I’d never heard of her, but the fact that he’d been her fake boyfriend made me want to know more about her. “Why did she need you to pretend to be her boyfriend?”

“I have no idea. They never told me, like all I know is what Daryl told me about this. You need me to act like we’re together, so that’s what I’ll do.”

This wasn’t making it any less weird.

“Did you sleep with her because you won’t be doing that with me. We don’t have to do that. In fact, I don’t think Jordan would ever forgive me if we did, not to mention the fact that I’m in love with Tristan and when he comes back we plan to get married. So there will definitely be no sleeping together.” I stopped talking as I realized I was rambling and took a deep breath before I began again. “I’m sorry. I must sound crazy. It’s just that this isn’t something I have any experience with.”

Varo gave me the first smile I may have ever seen from him. It was genuine and lit up his face, making him look so much friendlier than he’d ever been toward me. “It’s okay. I know my part. I assume Tristan knew my background when he hired me.”

“Oh. Is there anything I should be doing that I’m not?” I asked, feeling supremely stupid at that moment. “I mean, how did that Angela person act?”

Varo’s smile grew wider. “She acted like we were sleeping together because we were. I guess that doesn’t help, does it?”

“No, not at all. But thanks.”

He took a step into the room and then another until he stood next to the huge island in the center of the kitchen. “I think all we have to do is look like we like each other. Hopefully, by the time Daryl parades us out in front of the world, we can pull that off.”

“It’s not that I don’t like you, Varo,” I said apologetically.

“Gage. It might be more convincing if you called me by my first name instead of what my Chief Petty Officer used to call me.”

“Okay. It’s not that I don’t like you, Gage. It’s just that you’ve never really been very friendly toward me.”

Nodding, he seemed to consider what I’d said. “I’ll give you that. It wasn’t part of my job, as far as I was concerned. Now that it is, I promise to be friendlier.”

I liked this Varo a lot more than the one I was used to. For the first time, I could see what Jordan saw in him. Since I had the chance, I decided I could do some girlfriend recon for her.

“So are you single, Gage?”

“I am. There’s not much opportunity to settle down with this job since I have to live in the carriage house with West.”

I moved toward the island to grab a handful of grapes from the fruit bowl. Popping one in my mouth, I said, “Well, that’s true, but you might have a girlfriend. It’s not like you have to work twenty-four-seven.”

“Nope. No girlfriend.”

“That’s good. I mean, you having a girlfriend might make what we have to do a little harder.”

In truth, it was good because that meant Jordan had a chance. I was happy to hear that he was single and couldn’t wait to tell her all the details about him.

“Are you from around here?”

“No. I grew up in Wyoming, the Cowboy State. That’s the nickname for Wyoming.”

“You don’t look like a cowboy,” I said with a smile, hoping he recognized that I wasn’t trying to be insulting.

He reached across the island and picked a few grapes off the bunch. “I’m not. I got out of there as soon as I could. Spent some time in the Navy and then spent a few years bouncing around the country before I got into this line of work.”

I subtly scanned his muscular frame, imagining him in Navy whites. Jordan was going to melt when she heard he was former Navy. That May we got to experience Fleet Week had made quite an impression on her, and she’d said for months afterward that she’d love to have a sailor. Hell, she might melt when I told her he was from somewhere they call the Cowboy State.

“Ever been married?” I probed.

He smiled broadly. “No. No ex-wife and no kids either.”

Check. Single and unfettered. He was looking better and better by the minute. I filed these facts away and popped another grape in my mouth. “Don’t you want to know anything about me?”

Varo folded his arms across his chest and shook his head. “Since I’m not scoping you out for a friend, I figured I’d just let you tell me about yourself when you felt comfortable.”

Caught red-handed! Damn.

I felt my cheeks grow hot as a blush of embarrassment spread over me. “I…it’s just…Jordan’s a great…” I stammered out, not having much success in getting my point across.




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