We don’t move for a few minutes afterward, waiting for our breathing to slow. Nic brushes a strand of hair out of my face, looking into my eyes. His look even sexier than ever, hazy from sex and full of emotion. Slowly, I climb off of him and pull on my towel, knotting it at my breasts again.
He stands up and presses a tender kiss to my lips, then pulls on his briefs and T-shirt. We walk together into his bedroom, and I start to get dressed.
Since he hasn’t asked me to stay, I don’t want to wear out my welcome. Things tonight have been perfect, but I can’t forget about how he disappeared on me a couple of days. The last thing I want to do is rush anything if he’s feeling overwhelmed.
“I should get going. I have to get up early tomorrow.”
I feel his gaze on me as I pull my clothes on, but he doesn’t say anything. It seems like he’s deep in thought, but I decide not to ask about it. There will be time to get answers later. For now, I just want to savor everything that’s happened over the past few hours.
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” he says as he walks me to the door. He holds the sides of my face and gives me a gentle kiss on the forehead before I leave.
Despite all my unanswered questions, I’m floating as I walk to my car. I know it’s crazy, but this man makes me feel like I can do anything.
I only hope that he’s being truthful with me when he says he’ll call me tomorrow. I’m not sure I can handle him ghosting me again after the night we’ve just shared.
• • •
“Girl, did you get a facial or something? You’re glowing.” Christine looks me up and down.
I met her at the farmers’ market this morning to do some shopping since we haven’t seen each other in over a week. I’m not surprised she commented; I’ve been in a particularly good mood ever since my night with Nic earlier this week. I haven’t exactly been in a rush to tell her about the developments with Nic, but it seems dishonest to keep it a secret now that we’ve had sex.
“Well, to be honest,” I say, picking up a bouquet of flowers and smelling them. “It’s Nic. He’s amazing, Christine. I can’t believe you set me up with him.”
I try not to gush, but I can’t stop myself. All I want to do is scream from the rooftops that I met the most amazing, thoughtful man in the world. Not to mention he’s about as sinfully sexy as it gets.
“Elle, you’re not still seeing him, are you?” Christine asks, her face crumpling.
“Yeah, I am. What’s wrong with that?” I ask, purposely playing dumb. If she wants to finally tell me what’s so bad about Nic, she needs to just come out with it. “You’re the one who set us up. I’m sick of you acting like it’s so wrong that we’re hanging out.”
Christine pauses with an apple in her hand. She looks at the ground for a few seconds before looking back up at me, biting her lip.
“Christine? What’s wrong?”
She seems conflicted, but it’s time she told me the truth about Nic. I’m tired of her cryptic warnings about him, and I’m going to push her until she finally admits what her problem is.
“Look, don’t get mad,” she says, setting the apple down and turning to face me. “But you were really stressed out about seeing Jeremy at the wedding, and I knew he was going to be there with that new bimbo, and I felt really bad about it. I just wanted you to have fun.”
“What are you talking about? Isn’t that why you set me up with Nic?”
“The thing is, it wasn’t really a setup. Or it was, but not like that.” She looks into my eyes, anxiety etched on her face. “I don’t really know Nic from college.”
What? My heart is pounding hard. I don’t know what she’s talking about, but it suddenly feels like someone dropped a lead weight into my stomach.
“Christine, what do you mean?”
Even though I’ve asked the question, some part of me doesn’t want to know. The past few weeks have been so amazing, and I have a horrible feeling she’s about to drop a huge bomb on me.
Before continuing, she takes a deep breath. “I hired him. I just wanted you to have a date for the weekend to pick your spirits up, and that would be it. I didn’t think he’d keep pursuing you after.” She waves her hands in the air. “I didn’t think it would lead to all this.”
I feel like I’ve been sucker punched, and my heart just skipped about fifteen beats.
“Christine, what are you talking about? You hired him from where?”
“He’s a male escort, Elle. He sleeps with women for money. But I didn’t hire him for that; it was just to hang out with you and make sure you had fun at the wedding. I specifically told him to be a gentleman, and I definitely didn’t tell him it was okay to pursue you after the wedding was over.”
Christine won’t look at me, and I suddenly feel faint. I try to breathe deeply, but I can’t seem to catch my breath.
“But he said he worked in finance . . .” My words trail off as all the pieces come together.
The reason Christine has been so weird, and why Nic will never talk about his work. The way he kept hesitating to sleep with me, and all those little moments where he seemed guarded and I had no idea why.
Now I know why he blew me off those few days; he was probably afraid of us getting closer, given that our entire relationship so far has been based on a lie. All the clues have been there and I’ve missed them all, consumed by my feelings for him.
But he was paid to make me feel these things, and he’s damn good at his job. I’ll give him that.
Nic is a fraud.
I feel disgusted with myself. I had sex with him—without a condom.
Oh God. I feel sick.
I stare at Christine, tears filling my eyes, but I don’t say anything else. After weeks of questioning, I finally have all the answers I need.
Chapter Eighteen
Nic
The knot that’s been forming in my stomach all day tightens even more as I walk through the door to Case’s house. Pausing in the foyer, I take a good look around, appreciating the little details I’ve taken for granted all these years. The pristine marble, the framed artwork, the sleek and sturdy furniture set over long, patterned rugs.
Case runs a tight ship, both in his business and in his home. The two have become one and the same, really. He’s always treated each of us escorts like family. Which makes what I’m about to do ten thousand times harder.
I walk through the living room, nodding to a couple of the guys lounging and watching TV on the couch.
“Hey, Nic, long time no see. How’s it going?” Ryder smiles and leans forward, resting his forearms on his knees.
I notice the half-finished beer on the side table next to him but don’t say anything. I’m in no position to judge. “Doing well. It’s good to see you. Is Case in his office?”
Ryder leans back, a smirk on his lips. “Yeah, he’s around. Heard you’ve had a lot going on lately.”
I clench my teeth, annoyed that the guys have been talking about me. Not that I should be surprised. They’re not judging or anything. Just concerned.
“That’s what I’m hoping to talk to him about, actually.”