Page 65 of The Player + The Pact = I Do

“I don’t follow.” She sets down the last piece of cutlery and looks at me.

“She targeted me as a way to get to Bennett. He owns an IT company doing really cutting-edge stuff. She was a hacker—possibly representing a foreign government—using me to get physically close enough to Bennett to access his systems.”

“Wow,” she says, crossing her arms and leaning against the counter. “That officially sucks. Did you really like her?”

A tricky question that’s impossible to answer truthfully, now that I know what she was trying to do. “I don’t know. I think she was, deliberately, very easy company.”

“Well, that’s how you know you can trustme. No one’s ever accused me of being easy company.”

I chuckle and don’t say,I like you a lot better.

The buzzer goes. Jules straightens and turns back to the counter. “What about drinks? Should I have made cocktails? I have no idea what I’m doing as a fake fiancée. Will someone please write a book on that?”

I head to the door and meet Worth coming toward me.

“You need to get better about your security,” he says, pulling me into a hug.

“I left it open for you.” Probably not the best idea in New York City.

“This is Jules,” I say.

She’s a little stiff and awkward, but why do I find it low-key adorable? It’s like she’s my actual girlfriend meeting my friends for the first time.

I slip my hand to her back, trying to offer some reassurance, even though she doesn’t need it. My friends will make her feel comfortable. “Worth is as good as it gets, so if you don’t like him, you’re in for a shitty evening.”

“If you can put up withhim,” Worth says, nodding in my direction, “I’m going to be like a dream come true.”

Jules grins and pulls Worth in for a hug. “So nice to meet you,” she says.

“And you. Thank you for doing this for Leo. It’s a big ask.”

She turns to me, her head tilting in consideration. “Oh, it’s not so bad,” she says.

“I beg to differ,” Worth says. “Leo says you’ve taken over at The Mayfair. You need to make sure he’s not underpaying you.”

She laughs. “Oh, I’m all over that, don’t you worry.”

The door buzzer goes again and this time it’s Bennett and Efa. I asked him to bring her, partly because I thought it would be nice for Jules to have a little female company, and I’m pretty sure the two of them will get on. But also… Efa sussed out Nadia quicker than I did. It’s not like I don’t trust Jules, I do. But… I don’t know. I don’t one hundred percent trust myself, either.

Fisher and Jack arrive just after Bennett, and Byron sends his last-minute apologies, so we’re all here but the vibe is very different than usual. I’ve turned on ESPN, but no one’s even glancing in that direction. Everyone’s chatting and picking at the food and talking to Jules like this is a party.

“Does anyone want water?” Jules asks. “I need to stay hydrated.”

“Yes, please,” Worth says. Turns out, Fisher wants water too. I cross the kitchen and reach for a jug, which I place in Jules’ hands just as she’s about to ask me where she can find one.

She smiles wide, and I can’t help but mirror her. “Just what I was after.” Our voices are low, the two of us carving out a private space in the crowded kitchen. It’s nice.

“Thought so,” I say. “I think I have some lemon too, if you want to be really fancy.”

“I know you have lemons, becauseIbought them.”

“What is happening to my life that I don’t even know what’s in my fridge anymore?”

“Me,” she says, beaming up at me. “I’m happening to your life.”

“Don’t I know it.” And I don’t mind it. Not at all. She’s good company, funny and thoughtful and kind. The sex is great. She’s?—

“You two look good together,” Worth says, interrupting my thoughts.

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