Eyes widening, he scoffed. “Well now, hen, is that any way to speak to your husband? Your one and only. The love of your life.”
“Try bane of my existence. Why are you here, Taylor?”
“I’m moving in. It was part of our arrangement, remember?”
“No. You were buying a house for us to live in. You never said anything about us moving into this house. My sister lives here too.”
“I would get us a house, but the market is wild these days. Why stress over it when you have a perfectly good place ready for us?” He waggled his eyebrows. “It can be our little love nest.”
“You said you already had one in the works.”
His gaze dropped to his feet for just a second. “Aye, I did. And that was true. But someone else swooped in and made a better offer. The wanker.”
“So go home to Seattle until you find a different place.”
He shook his head. “No can do, I’m afraid. The press is already lurking outside my building. They’ll know something’s up if you aren’t with me. The last thing I need is another relationship scandal. After the whole... Katerina debacle, my reputation could use a little polishing.”
I bit back a flash of jealousy at the mention of the supermodel he’d dated, the one who ended up being married to a high-powered businessman. The tabloids had a field day with the very public fight that ended with Taylor spending a night in jail.
“So I’m the polish? Your fake wife?”
“There’s nothing fake about this, Tink. You married me.”
“But it’s just an arrangement. You need to remember that.”
“An arrangement that’s as real as anything. Don’t worry. I’m not after making you fall in love with me. I know that’s not on the table for us. We made that clear our first go round.”
Something in my chest tightened, a dull throb that twisted and turned into a stabbing pain. Why? He was right. We’d gone out more than once, which had been a disaster, but the final time was the nail in our coffin. When he’d tried so hard to convince me that being at a wedding with another woman wasn’t a big deal. But he wanted to move in... here? The problem between us had nothing to do with attraction and everything to do with the fact that he was arrogant, overconfident, and a player.
“Taylor, I don’t think it’s a good idea. Scarlett—”
“I’m not asking her to leave. I just... we have to make this work. You agreed.”
“What do you think we need to do to make this work?” I asked, staring at him with my heart in my throat. “We’re certainly not sleeping together.”
“Oh, lass, you wound me. Am I that easy to read?”
“Yeah. You’re exactly that. I remember very clearly just how easy you were. I bet you’ve never spent a single night alone you didn’t want to.”
Something like hurt flashed across his face. “You really think I’m that terrible?”
“You haven’t proven anything different. Why wouldn’t I?”
His jaw set. “Fine. That doesn’t change the fact that you married me and made an agreement with me.”
“You’re right. I did. Fine. But you can sleep on the couch.”
I saw the argument in his eyes. He wanted so much to tell me exactly what he thought of sleeping on the sofa. Instead of saying another word, he gave a curt nod and hitched his bag over his shoulder. “Let me inside, then, Tink. I’m fucking starved and need a shower.”
“Charming.”
“You would too if you’d come all the way from practice with every possession packed.”
“This isn’t every possession you have. There’s no way.”
“No, but it is all my clothes and everything important.”
“What did you do with the rest of your stuff?”