Chapter Eleven
Four weeks into the friendship thing, Nik had come to the conclusion that he was his own worst enemy. What the hell had he been thinking? He didn’t want to be friends with Summer. He wanted to take her to bed and make love to her until he forgot everything. Forgot who she was, what she’d done…
Other women were out of the question. He just wasn’t interested. He couldn’t imagine kissing another woman, let alone taking one to his bed.
He’d only survived this long by staying out of her way. Once he’d realized just how hard the friend thing was going to be—unfortunately, not as hard as his dick—about half an hour after he’d made the suggestion, he’d reorganized his schedule. And he’d managed to find a whole lot of meetings he had to attend in person, in other countries. So he’d spent most of that time away from the office, just popping back now and then to make sure she was okay, that she didn’t have any of those problems he’d told her to talk to him about.
He’d had to come back now, though. It was his mother’s birthday tomorrow and there was a gala at the Ritz. And he couldn’t not attend, though he hated big parties. His mother was not taking this birthday well.
A knock sounded at his door, and a moment later, Summer popped her head around. “Do you have a moment?”
“Of course.” Or an hour or three, if she was willing to spend them in his bed, wrapped around him, with his dick deep—
“Nik?”
“Sorry, I was just thinking about…business.”
She stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.
Hell, they didn’t need to go to his bed. They could do it right here, in his chair. He’d been having this recurring fantasy, ever since he came across her that day, spinning.
She looked relaxed, almost happy. She’d put on weight and her skin and hair glowed. And she’d also bought some new clothes, simple ones that suited her. Today she wore a black pencil skirt that hugged her hips and finished just above the knees and a blue silk tank top that matched her eyes and skimmed her breasts.
She was fucking beautiful, and she was his goddamned friend.
Though now that he looked closely, she did have a frown on her face. She rubbed at the little line between her brows. Then she licked her lips, and heat shot to his groin. “There’s something different about you,” she said.
“Is there?”
“It’s your clothes. You’ve stopped wearing jeans to work.”
He couldn’t face wearing a suit and tie, but he was now within the dress code provided by his HR department. Dark gray pants and a white shirt. He’d even tucked the shirt in. “I thought I’d better start abiding by my own rules.”
She smiled, and something twisted inside him. “Maybe there’s hope for you yet.”
“Is that what you came in to see me about?”
“No.” She shifted from foot to foot, a sure sign she was uncertain about whatever it was she had to say. Curious, he kept his mouth shut and waited.
“You know you said I could come see you…if I had a problem?”
“You have a problem?”
“Sort of. And you might be able to help me with it.”
“Go ahead.” She sounded definitely shifty. Was she going to ask him to break the law? Receive stolen goods?
“I have this friend. Hey, don’t look so surprised, I do have friends. Anyway, Danny is my oldest friend. I’ve known him since we were kids.”
Was this the man she’d been with the second night she was out of prison? When he’d done his stalking thing? He wanted to ask, but didn’t want to give away the fact that he’d been there that night. She might think it was a little…creepy. Hell, it was creepy.
“And…?” he prompted when she went quiet.
“He has this girlfriend.”
That was good. He just stopped himself from smiling.
“He really likes her. Plus, they’re doing this…work thing together and he can’t afford to break up with her. It will mess everything up.”
He couldn’t see where this was going. “So what’s the problem?”
“She thinks there’s something between me and Danny.”
“And is there?”
“No!” Was she too emphatic? “But she doesn’t believe that.” She shrugged. “I don’t want to cause problems, but he’s my friend and I don’t want to lose him.”
He still had no clue where this was going. “How can I help?”
“Well, I thought if I had a boyfriend…”
He could feel a grin spreading across his face. “You want me to be your boyfriend.”
“I want you to be my pretend boyfriend. Just for one night. Just so Sherry can meet you and finally see that I’m not after Danny, because I have someone of my own.”
“You think I’m a better boyfriend than this Danny?”
She shrugged. “You’re rich and you’re okay-looking.”
Talk about being damned with faint praise. “Hey, don’t go overboard. I might get bigheaded.”
She bit her lip, and then a smile broke through. “You’d make a pretty impressive boyfriend. Besides, I don’t have any other options.” She pursed her lips. “Though I suppose I could ask Sam. He’d help me out. But I don’t want a real boyfriend, and I suspect Sam would try to make it real.”
His hands fisted at his side, but he kept his expression bland. Was she playing him? Probably. “Definitely don’t ask Sam then.” He studied her for a moment, but she wasn’t giving anything away. “And you don’t believe I would want to make it real?”
She snorted, and an expression of disbelief washed over her face. “You might want to sleep with me, but men like you do not go out with women like me.”
“What exactly do you mean by ‘men like you’?”
“Rich assholes,” she muttered.
He almost laughed. She really did have a low opinion of rich men in general and him in particular. “Where did you get your high opinions of billionaires, Summer?”
Her eyes widened in what he was sure was mock amazement. “Are you really a billionaire, Nik? Wow. I’m so impressed.”
“No, you’re not. For someone who went to enormous lengths to get her greedy little hands on large amounts of money, you don’t really seem interested.” She was such an enigma. Her simple clothes, lack of jewelry, the fact that she shared a place with her friends—all of it revealed her as someone who didn’t give a toss about material goods. So what had she done with his money? Maybe he’d get Harry to start up that investigation again. Perhaps the money trail would finally reveal who she really was.
She shrugged. “Maybe I gamble. Badly.”
Could that be it? Perhaps he’d take her to the casino and watch. But he didn’t believe it. Because if it was true, she wouldn’t have told him. His Summer liked being an enigma.
“So you’ll do it?” she asked. “The boyfriend thing?”
“I don’t see why not.”
Her smile widened. “Thank you. It means a lot.”
“When do you want to do this?”
“As soon as possible.”
“Dinner tonight?”
“I’ll call Danny and set it up.”
He allowed himself to smile as she walked away, watching her ass sway beneath the tight black skirt. It looked like he had a girlfriend.
…
Summer had arranged to meet Nik at the Indian restaurant not far from the gym. Nik had wanted to pick her up—he said boyfriends did that. But she’d persuaded him otherwise. She hadn’t seen him again after he’d agreed to help her. He’d been in outside meetings all day, but she’d phoned him with the details.
She got there early, but he was already waiting outside. He looked gorgeous in black jeans and a white shirt, loose over the top, sleeves rolled up over his arms. Something melted inside her as she took in his long, lean figure. He was lounging against the wall, his arms crossed over his broad chest, but he straightened when he saw her and strolled toward her.
“You’re early,” she said.
“So are you.” His gaze ran over her, lingering in various places on the way. She’d made an effort with her clothes tonight, wearing a white strappy dress printed with blue flowers. It was pretty and showed off plenty of skin, but that really had nothing to do with Nik. Honestly. She’d planned on wearing jeans, but Darcy and Regan had both said no way. If she wanted to convince Sherry, then tonight, she had to look like she wanted to impress a man. And Nik certainly seemed impressed, if the length of time his gaze lingered on the curve of her breasts was anything to go by. He finally turned his attention to her face, but a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
“You look beautiful tonight.” He appeared to consider what he’d just said and gave a shrug. “Not that you don’t normally look beautiful. But tonight, you look especially radiant. Very girlfriend-like.”
“Thanks,” she muttered.
His smile turned to a grin. “Just doing the boyfriend thing. You’ll have to tell me if I get it wrong. I haven’t had a lot of practice.”
Why did she find that hard to believe? “What about Giselle?”
“Giselle and I don’t really have that sort of relationship.”
And why did she want to question him about just exactly what sort of relationship they did have? Still, it was none of her business, and she should keep reminding herself of that. Tonight was playacting. Totally unreal. Nik was just doing her a favor. Because he was a nice man. And he wanted to be her friend.
Actually, no, he wasn’t nice. “Nice” didn’t describe him at all. He was doing this for his own reasons. She suspected he wanted to check out Danny, though as to why, she had no clue.
“Does Giselle know that?” she asked.
“Of course. We’d only just started seeing each other when you came out of prison, and now it’s over. We never slept together, if that’s what you want to know.”
Of course, she didn’t want to know. It was none of her business. “Why?” The question was out before she could think better of it.
He leaned a little closer. “Because I don’t sleep with one woman when I spend most of my waking moments thinking about fucking a different one.” He straightened and grinned. “Actually, not just my waking ones. I dreamed about you last night.”
“Oh.” Very intelligent reply. “I thought we were just friends.”
“We are. Unfortunately, my dick hasn’t taken the news too well. Don’t worry, it’s under control.”
Time to change the subject. “Perhaps we should go in.”
He grinned. “Does it embarrass you, to know that I think about fucking you? That I remember what it felt like to be—”
“Yes,” she snapped. “It does. And friends don’t set out to embarrass each other, so shut up about it.”
Without waiting for him to say any more on the subject, she pushed open the door to the restaurant. Sherry and Danny had not arrived yet, and the hostess showed them to an empty table set for four. She took her seat, and Nik took the place at right angles to her. The table was small, and his leg bumped against hers as he settled into his chair. They both ordered a beer and then sat back.
“Do you want to tell me a little bit about this guy? I gather that he’s an old boyfriend, and if so, why is he still in your life?”
“I take it you don’t stay in contact with your old flames.” She didn’t wait for an answer. “I told you, Danny was never really a boyfriend. He’s just a friend.”
“Maybe he doesn’t know that.”
“He does.”
“And his girlfriend thinks there was more. Why would she think that, if you were just friends? Or was it friends with benefits?”
“None of your business.” She had an idea that wasn’t going to work.
“Hey, friends talk about these things.” He took a sip of beer. “Relationships and stuff. Come on, you can confide in me.” He placed his beer on the table, sat back in his chair, put his hands behind his head, and stretched, a lazy smile on his face. God, he was gorgeous. And he knew it. “Besides, I am your boyfriend, sweetheart. I think that gives me the right to know.”
Why the hell had she ever gotten into this? It had seemed like a good idea at the time. And she hadn’t really believed he would go along with it. But he had, and now he was asking questions and she supposed he deserved answers. He was helping her out of a sticky situation.
But what was she supposed to tell Nik? That she had lost her virginity to Danny when they were both sixteen. That they had slept with each other on and off in the years after that. They’d both wanted their relationship to be more, but while it had been fun, there had always been something missing.
Passion.
She had a flashback to that night with Nik. That was what had been missing. But she’d found it with Nik. Best not examine that too closely.
“You’re not my boyfriend, but you are doing me a favor, so I’ll tell you. I’ve known Danny since I was fourteen.” She stared into space for a moment as she remembered that first meeting at the foster home. For a shy, introverted teenager like Summer, the place had been hell. A lot like prison, really. It had been her first night, and she’d still been dazed by the speed at which her world had fallen apart, as well as worried for her mother, who they didn’t think would ever walk again. Not that anyone had told her that, but she’d overheard a conversation between the doctor and the nurse.
She’d been going through life in a haze of misery, when she’d been cornered by three older girls and told she had to pay a fee if she expected to be left alone. None of it had made sense. Then Danny had come to the rescue. “It was a difficult time for me. He was a stranger, but he put himself out to make me feel better, and I’ll always be grateful. I’m not sure what would have happened to me without him. He’s like a brother, and the best friend I ever had. And yes, at one point, we thought there might be more—hoped there could be more—but it didn’t work out. And there hasn’t been anything like that between us for long time.”
“How long?”
“Mind your own business.”
He opened his mouth, no doubt to say it was a “boyfriend’s” business, but at that moment, she caught sight of Danny and Sherry crossing the room toward them. She got to her feet and waved in their direction. Danny waved back, put a hand on Sherry’s waist, and guided her toward the table.
As they got closer, it became clear they’d been arguing. Sherry’s cheeks were flushed, and Danny’s lips were clamped in a tight line.
“Oh dear, trouble in paradise,” Nik murmured.
She had an idea that this was going to be an awkward evening, and that she had made a huge mistake, but it was too late to back out now. She was just going to have to make the best of the situation. As they halted by the table, she moved around, leaned across, pressed a hand on Danny’s shoulders, and kissed his cheek. She repeated the process with Sherry, who stood stiff as a board under the kiss. Then she sat down again and took a gulp of beer.
Time for some introductions. She hoped Sherry was suitably impressed with her trophy boyfriend. “This is Nik,” she said, forcing her lips into a smile. “And this is Danny and Sherry.”
Nik rose to his feet and held out his hand toward Danny. They shook, both eyeing each other more like potential enemies than prospective dinner partners. Nik shook hands with Sherry next, who was looking him up and down as though she liked what she saw. Some of the tension went out of Summer. Presumably Nik made a passable boyfriend and a believable alternative to Danny. That was the whole purpose of the evening, after all. But they still had to get through dinner. Fun, fun, fun.
They all sat down. Summer was seated opposite Danny. He caught her gaze and lifted one eyebrow. She ignored him, and he turned his attention to Nik, but Sherry beat him to it.
“So, Nik, where and when did you and Summer meet?”
Nothing like being direct.
Nik didn’t appear fazed by the question. “I first met Summer nearly three years ago. She was working in the accounts department at my company.”
Crap. She really hadn’t wanted Danny to know that. He was bound to make the connection. She could almost see the cogs turning in his brain and no doubt, he was coming up with the right answers. He’d helped her set up that job, created Sarah Daniels. Now he would know that Nik knew all about her alter egos.
“You’re Nik Masterton,” he said.
Nik raised an eyebrow. “I am.”
Sherry leaned across the table, her eyes wide. “Of Masterton Industries? That Nik Masterton?”
“The one and only,” Summer muttered. At least Sherry appeared impressed. It was a good thing Danny wasn’t the jealous type. Or at least, she thought he wasn’t. He gave her a look that asked what she was playing at.
“I’ve been working with your company on my mentor program,” Sherry said. “We haven’t actually met, but we have spoken on the phone.”
He smiled. “You’re Sherry Brooks? The Give Something Back program? How’s it going?”
“Fabulous. We haven’t started yet, but we plan to move forward with the first trials any day now. Your company has been so supportive.”
“I hope it works. It’s a great idea.”
Sherry glanced at Summer. “You know it was Summer’s idea?”
He looked at her. “No. She didn’t mention it.”
Duh. Well, why would I?
“She came up with it while she was inside.” Sherry frowned. “Hey, you do know about Summer’s little…” She waggled her eyebrows. What was that supposed to infer? If he didn’t know, he was going to be sure to want to find out.
“I know,” he said, his tone ironic.
“Whew. Anyway, she wrote to Danny setting out the idea, and Danny came to me, and the rest is history.”
The waiter arrived at that moment, and they ordered food and more beers.
“So, you met three years ago,” Sherry said. “Did you go out with each other back then?”
“No, we didn’t go out, but we did become friends, and when I found out she needed a job, I insisted she let me help. And it all started from there.” He reached across the table and took Summer’s hand, squeezed. “Now we’re inseparable.”
“Aw, isn’t that sweet?” Danny didn’t sound impressed.
“Well, you did land on your feet.” Sherry appeared to have taken Summer’s boyfriend at face value. And even if she seemed a little incredulous, she hadn’t actually come out and asked what a gorgeous billionaire was doing with a girl like her.
Summer gave her a smile back. “Nik’s been so kind to me since I got out.”
“It’s good he knows about your little…time away.”
“We have no secrets,” Nik said.
“Somehow, I doubt that,” Sherry said.
It occurred to Summer that there might be more to Sherry’s dislike of her than mere jealousy. Maybe she was worried Summer was going to get Danny involved in her illegal activities. Danny had told her Sherry knew about their work together. He’d been straight since she went away; Summer’s being caught had knocked some sense into him.
She made a mental note to reassure the other woman, but now was not the time. She didn’t want to give Nik any inkling that Danny had been involved in her criminal activities. While she hated to lie, that wasn’t her secret to tell, and she’d never betray her friend.
“Nik has really looked after me.” Across the table, Danny raised an eyebrow. Ignoring him, she shuffled her chair closer to Nik. He still had hold of her hand; now he pulled her closer and placed a kiss on her lips. As she made to move back, his hands slid into the hair at her nape, and he held her firmly while he deepened the kiss. His mouth plundered hers, his tongue pushing inside. The room, the company, everything faded from her consciousness. The kiss only stopped when she ran out of air. She sat back, gulping oxygen, her gaze fixed firmly on his face. His eyes were sleepy, darkened with desire. Across the table somebody coughed, and she forced herself to look away and straight into Danny’s shocked eyes. Next to him, Sherry was fanning herself.
“Wow.”
She couldn’t have put it better herself. “Hot and bothered” didn’t begin to describe how she felt right now. Luckily, the waiter brought their food at that moment, so they were saved from having to give any more demonstrations of devotion.
After that, things went a little smoother. Sherry relaxed and appeared to enjoy herself. She even smiled at Danny, so at least the plan had worked. Danny didn’t look quite so happy and kept throwing Summer suspicious glances. But she returned them with a bland smile, then nearly jumped out of her skin as Nik’s hand slid up her bare thigh under the table.
He leaned toward her and whispered in her ear. “Just trying to be convincing.”
His hand slid up a little higher, and heat flooded her core. She took a sip of cold beer, trying to cool herself down. His fingers fluttered against the lace of her panties, and she closed her legs as tight as she could to stop any further movement. A glance at his face showed nothing.
Sherry asked her something, and she shook her head, having no clue what the question was. “Gotta visit the ladies’,” she said, jumping to her feet and dislodging his hand.
When she returned, she made sure she stayed out of reach, studiously ignoring everyone while she ate her food. Which was delicious.
Finally, the evening was over. They said good-bye to Danny and Sherry at the door. Danny had ordered them a taxi.
“I’ll walk you home,” Nik said.
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to. Besides, it’s what a boyfriend would do.”