Page 30 of Perfect Enough
“Will do. Later.”
The phone disconnected, and I turned to look at Chloe. A wide grin appeared on her face as she crossed her arms over her chest, slowly shook her head, and said, “Friend, my ass!”
Chapter Seven
JOSH
“Let me get this straight. She asked you to a wedding here in Hamilton, and you have to pretend to be her boyfriend for her mother’s sake?”
I straightened the tie. “That’s about it.”
“And then she plans on telling her mother she broke up with you?”
Nodding, I said, “That’s right.”
“Why can’t she tell her mother to stay out of her business?”
I turned and looked at Nathan. One brow rose. “Would you tellyourmother to stay out of your business?”
He thought about it for a moment, then said, “No. I wouldn’t.”
I laughed. “I didn’t think so.”
“Josh, you can’t tell me you’re not attracted to her. You’ve been texting her for weeks now. She’s pretty—very pretty—you seem to like her, so why are you not…I don’t know…making arrangements to have this girl pop your cherry?”
I shot him a dirty look. “I’m going to regret telling you that for the rest of my life.”
He shrugged. “Yeah. You are. And I still can’t believe you’re a virgin, with all the women who have thrown themselves at you.”
“And how many women haveyouslept with, Nate?”
He met my gaze in the mirror but failed to answer my question.
“Let me guess, it’s none of my business?”
A crooked smile appeared on his face. “Something like that.” He sat in the chair in the corner of my bedroom. “So, where are you meeting?”
“Here.”
He shot up. “Here? At yourhouse? Do you think that’s wise?”
After adjusting the damn tie for the last time, I grabbed my suit jacket and put it on. “Why not? It only makes sense we would go to the wedding together.”
“Josh,” he said, giving me a look that said I was out of my mind. “She’s going to take one look at your house and think you’ve got money.”
I glanced around my bedroom. It was big, with a king-size bed and nightstands on either side. Large French doors opened to a patio. The other side of the room was a small sitting area. A love seat and oversized chair sat opposite the fireplace, above which hung the TV I rarely watched. There was a bumped-out area of the room, where I had a treadmill, some weights, and an antique table that my grandmother gave me. It had been her mother’s, and she wanted me to have it since I’d played on it when I was younger.
“Idohave money, Nate. As do you.”
He rolled his eyes. We all had trust funds that our grandparents had set up, and they were given to us when we each turned eighteen. According to them, they wanted to be alive to see us enjoy the money, instead of waiting for them to pass away.
Nathan and I came from an exceedingly wealthy family in Hamilton. They started with cattle, but my father and uncles had invested in other ventures. My father and his brother Brock had been professional bull riders, so that added to their wealth. I wasblessed; there was no doubt about it. And frugal. The only thing I’d used my trust for was the house I’d built and the land that had become available next to our family ranch. A small fifty-acre ranch—well, small compared to the family’s. I could have built on the Shaw Ranch, but I wanted my own property.
“And she’s going to look at this house and see dollar signs.”
“She is not, and that’s not fair of you to say that. Do you think all women are only out for money?”
He shrugged. “The ones I talk to are.”