Page 10 of No Reservations

My two friends headed back up to the inn and the lake an hour after lunch. Dee looked concerned when I begged off, but I pasted on a happy smile and closed the door behind them. Their concerns had infiltrated my mind and made me think that maybe I was being an idiot about this whole thing.

I’d listened to Cole and his attorney explain things, but I hadn’t read all twenty-some pages of the contract before signing. It had been my idea in the first place. Also, it wasn’t like Cole could scam me out of money or anything. One look at him, and I could tell he needed help. Not just with the whole rumor mill stuff. Cole was a man seriously in need of some fun.

A few minutes later, I bobbed my head to Eclipse 6’s latest hit playing through my phone speakers. Halfway through, I tapped to another song and tried to get into that one. Maybe their chart-topping ballad would catch my interest. Sixty seconds in and I could honestly say I wasn’t a fan. Well, Cole told me he didn’t listen to their stuff either, so that was okay.

Another search brought up a biography of Cole Gilliam that held all the stuff people would usually learn about each other on a first date. Divorced parents. Only child. Educated at UCLA and Stanford. There was a list of other bands he’d managed before signing Eclipse 6 to his business. Estimated net worth…

I clicked away. None of the articles said anything about his interests or what he did in his free time. Maybe what he told me was true. I guessed the manager of one of the biggest bands in the country didn’t have a lot of free time.

It all seemed rather sad to me. Maybe he was one of those guys completely motivated by money, but if that were the case, he probably wouldn’t seem so stressed out. He had plenty of money, a beautiful condo, and a fancy BMW to drive around Los Angeles in. Wes identified his sunglasses as some obscure Japanese brand that cost over a grand. Anyone who paid a thousand dollars for sunglasses wasn’t hurting for money.

Instead, it seemed like he was hurting for fun. When I’d asked what his favorite music, movies, and past times were while driving back from the meeting, he couldn’t answer me. Maybe, besides posing as his boyfriend for the next couple of months, it was also my job to help him relax and learn more about himself.

Everyone deserved a chance at happiness. Most people deserved more than a chance. My mind strayed back through the years to my time with Santi. I knew what true happiness was. I had thought we were forever, but undetected cardiac abnormalities had a way of messing with those kinds of plans. Since his passing, I’d found plenty of ways to have fun again. This vacation with my two best friends was one example. I had a lot to be thankful for.

Cole had probably taken the trip to Halcyon for the same reasons. One look at the furrow in his brow and the tension in his shoulders showed he needed a break from the stresses of his high-pressure life. I had no idea what else might lurk beneath the surface. Maybe he’d give me a chance to find out.

I shook my head and scrolled back to the contract. It would be better if I found out what was expected of me and stuck to the guidelines, right? The last thing I wanted to do was to stress Cole out more.

Yair had forwarded the list of required social engagements to me. Cole’s reservation at the inn would end in less than two weeks. I only had a few more days to stay with Wes and Dee. In that time, however, I had to fly out to attend a charity event with him in Atlanta. A week later, we’d head to New York for a VIP music industry party. Then, he’d head home to California. There were a couple of other high-profile events on the list leading up to a September first option to stage our amicable break-up.

“When do we actually date?” The moment the muttered words left my lips, I shook my head. This wasn’t actual dating. This was really no different than the modelling stuff I’d done when I was younger. Show up, look good, act the way people expected you to, and get paid.

I scrolled further down the contract, and my eyes almost bugged out of my head. Maybe I was an idiot to sign a contract like this without diving into the compensation that much, butnow the details smacked me in the face. All travel and related expenses would be covered in full. Appropriate event outfits provided by Cole Gilliam. I’d also receive three-thousand dollars for each appearance and what Yair had termed ‘additional compensation as appropriate for time spent’. I scrolled up. Four planned appearances. Twelve-thousand dollars.

My phone fell out of my hand as I slumped back on the couch with a groan. What had I gotten myself into? I thought this would just be a bit of fun. Before the stress could descend, I heaved myself upright again and tapped over to a fresh browser tab.

I typed in the zip code near the Halcyon Inn and ‘recreation options’ and began to scroll. Cole might’ve thought he was paying for someone to pose on his arm and stop the ugly rumors, but that wasn’t good enough for me. I’d make sure he got his money’s worth. He was going to relax and have fun even if I had to work my butt off to make it happen.

Chapter 6

Cole

Aknock on the cabin door the next morning interrupted a contentious chat with Brooke. She thought the whole fake relationship was a disaster waiting to happen and still didn’t understand why I couldn’t just go out and find some random man to date without a contract involved. I stood up and headed across the room.

“It doesn’t matter if they’re using you for money, Cole. You have enough of it to wine and dine some idiot for a couple of months.”

“There’s someone at the door. Talk to you later.” I hung up before she could get another warning word in edgewise. MaybeI was a fool to think this would work. At least the man who I’d been photographed with was…

My thoughts trailed off when I opened the door to find Matthew on the other side. His tousled brown hair glinted with gold highlights in the early sun. His warm eyes creased slightly at the corners, as if the gorgeous smile on his face was a normal expression for him.

“Hi,” he said, and my eyes shot back to his from their perusal of his broad shoulders and chest. “Can I come in?”

It wasn’t until he stepped through the door and closed it behind him that I noticed the suitcase in one hand and a backpack over his shoulder. My brows stitched together, and tension seized my neck. We hadn’t talked about… well, we hadn’t talked about much, to be honest.

Matthew set his bags on the floor just inside the door and kicked his flip-flops off next to my Sebago boat shoes. He settled on the couch, patted the cushion next to him, and looked up at me expectantly.

The silly phrase ‘ruggedly handsome’ flew through my mind again, and I shook my head. He had the muscular build, the scruff, and the windblown hair. He was definitely handsome, too, but he was more golden retriever than rugged mountain man. I followed him to the couch.

“Wes and Dee – those are my friends I came here on vacation with – pointed out that it would be really strange for Cole Gilliam’s boyfriend to be staying in a cabin with two other men instead of with him. I mean you. So, I packed up and came over.” He scanned the couch and squeezed one of the cushions as if testing its comfort levels. “I can sleep on this couch, no problem. I don’t snore or anything. Do you?”

I shook my head as he bombarded me with statements that did, in fact, make a lot of sense once my brain caught up. “No. I mean, no one’s ever told me I snore.”

He tilted his head and peered at me. “Well, anyone who got the great Cole Gilliam in bed might not have mentioned it. I guess we’ll find out.”

The great Cole Gilliam.I was tired of being him. When did I get to be me? The questions only confused me and stressed me out more. “That will work. I thank you for your enthusiasm to make this as real as possible.”

“The way I figure it, showing up at those events on the contract isn’t enough. If no one sees us together outside of that, they’d probably just think you hired an escort. I mean, I let myself go a bit since I quit modeling, so maybe I’m not escort material, but still.” He patted a hand over his stomach. “Maybe you opted for the regular guy option to make things more realistic looking.”

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