Page 7 of Fourth Base with the Alpha

“What do you think about it, Isabella?” he asks, his voice more measured now it’s directed at me.

What do I think? My mind is like a mess of scrambled eggs. My heart thumps in my chest, and my palms are sweating. Date … date a rock star? Me? Okay, fake-date … but?

Then I think of that money.

“I’d be happy to help,” I say.

His eyes remain locked on my face and my cheeks are now overheating. Kim swings her gaze between the two of us.

“Great. The two of you will fake-date for one month. I’ll start dropping some hints to the press about who the mystery girlfriend is and we’ll arrange some public dates so that you’re seen together and–”

“There needs to be a contract,” I tell them both.

“Of course,” Hunter says. “Isabella needs the financial details in writing.”

“No, I mean a fake-dating contract.”

They both stare at me in confusion.

“Oh, come on,” I say. “A fake-dating contract? You can't fake-date without a contract.”

“You’ve fake-dated before?” Hunter asks with a dark look on his face.

“No! But it’s the first rule of the romance trope. You have to have a contract in place, otherwise the whole thing will fall apart.”

“What?” Hunter asks me in confusion.

“You never watched a fake-dating movie?” They both shake their heads, and I realize I’m dealing with amateurs. Well, at least this is an area where I can demonstrate my skills and knowledge for once. “There needs to be a contract with an agreed set of rules. Things you should and shouldn’t do while fake-dating.”

“Like what?” Hunter asks.

“Well … like … we have to hold hands in public so we look convincing.”

“Okay.”

“Great.” I flip over a new page of my notepad and scribble that down.

“What are you doing?” he asks.

“Making the list.”

Kim reaches for her laptop. “Let me,” she says with an amused grin. “Now, let me see, what else … Hunter has to take you on two dates a week. These will have to be public.”

“You want me parading her around like a fish I just caught?”

“No, I don’t want you thinking that showing her your collection of crystals back at your house counts as a date. Ahhh!” she says.

“What?” I ask.

“Another rule: no sex.”

“Oh,” I say, and I’m surprised my cheeks haven’t melted off my face by now.

“I wouldn’t … I would never …” Hunter grumbles.

“Best to have it out in the open,” Kim says, ignoring us both. “Sex complicates things and this is a business arrangement front and foremost. However …”

“Yes?”