Chapter 8: Chapter Eight

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. What the hell had she been thinking getting in Ryder’s car? She hadn’t been thinking. At least, not rationally. She’d had thoughts. A lot of them. But they all revolved around no clothes and climbing on his lap.

Libido—1. Brain—0.

She rested her head on the window and blew out a breath. Sexy romps in the sack with Ryder was not what she needed to be focused on right now. She had bigger problems to worry about—like finding someone who’d be willing to be her fake fiancé so she could save face in front of her stepmother. And it couldn’t be any old Joe Schmoe, either. It had to be someone her mother deemed better than Will, and Madison wasn’t sure there was anyone on the face of the planet who could exceed those expectations.

But then fate or God or karma or whoever was pulling the puppet strings of her life had delivered a solution. A very sexy solution she’d been trying to avoid. She even dubbed her efforts Operation Resist Ryder. T-minus one day and that mission was a big, fat failure.

“Warm enough?” he asked, looking at her from the corner of his eye.

“Yeah, thanks.” She’d passed warm and was well on her way to fiery inferno, and not because of the car’s heater. Even though she didn’t want to admit it, she couldn’t avoid the truth that was sitting inches from her. Ryder was the whole package plus some. He was incredibly sexy, smart, funny, charming. Rich. And he wasn’t a controlling, chauvinistic dickhead like Will.

Ryder was the solution to her problem. In fact, he was probably the only option for getting herself out of the messy situation her big mouth had caused. But how could she ask him to do something so…dishonest?

Hey, Ryder, my stepmother is a snooty, raging bitch who thinks I’ll never find a decent man to marry me, so I need you to pretend to be that guy so I can rub it in her face that you’re better than my ex, who, by the way, is marrying my cousin in a wedding that I agreed to be the maid of honor for.

Yeah, right. He’d probably laugh in her face. There was no way she could ask him, especially knowing he’d already made it clear he liked her and wanted to go out. She couldn’t manipulate his feelings like that. She wouldn’t.

“Whereabouts do you live?” he asked.

“Over on Deyo Drive, the four-hundred block. Last house on the corner.”

“Wow. That’s really close to campus.”

“Yeah, it’s like a five-minute walk. Very convenient when you don’t have a car.” She wanted to smack herself for saying that. He didn’t need to know—and she was sure he didn’t care—about her lack of transportation.

He picked up speed and merged into traffic on the expressway that would bypass all the city traffic and get them to campus faster. Then he set the cruise control and eased back, his legs falling open in what looked like a comfortable position. He had one hand on the wheel and the other rested casually on his thigh, his elbow settling naturally on the center console.

That was the thing she’d learned very quickly about Ryder—he fit perfectly no matter where he was. Always so calm and at ease, like nothing could rattle him. Just one more reason he was the perfect choice to be her fake fiancé. If anyone could handle her parents, it was him. And that was also a damn good reason she needed to keep her distance; she refused to get caught up with a guy who represented the kind of life she’d left behind.

“Do you live on campus?” she asked so she wouldn’t be tempted to stare at his muscular thighs that filled out his sweatpants too well. Or his crotch that seemed too sizes too big to be contained by a piece of fabric.

“No, I live in an off-campus apartment with a few guys.” He switched lanes and passed an older woman who could barely see over the steering wheel. “Actually, you’ve met them. The ones I was with at the pizzeria.”

“Right.” She nodded. “My coworker Erica referred to you four as the table of hotties.” Her face immediately flamed with embarrassment. Had her don’t-say-anything-stupid-filter packed up and left for the night?

He laughed, the sound wrapping around her like a hug. “And do you agree with her assessment?” His tone was playful with a hint of exasperation. “Never mind, don’t answer that. I’m not sure I want to know if you think my friends are hot.”

“I wasn’t going to anyway.” She shrugged, then laughed nervously.

He pursed his lips as if deep in thought. Madison took a deep breath and licked her lips, wondering what it would feel like to have his mouth on hers. There was no way she was going to make it all the way home if she kept allowing those types of thoughts to creep into her mind.

She needed to tell Lil what she’d done and then beg for some advice, because she was officially taking “ask Ryder” off her list of potential solutions. It was simply too risky for so many reasons. When people learned she was a casino mogul’s daughter, they tended to treat her differently, and she couldn’t bear the thought of Ryder suddenly treating her like everyone else did. Not to mention, she didn’t want him to think she was one bad decision away from the loony bin. Because seriously, who the hell lied to their own mother about having a fiancé?

He rubbed his hand down his thigh and back up before switching hands on the steering wheel. Such mundane actions should not be that sexy. She encountered a lot of attractive college guys at work, and they always flirted with her, but Ryder was different, like he knew he was sexy and just didn’t care. Sure, he had an ego the size of an over-inflated blimp, but he didn’t walk around like he was better than everyone. He was confidently humble.

He found Deyo Drive without any direction from her. Once on her street, she leaned forward, her stomach flipping over on itself. “My place is right up there.” She pointed to the house on the left.

Ryder slowed and pulled into the drive, the beam of his headlights shining brightly on the boarded-up window. The sheet of plastic was barely hanging on, and the crude artwork was visible. She squeezed her eyes shut, praying he wouldn’t say anything.

“Thanks for the ride,” she said, grabbing the door handle.

“Is that…?” He tilted his head and squinted out the windshield. Then he turned on the high beams.

Kill me now.

“Is that a dick?”

“Yes.” She groaned. When he didn’t speak, she risked a peek. He had his forehead on the steering wheel, his shoulders rising and falling. “Are you laughing?”

He lifted his head and nodded; his eyes glimmered with amusement. “Interesting decorating choice.” He attempted to clear his throat but ended up laughing harder.

She playfully smacked his arm, unable to contain her own burst of laughter. “It was left there by the previous tenants.”

“That’s fucking hilarious.” He took a deep breath.

“I kind of think so, too. My roommate hates it.” She stared up at the picture, only one thought dominating her mind—was Ryder bigger than that drawing? Heat flamed her cheeks, and she thanked God it was dark in the car so he wouldn’t notice her bright red blush.

He took out his cell phone and opened the camera app, aiming it at the side of the house. “I have to show this to the guys.”

Mortified, she reached over and snatched the phone from his hand. “I don’t think so!”

“What’s the big deal? You just said you thought it was funny.” A challenging smirk lifted one corner of his mouth, his dimple threatening to make an appearance.

“Yeah, but I don’t need that shit to go viral. It advertises we’re cocksuckers, for God’s sake.”

“Are you?” All traces of humor had fled his face, and he stared at her expectantly.

“Not professionally,” she shot back, equally as serious.

His eyes widened a fraction of an inch before he barked out a surprised laugh that had her heart racing. She was up Shit Creek without a paddle, hung out to dry, fucked six ways to Sunday, and every other terrible cliché that meant she was totally screwed. She wanted to dislike him, to be able to keep him at a distance, but he was making it impossible. He wasn’t anything like the people she’d grown up knowing, and maybe he was more than just the balance in his bank account. And maybe she could ask him to do the impossible, and in the process, she could show her mother that there was a lot more to life than just money and appearances.

“Not that it matters. Our slumlord sold the house, so we’re going to be moving soon,” she said.

“Where are you moving?”

She shrugged. “My roommate, Lil, and I have appointments lined up to look at some new places, but we’re going to try and stay as close to campus as possible.”

“Y’know, I live in walking distance, too, and I’m pretty sure there’s an empty apartment in my building. I could give you my landlord’s number if you want.”

She hesitated. His offer was sweet, and a little unexpected, but living in the same building as Mr. Walking Wet Dream? No. Way. “Thanks, but I’m pretty sure we’ve got it covered.”

“Worried what might happen if you’re too close to me?”

Yep. Shaking her head, she opened the car door. “Thanks for the ride.” She was not going to get into what might happen if they spent any real amount of time together. Another check in the “why you can’t ask him” column.

“Um, if you’re going to take my phone hostage, the least you can do is put your number in it.” He nodded at her hand.

“Sorry.” She handed the phone to him and then got out of the car. She inhaled a lungful of air, cleansing her senses of Ryder’s scent, then headed toward the porch.

“Hey, Madison?”

“Yeah?” She stopped and turned back to him.

“See you Monday.” He backed out of the driveway and disappeared down the road.

Madison blew out a breath, wondering what he’d meant by that. She wasn’t working at the pizzeria or the bookstore on Monday, so he couldn’t be planning to see her at either of those places. She had a sinking suspicion he was up to something, but what that was, she had no idea.

Reluctantly, she climbed the porch steps and entered the house. Lil was pacing the living room. She stopped abruptly and narrowed her eyes. “Are you okay? Where did you go? I’ve been blowing up your phone.”

“Sorry.” Madison frowned and dropped her bag to the floor. “I shut it off and put it in my bag.” Mostly so she wouldn’t have to deal with Heather, but she hadn’t considered Lil would be trying to call, too.

“I was ready to get in my car and drive around until I found you.”

“I’m sorry.” She flopped down in the chair and propped her feet on the coffee table. Madison let her head fall to the back of the chair and closed her eyes. Her temples throbbed with an impending headache. “I really didn’t mean to worry you.”

Lil took a seat on the couch and nodded. “What happened? Why did you take off so fast?”

With a deep breath, Madison launched into her conversation with Heather and how she was marrying Will, and her conversation with her mother and how she’d blurted out she was engaged. “So”—Madison rubbed her hands over her face—“now I need to find a fiancé or come clean to my mother.”

“Wow.” Lil sat back. “No wonder you needed some time to yourself. So, what’re you going to do?”

“I have no idea.”

“Well, you have to come clean, Madison. There’s really no other option, is there? Just tell your mom you were upset and weren’t thinking, and that you’re sorry. I’m sure she’ll understand.”

“No, she won’t.”

Unlike Madison, Lil was close to her family, so she didn’t get it. She didn’t know what it was like to live with a mother who expected perfection in every facet of life, especially in physical appearance. She didn’t know what it was like to live with a father who dictated every detail of her life, right down to who she was supposed to marry. Madison had lived under those conditions for seventeen long years. But never again.

“You don’t know that,” Lil said.

“Yes, I do.” She sighed and dropped her feet to the floor.

“You could take out an ad. Hire someone.” There wasn’t a trace of humor in Lil’s voice or on her face, but based on the way Lil’s eyes crinkled slightly, Madison knew she was only teasing.

Madison laughed. “That’s not a horrible idea.”

“Oh, my God.” Lil cupped her hand over her mouth and giggled. “You are not going to take out a personal ad for a fake fiancé. Can you imagine the type of guy who would answer it?”

“Enough said.” Madison stood and yawned. Should she tell Lil about Ryder? That could wait until tomorrow. “I’m headed to bed. Good night.”

Lil jumped from the couch and flung her arms around Madison. “I’m glad you’re okay, and don’t worry too much about this. Everything will work out.”

Madison hugged her back, thankful she had someone like Lil in her life. “Thanks.”