishes will come true. You’ll be blessed for eternity. All of that stuff.”
“You missed the part about sparkly rainbow unicorn poop.”
“What?” Ash stopped in her tracks. She slammed a hand over her mouth and let out a muffled snort of laughter when her eyes tracked to his face.
“Sorry.” Trace laughed. “It’s an inside joke. Between my four-year-old niece and I. She’s really into the unicorn craze right now. Her birthday came complete with a unicorn piñata that sprayed out oodles of sprinkles and candy when it was bashed open. Hell for her parents to clean up, but they sucked it up for her. And as for seeing anyone else, I’m not. That’s not what I meant by a long night. I just- haven’t been sleeping well.”
“That makes two of us. I’ve been so worried about this reunion I haven’t been sleeping much.”
“Why?” Trace leaned back and took a sip of his drink. He didn’t want to be up in her face. When Ash hesitated, he knew he had to fill her in. “Newsflash, you’re beautiful. Incredible actually. I have no idea why you think you couldn’t face those douchebags and drama queens. That’s all they were. Pieces of shit wrapped up in nice exterior packages. You’d blow them all away. With or without my help.”
Ash blinked hard. She actually looked over her shoulder like he might have been talking to someone else. His stomach clenched. God, he wanted to rip her out of her chair, throw her up on that table, part those glorious legs of hers she had hidden away under those jeans and fuck her on the table. Even with everyone watching. He wanted her to feel him inside of her, fucking her senseless. He wanted her to see how quickly he could come undone and that she’d be the one to do that to him. To drive him out of his goddamn mind.
Of course, that was out of the question. The café was more of a g-rated zone, there were kids and all, so Trace kept his shit together. Barely. His balls didn’t agree, and his cock certainly wasn’t on board with the more rational part of his brain.