Page 72 of Nothing to Deny

“It will work,” Baer said. “Don’t worry so much.”

“How can you be calm about this?”

“I’ve been doing this a while,” he said. “It’s not always so bad when a match isn’t perfect. ‘Specially when that match isn’t heading to the altar.”

That jarred her doubts to a halt in a swift redirect.

With the other couple a distant memory, he got all of her. “What is that supposed to mean?”

His ease became a frown. “Holly’s not going to marry Donoghue any more than she was going to marry Lyon.”

“How do you know?” she asked, stepping away to fold her arms.

“Because women who use escorts…”

He trailed off as offended incredulity tilted her head.

“What? Women who use escorts what? Please finish that sentence, Mr. Clayton.”

He didn’t miss her deliberate use of his alias.

“Okay…” he said, trying to lay a hand on her shoulder. She avoided it with another backward step. “I want you to remember that I have not been in a real relationship for a long time. A very long time. So if I open my big stupid mouth and upset you—”

“Frey!”

Spinning around, she found her cousin storming across the private lounge. Leaving Baer, she hurried to meet Holly halfway.

“It’s okay,” Freya said. “Whatever you want to do, we’ll do.”

“Donoghue’s hot.” Holly grabbed both her hands. “Am I being swayed because I think he’d be fire in the sack?”

Huh, that was unexpected.

Processing, she sought direction. “You want to go on vacation with a boyfriend, there’s a guy here willing to play the role. You don’t want it to be Donoghue? We’ll send them both away.”

Going without Baer would be payback for her judging his unfinished sentence so quickly.

Holly breathed out and looked past her. “Why do you and Baer have to be so perfect together?”

“I just jumped down his throat; I don’t know how perfect we are right now.”

“Wanna trade?”

Even though Holly’s smile was sheepish, no way her cousin didn’t already know that answer. Baer would be brilliant in the role of besotted boyfriend, no matter who he was with. But Freya couldn’t imagine much worse than lying in a bed next to Donoghue thinking about Baer in bed with Holly. And under the same roof too.

Though, after how Baer reacted to Donoghue kissing her cheek, she wasn’t so sure Baer would be the consummate professional if there was another man in her bed.

Donoghue was at least smart enough to give the women a wide berth as he passed to join Baer. At least she guessed that’s where he was going, she didn’t check.

“What do you want to do?”

“We have no choice,” Holly said. “Not really… Dad thinks we’re bringing our boyfriends.”

“Does Donoghue know he’s supposed to be Paul?”

Drawing in air through her nose, Holly tensed. “Oh God, there’s so much we have to cover.”

The guys were supposed to take the notes from the meeting and spend some time memorizing the details. Donoghue hadn’t had the time to do that, as far as they knew.

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