Page 34 of Sweet Surrender
“Beau, I swear to God!” she shouted, and the car stopped abruptly. This time she was able to open the car door and get inside. She sat down and glared at him.That fucking smirk.He held a coffee cup out to her withRuby’s Dineremblazoned on the side.
“Uh-uh, seatbelt,” he said, wagging his finger at her when she reached for it. She was so close to losing her shit. She knew he was being an ass on purpose to distract her from worrying about their session, but it didn’t make her hate him any less. She clicked her seatbelt into place and snatched the coffee cup from him, taking a big gulp and moaning enthusiastically when the liquid hit her tastebuds.
Beau cleared his throat, shifting in his seat and then they were off. The ride was smooth, she relaxed against the cool leather seats that smelled like him, fresh and minty. She watched him out of the corner of her eye, his forearms flexing when he changed gears, his big hands wrapped around the steering wheel like they were wrapped around her-
She swallowed. “This is a mistake, Beau.”
He sighed. “I really don’t think things between us can get any worse than they are, do you?”
She stayed silent. She didn’t know what would happen today, but she felt like after this session everything would change.
“Besides, we need this. Dale didn’t fall for it last night. We’re not convincing enough. We need to be better, do better and then this will all be over with, and we can move on,” he added, pulling up outside Justine’s office. He switched off the engine and looked at her. He must have seen the apprehension on her face.
“Good things will come from this, trust me,” he said.
It was ridiculous but after all this time, and with all the shit between them, she did trust him. His willingness and commitment to this whole ruse was impressive. If he was okay with this then she could be too, right?
She nodded, took a deep breath and got out of the car.
Chapter 10
Beau’s nerves were in pieces. Outwardly he projected a calm demeanor but inside he was a mess. He opened the door to Justine’s office and stepped back to let Taylor enter first. She didn’t thank him as she went through, probably still annoyed at him. Rightly so after his behavior last night and he had totally overcompensated this morning by being the asshole she expected him to be.
He was ashamed at the way he’d behaved the previous evening. The anger, the aggression and then demanding a kiss as payment. What kind of man did that make him? Not the kind of man she needed him to be, that was for sure.
He followed her inside, walking through the cloud of cinnamon that seemed to follow her around. Ignoring how good she smelled had been the only reason he managed to get them here without crashing the car; his attention was shot.
Justine was ready and waiting for them. It looked like they were the only people in the building today and he was grateful for the privacy. She gestured for them to go into her office and came in behind them, closing the door. Taylor made a beeline for the armchair that sat facing the leather couch, probably so she wouldn’t have to sit next to him.
“Nice try, move it,” Justine said, pointing to the couch. Beau grinned at her as Taylor huffed and flopped down onto the couch next to him. He glanced around the room while Justine got her notepad and sat down. The office was brightly lit with luscious green plants which, coupled with the dark wooden furniture, created a soothing zen ambiance.
“Okay!” Justine clapped her hands together and looked at Beau and Taylor expectantly. “I think we’re going to do something great today. By the end of the session, we’ll have had a long chat and focused on some intimacy exercises to help build your relationship so that when you’re faking it, it feels as natural as possible,” she said.
“Thanks for taking the time out of your schedule to see us,” Beau said sincerely.
“Suck up,” Taylor tutted, and he rolled his eyes.
“Anyway,” Justine began, taking control of the conversation again. “Anything discussed here will stay between the three of us. As far as I’m concerned, you’re both clients and will be treated with strict confidentiality. Now, let’s begin!” Justine eyed them both before speaking again. “My own observation, having known you both for a long time, is that something between you has fractured. I remember how close you used to be, so what went wrong? Did you just grow apart?”
Beau’s stomach dropped.Yep, this was a mistake.
“Well, I guess it was-” he began.
“Why do you get to go first?” Taylor interrupted.
Beau sighed deeply.This was going to be fun.“By all means Taylor, take it away.”
“So Beau decided to-”
Beau snorted. “I see, it’s all my fault? God, you’re the most spoilt, inconsiderate-”
Taylor cut him off again. “See how he dotes on me? It’s suffocating, isn’t it?”
“Let him speak, Taylor,” Justine reprimanded.
“Thank you, Justine,” Beau replied, flinging a shit-eating grin Taylor’s way.
“This isn’t about point scoring, Beau,” Justine admonished.
