Page 49 of Say You Remember Me
But then, less than a minute later, there was a soft knock sounding from the adjoining door.
Yay, he did it,I thought to myself as I stepped toward the door.I won’t have to sleep in this dress after all.
I found Ian leaning casually against the doorframe when I opened the door, looking like a Greek god with a victorious smile on his face. “Ta-da.”
And I couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of this situation. It was like I was back in high school again, sneaking around with college guys behind my dad’s back.
Only, this particular guy was way hotter than the guys I’d partied with back then.
If only my sixteen-year-old self could see us now.
Ian handed me back my key, and after returning the ice bucket to the counter above the mini bar, he asked, “So, are you really okay with pretending to be my fiancée while we’re here?Because I know it’s a huge ask and probably not at all what you envisioned when you agreed to come here with me.”
“Will you fire me if I say no?” I asked, mostly joking though a small part of me worried my job could actually be on the line.
“Of course not,” he said. Then inspecting my face better, his brow furrowed with concern, he asked, “Is that why you played along so well before? Because you thought your job would be in jeopardy if you didn’t?”
“I actually didn’t have time to think that deeply about it,” I said. “I was panicking right along with you.”
“Fair enough.” He studied my expression, his gaze searching, as if trying to read what I wasn’t saying. Then he took a step closer, his hand reaching for mine. “So, what do you say, Maddie Stevens?” His voice dropped to a low murmur. “Will you be my fake fiancée while we’re in Boston?”
When his brown eyes met mine with an intensity I hadn’t seen before, a wave of heat spread through me. And when his gaze briefly dipped to my lips, I couldn’t help but think that if he kept looking at me like that, I’d probably agree to just about anything he asked.
“Yes,” I managed, my voice barely a breath, betraying my sudden nerves. “I’ll be your fake fiancée.”
“Thank you.” He lifted my hand to his lips, his kiss soft and warm against my knuckles.
And oh, when his gaze locked on mine in that moment, I suddenly felt like I might just melt into a puddle at his feet.
This man. He was way too charming for his own good—and I could understand why he never had trouble getting women to fall for him.
But it’s just an act this time,I reminded myself.He’s just getting into the character of a doting fiancé.
He let my hand fall gently, then stepped back. “I’m sure we’ll need to go over the particulars of our little arrangement so wecan make sure we’re on the same page. But since I’ve already commandeered so much of your evening, I should let you go. We can work out a game plan in the morning.”
“Okay,” I said, nodding—though part of me really didn’t want to leave him yet.
“I know the conference starts at eight o’clock, but I don’t really need to attend anything until our lunch with the people from Urban Pantry, so maybe I can order room service for breakfast and we can go over everything then?”
“Sure,” I said, my mind still needing to catch up with everything going on.
“Perfect,” Ian said. “Just look over the menu tonight and text me what you want, and I’ll call in our order when I wake up.”
“Oh, shouldn’t I be doing that?” I asked. “Since I’m your assistant.”
“You’re my fiancée this weekend,” he said with a wink. “So I’ll take care of it.”
“Okay.” Though it still felt weird having my boss being the one to take care of things like that for me.
“We’ll figure out the game plan for everything else in the morning.” He stepped forward, the signal that it was time for me to go back into my room for the night.
So I went through the doorway connecting our suites and made ready to close the door.
“Goodnight, Maddie,” he murmured, his gaze holding a warmth that made my heart skip. “Sleep well.”
“Goodnight, Ian.”
And as I closed the door connecting our suites, I couldn’t help but think that being Ian Hastings’ fake fiancée was already proving to be far more thrilling than anything I’d done in a long time.
