FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS (Ophelia Corrigan) novel Chapter 55

CHAPTER 55

MON

When I finally carried her inside, her head still resting on my shoulder, I laid her down on the guest room bed and pulled the covers over her.

I could have walked away. Should have gone to my own room.

Instead, I sat on the edge of the mattress and watched her sleep, my thumb tracing a lazy path over her knuckles.

Tomorrow, I’d go to Abby’s party with my fake girlfriend.

But tonight, in the dark silence of my penthouse, I was starting to suspect that the woman sleeping in the guest room meant a hell of a lot more to me than any lie could explain.

The next afternoon, I parked in front of Abby’s house in Brooklyn with Jamie beside me. Her hand was already on the door handle, like she was about to bolt at any second.

“Relax,” I killed the engine. “It’s just a kid’s party.”

“I am relaxed.” She shot me a look. “You’re the one about to see the woman you’ve been pining over for fifteen years. I’m just here for emotional support.”

“Pining?” I laughed, but it came out wrong. “I don’t pine over anyone.”

“Of course you don’t.” She opened the door. “That’s why you bought her daughter a gift that costs more

than a car.”

I grabbed the package from the back seat-a wooden rocking horse, limited edition, handcrafted in Tuscany, because apparently I had no self-control when it came to impressing people who didn’t matter.

“Let’s get this over with.”

The party was already in full swing when we arrived. Kids everywhere-screaming, running, climbing furniture like tiny sugar-fueled maniacs. A bounce house dominated the backyard, and somewhere in the kitchen, someone was playing a playlist that sounded more like a club than a six-year-old’s birthday.

Abby was at the center of it all, arranging a cake with candles flickering dangerously close to her hair. She wore a simple dress, dark hair pulled into a messy ponytail, and she looked exactly like she did at seventeen-effortlessly pretty, like she’d just rolled out of bed.

I felt Jamie tense beside me.

“Simon!” Abby spotted us, setting the cake down before weaving through the crowd. “You came. And you brought Jamie.”

“Wouldn’t miss it.” I slid my hand to the small of Jamie’s back, feeling the slight tremor in her fingers.

“Sit down, please.” She laughed, then turned to Jamie. “Jamie, so good to see you again. I’m glad you both

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FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

made it.”

Before I could respond, a small hurricane of dark hair collided with my legs.

“YOU CAME!” Lily beamed up at me, green eyes huge. “Mommy said a handsome man was coming. Did you bring a present?”

“Lily!” Abby’s voice was half exasperated, half embarrassed. “We talked about this. You can’t just demand presents from people.”

“Sorry, Mommy.” But the girl didn’t look sorry at all. She just kept staring at me, expectant./

I crouched down to her level. “I did, yeah. But you’re going to have to guess what it is.”

“Is it a unicorn?”

“Better.”

She frowned, thinking. “A real horse?”

“Close.”

“A PONY?” She clapped her hands, eyes shining. “DID YOU BRING ME A PONY?”

Jamie laughed beside me-a real laugh, the kind that crinkled her eyes and softened her whole face. “Lily, if he gave you a pony, your mom would kill him on the spot.”

“His girlfriend is smart.” Lily studied me, then turned to Jamie with an assessing look. “She’s really pretty too. Are you guys getting married?”

“Lily!” Abby grabbed her daughter’s shoulder, her face flushing. “That’s a very personal question—”

“It’s important, Mommy!” Lily turned to me, lowering her voice to a theatrical whisper. “Because if you’re not going to marry her, you should marry my mom. She never stops talking about you.”

The words hung in the air like a grenade.

Abby’s face went from pink to crimson. “Lily, go play with the other kids. Now.”

“But Mommy-”

I “NOW.”

Lily pouted, but took off running, disappearing into the crowd of children.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Abby opened her mouth, closed it, then shook her head with a nervous laugh. “She’s six. She doesn’t know what she’s saying. Kids are–they make things up, you know? They see one thing and turn it into a whole story, and then-”

“Abby,” I cut her off, my voice softer than I intended. “It’s fine. She’s just a kid. Don’t worry about it.”

Abby let out an awkward laugh, but before she could say anything, Lily reappeared through the crowd, like

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FAKE DATING WITH BENEFITS MY BILLIONAIRE BOSS

she’d already forgotten the scolding she’d just gotten.

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