The Three-Week Arrangement (Chase Brothers) (14 page)

Chapter Thirteen

Ethan hadn’t talked to Rue since he’d left her bed without a word, but he had texted to tell her what time he’d pick her up for the gala, and she hadn’t told him to go to hell. That was a good sign, but he was still nervous. Whether it was because he felt like a jerk for leaving like he had or because he had to make his grand back-in-a-relationship public debut, he
wasn’t sure…but truth be told, he cared more about what Rue felt than he did everyone else at the gala put together. He never had been concerned about moving on or who thought he should. He wasn’t looking forward to the scrutiny of having done so, but he sure as hell hadn’t cared when they’d gawked at him before. This would be no different.

At least not in that regard.

But he was in
familiar territory nonetheless. The last time he’d had a date for one of these fundraisers, he’d been letting her go, too.

He tugged at the collar of his rented tux and cursed the dress code of the city’s elite as he steered onto Rue’s road. Funny how he thought of it as hers now. He was still thinking about that as he parked and cut the engine, and on the walk to the house, he automatically
searched for the water-pistol packing granny next door. Before he could knock, the door opened.

And he lost his breath.

Rue stood before him wearing a stunning blue gown that perfectly matched her eyes. The floor-length dress followed her curves, but wasn’t the least bit immodest. It was classic and gorgeous, just like her.

“No one will be looking at me tonight,” he said by way
of greeting. “That’s for damn sure.”

She smiled and her dangly diamond earrings danced. “That’s because you’re not shirtless and sweaty with moonlight gleaming off what happens to be a seriously smokin’ bod, all predatory and wild. And don’t get me started about what’s below the belt.”

Yeah, he’d better not. Because if she got started down
there
, he’d be
both
kinds of screwed. “I don’t
want to get you started on last night at all.”

Her brow furrowed. “Why not?”

“I kind of left,” he replied, puzzled.

“I wasn’t going to ask you to move in,” she said lightly. “Leaving was inevitable.”

Oh
. He stood quietly, and probably a little wounded, while she locked up. There he’d been worried she’d be upset—or worse, hurt—by him walking out before the mattress quit
shaking, and she didn’t bat an eyelash. Because that was
her
, he reminded himself. Not a care in the world. Not that he thought she didn’t care about him, but she’d made it clear she’d put New York behind her as soon as possible. And he was New York. Maybe she didn’t think of it that way, but semantics didn’t change the truth of the matter.

That was something he’d do well to remember.

They walked to the truck, and he opened her door and helped her in, then circled around to his side. The gala was held in the grand ballroom of a luxury hotel on the Upper East Side. Not exactly his stomping grounds, and for the umpteenth time he wondered why they didn’t just donate the exorbitant cost of the fundraiser to the charity itself. But with the guest list packed with millionaires—and
some probably upwards of that—he figured they drew a nice profit…not to mention some national attention. None of which explained why he had to dress up and drive into Manhattan, but he’d lost that particular battle years ago.

“Why aren’t we taking a cab?” Rue asked.

“I’m more comfortable in my truck,” he said. “I rented a parking spot for the night.” Fifty bucks for six hours in a
hundred-and-sixty square feet of barren real estate. He was definitely in the wrong business.

“For what it’s worth, I’m not a fan of dressing up, either. I hope to find Mimi Von Adler as soon as I get there so I can talk to her about the calendar. After that, it’s a matter of being seen—and I hate that I had to even say that—and then we’re out of there.”

“And then you’re out of
here
.”

She wouldn’t look at him, though her mood didn’t seem to suffer. “After a week or so. If she green lights the calendar, I’ll have a few photo shoots to do, but those are usually pretty quick, especially since I only have to please myself. Clients can be kind of persnickety if they’re on the shoot, but I happen to know I’m pretty easy to get along with.”

And pretty damn easy with
the good-byes.

By the time he steered into his overpriced parking spot, actual dread had begun to crawl through his gut. Pretending to move on had been one thing. Actually doing it was another. Doing it in vain wasn’t something for which he needed witnesses. Hopefully he’d been right, and Rue would draw more attention than the fact that he was there with her, but he didn’t hold much hope.
Gossip was second only to oxygen to most people, and everything he knew about this crowd suggested they were no different.

The short walk to the five-star hotel hosting the gala was jammed with the noise of traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian, but otherwise it was a nice night—a comfortable seventy-ish degrees with a surprising lack of humidity that kept him from choking in that tux.
As they neared the entry, he took her hand.

She glanced at him in surprise.

“Just in case we have onlookers,” he said. As if they wouldn’t. “Maybe the rumor will get around to Boyd, which might come in handy since you’re splitting the second you get through the door.”

“Not the
very
second,” she said. And then she squeezed his hand, and his heart tried to forget how temporary
she was.

He reined it in. This was a business arrangement with hints of a good deed. It was a cause he supported in Amy’s memory, and even if he didn’t have that kind of emotional tie, who could argue with helping animals? Unfortunately, that thought had him back on the photo shoot, when out of the blue he’d wanted nothing more than to kiss the woman whose hand he held. “What about the shelter?”
he asked. “Did you give them a quit date?”

This time her smile lit the room. “I didn’t have to. A photographer called in, wanting to know how she could help. Abbie told her she had impeccable timing.”

“So that’s it? You’re done?” He hated how shocked he sounded, as if he hadn’t paid attention to pretty much everything there was between them.

“It’s not like I left them hanging.
Nothing lasts forever, Ethan.”

Yeah, he got that.

The ballroom was a ridiculously overdone silver and gold monstrosity. Standing there, with the endless patterns of riches stretching from floor to ceiling and covering everything in between, he had the almost sea-sickening feeling of being in a kaleidoscope. He was no structural engineer, but he’d bet money the floor threatened to collapse
under the weight of the flowers and waiters with their trays packed with wine glasses. The setup didn’t even remotely hint at anything animal-related, but the strategy was probably on point. Spread the alcohol around, make the exits invisible, and keep a card reader on hand for liquored-up donations people would probably be too embarrassed to rescind in the hung-over light of day.

Rue immediately
spotted Mimi Von Adler—who wore a bright, pointed feathery hat that made her look like a fucking macaw—and took off after her. Ethan wandered just a moment before finding Liam, who didn’t have any qualms about showing up alone—although he didn’t exactly face criticism for it, either.

“Where’s your girlfriend?” Liam asked.

Ethan snagged a glass from a passing waiter and took a sip before
he answered. It didn’t go down smoothly. Beer would have been better, but if anyone was passing that around in those fancy flutes, he was none the wiser. “She’s checking with the Queen Mother about a fundraiser idea.”

Liam snorted. “I think you nailed the old lady on that one, although I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hat like that on anyone not at a costume party.”

“It’s more likely
I insulted the Queen Mother.” Not that dead people worried too much about insults.
Or about husbands moving on
.

“So how’s it going outside of the single life?” Liam asked.

“Confusing,” Ethan said. “Half the time I feel bad about dating her, and the other half I’m twisting in the wind over the fact that she’s leaving soon.”

Liam shook his head. “Could you have two more opposite
problems? Actually, make it one. That guilt is all in your head. You know Amy wouldn’t care. Hell, she’d probably push you out there herself. She would have never wanted you to be unhappy. You’re using her as an excuse, and she’s more than that. You know damn well that dating someone else now doesn’t take anything from what you shared with her.”

Ethan drained the glass. “You’re right. And
for what it’s worth, that particular horse is out of the barn.”

“Did you just call Rue a horse?”

“Tell me he didn’t call me a horse.” Rue stepped from behind Ethan and flashed a grin at Liam that left Ethan feeling empty inside.

“I absolutely did not call you a horse. Did you talk to the…to Mrs. Von Adler?”

Rue beamed. “I did, and the calendar is a go. She didn’t question
using shelter animals, despite the fact that they don’t have much of anything to do with the rainforest. All she did was verify the men would be half-clothed and ask that I make sure first copy went to her. Oh, and she wants at least one guy to be really hairy.”

“I really didn’t need to know that last part,” Ethan said.

“Um, what calendar?” Liam asked.

“Hot shirtless men holding
baby animals,” she said. “Eye candy with a cuteness factor that’s off the charts. They’ll fly off the shelves.”

“I think I’ll just make a cash donation instead,” Liam said wryly.

“Don’t say that too loudly in here,” she advised. “My mother will want that in writing.”

“Excellent warning,” Liam said. “Now if you’ll excuse me…”

“Of course,” Rue said, laughing. “Ethan was just
going to ask me to dance.”

Ethan looked after his departing brother for a lifeline, but that chance was quickly swallowed by the sea of guests milling about, trying to be seen. “I was?” His hesitance didn’t stem from wanting distance from her. He just wasn’t sure he wanted the whole world seeing the way he felt, especially when they’d all find out soon enough that she’d left. Though it was
now among the least of his concerns, he didn’t want to deal with another round of pity—especially not with the first one still going strong.

She winked. “You were the one insisting on practice.”

“How could I have forgotten?” he asked as he pulled her into his arms.

“You didn’t.”

He laughed, and his heart flip-flopped as her body pressed to his. Between the full-body contact
and the way they danced way too slow for the music, it wasn’t his most platonic public display, but he didn’t really care. She felt too good to question.
They
felt good.

After three songs, he reluctantly let someone pull her off the dance floor, but he stayed close. Rue quickly introduced the woman as a conservation photographer, and the way Rue kind of gushed, Ethan had a feeling he’d just
met royalty. He immediately wondered if she was connected to the internship, but then forgot to wonder as he was struck by how the two women lit up in the conversation. It was something to do with seal pups and underwater photography, and Ethan couldn’t even follow it because he was so taken with the absolute light and joy that Rue emanated over a topic she clearly loved. He’d seen it when she
told him about her adventures, but this…this was something different.

This was something with which he couldn’t compete.

And as much as that should have bothered him, it didn’t. If anything, it erased any wish he harbored that they had more time. She didn’t belong in the city. She belonged in the Arctic or on the Amazon or wherever she could chase this passion of hers, and it didn’t
matter how hard he’d fallen…the last thing he’d do was give her a reason to stay.

He’d play the part of her date for the night, but after that, things had to be over between them.

There wouldn’t be a reason left to hang on.

He’d keep telling himself that.

…

Rue had been to dozens of society events during her privileged upbringing, and she’d long grown bored with the
pomp and circumstance. The fancy clothes annoyed her. The holier-than-thou attitudes disgusted her. And the fact that the majority of people who started a conversation with her seemed to be looking for an opening to crow about themselves didn’t help.

But this night was different.

It might have been because she knew she’d have to deal with Boyd, and it may have been because she wanted
so badly to win his grandmother’s approval for her calendar, but it wasn’t either of those things.

It was Ethan.

Ethan getting to her in a way no one ever had. Being real. She hadn’t realized just how self-absorbed her last few flings were, particularly the model, until she immersed herself in all things Ethan Chase. He didn’t have a vapid bone in his body. He was the most genuine
person she’d ever known, and the fact that he came packaged in scintillating hotness didn’t hurt a thing. And if he was good to look at, there were no words for what he was in bed. God help her if he was out of practice, because already that man could bring her to her knees with a simple look, and she knew exactly how to bide the time when she got down there.

She shivered at the thought,
and immediately he had his arm around her. Just like an actual boyfriend might, but not like any she’d ever had. Of course, she hadn’t exactly trekked into the realm of an actual relationship—they’d all failed too quickly, except the one that had lasted and gone down in spectacular flames anyway. No wonder she hated emotional ties and relationship protocol and the society that demanded they be “right.”
For as long as she could remember, she’d wanted to break free from all of that. Now she was on the verge on doing so—not just for what amounted to an adventurous vacation, but for the long term—and something was pulling her back.

Something was telling her not to walk away from Ethan.

She figured it had to be the stress of the night, but most of her anxiety had dissipated once Mimi
Von Adler had approved the association between Rue’s calendar and her charity. She’d loved the idea, even agreeing to have staffers handle production and fulfillment of orders after Rue put the layout together. The necessary contracts would be in Rue’s inbox first thing Monday, and Bridget had sort of wink-nudged that the internship was Rue’s. But more than that, she’d told her about a job offer with
one of her colleagues that would pay travel expenses and a salary. Rue could start immediately, or she could start when the internship ended. Either way, her dream was coming true.