She opened the door and reached for the handle on her roller bag when Noah appeared.
“Morning.” Everything about him—his deep voice, his penetrating gaze and his casual confidence—stopped her dead in her tracks.
Prop, meet your date for the next three days, Mr. Tall, Suave and Smoking Hot. “How’d you get into the building?”
“One of your neighbors was coming out. I didn’t want you to have to carry down your own bag.” Noah reached for her suitcase, his arm brushing her shoulder. “Ready?”
Was she ready? An entire weekend of getting to look at him, hold hands with him, kiss him in front of other people, all while knowing it wasn’t real? There was no way this wasn’t going to leave a dent in her sense of self. “Yes.”
“Got your ring?”
She presented her hand, which seemed like the normal response, but he had to go and cup her fingers, lifting them for further inspection. “It really is stunning. It suits you.”
As to whether he was inferring that she was also stunning or merely that it did its job in giving her the appearance of a woman of substance, Lily was unable to determine. She knew only that her heart pinged around in her chest. “It’s gorgeous.” You’re gorgeous. “Thank you.”
Noah took her bag, Lily locked up and they made their way downstairs. His driver rushed over to them, taking Lily’s suitcase and placing it in the back of the car. She climbed inside, followed by Noah.
“Won’t take us long to get out to Teterboro,” Noah said, referring to the small airport in New Jersey popular for private and corporate planes. “I hope it’s okay, but I need to make some work calls.”
“Please. Go ahead.” This was perfect—he’d work and so could she. Lily sat back in her seat and opened her email on her phone. Her job was her ace in the hole. She didn’t question herself when it came to that.
She responded to messages about several Locke and Locke projects, all commercial properties, one a renovation and the others new construction. One of Lily’s primary responsibilities was to communicate with the general contractors and make sure they were on schedule and on budget. It was the nuts and bolts of the entire operation and freed up Noah and Sawyer to focus on long-term strategy, including deals like Hannafort Hotels.
She didn’t take Noah’s and Sawyer’s trust lightly. Crucial and sometimes sensitive information came across her desk every day. She appreciated that they had no qualms about trusting her with it. Now that she had a stake in the company, her job was even more important to her. If ever there was a reason to stay on the straight and narrow this weekend, that was it. Being Noah’s fake fiancée was simply another part of her job. Unconventional for sure, but if she looked at it like that, in three days, she’d have her nest egg, and an even bigger chunk of Noah’s and Sawyer’s confidence. As long as she kept her heart and her libido out of it, she’d be fine.
They arrived at Teterboro and the driver pulled through the security gate back to where the Locke private jet was waiting. Charlotte and Michael were climbing the stairs to board. Lily had arranged for the jet a few times, but she had yet to go anywhere on it. Scenes like this had never been part of her life, although she’d sure read about them in books. As much as most stories came alive in her mind, living it was surreal. Everything was moving in slow motion.
“Anything we need to go over before we get on the plane?” she asked, if only to keep herself wedged in reality.
“About?”
“You know. Us. We never had a conversation about getting our stories straight. You got called to that meeting after we bought my ring and I went shopping with Charlotte. Things in the office have been crazy the last few days. We haven’t talked about it at all.”
“It’s pretty straightforward, isn’t it? You came to work for us and we became close and there was an attraction and one thing led to another.”
This was not helping Lily keep her head in the game. Her mind was too drawn to the many memories of times she and Noah had flirted at work. He’d flash his green eyes at her and make a joke. She’d laugh and smack his arm. And then next thing she knew, she was fantasizing about ripping his shirt off. “That works.”
“We know each other so well, I think we can fake our way through it pretty easily.”
“Of course.”
The driver opened the door and Noah climbed out. Lily scooted across the seat and looked up to see Noah put on his sunglasses. He turned and offered his hand. Her skin touching his instantly put her off her game. It led her mind in too many hopeful and delusional directions, but she would’ve been lying if she’d said she didn’t enjoy it. They walked across the tarmac, a stiff breeze blowing her hair from her face and rustling her coat. It was run-of-the-mill brisk weather for early April in New York, but she was glad for it. The crisp blast helped keep her wits about her. Noah kept rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. He stopped at the bottom of the airplane stairs, letting her go first. Taking each step, she reminded herself to relax. She’d be fine once she was settled in her seat.