Page 6 of Playing Pretend

“What’s going on?” She tears open a bag of chips. “What did I miss?”

I keep my mouth shut.

He wouldn’t tell her. Would he?

“I want Rome to go on this vacation with you.” Rett holds my stare, his expression unreadable, his posture tense.

What the fuck is he doing?

“Why are we still talking about this?” she says around the casual crunch of food.

“Because it’s important.” Rett drags his gaze to Piper while I focus on the moon rising over his shoulder, not wanting to witness her reaction. “You deserve this.”

“I deserve a lot of things, brother. But sometimes we don’t always get what we want.”

My lips twitch at the subtle snub. She’s talking about the career we promised her at our property development firm—Cavanaugh Sheffield Holdings. The one she still has another eighteen months’ worth of experience in real estate to gain before it’s hers.

“Then let’s make this interesting.” Rett sits. “If you can successfully spend the weekend with Rome as your significant other, then you can get early access to your position within our company.”

“Rett,” I warn.

“Are you serious?” Her voice turns breathy.

Fucking hell.

“One hundred percent.” Rett nods. “You’ve already kicked a lot of goals in your career. This can be your opportunity to prove you’re ready for the next step. That you can handle working close to Rome.”

I appreciate the blatant permission to pursue his sister, but dangling this position in front of her isn’t fair.

We had an agreement. All three of us.

Piper needed to work in real estate for four years, gaining market knowledge as well as build relationships with contractors, agents, and financiers before she could claim a senior role. We thought it was best for her to join the team with experience. To come onboard as more of an equal.

“Put it this way,” Rett continues. “If you can maintain your cool around your colleagues while Rome is putting you through the ringer, you deserve the job.”

Blood pounds through my veins. She won’t be able to handle me. Not like this. Not when I now have an excuse to push all her limits. To break down her walls and show her the value of her sexuality.

She huffs a breathy chuckle. “I already told you, I can hand—”

“I won’t make it easy.” I hold her gaze, loathing and loving the eager gleam in her deep ocean eyes. “I’ll be there to keep your ex at bay, but I’ll also test how you handle pressure. I’ll make you uncomfortable and—”

“You couldn’t make me uncomfortable.” She drops more chips into her mouth.

“Says the woman who blushes whenever a conversation revolves around my bedroom skills.”

On cue, her cheeks darken. Her jaw ticks. “Well, I assume there would be rules. I’m not going to agree to something that puts me in an unprofessional situation.”

“I wouldn’t need to act unprofessional to make you bristle, little Pip.”

She scowls.

“See?” I smirk. “It’s too easy to rile you.”

“Of course it is after three glasses of wine, along with the frayed nerves from having to listen to you regurgitate your C-grade porn profile.”

“Ouch.” I clap a hand to my chest. “Surely I’m an A-minus at worst. Ask any woman I’ve slept with. They’ll tell you.”

Piper rolls her eyes. “I’d be surprised if you knew what any woman wanted.”

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