Page 31 of Daring to Love You
As for Lynix’s idea, she had hoped he had come up with a way to discourage her mother’s meddling. Fake dating… him, though? No way. She wasn’t that good of an actress despite what he might think.
“Hear me out,” he said as if reading her mind, and then he stood and extended his hand to her. “First, let’s move to the sofa where it’s more comfortable.”
Dorian let him help her up and escort her across the room. The moment she sat on the sofa, she had to agree with him. It was comfortable, and she was tempted to kick off her shoes and curl up on it. After eating so much, a nap would be great.
She wouldn’t, though, because she wanted to hear more about Lynix’s idea, even though she was fairly sure she wouldn’t go along with it.
“I like the idea of a trip to the moon. Sounds like a life altering experience. However, pretending to be a couple would be easier.”
Dorian shook her head. “I don’t see how fake dating would help either of us.”
But when the words left her mouth, she thought about what she’d just said.
Fake dating.
“Actually, I can see how itmighthelp me with my mother, but she won’t believe it unless she sees us together.”
Lynix took a sip of the beer he’d been nursing during lunch. It was probably warm by now, but he didn’t seem to care.
“Spending time with each other is part of the idea. So she would definitely see us together. I can easily swing by and pick you up from work sometime or send flowers to the B&B. We can make her believe we’re a couple.”
Dorian nodded slowly. The idea might just work… for her.
“What about you? How would any of this benefit you?”
“Actually, the more I think about it, the more I like the plan. My mother hosts an annual fundraiser gala. It’s to raise money for a nonprofit her family started over thirty years ago to fight hunger and poverty. I’m expected to attend. If you were my pretend woman, you could be my date. Then I’d have the pleasure of escorting the most beautiful woman in the world to the event.
“I had considered going alone, but there will be women in attendance looking for a boy toy or their next husband, and I don’t want the attention.”
Dorian rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. “Arrogant much?”
This reminded her of one of several reasons why they would never work as a couple. He thought too highly of himself… even if it did seem he could back it up.
“That’s not me being arrogant,” he insisted. “That’s from experience. Me and my brothers attend every year, and in the past, we’ve gotten more attention from the opposite sex than any of us wanted. It doesn’t help that my mother enjoys bragging on her sons. The thing is, this year two of my brothers have women, and the other won’t be attending the event. That leaves just me. Even if you don’t want us to pretend to date, can you help me out by being my date that evening?
“Oh, and besides you being my date for the gala, us fake dating would come in handy whenever I have dinner at myparents’ house. It would be nice to take my girlfriend along with me.” He rubbed the scruff on his chin and looked deep in thought. “Then again, that part might not be a good idea. I wouldn’t want to subject you to my father.”
“Lynix, he can’t be that bad.”
“He is, and I can already imagine him saying something to make me want to punch him on your behalf. Or he would look down on you because you don’t come from what he would consider a ‘connected’ family. For him, it’s all about where you come from, who your people are, and if you are well connected. How someone can help him get ahead is always at the forefront of his mind.”
Dorian didn’t miss the disgusted expression on Lynix’s face. “So he’s one of those pompous, rich dudes who thinks he’s better than everyone else.”
“Exactly.”
“What about your mother?” Dorian asked.
“She’s one of the sweetest people I know. She’s loving, kind, loyal, and would do anything for almost anyone. She would adore you. You two have similar dispositions. She might be a sweetheart, but she’s no pushover. Cross her and there will be hell to pay. She’s a low-key badass.”
Dorian laughed. “Is that how you see me?”
A warm glow flowed through her as she considered his words. He thought of her as a badass, which was one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to her. Her family considered her a pushover and thought she didn’t have a backbone. Though they never said the last part, at least not to her face, Dorian knew they thought it. Which she understood, since she didn’t always stand up for herself, and she wasn’t confrontational.
Lynix reached over and gently pushed a few strands of her hair from her face and tucked them behind her ear. He was such a big guy, but when he did stuff like that, showing how gentle hecould be, she wondered what else she’d been wrong about when it came to him.
“You are a sweet badass,” he said. “I’ve witnessed your hellcat side a number of times, and I liked it.”
“Hellcat?” She sputtered a laugh. “Now that’s something I’ve never been called before.”
