The Boyfriend Arrangement. Andrea Laurence

just purchased and immediately returned about fifteen hundred dollars’ worth of clothes. He watched as she slipped out of her leather coat and shoved it into the empty department store bag, covering it with the packing tissue so you couldn’t see inside.

      His chronic boredom was temporarily interrupted as she piqued his curiosity with her actions. “Excuse m—” he started to say.

      She turned suddenly and slammed right into his chest, forcing him to reach out and catch her in his arms before she stumbled backward on her sky-high heels and fell to the ground. He pulled her tight against him, molding her breasts to his chest until she righted herself. He found he really didn’t want to let go when the time came. He was suddenly drunk on her scent and the feel of her soft curves pressing into his hard angles. How long had it been since he’d been this close to a woman? One he wasn’t fitting a prosthetic to? He had no clue.

      But eventually he did let go.

      The woman took an unsteady step back, pulling herself together with a crimson flush blooming across her cheeks. “I am so sorry about that,” she said. “I’m always in such a hurry that I don’t pay attention to where I’m going.”

      There was a faint light of recognition in her blue-gray eyes as she looked up at him, so he knew he was right about meeting her somewhere before. “No, don’t apologize,” he said with a wry smile. “That’s the most exciting thing to happen to me all week.”

      Her brow furrowed in disbelief.

      Perhaps, he mused, he didn’t look as boring as he was.

      “Are you okay?” she asked.

      He laughed off her concern. She was tall for a woman, especially in those stilettos, but he didn’t really think she could inflict damage to him. “I’m fine. I’m just glad I was able to catch you.”

      She smirked and looked down self-consciously. “I suppose it could’ve been worse.”

      “You actually look really familiar to me, but I’m horrible with names. I’m Sebastian West,” he said, offering her his hand in greeting.

      She accepted it tentatively. The touch of her smooth skin gliding along his sent an unexpected spark through his nervous system. He was usually focused on work, and other pursuits, like sexual gratification and dating in general, typically took the back burner. But with one simple touch, physical desire was moved to the forefront.

      Unlike their brief collision, this touch lingered skin-to-skin, letting him enjoy the flickers of electricity across his palm. The connection between them was palpable. So much so that when she pulled her hand away, she rubbed it gently on her burgundy sweater as if to dull the sensation.

      “You do look familiar,” she agreed. “I’m Harper Drake. We must’ve met around town. Perhaps you know my brother Oliver? Orion Computers?”

      That sounded familiar enough. “He’s probably pals with my friend Finn Solomon. Finn knows everyone.”

      Harper narrowed her eyes for a moment, looking thoughtful. “That name sounds familiar, too. Wait...are you involved in some kind of medical supply business?”

      Sebastian’s brows rose in surprise. That wasn’t exactly how he’d categorize what he did, but the fact that she remembered that much stunned him. And, to be honest, it pleased him just a little bit.

      “You could say that.” He grinned.

      * * *

      Harper beamed. She was pleased to finally place this guy in her mind. When she’d caught a glimpse of him earlier, he’d grabbed her attention. He’d looked so familiar when he’d held the door for her that she was certain she’d known him from somewhere. Unfortunately, Violet being so hell-bent on running up the street to pick up Aidan’s wedding present had meant she couldn’t stop.

      Once she’d split from her best friends, Lucy Drake, Violet Niarchos and Emma Flynn, she’d stealthily circled back to Neiman Marcus to return everything she’d just bought. She couldn’t have that weighing down her credit card for long. She hadn’t expected to run into the familiar man again. Certainly not literally.

       Real smooth, Harper.

      “Okay, well then, I think it must’ve been one of the hospital benefits this past winter.”

      He nodded. “I do think I went to one of those. Finn tries to get me out every now and then.”

      Sebastian West didn’t have a face she could forget, even if she lost context. He had a strong jaw, a nearly jet-black goatee, eyes just as dark, and a crooked smile that stirred something inside her. No, she’d remember him for sure. If she had a type, he’d be it.

      It was a shame he wasn’t one of the rich CEO guys her brother associated with all the time. She didn’t mean to be shallow, but meeting a guy with his act together financially would certainly benefit her current situation. It would also make her feel a little better about how things would be handled once it all changed on her birthday.

      The last seven years had been one long, hard lesson learned for Harper. One in the value of money the spoiled little rich girl she’d once been had never really experienced before. She would be the first to admit that her father had basically given her everything she’d wanted. After her mother died, he’d spoiled her. And continued to spoil her until he’d no longer had the resources.

      Harper had never imagined that the well would run dry. When it had, she’d made a lot of necessary adjustments in her life. At least secretly. It was embarrassing enough that she’d blown all the money she’d inherited when she’d turned eighteen—especially since she was an accountant—she didn’t need anyone else knowing about what she’d done.

      After falling from the top of the world to her current spot near the bottom, she’d earned a whole new appreciation for money and for the people who were good at managing it. And soon, when she had money again, she intended to be very careful about how she handled it. That included triple-checking every guy she dated. Not that she intended to date Sebastian...

      “Well, I’m glad we bumped into each other today,” Sebastian said with a sly grin.

      Harper chuckled. As her gaze broke away from Sebastian’s for a moment, she saw Quentin—her ex, of all people—walking toward them. Grabbing Sebastian’s arm, she turned them both toward a display of men’s shoes, hoping maybe Quentin hadn’t seen her. “I’m sorry,” she muttered under her breath. “I’m trying to—”

      “Harper?”

       Damn it.

      Harper turned to face the ex-boyfriend she’d done her best to avoid for the last two years. She stepped away from Sebastian, leaning in to give her ex a polite but stiff hug. “Hello, Quentin,” she said in a flat, disinterested tone she knew he wouldn’t pick up on. He never did.

      “How have you been?”

      Lonely. Anxiety-riddled. “I’m great. Never better. How about you?”

      “Amazing. I actually just got engaged.”

      Engaged? Quentin was engaged. The one who didn’t want to commit. If Harper hadn’t already been feeling crappy about being the last single friend in her social circle, this moment would’ve been the straw that broke the camel’s back. She pasted a fake smile on her face and nodded. “That’s great. I’m happy for you.”

      Quentin didn’t notice her lack of sincerity. “Thank you. Her name is Josie. She’s amazing. I can’t wait for you to meet her. I think you two would really get along.”

      Harper had to bite her tongue to keep from asking why his ex would have any interest in hanging out with his fiancée. “I’m sure we would.”

      “So, Harper...” Quentin said as he leaned in to her. His arrogant smile made her shoulders tense and the scent of his stinky, expensive cologne brought to mind nights with him she wished she could forget. “Will I be seeing you at Violet’s