Suddenly, I have memory flash. I’m back in the small house I lived in with my parents. The Child Protection Officers are there. They’re telling my mother and father that the others kids have reported me for selling my body in school the day before. I can see my mother’s face vividly. It is white with horror. I try to tell them that I only wanted to help, but my father won’t even look at me. And my mother is so ashamed she hangs her head.

I take a deep breath. Wow, that was so long ago and yet it has remained so fresh in my memory banks. “And it doesn’t make me a whore? Taking all that money?” I ask slowly.

“What? You’re being paid to act like his fiancée. If you then chose to screw him because you want him like mad, that’s your fucking business. Your life. You hear me? Just be smart about this.” She pauses. “But I know you wouldn’t, because that’s not your style. And I know something else, too.”

“What?”

“You won’t let yourself have any fun.”

“You don’t know that!”

“Sure, I don’t.” She laughs. “You won’t, because you don’t know how to.”

Ouch. That one hits a little closer to home than I like, because she’s right. I’ve never been able to devote any time to fun. I’ve never had a vacation. No Spring Breaks for me, no trips to Europe, or Mexico as a graduation present. I’ve been working since I was thirteen, as soon as I could get papers stating I was eligible. I was the Girl Without Parents, the Foster Kid, the one who never belonged. Penelope is my only true friend, plus a few casual acquaintances I sometimes chat with before, or after class. But most of my classes are online, so I’m fairly insulated from the world.

“Is that weird? That I don’t know how to have fun?”

“No. Not weird. But something you should work on. This is your chance. Live it up a little! Go shopping, hit the slots, or the poker tables, drink all you want, have a ball. He’s paying for it.”

“That’s true. I guess, I could. He doesn’t seem like the type who would begrudge me a bit of fun. I’ll find out more about him before we go and we’ll see.”

She let out a sound between a growl and a groan. “Honey, you are gorgeous. You’re smart and sweet and you’ve got a kickin’ bod. He wants you with him because you’ll make him look good in front of his ex. He might think he’s in control of the situation, but you are. Remember that when you want to enjoy yourself, and you’ll find a way to convince him.”

Her knowing laugh makes me laugh, but it also makes me blush and bite down hard on my bottom lip. I can’t stop thinking about his eyes, and his smile and oh, God, his body under that expensive suit of his.

And the way he looked at me. The way his eyes trailed over my body whenever he got the chance. He said I was beautiful. I don’t think he was lying about that. He’s attracted to me. Admitting it to myself makes my heart race all over again.

Him. Attracted to me. Whoa!

“This still feels so crazy,” I whisper.

“Probably because it is.” She chuckles. “But that doesn’t mean it isn’t amazing. Because it’s definitely that. Just promise you’re gonna keep me updated all the time. Okay? I mean, even if you have to check in while you’re staying with him. I don’t want my girl staying with a guy who’s gonna wear her skin.”

“You always say the sweetest things.”

“Also update me if he wants to turn the twosome action into a ménage scenario.”

“Eww,” I scream.

We’re both giggling as we get off the phone. As always, a talk with Penn makes me feel better. I can do this, and I’ll have a great time while I’m at it.

And when it’s all over, I’ll have the kind of bank account that I could only dream of until now. I can’t help but plan for the future as I stroll out of the restroom.

As I get to the door, a man in uniform runs up to me. “Dani Saber,” he asks.

“Yes.”

“Let me show you to your ride.”

For a second I can only blink, then I follow him out to the street. A gleaming limo is idling on the street waiting for me. He opens the back door and I slip inside the perfumed interior.

The driver opens the glass partition and smiles. “Good evening, Miss Saber. My name is Tom. Where can I drop you off?”

I give him my Red Bank address.

He nods and closes the partition.

The car begins its smooth journey. Wow, this is the life.

When a text buzzes on my phone, my smile fades.

BROCK: Why did it take you so long to get to the lobby? Is everything all right?

What the hell? Is he monitoring me? I decide to ask him as much. Are you some sort of stalker now?

BROCK: No, but I had my driver parked illegally. You spent an extra fifteen minutes in there. I was about to go down and make sure you were all right.

Wow. He’s intense. Uh, thanks. Everything is fine. I made a phone call from the Ladies.

BROCK: From now on, please let me know when you plan on doing something like that.

I can’t stand another minute of this crap. I call him up instead of wearing out my thumbs texting everything that’s on my mind. “What’s with this caveman macho act? That sort of thing went out of style a long time ago.”

“Hello to you, too, Dani.”

“I mean it,” I snarl. “I don’t need to tell you when I’m making a phone call, Brock. In case you forgot, we only met this evening. And while it’s true that you have employed me to go to this wedding as your fiancée, it doesn’t give you the right to dictate what I do.” Penn would be so proud of me right now. I’m sort of proud of myself, in fact.

“I won’t apologize for being concerned about your well-being, now that we have an arrangement in place.”

“Having an arrangement in place doesn’t mean you own me.”

“No, but it means I’m investing money in you, and I don’t want to lose on this investment.”

I blink. “I’m an investment?”

“You’re an investment of money—and time, which I value above all else.”

“You don’t have to invest a thing in me, Mr. Brock Whatever Your Last Name Is. I didn’t ask you to bestow this great honor on me, and I don’t want you to.”

“Do you really mean that?”

“What do you think?”

For a few seconds, all I hear is the sound of his breathing. I wonder what’s going through his head. He can’t like being told off like this, but he had it coming to him.

“Fair enough. If this is all too much for you, you’re free to do as you choose. If you decide not to take me up on my offer, it was nice knowing you. Though I plan on docking a percentage of your pay for skipping on my bedroom.”

Just like that, the call is over and I’m right back where I started from. My foster mother always did warn me that my mouth would get me into trouble. I sit back, utterly dejected. Well, it was nice while it lasted, the idea of all that money. All that freedom.

Buzz, buzz.

My eyes snap down to my phone.

BROCK: In case you’re still in, I’ll have a car pick you up at nine tomorrow.

Damn him. I manage to wait twenty minutes before replying. Okay. I’ll be ready.