His blue eyes gleam in the darkness and he lets out another sigh.
“No, nothing like that.” Then his eyebrows knit together and he frowns. “The truth is that I’m being stalked.”
My jaw drops open. “You what?”
He shrugs. “I have a stalker. The woman who’s stalking me is named Jocelyn, and she’s insane. She steals things from me, just small things that she thinks I won’t notice like a company coaster. She’ll call me incessantly, and she follows me around so much that I actually had to get a restraining order against her.”
I gasp. “And she’s still stalking you?”
He nods. “I told you she’s crazy.”
I run my fingers through my hair, trying to process this. “So you need a fake fiancée because …?”
He lets out a long sigh again.
“I need someone to pretend to be my fiancée so Jocelyn will finally get the picture and leave me the hell alone. I need someone who’s believable, meaning she’s beautiful, elegant, and classy all at once. She needs to be available 24/7 too because Jocelyn could show up at any moment, she’s that insane.”
This time it’s my turn to squint.
“Really? You’d go to such lengths?”
He nods. “Hell yeah. You have no idea what having a crazed stalker is like. Even more, Jocelyn’s not exactly dumb. She’s canny and street smart, so she’d never believe I was engaged to just anyone, much less a sassy street hooker.”
That startles a giggle out of me. “But I am a sassy street hooker.”
He grins and starts tickling me. I wiggle and squeal beneath him until he silences me with another drugging kiss to the lips. “That may be true, but you’re the right type of sassy ho. You’re the kind of woman I could believably be in love with.”
I melt at his words, but try to keep my expression unchanged. Keep it together, Patty, I remind myself sternly. Don’t get swept away by what he says.
But Luke’s totally serious. “Patty,” he says, his tone suddenly somber. “I mean it. My stalker situation is out of control, and I need to fix it. As a result, I’ll pay triple your regular rate for six months if you help me.”
I stare at him. Holy cow! My rate’s not cheap because frankly, a lot of clients enjoy their time with me. But still, triple is taking things to another level.
“Luke, that’s a lot of money,” I say slowly. “Are you sure? I’m certain there are more noble ways to spend your money.”
He shrugs, one black lock falling over his forehead rakishly.
“I can afford it,” he says. “But listen honey, you don’t have to decide now. I know I threw this on you with no preparation, so take some time to think about it okay? How about a week? Does that sound reasonable?”
I gulp hard and nod.
“Um, okay,” comes my tinny voice.
Then Luke grins and grabs me again, and soon my curves are flying all over the place once more. But even as we indulge in a hot morning session, my mind keeps whirling. Am I really ready to be this handsome man’s fiancée, fake or not?
A few hours later, I wander downtown to a bakery for lunch. Luke urged me to stay and order room service at the hotel, but I told him I had plans. I just need some time to think about his proposal, and him being in the room at the same time is not good for my equanimity.
The bakery’s located on a side street in Soho, and as I walk up, I glance in the window and my friend Simona is already waiting at the bar. I take a deep breath and literally feel the tension running out of my shoulders. I texted her while still at the hotel asking if she could meet up, and she said yes. This is going to be good because not only is Simona one of my best friends, but she’s also a City Girl so she’s more likely to understand my situation.
“Hey, girlfriend,” I say, going up to her with my arms open.
“Patty,” she exclaims, pulling me in for a hug. Simona’s just like me: we’re both curvy girls with brown curly hair, so we tend to attract the same clientele. Is that weird? Well, we’ve never overlapped clients, so business is still good in that respect.
Then, I hop onto the bar seat next to her. Simona’s already sipping a mimosa, and it looks delicious so I order the same.
“Is everything okay? Your text made me worry,” she says.
I nod. “I’m fine, but I’ve got a weird situation.”
Her brow arches.
“Work-related?”
I blow out a breath. “Isn’t it always?”
She giggles. “Yeah, you’re right. Spill it.”
I inhale deeply. “The guy I met up with last night was pretty awesome by the way. Tall, handsome, and clearly not the type who needs to hire someone. Except there was a caveat.”