Page 11 of Paradise & Vodka

She had the most stunning smile I'd ever seen in my entire twenty-seven years, and it wasn't even directed at me. She was laughing at something the hostess must have said, but I still found it intoxicating.

She was also tall, especially in her heels, had long, chocolate brown hair, and a voluptuous body that made my dick twitch. Even though I was an escort and loved all women, mytypewas supermodel-like. But as Ashleigh approached with the hostess, who was showing her to her seat, my body was telling me something different.

I stood. "Ashleigh?"

"Yes." She stuck out her hand.

I chuckled and took it. "We're supposed to be dating, right?"

She blinked. "Yeah?"

Still holding her hand, I pulled her to me and wrapped my arms around her, feeling her ample breasts press into my chest. "Then handshakes are out of the picture." I wanted to kiss her, but I didn't. Instead, I took a step back and pulled out her chair.

"Thank you."

As I sat in my chair, I saw her pull out a small notebook. That was a first. "Note-taking?"

"Yeah, I don't want to forget anything."

"Do you do this with all of your boyfriends?"

"Well, no, but this isn't like a normal relationship."

I grabbed her hand. "We have to make it seem like it is."

Pink tinted her cheeks.

"Don't be nervous. Everything will be fine."

"That's what my ex used to tell me. Of course, that was before he screwed my sister with me a few feet away, and now he’s marrying her."

"Wait." I blinked and sat back. "The wedding we're going to is for your ex and your sister?"

Ashleigh snorted. "Yep. Fucked up, huh?"

"Yeah, it is." The waitress came over and took our drink order, and once she left, I asked, "So, this isn't really about you needing a date to a wedding, then?"

She shrugged. "Well, I do need a date."

"But you want them to think we're dating."

"Yeah, and honestly, dating someone who is the complete opposite of my ex."

"What do you mean?" I asked, assuming she meant he wasn't an escort. Women didn't hire me because they hadmeat home.

"Well," she snorted, "he's a collared-shirt-under-a-sweater-wearing future doctor who sleeps high in his ivory tower every night."

I smirked. "So, you mean I'm thebad boyyour mother never wanted you to bring home?" I felt as though that was why many of my clients booked me. They assumed that because I was covered in tattoos, I was always up to no good. The reality was that I just loved tattoos and wanted meaningful ones on my body like angel wings on my left pec for my grandmother who had passed.

"You're the bad boy my parents never expectedmeto bring home," she countered. "My twin sister, Everleigh, yes. Me, no."

"Why's that?"

Ashleigh sighed. "Because we may be twins, but she's the beauty queen—literally—and I'm the nerd."

I chuckled and moved my gaze over her upper body. "Ashleigh, baby, you're anything but a nerd."

Her cheeks tinted a deep shade of red as the waitress set our drinks down and left.