Page 39 of Convenient Rivals

Daniel raised his eyebrows, but then his lips quirked into a smile.

“What?”

“Hot hate sex?”

Oscar felt his face heating again, but couldn’t help but laugh. Then he launched into the entire story of how they’d been friends as kids, what an arsehole Oscar had been in secondary school, the situation they were in now, the incredible chemistry they had, and how he was setting himself up to get his heart broken but was going through with their plan anyway.

“That’s quite a story. It’s like a romance novel.”

“You read those?”

“Only the daddy ones,” he winked.

Oscar couldn’t help but laugh, then noticed Daniel give him a look.

“Seriously?”

“It’s something that’s become more interesting as I’ve gotten older.”

“Really? Please tell me my mother doesn’t think I’m a boy.”

Daniel chuckled. “No, that never came up in her... interview.”

Oscar snorted.

“Where is your man, anyway?”

“He’s supposed to meet me at the ball, but I haven’t heard from in a week.”

“Since you turned down a hot Christmas Day fuck?”

“Wow. You’re direct, I’ll give you that.”

“I don’t see the point of being ambiguous. People need to know where they stand, even if it makes them feel uncomfortable.”

“How did you even meet my mother, anyway?”

“I was helping a friend of hers who popped into the office. She asked if I was gay, then single, and then the Dom Top thing.”

“Oh my God! Please tell me you’re joking?”

Daniel shook his head with a smile.

“I’m going to kill her.”

“Well, why don’t we have a little fun instead?”

Oscar tensed.

“Relax, Oscar. Not that kind of fun. Although you can take my number in case things don’t work out with Gregory.”

“What kind of fun, then?”

“We can mess with your mum a bit and see how Gregory really feels about you.”

“How?”

“We’ll go to the ball together. Your mother will think she’s won, Gregory will turn up, get all jealous, and then probably drag you off to the bathroom to give you a pounding, and then you can do your proposal thing.”

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