The Playboy's Princess (17 page)

“That didn’t take long,” Drew said, chuckling.

“You think it’s funny? Tully was just on TMZ telling the world that I’m not your type and that our wedding will never go ahead.”

Drew sighed. “Don’t worry about it. Half the things you see about me in the tabloids aren’t true. You’ll get used to it. Just try to ignore anything you hear. You and I know the truth, and that’s all that matters.”

Jade felt the panic in her chest lessen, and she began to see the humor in the situation. “The funny thing is, though, that Tully was right. I’m not your type, and our marriage isn’t what you would normally want.”

“I never said you weren’t my type.”

“Oh, so, you’re highly attracted to women who have no direct career path, can’t pay their electricity bills, and often eat leftovers?”

“I’m getting hot just thinking about it.”

“You loser.”

They both laughed. It was a shame they’d met under the circumstances they had, because they actually got along very well.

Jade did as Drew asked and put the media out of her mind. No one knew who she was so her life wouldn’t be affected for a while yet. She’d just be more aware the next time she and Drew met up for a date to watch out for photographers.

She didn’t have to wait long, though. Drew seemed eager to increase their dates and asked her out for dinner the following night.

She peeked out her window and saw him pull up on the street. His car looked so out of place next to all the rusty cars that barely ran. It was nice for her to get to see him when he didn’t know she was watching. He had a bounce in his step as he walked up the driveway. He glanced at her window, and she quickly ducked behind the curtain, hoping he hadn’t seen her watching.

She’d gone with a more casual approach tonight. He’d said he wanted them to have some fun together, so he was taking her to Six Flags. Jeans and a sweater were perfect attire for that.

She pulled her front door open and saw Drew standing with his hand raised, ready to knock.

“Good timing,” he said, smiling.

“I might’ve seen you coming.”

“I have a feeling I’m going to have to keep an eye on you. You’re sneaky.” He leaned in and gave her a quick kiss.

She was caught off guard, not because she didn’t want to kiss him, but because they were in private.

“Can I ask you something, Drew?”

“Of course.”

“Why did you just kiss me?”

“It was a hello kiss. Is that okay?”

“I guess I’m just feeling like the lines are blurred. I was under the impression that we only had to be intimate when in public.”

Drew leaned away from her, his eyes pained. “Can we talk inside?”

“Sure.” She stepped back into the apartment as he entered and then closed the door.

They sat on the couch, and Drew reached for her hand. She let him hold it and waited for him to start talking.

“I like you, Jade. I feel close to you in a way that I’ve never felt with another girl. For me, it’s always been about sex. I’ve never been in love, and if I’m being honest, I haven’t been looking for it.”

Jade felt her body tense up.

“Calm down,” he said, smiling. “I’m not saying I’m in love you with you. Just that I care about you. I haven’t had that with a girl before. I feel comfortable with you, and I enjoy touching you. It feels nice to just hold your hand or to kiss you. I’m sorry if it makes you uncomfortable.”

Jade opened her mouth to speak, but Drew continued to talk.

“When we met, we both signed an agreement to marry for money. And I’m still on board for that. I’ve just come to believe that maybe that’s not
all
we have to be. If feelings naturally develop between us, would that be so bad?”

“It could get very messy.”

“In what way?” His thumb was stroking the back of her hand in a hypnotizing rhythm.

She pulled her hand from his. She needed to think clearly, and she couldn’t do that while he was touching her.

“We’re contractually bound to break up in a year. If we let feelings develop, real feelings, we could end up getting hurt. This was a business agreement in the beginning, and I think it’s best if we keep it that way.”

“If that’s what you want.” Drew stood and walked to the door. “Should we go?”

The car ride out to Six Flags was tense. Jade didn’t know what to say, and Drew wasn’t offering any topics of conversation either. Apart from the music on the radio, they remained silent for the entire drive.

“Time to put our relationship act on. I’m sorry, but I am going to have to touch you while we’re in the park.” Drew’s voice was harder than she’d ever heard it.

“I know. That’s fine.”

He frowned at her and then parked the car, turned it off, and got out, slamming the door more forcefully than was necessary. When he opened her door, his face was completely different. He wore a warm smile and took her hand, squeezing it as he pulled her from the low seats.

They walked to the ticket gates, his arm firmly planted around her waist. He paid for them both to get in, and then they were submerged in a colorful swirl of chaos. The smell of hotdogs and popcorn was overwhelming, and the terrified screams of people on the roller coasters filled the air.

“Which ride would you like to go on first, Ariel?” Drew asked.

Jade looked up at the roller coasters, huge iron snakes curling through the sky. A conflicting mix of excitement and fear pulsed through her. She loved rollercoasters. “Any. I don’t mind.”

A group of teenage girls caught her attention. They were clustered near a trash can whispering and pointing in their direction.

“What’s their problem?” she asked.

Drew looked over and waved at the girls. A round of hysterical giggles broke out, and they ran away.

“That happens sometimes. They recognized me.” He shrugged his shoulders as if it were no big deal.

“Does that happen often?” Jade scanned the passing faces and saw recognition on about half of them. One lady even had her cell phone out and was unashamedly taking photos of Drew.

“Just ignore them. It only happens when I go to a high profile place like this. If I’m just walking down the street, it’s less common.”

“Wait…Did you bring me here as a publicity stunt?”

Drew’s smile dropped, and he cricked his neck, politely asking her to follow him. Jade trailed him to a less populated area where people weren’t as likely to overhear their conversation.

“That wasn’t my main motivation, but I knew it was possible.”

“You should have warned me. I would’ve put on more makeup.” She put her hands on her hips.

“Please don’t raise your voice.” He looked over his shoulder to make sure people weren’t staring. “I’m sorry if I did the wrong thing. I thought it would be good for us to get this out in the open. The press knows about us now, so hiding is only going to make them go on a manhunt. If we give them opportunities to photograph us, they’ll lose interest.”

“You still should have warned me, Drew.”

“Hey, it’s not as if I called Entertainment Tonight and asked them to come down and spy on us. There was a chance I would be recognized, but I take that chance every time I leave the house.”

Jade let out a long breath, letting her anger fade. “Right. Sorry. I’m just not used to being stared at.”

“You’re photographed hundreds of times a day by strangers.”

“That’s different,” Jade said, laughing. “They aren’t photographing
me
; they’re photographing Ariel.”

“Well, you’re my Ariel.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Let’s just get this over with.”

“Hey, try and have fun, okay? I chose Six Flags because I wanted us to enjoy our date.”

“All right. Let’s flush our bodies with adrenalin and ignore everyone else.”

“That’s my girl.” He grinned and led her back out into the crowd.

His words echoed in her mind as they lined up for the Apocalypse. Was she really his girl? As much as she’d put up the hard front of not wanting to mix emotions into their contract, she couldn’t deny that, in her heart, she
wanted
to be his girl.

That thought was terrifying because it would only end in hurt. He didn’t want to change his lifestyle. This act was purely to get his inheritance. Once he had his money, she’d be worthless to him and he’d walk away. She had to keep reminding herself of that and not get attached.

The roller coaster was terrifying. She’d been on the rides at Disneyland dozens of times, and she thought she was good on roller coasters. Nothing had prepared her for exactly how fast the Apocalypse was, though.

Her hair whipped around her face as she was twisted and turned like she was in a clothes dryer. The sky was dark, and all she could see was the swirl of lights from the park below. At some point, Drew’s hand grabbed hers, and she let him hold it for the remainder of the ride.

“That was incredible,” Drew yelled as their cart came to a halt and their restraints were released.

“My heart is pumping so hard!” Jade yelled back. It seemed that both of them had gone temporarily hard of hearing from the excitement.

And then they were blinded by flashes of light. Jade thought she must have burst a blood vessel in her eye on the ride until she heard the yelling.

“Drew! Is that your girl?”

“Drew! Over here!”

“Drew, do you have a comment for TMZ?”

Drew looked just as stunned as Jade felt for about three seconds, and then he smiled and stepped forward.

“Evening, everyone. Is it too much to ask to have a night out with my girl?”

“We just want to get a look at you guys,” a woman with frizzy blond hair yelled.

Drew turned to face Jade and mouthed the word, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Better to get this over with, I guess,” Jade said.

She stepped forward and gave a little wave. Flashes went off, blinding her again. This was much more invasive than at work. Usually it was just one camera at a time, or if she was in the parade, the cameras didn’t flash in her face.

“What’s your name, gorgeous?” the guy from TMZ called loudly.

“Jade,” she said.

“Speak up, sweetheart!” TMZ yelled, holding out a voice recorder.

“Jade,” she said louder.

Some of the reporters scribbled in notebooks, and others continued to snap pictures. Beyond the barricade of reporters, a group of parkgoers stood around watching, most taking pictures as well.

This was not something Jade had been prepared for. She’d known Drew was semi-famous, but she’d always thought his father would be the media magnet.

“Give us a kiss?”

Drew looked at Jade, and she gave him a little nod. He turned to the crowd and addressed them with a stern voice.

“Okay, guys, we’re happy to pose for a few pictures, but after that, we’d appreciate if you’d leave us in peace to enjoy the park. Let’s help each other out. Deal?”

Several of the reporters nodded their agreement.

“Let’s give them something good so they’ll leave us alone, okay?” he said to Jade.

“All right.” Truthfully, she was terrified.

Drew wrapped her in an embrace and pulled her against his body, leaning in for a kiss. She was quite passive in her response, but not unhelpful. She just allowed him to kiss her how he felt was best for the photos.

Through her closed eyes, she could still make out the camera flashes, and several of the photographers wolf whistled as they pulled apart. It seemed they weren’t appeased, though.

“Show us the ring!” the frizzy blonde yelled.

Drew grabbed Jade’s hand and held it up, the diamond sparkling as flashes bombarded the faceted surface of the rock.

“Okay, folks. We’ve played the caged monkeys for long enough. Thanks for your interest, but it’s time to let us go back to our date.”

“Congratulations, Drew!”

“Drew! What do you think of the comments that Tully made about Jade?”

Drew gave a well-practiced smile. “Honestly, I haven’t spoken to Tully for a few days, and I haven’t heard anything she’s said. I’m not concerned.”

The photographers started to disperse, and Jade was pleased to see that most of them were respectful. One or two lingered, following them from ride to ride, but on the whole, they were able to enjoy their date in peace.

And they had a good time. Spending time with Drew was easy. He was fun loving, and Jade enjoyed talking with him. They went on every ride in the park, a couple more than once, and only left when the park shut down for the night.

Drew drove her home slowly, not in any rush to say good night. When they finally pulled up at her apartment block, the car was full of tension, as if they’d been on a real date.

“I feel like I should kiss you good night,” Drew admitted, naming the awkwardness.

He rested his hands on the steering wheel and left the car idling.

Jade had the urge to invite him inside again, but she knew that wouldn’t end well. Her heart was getting too involved as it was, and she had to keep her guard up. She took a preemptive strike.