Page 72 of Fake Dating Mr. Prince

I reached for her hand. “Ashlyn, we’re not hurting anyone. It’s just us, and we know the score.”

“True.” She nodded. “You’re right. I’m being silly. I just have a hard time lying about stuff.”

Guilt burrowed its way under my skin. Maybe I shouldn’t advocate for Ashlyn to meet my parents when lying about the nature of our relationship was warring with her sense of right and wrong.

Part of me wondered if I should call the dinner off.

Then I looked at her.

Our arrangement only guaranteed her money. She deserved to have more. This idea was now deeply rooted in my mind, even if it was just for a short time, she deserved to experience the unconditional love I knew my parents would bestow upon her.

It didn’t make logical sense. More emotional sense. The loss of her parents would never disappear, but maybe this could help. I wanted to give her something that would make her happy.

My parents would be disappointed I hadn’t shared the truth with them sooner, but it would be worth it.

“Perfect. Now that we have that established. Just wear whatever is comfortable for you. I’ll be in jeans if that helps. My parents are laid-back people. They aren’t going to expect you to be formal.”

“Or know what fork to use?” she teased.

“Exactly. Just use the one on the table.” I smiled, happy to see the tension leaving her body.

“Okay. Should I meet you there?”

“No, any date we go on, I’ll pick you up.”

She smiled. “As nervous as I am, I’m looking forward to meeting your parents. They seem like nice people.”

“I hit the lottery with them.”

She glanced at the clock on the wall. “All right, I should finish up before they start wondering why I’m not done. A few people were asking about us when I got in on Monday.”

“Oh yeah?” I was interested in hearing what she said to them.

She tossed her hair back as her lips twitched and curved into a self-satisfied smirk. “Yeah, I told them you were so impressed with my cleaning and witty banter you just had to ask me out. That I’d told you no so often over the past few weeks that I was afraid I’d broken your heart.”

“It’s true, you running from me all the time was giving me a complex.”

“And I finally decided to put you out of your misery and say yes.”

“I’m so glad you did.”

We stared at each other for a minute. I so badly wanted to kiss her, but knew it wasn’t the right time. She was on the clock.

“Me too,” she said softly.

Her honest response had me rubbing at the uncomfortable feeling in my chest again. I was happy with our situation, but we had to remind ourselves it wasn’t real.

“Before I forget. I wanted to give you part of the money to invest in your company now. You haven’t asked for it, but I want you to know I’m serious about our agreement.” I picked up the envelope on my desk with the check inside.

She didn’t immediately take it. “This feels weird.”

“I’m investing in you.”

“Yeah, but we just made it official less than a week ago. I don’t feel like I’ve done enough as part of our agreement to get it yet.”

“Ashlyn, take the money.”

She cleared her throat. “I don’t think I should.”