The Call Boy I Met in Paris – Episode 41
Derek’s threat should have spoiled the afternoon. Instead, the moment Sophie ended the call, relief swept through her. The contract in her hands was real, while his power over her had been reduced to an angry voice through a phone.
Justin opened the car door for her. “You enjoyed calling him a loser.”
“More than I should have.” Sophie slid into the passenger seat and placed the Lake Enterprises portfolio carefully on her lap. “But I am done talking about Derek.”
Justin entered beside her rather than starting the engine. “Good. Forget him.” His gaze held hers. “I don’t want to talk about your ex either.”
Something in his voice changed the air inside the car. Sophie tried to hide behind the contract. “Then what do you want to talk about?”
“Us.”
The single word unsettled her more than Derek’s threats. Their marriage had begun as a reckless bargain between strangers, yet every day since had made that explanation less convincing.
“What is there to talk about?” she asked. Her attempt at indifference failed when Justin leaned closer.
“Maybe no more talking.” His eyes dropped briefly to her lips. “More doing.”
Sophie’s heartbeat accelerated. She could have reminded him of their agreement, of the money, or of all the reasons trust was dangerous. None of those thoughts made her move away.
Justin gave her time to refuse. When she remained still, he touched her cheek with a tenderness that contradicted everything she once believed about him.
The kiss began softly. Sophie felt the question in it before she answered by gripping the front of his shirt and pulling him nearer.
For a few suspended seconds, Lake Enterprises, Derek, and the collapsing Swift Company disappeared. There was only Justin’s warmth and the frightening ease with which she wanted him.
When they separated, Sophie kept her eyes closed. The man she had hired was no longer pretending to be her husband. That was exactly what terrified her.
“Was that enough doing?” she murmured.
Justin’s smile touched her before his hand did. “Not remotely.”
She pushed the contract between them, laughing as she reclaimed the space he had stolen. “Then you can prove yourself by helping me finish the Maple Plaza revisions.”
Justin started the car, but his satisfied glance promised that the conversation about them had only been postponed.