Page 187 of The Girlfriend Clause
As if my life had been waiting, very patiently, for her to arrive and rearrange it into something better.
“Mmm.” She shifted and rolled away from me, then her eyes met mine. “What time is it?”
“I don’t know. But we’ve got all the time we need.”
She laughed. “Maybe. Although we should probably put our clothes on and head to the hotel.”
I reached over for her dress, but it was still wet, lying in a heap on the cold floor.
“I don’t think you’re going to want to put that on,” I said. “Nothing worse than wet clothes after you’ve warmed up.”
“Maybe we’ll just have to stay here, then,” she said. “Could we? Live like this, just me and you, in a little French cottage?”
“Well, technically, I suppose I could buy it,” I said, glancing down at her with a smirk.
“Oh my God, Liam.” She laughed and dropped her head into my chest. “You’re the absolute worst.”
“I know I am,” I said.
“I meant to ask,” she added. “You said you spoke to Hugo. How did it go?”
Of course. The MHRA.Even though it was good news, the memory hit me like putting on a damp shirt. I still hadn’t told her, although how we spent the last hour or so had been far better than talking about this.
“Maybe I will buy the cottage,” I said. “Order us some croissants and baguettes for breakfast tomorrow and forget about business altogether.”
“I know you’re not going to do that,” she said quietly.
She was right. I couldn’t. Not now that we were so close.
“So what did he say?”
“It’s good, Andrea. He believed it. Us… the whole thing. That we’re real. Steady. ThatI’msteady.”
She lifted her head slightly, searching my face.
I paused. “He’s opening the door for us. Things that weren’t moving before… are.”
She watched me for a moment, considering what I was saying.
“So the fake dating worked,” she said quietly.
“Yes.”
The fire shifted beside us, a piece of wood collapsing into ash.
“But I still don’t understand what you need from him, what you’re trying to do with Novexia. Miranda said something—”
“What?”
“That buying the company would help, but it wouldn’t be… enough…”
Right. I drew in a breath.
“Something happened, Andrea, in Helmand.”
I stared at the dying embers for a moment before I could keep going.
“We were supporting a ground unit, civilians nearby. There was an explosion. It all moved too fast—noise, dust, people running. You make decisions in seconds and live with them for the rest of your life.”
