No, she couldn’t allow it. If she trusted Gideon enough to secure his help finding a husband, then she trusted him enough to create a safe space to teach her something she obviously needed to know to be an effective wife. His rumored sex prowess just sweetened the bargain, because he was more than experienced enough to walk her through a crash course in seduction.
He still hadn’t said anything.
She sighed. “I know it’s a lot to ask—”
“I’m going to stop you right there.” He stood and adjusted his jacket as he buttoned it. “I will charge you for the husband hunting—the same rates of a normal client. I’m not a sex worker, Lucy. You can’t wave a magic wand and acquire lessons in fucking.”
She did her best not to wilt.
You knew it was a long shot.
“I understand.”
“That said...” He shook his head like he couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth any more than she could. “Come by my place tonight. We’ll talk. After that, we’ll see.”
That...wasn’t a no. It wasn’t a yes. But it most definitely wasn’t a no.
“Okay.” She didn’t dare say anything more in fear that he’d change his mind. I can’t believe this is happening. He didn’t look happy to have offered the invitation. In fact, Gideon looked downright furious.
He pinned her with a look. “Seven. You remember the address.”
It wasn’t a question but she still nodded all the same. “I’ll be there.”
“Don’t be late.” He turned and stalked out of her office, leaving her staring after him.
What just happened?
A thrill coursed through her. What just happened was that Gideon Novak had agreed to help her. Professionally he had a reputation for always getting his man and, personally, he had everything required to get her pending marriage off to the right start.
He said yes.
With him in her corner, there was no way she’d fail.
The promotion was hers. She could feel it.
GIDEON SWAM LAPS until every muscle in his body shook with exhaustion. It didn’t help. All he could see was Lucy’s earnest expression as those sinful lips spoke words he would have killed to hear before. Teach me. His attraction for that woman had never brought him anything but trouble, and apparently he was doubling down because he hadn’t told her no like he damn well should have. Instead he’d told her to come to his place.
So they could talk.
About him giving her lessons in fucking.
He pulled himself out of the pool and climbed to his feet. He’d been prepared to tell her no—to both the husband hunt and the lessons. Instead he’d invited her over tonight. What the hell was that about?
You know what that’s about.
Gideon wanted Lucy.
He’d wanted her from the moment he’d seen her across that crowded bar in Queens six years ago. She’d been so fresh-faced and, even too many shots in, he’d known there was something special about her.
Unfortunately so had Jeff Larsson, and that bastard had beaten him to the punch—meeting Lucy, dating Lucy, proposing to Lucy.
Gideon had tried his damnedest to be happy for his best friend—and to table his desire for his best friend’s woman—but it had never quite gone away. It didn’t matter how many girls he’d dated, because his heart had never been in it. When Jeff had made a passing remark on Gideon’s tendency to find willowy brunettes with freckles, he’d shelved dating completely and restricted his interactions to one night.
He showered and dressed quickly. It would be tricky getting back to his place before she arrived, but he’d had to do something to take the edge off or he was in danger of throwing caution to the wind. The temptation of Lucy in his bed, even for such a shitty reason...
He’d be a bastard and a half to do it.
No, Gideon would grab takeout, sit her down to her favorite Chinese and explain all the reasons why sex between them wasn’t an option. He’d be calm and reasonable and use whatever arguments he had to get his point across. She didn’t need lessons. No man with a pulse and a working cock was going to have a problem with anything Lucy had to offer.
His step hitched at the thought of someone else waking up next to her every morning. Of the long nights buried between her thighs and the friction of sweat-slicked skin and—
Fuck.
He glanced back at the gym, seriously considering calling the whole thing off and spending the next three hours back in the pool. Maybe if he was too exhausted to move, his fury at the thought of her with another man would subside.
He knew better.
If he hadn’t been happy that his best friend was with her—even before the idiot had started fucking around—he wasn’t going to be pleased with a stranger. There was no help for it. Lucy would charge ahead with this plan of hers whether he agreed to it or not. He might be able to talk her out of the sex bit, but he wouldn’t be able to convince her that she didn’t need a husband.
He’d failed her when it came to Jeff. Even as his best friend, Gideon had missed the warning signs until it was almost too late—and then he’d hesitated a full month before breaking the news to her. He’d well and truly fucked up across the board and it had cost him her friendship—something he’d valued more than he could have dreamed.
He wouldn’t fuck up again.
She wanted a husband? Well, then, Gideon was going to find her the most honorable man he could to make her happy. He owed it to her to do so.
He barely had time to drop the takeout on the kitchen counter when a knock sounded. He skirted the couch and opened the door. “You’re early.”
“I hope you don’t mind. Your doorman remembered me, so he didn’t bother to buzz you.” She gave a tentative smile that pulled at him despite his determination to do the right thing.
Lucy must have made it home because she’d changed into a pair of black leggings and a lightweight slouchy shirt that seemed determined to slide off one shoulder. She saw him looking and bit her bottom lip. “I know we talked about lessons, and this isn’t exactly seduction personified, but I went through my closet and, aside from work clothes, I don’t think I own anything that’s ‘seduction personified.’”
For fuck’s sake, she was killing him. Gideon stepped back and held the door open. “You look fine.”
“Fine.” She frowned. “I know you’re cranky about being cornered with this whole thing, but you don’t have to damn me with faint praise. I asked you to do this because I trust you to tell me the truth. I’ve always trusted you to tell me the truth.”
If she’d taken out a knife and stabbed him in the heart, it would have stung less. Gideon closed the door carefully behind her, trying to maintain his control. It didn’t matter how honest she thought he was, he wouldn’t agree to take her to bed. He couldn’t. “This won’t work if you’re going to jump down my throat every time I say something. I said you look fine. You do. I didn’t tell you to dress for seduction, Lucy. I said to get your ass over here so we can talk. That—” he motioned at her clothes “—is perfectly adequate for a conversation between two friends.”
“Right. Okay. I’m sorry. I’m nervous.” She pulled at her shirt, which caused it to drop another inch down her arm.
Gideon had never found shoulders particularly provocative