The way he said that had Jess snapping back, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I saw you out on the boat with those guys today.”
“Are you jealous?” she repeated the same accusation he’d made to her at Lanterns.
The look he gave her told her that he was not in the least bit threatened by Kingston or Miko. And why would he be? He was just as ripped and chiseled as those men.
“Well, no need to worry, those two guys are happily married.”
He gave her another look, one that said she was naive if she thought a ring made a difference.
“To each other,” she explained.
And then she saw it. A brief flash of relief. He had been jealous. Maybe not of their physiques, but of the attention they showed her. That thought had her heart pitter-pattering like a gang of kids running down the stairs on Christmas morning.
He quickly covered his initial reaction. “Look, it’s just four weeks.”
“Four weeks?”
“Long enough that people take it seriously, not long enough to shock people when it doesn’t work.”
Jess had to admit, she didn’t hate the idea. But she wasn’t about to tip her hand. She might not have a poker face for shit, but she could negotiate with the best of them. “What exactly am I going to get out of this?”
“What do you want?”
His voice rippled over her like a breeze, if that breeze was made up of hot-man breath. The deep rumble had her core clenching with need as goose bumps broke out on every inch of her bare skin. She lifted her hand and ran it down the side of her neck, suddenly feeling much more exposed than she actually was.
Before she had a chance to pull her thoughts together, the movie started playing again. Her DVR automatically did that after it had been paused for a certain amount of time.
Patrick Swayze said his famous line and took Jennifer Grey onto the stage to do their final dance.
Ethan tilted his head. “This is your favorite part?”
He didn’t sound judgmental or condescending, but it was Ethan so, of course, Jess got defensive. “Yes. It is.”
As they sat on the couch and watched the dance, a brilliant idea struck her, but being the shrewd negotiator that she was, she kept it to herself until she got more information.
“So let’s say I agree to this, what happens when we break up?”
He looked over at her, and the light of the television danced off his golden gaze. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, how are we going to do it? You know that everyone and their brother are going to want the details. How do we break up? Who is the breaker and who is the breakee?”
Ethan’s stare was blank as he shook his head. “I haven’t thought about it. I guess you can break up with me.”
“No way. I’m not going to be the bitch that broke up with Whisper Lake’s golden boy.”
“Fine. I’ll break up with you.”
“Right? Like anyone is going to believe that.”
“Why not?” He chuckled. “You have such a winning personality.”
“My personality is not what I was commenting on.” Her bravado was false, but she held onto it for dear life. It was all she had.
“Fine. It can be mutual.”
“Okay, why?”