Faking Ms. Right: A Hot Romantic Comedy (Dirty Martini Running Club Book 1)
Faking Ms. Right: Chapter 21

My mind was not where it needed to be. I had a to-do list a mile long, but I sat at my desk, eyes unfocused. Head in the clouds.

Or, more specifically, on the couch in Shepherd’s secret hideaway.

I couldn’t stop thinking about him. What he’d looked like up on stage, his nimble fingers strumming his bass. What he’d felt like in the back seat of his car. The heat between us had been scorching. And it had only been the beginning.

Then he’d treated me to the best sex I’d ever had in my entire life.

In.

My.

Life.

I’d never had so many orgasms so close together. Despite Nora’s insistence that they were real, I’d always thought multiples were a myth.

But it wasn’t just the three orgasms in one night that made it amazing. It was… all of it. The bar. The band. The condo. The secrets he’d shared. The things I’d done, and the things I’d let him do to me. I’d felt a deep and undeniable connection to him—something I’d never experienced before.

Which meant I was a total mess today.

He’d been up for a conference call with someone in New York when I’d left this morning. When he’d come into the office, he’d said good morning as he walked by my desk. To anyone looking, nothing would have seemed different. But I’d noticed. He’d paused, just the slightest hesitation, and met my eyes. The corner of his mouth had turned up and one of his dimples had puckered.

Quick as it was, that look had made me blush furiously. I’d gathered up my notepad and a few files and followed him into his office, hoping no one had seen my crimson face.

By the way Steve kept looking at me across the aisle, I had a feeling he had.

The other thing on my mind was Annie. Regardless of whether Shepherd and I were just faking it with a side of hot sex, or something more, I couldn’t ask him to be her sperm donor. There was just no way. But I hated the idea of disappointing her.

I turned back to my computer, trying to put Shepherd—and sperm donations—out of my mind. But there he was, at the edge of my consciousness. That mouth. Those hands. That di—

“Everly,” Steve whispered.

I gasped, realizing he was standing next to my desk. “God, Steve, you scared me. Why are you whispering?”

He looked around cautiously, then leaned a little closer. “I just want you to know, your secret is safe with me.”

Oh no. “Um, what secret?”

“Your crush on Mr. Calloway.” His eyes flicked to Shepherd’s door. “You’re doing a pretty good job hiding it, but we’ve worked together long enough, I can tell.”

My crush? Well, he wasn’t wrong. I’d fallen head over heels for the man. But at least he didn’t seem to know the rest—especially that I was living with him, and that he’d fucked me senseless last night.

I figured the best thing to do was agree—fess up to crushing on my boss. Maybe that would satisfy Steve’s curiosity and keep him from asking too many awkward questions.

Putting a finger to my lips, I shushed him. “Quiet. It’s… complicated. And who could blame me? He’s spectacular.” Especially the way he gets all growly when he comes…

Focus, Everly.

Steve patted my shoulder. “It’s okay. It happens to most women here at some point. Frankly, I’m surprised you held out this long. Just don’t get yourself into trouble. I like you. I’d hate to see you go anywhere.”

“You don’t have to worry about me. It’s not a big deal at all.” Liar, liar, pants on fire.

He smiled and went back to his desk.

I took a deep breath. That had been the opposite of helpful. Now I really couldn’t concentrate. What had made Steve think I had a crush? Was I mooning over Shepherd when he walked by? Had it been the way I’d blushed earlier? Had he noticed me staring off into space, reliving the strange and wonderful evening I’d had last night?

Probably all of the above.

Thankfully I was meeting Nora and Hazel for lunch today. They’d help me get my head on straight.

After another mostly unproductive hour, Nora and Hazel came walking down the hallway toward my desk. Heads turned, my co-workers watching as they passed. Hazel, looking like a sexy librarian with her dark-rimmed glasses, blouse and pencil skirt. And Nora in a low-cut V-neck and high-waisted jeans that made her look like a vintage pinup model.

“You ready?” Nora asked when she got to my desk.

“Yes. Very.” I grabbed my purse. “What sounds good?”

Hazel opened her mouth to answer but stopped as Shepherd came out of his office.

He paused outside his door, his hand still on the handle. His gaze fell on me first, lingering there for a second longer than was strictly appropriate, given the intense heat in his eyes. Then he seemed to notice Nora and Hazel. His eyes swept over them before coming back to rest on me.

“Leaving for lunch?” he asked.

I cleared my throat and fumbled my purse, almost dropping it. “Um, yes. Lunch. With them. My friends.”

He nodded but didn’t walk by. He kept standing there, his eyebrows raised, as if he expected me to say something else.

Finally, he reached his hand out to Nora. “Shepherd Calloway.”

Nora shook his hand with a smile. “Nora Lakes. And this is Hazel Kiegen.”

I started sputtering as he shook Hazel’s hand. “Sorry. Right. Introductions. My girlfriends Nora and Hazel. But she said that already. So, yes, going to lunch with my friends. Who are these two, right here.”

“Nice to meet you both.” His gaze moved back to me, making my heart beat wildly in my chest. “Have a good time.”

“Thanks,” I managed to squeak out.

The corner of his mouth did that thing—the almost smile with the hint of dimple. With a brief nod to Nora and Hazel, he walked away.

It wasn’t until Nora cleared her throat that I realized I was watching his ass as he left.

“What?”

Nora crossed her arms. “Mm hmm.”

I glanced around, wondering who else had just witnessed me making a total fool of myself. Thankfully the only person nearby was Steve. He gave me an exaggerated wink.

Oh, lord. “Can we just go to lunch, please?”

Nora and Hazel shared a look. I knew that look. It meant I was about to face the inquisition.

We chose a restaurant a block from my building and went in. The hostess seated us and I hid behind my menu, hoping the fire in my cheeks would simmer down before the waitress came to take our orders.

No such luck. I was positive I was still a bright pink disaster by the time I had to order lunch and hand her my menu.

Nora’s eyes were practically glittering with excitement. “So how long have you been fucking him?”

“You say that as if it’s a foregone conclusion,” Hazel said.

“Because it is,” Nora said. “You were standing right there. Don’t you study this stuff for a living?”

“Not exactly,” Hazel said. “My specialty is in the area of—”

“Since last night,” I blurted out. “We slept together last night and oh my god, it was the most amazing night of my life.”

“Details.” Nora did a gimme gesture with her hand.

There was so much I couldn’t tell them. Shepherd had asked me to keep his secrets, and I wasn’t about to betray that trust. But the fact that we’d had sex was not something I could keep to myself. Not from them.

“This is going to sound crazy, but his brother had to be rushed to the hospital yesterday. I went down there to wait with him and—”

“Did you guys bang in a supply closet?” Nora asked.

“No, we didn’t bang at the hospital. But we did kiss, and it was really amazing. And later… well, we spent some time together and he shared some things with me, and it felt like we really connected. And then came the sex.”

“I told you this would happen,” Nora said.

“Actually, I think you predicted that Everly would develop feelings for him,” Hazel said. “Not that they would wind up sleeping together.”

“That’s what I’m talking about. Look at her.” Nora gestured toward me. “She’s smitten.”

“I’m not smitten.” Liar again.

“You are,” Nora said. “But tell me more. Where were you? How many orgasms did you have?”

“Three,” I said with a heavy sigh, then lowered my voice. “We weren’t really having sex for the first one. At least I don’t think we were. We were making out in the backseat of his car. Is it still dry-humping if there aren’t clothes between you?”

“Meaning?” Hazel asked.

“Like he had his peen out and you had your panties off, but there was no penetration?” Nora asked.

I opened my mouth to answer, but clamped it shut again as the waitress brought our lunch.

“Thank you,” Nora said, smiling at her as if we weren’t sitting here having a conversation about dry-humping exposed penises.

I waited until our plates were on the table and the waitress was halfway back to the kitchen before replying. “His underwear were… well, down. My panties were on, but moved to the side. And no penetration.”

“Why not?” Nora asked.

“He said he wasn’t going to fuck me for the first time in the back seat of his car.”

“First time?” Hazel asked. “That seems to imply he intends for there to be repeat performances.”

I nodded and poked at my salad. “Yeah, I picked up on that too.”

“Dry-humping isn’t quite the right term, is it?” Nora asked, more to herself than to us. She tapped a finger against her lips, her fork dangling from her other hand. “Wet-humping, maybe? I don’t know, but that should be a thing. He really gave you a big O with just the surface of his lady dagger?”

I wanted to duck under the table. “Nora, shush. And yes, he did.”

“Did he come too, or was it just you?”

“In the car it was just me.”

“And then?”

“We went back to his place and did it on the couch and I came two more times,” I said in a rush.

Nora took a casual bite of her salad. “I have to say, I’m impressed.”

“With what?” I asked.

“With you, for getting a threebie last night. You deserve it. And with him. A guy who lets you get off on his peen and waits to get you home to fuck you? If it were anyone else telling me this story—except you, Hazel—I’d think you were lying. I didn’t think a unicorn like that existed. I might have to write an article about this. No names, of course.”

“He was very exceptional.”

“But Everly,” Hazel said, her voice soft. “Are you sure this is wise? You’re pretending to be engaged, but now you’re not pretending to be having sex?”

“Believe me, I know. I have no idea what this means. Maybe it was just inevitable. How long was I supposed to hold out? I’m sleeping right next to him and you guys, he smells like man heaven.”

“He likes the way you smell, too,” Nora said.

“What? How do you know?”

“Didn’t you see the way he leaned closer to you?” she asked. “He was totally indulging in a whiff.”

“Studies show scent is a powerful force in attraction,” Hazel said. “In fact, there’s evidence to suggest that a percentage of failed marriages have, at their root, an insurmountable scent incompatibility.”

“You mean people get divorced because they don’t like the way their partner smells?” Nora asked.

“It’s not usually a conscious thing, and more study is needed to draw solid conclusions, but yes. That’s how strongly humans react to scent.”

“So Everly and Shepherd have scent compatibility on their side,” Nora said brightly. “I amend my previous warning about catching feelings. You’ve clearly caught them, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”

I eyed my friend. Who was this, and what had she done with Nora? “You don’t?”

“Not at all.”

Hazel appeared similarly perplexed. “You realize this has the potential to go badly for at least a dozen reasons.”

“I know it does.” Nora waved her hand like those things didn’t matter. “You’re supposed to be faking Ms. Right, and what happens when you don’t have to fake it anymore? And he’s your boss, so there’s the added complication of your career. But I’m on Team Shepherd. I think this is it, Everly.”

My heart sang with hope at the suggestion. But there were so many unknowns. So many potential problems. Just because I’d slept with Shepherd didn’t mean he intended to take our relationship from fake to real. Maybe we were just indulging in pure physical attraction.

But if he’d just wanted in my pants, he wouldn’t have had to show me his band. Or his secret hideaway. Was there really something happening between us? Something deeper than the raw power of sexual attraction?

Could Shepherd have feelings for me too?

I was afraid to hope Nora was right.

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