The Playboy's Princess Page 7

  “Stop messing around and just put it on,” Clare encouraged through the phone.

  With an exaggerated sigh so Clare would know she wasn’t happy, Jade took her T-shirt off and dropped it on the floor before wrapping the red fabric around herself and tying the straps at the front under her bust. She looked into the mirror and rolled her eyes. Her breasts looked like they would fall out of the flimsy fabric if she sneezed too hard.

  “I’m not wearing it, Clare,” Jade insisted.

  “Take a photo and send it to me,” her friend insisted.

  Jade flicked through her cell phone’s menu until she found the camera, took a quick photo of herself in the mirror, and sent it in a text message.

  “Oh, God! What have you done to that shirt?” Clare shrieked when she saw the photo. “You cannot wear it like that!”

  “That’s what I’m saying,” Jade agreed.

  “You’ve tied it up all wrong. Untie it and wrap the straps the other way so that they tie at the back, in the small of your back.”

  Jade undid the straps and wrapped them around herself, awkwardly reaching around to tie them at the back instead of the front. When she turned around and saw her refection in the mirror, she was shocked to see the difference it had made. The top now looked classy and elegant. Even though there was still cleavage showing, it was sensual, not slutty.

  “Photo,” Clare chirped. Jade gladly took another photo and sent it to her.

  She stood admiring herself in the mirror while she waited for Clare to open the text message and cursed herself for not wearing the shirt before. What a waste it had been sitting in her closet for the past few months.

  “Oh! It’s perfect! Now…shoes,” Clare cooed.

  An hour later, Jade climbed into a taxi to go and meet Drew. The nerves and excitement that she’d felt before the “dress up Jade” session came flooding back. She and Drew were actually going on a real date, and if his moves during the dinner invitation were anything to go by, she’d be melting in her seat.

  As she thought of Drew, images of him on the basketball court flooded her mind. The tight T-shirt that clung to his upper arms and showed the definition in his chest, making her want to growl and bite his shoulder. The sweat that glistened on his skin as he ran around the court. The crooked smile he gave without even realizing it when he’d seen her unexpectedly…And those shorts, the baggy shorts that hugged his ass and only hinted at what lay beneath them…Jade hadn’t been able to stop thinking about those shorts.

  “Where should I let you out?” the taxi driver asked, breaking her out of her shorts-induced haze.

  “Umm, just on the corner here is fine,” she replied as she looked out the window.

  “Twenty-seven bucks,” the driver replied and held his hand out expectedly.

  She passed him three ten-dollar bills and climbed out of the car. He took off just as she slammed the door closed, and she felt lucky not to have been knocked over.

  “Jade!” Drew’s voice called, and she spun around to see him running across the street and waving, with a huge smile on his face.

  She couldn’t help but smile back at him and scolded herself for being so transparent. She was supposed to act like she was falling in love with him, not actually do it.

  “You look gorgeous!” Drew exclaimed as he slowed to a walk and stopped in front of her, his eyes traveling over her body.

  “Thanks. I wasn’t sure how formal I should dress,” she said with a shrug. The truth was she knew she looked great.

  She allowed herself to take him in. His hair was standing in all directions but still looked perfectly styled. His sleeves were rolled halfway up his forearms, and the top button of his slate gray button-up shirt was open, showing just a hint of chest hair. His dress pants hit low on his hips.

  “You look perfect,” he said with a smile, mirroring her thought of him. “Shall we?” He reached out and laced his fingers through hers gently, squeezing and pulling her close to walk beside him.

  “Are you hungry?” he asked, leaning down and whispering in her ear.

  “I could eat.”

  “Great. There’s somewhere I’d like to show you. Come on.”

  He led her back to his car, and they drove through a residential area. Drew pulled up outside a house in Los Feliz.

  Jade looked around curiously but still couldn’t see any reason why Drew would have stopped them in this spot. There was no restaurant or café anywhere in sight.

  “Come on,” he said, smiling as he took her hand and pulled her up the driveway. “What do you think?” He stood in front of the porch and threw his arms out wide.

  She looked around, still confused. “Umm, it’s great. What is it?”

  Drew chuckled and pulled a set of keys out of his pocket.

  “This is the house I inherited from my Gran. Once we get married, this is where we’ll live.” He turned and jogged up the few stairs to the doorway.

  Jade’s mouth fell open as she stared up at the tall, historical, and probably extremely expensive house in front of her. This was where she would be living? Drew unlocked the door and held it open for her with an excited grin.

  When Drew had called this place a house, she’d pictured something similar to where her parents lived, but nicer. She had not been expecting to step foot into a two-story villa with a pool and tennis court in the back yard. She looked around the large entryway and marveled at the stained-glass windows that lit up one side of the room. One of the windows had been smashed in, but the others hinted that they had once looked majestic.

  “Would you like a tour?” Drew asked after he had closed the door and switched on the lights.

  She nodded, unable to speak.

  Drew moved through the rooms, pointing out the parlor, the formal lounge, kitchen, butler’s pantry, and living room before they moved upstairs to see the three large bedrooms, a study, and two more bathrooms.

  “There is also an attic. It was used as the butler’s quarters,” he explained with a shrug.

  Jade wondered if having a butler was something Drew was used to. She would have to ask him about that one day. At the moment, though, she was in too much shock to think of questioning him.

  “This will be your bedroom and en suite,” Drew said as he indicated a door opposite the master bedroom suite.

  “May I?” she asked timidly.

  “Of course,” Drew replied with a smile.

  Jade opened the door and gasped when she saw the huge four-poster bed and double glass doors that opened out onto a small private balcony. The furniture was all antique and looked to be very expensive. She could just see herself tripping over the rug and crashing into the full-length mirror standing by the dresser.

  “Sorry about all the dust. I’ll have some cleaners come through here before we actually move in,” he explained.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said in awe as she took in the smaller details around the room. She stuck her head into the en suite and saw that the counters, bathtub, and shower were all made of a white marble with gray flecks through it.

  “The balcony overlooks a park. It’s a bit too dark to see it now, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy the view,” Drew said as he came up behind her.

  “I’m sure I will,” she agreed, nodding.

  She wasn’t sure why, but she felt both extremely calm and completely on edge all at the same time, and it was very overwhelming.

  “I’m going to be fixing it up little by little as I can afford it, and hopefully it’ll be livable by the time we’re ready to move in,” Drew told her.

  Jade cocked an eyebrow at him curiously. This place was in much better shape than where she was currently living. She couldn’t see anything that would make it unlivable except the broken window in the front room.

  “Come on, let’s go downstairs and get comfortable,” Drew said, reaching his hand out and grasping hers tightly.

  He pulled her down the grand staircase, and she let her free hand gently slide along the polished wood of th
e banister. Everything was so elegant; she wondered if she would ever feel comfortable living there.

  “Shall we eat?” Drew asked, turning to face her as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.

  “Uh, sure,” she said, wondering if he was going to cook for her or if he had a chef stashed away somewhere in one of the ornate cupboards.

  Drew pulled out his cell phone, and wanting to give him some privacy, she wandered into the informal living room. That was a room she could almost feel comfortable in. The couches were nice but not antique, and the walls were painted a light blue that made the room feel open and breezy. There was an old-fashioned turn-knob television in the corner and doilies on the small tables scattered around the room. It was obvious that an older lady had lived there.

  Jade sat cautiously on the couch and pulled the small decorative cushion from behind her back to hold against her chest.

  “Change of plans. Can you bring it to the Los Feliz property instead?” Drew’s phone conversation floated from he stood at the foot of the staircase to where she was sitting. “Great, see you soon.”

  “There you are,” he exclaimed as his head popped around the doorway.

  “Here I am,” she agreed with a small smile.

  “I had originally planned for us to have a picnic in the park, but I wondered if maybe we could have it here instead?” he asked coyly as he ran his left hand up through his hair.

  “That sounds nice.”

  Drew frowned and walked over to her slowly, taking the seat beside her on the couch.

  “You don’t seem very comfortable, Ariel. Is everything okay?” Concern laced his words.

  “Yes…I think I’m just a bit overwhelmed. This house is just so…so…huge, and I’m not used to being around such nice things,” she tried to explain. “Plus, you make me nervous.”

  She slapped her hand over her mouth in horror when she realized what she’d said. If she could have given herself a face-palm without him seeing it, she would have.

  He gave her a smug smile and leaned in a bit closer, brushing his cheek against hers. “Does this make you nervous too?” he asked in a deep whisper.

  “No,” she said with as much confidence in her voice as she could, but he seemed to know better and cocked an eyebrow at her. She gulped and then slowly nodded her head.

  One side of his mouth twitched upward, but he kept a stern look on his face. “I thought we talked about this. Do we need to do some desensitization exercises?” he whispered, leaning closer to her so that she could feel his warm breath cascading over her cheek.

  She couldn’t speak, she couldn’t move, she couldn’t even breathe steadily. All she could do was stare into his deep blue eyes and feel her heart thundering in her chest. A part of her registered that his fingers were gently stroking her cheek as his other hand reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

  Jade’s own hand moved, without her consent, and snaked up his chest and around his neck. Her fingers grasped the soft hair at the base of his neck. He smiled and brushed his lips against her cheek before stopping by her ear, whispering so softly that she barely heard him, “Good girl.”

  Jade was shocked with herself. Two minutes ago, she’d been so nervous she could barely move, and now touching Drew seemed like the most natural thing in the world. She didn’t just want to touch him; she needed to touch him.

  “Ahem.” A throat cleared from behind them, and Drew jumped back from her quickly, shock on his face.

  “Oh, Caroline! I wasn’t expecting you so quickly,” Drew said as he stood and took the large picnic basket the woman was holding. “Caroline, this is Jade. Jade, this is my family’s housekeeper, Caroline.”

  “Hello,” Jade said politely, but she knew her face must have been as red as a tomato. She let the word housekeeper sink into her brain and then rolled her eyes. So Drew was used to having a staff to serve his every whim. That was one less question she would have to ask.

  “Will there be anything else, Drew?” Caroline asked.

  “No, thank you,” he said with a smile, and Caroline winked at him.

  It looked like they had a friendly relationship, and that comforted Jade a little. They said you could always tell the character of a person by how they treated the people in their employ.

  “Have a good night,” Caroline said before turning and letting herself out.

  “So…you have a maid?” Jade asked with a half smile.

  “Well, my parents do,” he replied with a shrug. He placed the large basket down on the coffee table and then started pushing the armchairs against the walls.

  “What are you doing?” she asked as he came over and pushed the couch back, with her still sitting on it.

  “Making room for our picnic.” He laughed.

  She watched curiously as he pulled a blanket out of the basket and laid it on the floor before kicking his shoes off and kneeling down.

  “Join me?” he asked, holding his hand out.

  She slid off the couch and crawled across to the blanket, where she kicked off her own shoes and curled her legs under herself.

  Drew gave her a smile and started to unpack the basket. Jade wasn’t sure what she was expecting him to have brought for them to eat, but she was pleasantly surprised to see salad, sandwiches, and fruit. There was a part of her that had half-expected him to pull out seafood and caviar.

  “I hope this is okay. I didn’t want to do anything too fancy and set your standards too high. I’d have nowhere to build to,” he said with a wink.

  “It’s perfect,” she assured him as she reached out and took one of the turkey sandwiches off the plate.

  “Drink?” he asked as he pulled a bottle of white wine from the basket and expertly removed the cork.

  “Thanks,” she said through a mouthful of food, and Drew smiled at her again before handing her a glass.

  “You know, it’s kind of funny that you’ve trained to be a marine biologist and you got cast as Ariel.” He laughed and took another drink from his wine glass.

  Jade rolled her eyes. “That was a complete coincidence. I think I was cast purely for my hair.”

  “Nah, you must be good at what you do. Disney only has the best actors in their parks. They have a reputation to uphold.”

  “I’m really lucky. I actually love the job. The auditions were brutal but worth it.”

  “What was it like growing up in Florida?” he asked, changing the subject.

  She shrugged. “It was normal, I guess. My parents were one of the few who weren’t divorced, so I guess I was different from my friends in that way, but my life was pretty boring. I did well in school, only had one boyfriend…”

  Drew choked on his wine and spat it over the plate of sandwiches.

  “Sorry,” he said, looking mortified. He grabbed the plate of soggy bread and put it back in the basket, obviously thinking of the “out of sight, out of mind” philosophy.

  “It’s okay,” she said, but she couldn’t help but giggle a little. It was so nice to not be the clumsy fool in the room. It was a relief to know that Drew was just human, even if he was an extremely attractive human.

  “What happened with your boyfriend?” he asked, and she noticed that his voice was a little harder than it had been before.

  “Oh, nothing really. I left for LA, and he went to college in Boston. I haven’t seen him since.”

  Drew nodded, but Jade could see he was thinking deeply about something.

  “What about you? Any ex-girlfriends hiding in your closet?”

  Drew laughed. “I’m not the type of guy who has girlfriends. There have been many girls, but no one I care to remember.”

  That troubled Jade. He sounded so cold and unfeeling in his disregard for the women in his past. Even though her ex-boyfriend hadn’t been the love of her life, she still thought fondly of him. If Drew was that cold toward the other women he’d dated, how could she ever expect him to be a husband? She stopped her train of thought and had to remind herself a
gain that he wasn’t really going to be her husband. She felt her mood sink instantly.

  Jade looked at the half-eaten sandwich in her hand and suddenly didn’t feel very hungry anymore. She was angry at herself for forgetting so easily that this was all just a financial arrangement. Drew didn’t actually care about her, and she shouldn’t be allowing herself to care about him, either. It was so easy to forget that when they were sitting so close having a good time, when they’d just shared such an intimate moment on the couch.

  Drew was oblivious to Jade’s change in mood, and he kept eating. He poured her another glass of wine. “So, what about your future? What plans do you have besides finishing school?”

  She stared at him for a moment, seriously thinking about telling him that she wanted out of their agreement. She suddenly didn’t know how she could have ever thought of getting herself involved with a fake marriage with a man who cared nothing for the women in his life. How would he think of her once he’d gotten what he’d needed and they’d parted ways? Would he laugh and think of her as pathetic? Would he try to forget her, the same way he’d said he didn’t want to remember the other women from his past?

  But she couldn’t stay mad at him. He was looking at her with his soulful blue eyes and that contented, crooked smile, and she couldn’t help but want to be around him. And it wasn’t like she wasn’t going to benefit from this arrangement; a million dollars was a lot of money—and he was just handing it to her. Would it really matter if he didn’t want to remember her? She was starting to feel dizzy from the whiplash of her thoughts.

  “Sorry…what?” she asked.

  “What do you have in mind for your future?” he repeated.

  She thought for a moment. The only thing she really wanted was to have someone, to be in love, to be loved in return. But she couldn’t exactly tell him that, so she gave her standard answer when someone asked her what she wanted from her life and she didn’t want to seem like a pathetic love-sick fool.

  “I’d love to travel,” she said. It was true; traveling had always been something she was interested in.