I sucked in a harsh breath and tore my gaze away, which caught Lily’s attention. When she glanced across the room and saw what had upset me, she cursed.
“I’m going to kill him, Harper,” she said indignantly. “Why is he letting her touch him? That stupid conniving…”
“It’s okay.” I attempted to play the unaffected card. “They’re just old friends, right?”
Lily knew I didn’t really mean it because my voice was wobbly and my eyes were glassy. And I was humiliated. I was falling for the man who brought me here to make his ex jealous. Talk about pathetic.
“Do you want to get out of here?” she asked.
“God yes,” I blurted.
“C’mon.” She stood up and grabbed my hand. “We’ll take a cab. Leave that dickhead to wonder where you’ve run off to.”
***
Jameson came in two hours later, and I pretended to be asleep.
He turned on the light and sat at the end of the bed.
“Harper?”
I didn’t respond. But he continued anyway.
“I’m sorry about the reception, for leaving you alone like that. Lily told me you saw me talking to Katherine, and I just want you to know it wasn’t what it looked like…”
I rolled over and flaunted a bored expression. How many times had women all over the world heard that line before?
I wasn’t going to be another one. And if Jameson wanted to treat me like an escort that’s what he was going to get. I’d had two hours to numb myself and think this over. To realize that I couldn’t let myself get invested in something that was one-sided. This was just business.
“It doesn’t matter,” I told him in an emotionless tone. “I don’t care what you do or don’t do with Katherine. The only reason I’m here is because you’re paying me to be. Remember?”
He flinched away from my words and looked at me like a wounded puppy dog. I turned my attention to my hands and picked at my nail absently so I didn’t have to see it.
“Is that all?” I asked. “I’m tired.”
“I guess that’s all,” he agreed. “Goodnight, Harper.”
Chapter Sixteen
I spent the entire next day in the kitchen helping Julia prepare for dinner.
It was another big King event, she explained, and the entire family would be there tonight. She put me in charge of desserts, and I went a little crazy baking while she prepared the roast and side dishes. I relished the opportunity to avoid Jameson and the tension that seemed to grow between us with every passing day.
Lily was beside me, mixing up various batches of liquor concoctions.
“Tonight’s going to be fun.” She wiggled her nose. “Just you wait and see.”
“Do I even want to know what’s in that?” I asked in a teasing voice.
In response, Lily poured a glass of the cloudy concoction and handed it off to me. “Trust me,” she said. “You’re going to love it.”
I took a sniff and caught a hint of apples and cinnamon. It definitely smelled like Christmas. I brought the cup to my lips and took a sip, expecting a powerful hit but receiving only a sweet concoction that seemed innocent enough.
“What is that?” I asked.
“It’s Apple Pie,” she smirked. “Another King tradition. We’re going to use it tonight.”
Something about her words told me I was going to be in for another surprise. I just shrugged and tossed back my glass, hoping it wasn’t more of Katherine.
***
By six o’clock I was freshly showered and ready.
After prying the guest list out of Lily, I learned that Katherine was in fact going to be there tonight. It wasn’t the greatest news I’d received, so I decided to up the ante on this one.
I slipped into my sexiest black dress with a low cut back and sky high red stilettos. My eyes were smoky and my hair teased to perfection. I embodied the role that Jameson wanted. It gave me a small thrill and an aching heart at the same time.
When he walked in to the room to collect me, his eyes trailed over my body in surprise. And then he frowned.
I swallowed, wondering what that was all about.
“Am I not to your liking?” I asked coolly.