Page 12

MILLIE

When did you last get laid?

The barbecue takes place in a sprawling mansion, overlooking the coastline at Kirra Beach, just over the border in Queensland.

This house belongs to Lioness, a record-breaking music producer whose remixes I’ve danced to plenty of times after a couple of glasses of wine. Apparently, Noah is good enough friends with her to be invited to her afternoon soiree.

Noah said it would be casual, so I’ve worn a light, summery dress and sandals. There’s no way I could walk in heels right now, because I’m certain my feet are sweating, and my legs are trembling. Ellis ignored the casual dress code information, deciding to don black pumps and a little black dress.

The anticipation of milling about with strangers is bad enough but adding in the I’m casually seeing the professional surfer part ignites next level panic.

Whilst I’m busy obsessing over morals and ethics, I imagine Noah is the opposite.

He’s a naturally gifted charmer and used to the spotlight.

He’s probably got no issues with lying and swaggering around like he and I are the most natural thing in the world.

“Hey, stranger.”

My spiralling thoughts come to a screaming halt as Noah’s broad frame fills my line of sight.

His five o’clock shadow looks freshly shaved, his dark hair still unruly.

He’s dressed in what looks to be expensive, but casual beachy brands—a khaki-green linen shirt, brown shorts—and a smile that dazzles.

“I always thought you’d be the punctual type,” Noah drawls, grinning down at me. “Turns out, Millie Schofield likes to keep a man on his toes.”

“By half an hour. It’s only two-thirty,” I argue. “I’m not going to show up at two on the dot. I’m not an animal.”

“Oh, right.” Noah’s forehead scrunches in thought as he glances at his watch. “My watch is on New South Wales time. Here I was thinking you were showing up an hour and a half late to keep me wondering.”

“I don’t play games, Noah.”

He smirks, a twinkle in his eye. “You sure?”

I ignore the flutter in my stomach as Ellis steps forward and I tear my gaze from Noah’s.

“Ellis!” Noah cries, leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek. “Great to see you. Loving the shoes.”

Ellis purses her lips as she gives me a knowing look.

She knows I tipped Noah off on what to compliment her on.

Ellis is sceptical of a scandalous, sporting celebrity in our lives, and my apparent blasé attitude.

She said she’d come for moral support, but I know she desperately wants a sneak peek at the celebrity world.

“Don’t suck up, it’s unbecoming,” Ellis says to Noah.

Ordinarily I’d be mortified by her rudeness, but in this instance, it makes me laugh. Noah seems to find it funny too, because his lip twitches. “I’ll win you over,” he promises.

“We’ll see.” Ellis glances between the two of us. “You don’t have to pretend not to be into each other because I’m here.”

My gaze shoots to Noah and his relaxed smile soothes some of the raging guilt erupting at lying to Ellis. “We’re taking the PDA slow,” he says.

Thank God.

She narrows her eyes in suspicion, but then again, she’s always suspicious around any man I’m dating. He holds the door open and waves her in, and she struts in like she lives here.

Noah’s gaze sweeps across my body. “You look gorgeous.”

I blink at him. “You’re wearing linen.”

The corner of his mouth lifts as he holds out his hand. “Ready?”

I stare at it, digging my nails into my palms. “No.”

“ Dollar, dollar bills, y’all. ” He sings the words to remind me of why I’m participating. “You still good with the things we discussed the other day?”

“Like how I signed my soul over to the devil?”

“You have no idea.” His eyes flicker with amusement. “I meant the physical touch parts. I’m an affectionate person and I will touch the woman I’m seeing, no matter how new it is.”

“You told me that already.” I crack my neck and roll my shoulders. “I’m good with you touching me.”

Noah winks. “That’s my girl. This is going to be so much fun.”

“It hardly seems fair only one of us is enjoying this arrangement,” I grumble.

“And whose fault is that? No one’s stopping you from having fun except yourself.”

I’ve got no response as he drags me inside by the elbow.

The house is enormous, almost over-the-top in size and décor. Everything’s beige and brown, ornaments perfectly in their places, not a speck of dust in sight. At the back of the house, the foldable doors open to a lush green garden and infinity pool, overlooking views of the beach below.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Noah asks.

“The lovebirds have arrived!”

Noah pulls me to his side as a tall, broad-shouldered man with a dark blonde buzz cut approaches us. He’s gorgeous, with a cheeky smile of white teeth and long lashes framing his blue eyes. From his tan and defined arms, I’m willing to bet he’s also a surfer like Noah.

“King.” He claps Noah’s hand in that weird-bro way some men do before shaking mine excitedly. “I’m Mack. Pleasure to meet you, Millie.”

“Lovely to meet you, too.”

“Noah’s told us how smart you are. I’m surprised he’s managed to trick you into dating him.” There’s a twinkle in his eyes, as if he’s in on the secret, and I wonder what Noah ended up telling Mack about his fake-dating suggestion.

“I might be smart with books, but I’m clueless when it comes to men,” I reply, giving my best self-deprecating smile. Ironically, it doesn’t feel like a lie. I glance at Noah. “Don’t break my heart, King. ”

His nostrils flare, his hand squeezing my hip in warning. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“If anything, you’ll break his,” Mack says. “You’re way too hot for him.”

My cheeks heat. Thankfully, Mack is waving someone over to us and doesn’t comment further. I know I’m not unattractive, but I’ve never considered myself too hot for anyone. Plus, Mack’s comment sounds like bullshit, considering I saw an actual supermodel walk past outside.

“Callum!” Mack calls. “This is Millie.”

Apparently, all of Noah’s friends are drop-dead gorgeous surfers with perfect teeth. Callum is no different, as he strides over with a welcoming smile. He’s slightly taller than Noah and Mack, with dark hair and kind hazel eyes.

Callum leans in and kisses me on the cheek. “Great to finally meet the woman who gave King a verbal slap in the face.”

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Noah argues. “I gave it back plenty.”

I ignore him. “Verbal slap in the face. I like it.”

“He needs a good slap now and then,” Callum says, smirking. “Pro surfer arrogance is on another level.”

“They think they’re God’s gifts to the world,” Mack adds, lifting a mocking eyebrow of disapproval at Noah. “I can hardly stand it myself.”

“Is that right?” I ask, smiling.

Noah sighs. “The ganging up isn’t cute.”

“Oh, but it is,” I say sweetly. “Boys, please tell me more about this arrogance.”

“I’m paying your way on the tour next year.” Noah holds his hand up and points to each of them. “Think about that before you go down this path.”

Mack leans in. “See?”

“Arrogance,” Callum says, shaking his head.

“Outrageous.” I giggle and they both laugh. When I glance at Noah, he’s smiling. “Teasing you is even more fun in groups.”

The green of Noah’s eyes swirl with heat as he pulls me back into his side, peering down at me. My stomach does a tiny somersault and my smile wilts, my gaze unwittingly drawn to the pink of his lips.

“Come on. Let’s get you a drink.” Mack leads us down into the kitchen, where platters of food are set out in a cute, banquet style. He and Callum head to grab us drinks and I turn to Noah. “This whole contract thing was Mack’s idea, right? Do they both know?”

“No.” Noah sighs. “I told them I didn’t need to pay anyone to hang out with me. They think you slid into my DMs after we met on the beach, and I finally gave in to your incessant pleas.”

I slap him with the back of my hand on his chest and he flinches. “Ow.”

“You deserved that.”

Noah rubs his chest, brow creased as he watches his friends collecting drinks outside. He takes a subtle, deliberate inhale and I recognise the battle going on behind his eyes.

“You don’t like lying to your friends,” I say. “At least we have that in common.”

“No, I don’t.” Noah shrugs. “But I also know my friends. Mack’s an unintentional blabbermouth. This would be over before it started. It’s better he suspects and never really knows. Just in case.”

“I’ll remember that in case I need an early out.”

“Don’t even think about it.”

Ellis approaches us and I plaster on a smile, which wavers when I take note of the glamazon, ethereal woman following her. “This is Millie. Millie, this is Lioness.”

Whatever’s left of my resolve crumbles as the beautiful woman leans in to kiss both my cheeks. She’s covered in gold sovereigns, a headpiece, leopard print silks and the longest nails I’ve ever seen. Her dark skin has a golden tinge to it, and she smiles at me.

“Thank you for having us,” I croak out. “Your house is beautiful.”

“My pleasure,” she coos. “Please call me Dahlia. It’s a bit pretentious of me to expect people to call me by my work name.”

Ellis’s eyes widen with excitement. We’re on first name terms with a world-renowned producer.

“How did you two meet?” Dahlia asks, looking between me and Noah.

I swallow the lump in my throat. “We went to school together.”

Dahlia’s eyes widen. “No way.”

Noah brushes his hand on my lower back, and I flinch, quickly recovering by smiling at him. “We reconnected on the beach recently.”

Ellis places a hand on Dahlia’s arm. “Don’t let her fool you into thinking it was some romantic meet-cute. Apparently, they argued the entire time.”

Dahlia wiggles her eyebrows. “I love it when it’s fiery.”

Chatting with Dahlia is effortless, as is mingling with the rest of Noah’s friends.

Everyone I meet is welcoming and seemingly genuine.

I meet an A-list actor who was born down the road, a couple of up-and-coming rockstars and their families, and the supermodel I saw earlier definitely walked in the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show .

A part of me assumed this crowd would be pretentious, only interested in chatting to people who had fame or fortune attached to their name.

But I was wrong. Noah keeps good company.

Noah’s hand ghosts my hips and lower back throughout the afternoon. He does it so naturally, like he’s thrown himself into a Hollywood acting role. I know it doesn’t help that I jump, freeze or yelp when he does it.

After one particularly loud shriek of surprise, he curls his arm around my waist and digs his fingers into my hip. “You’ve got to stop doing that,” he hisses.

Dan’s in the same room when I cry out and he shakes his head at both of us, disapproval written all over his face as he heads outside.

I lead Noah away from prying eyes before swatting his hand away. “Stop touching me so much.”

Noah lets out a long, low sigh. “You’re so wound up. When did you last get laid?”

My jaw drops. “Noah!”

“What? It’s a fair question.” He takes a sip of his beer. “Sometimes you just need an orgasm.”

I slam my empty glass on a table and turn to him, flexing my fingers. “You can’t ask me things like that.”

Noah’s lip quirks, a twinkle in his green eyes. “I didn’t realise you were a prude. It seems a bit stereotypical to think the smart, nerdy, prude girl from high school grew into a smarter, nerdier, prudier woman.”

“Prudier isn’t a word,” I snap.

Noah leans against the wall, folding his arms. “My point exactly.”

“What exactly is your point?”

“That you got smarter,” he explains, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

I jut my chin towards him. “Yes, I did get smarter. But I’m not a prude.”

Noah scoffs. “Okay, sure.”

“I’m not. I just don’t enjoy discussing my sex life with some guy from high school. I barely know you.”

Noah tilts his head, surveying me. “Well, we’re getting to know each other now. When did you last get laid?”

I turn to walk away, but Noah grabs my wrist and pulls me into his body.

“I’m calling a timeout!” I cry, tearing my wrist from his grasp.

“Let me be clear, King. I might have agreed to this, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to smile sweetly and put up with you when you’re pissing me off.

When you piss me off, whether in front of your friends, or in public, I’m not going to pretend everything’s fine to make you look good. ”

Noah’s eyebrows are still up at his hairline as I spin away from him and stalk across the large open living space towards the balcony.

I was right. I’m never going to survive this.