Still Ice Cold, I’ll Prove it

Raina Cole

Wait, you’re going to the wedding?”

Cassie’s voice shot up an octave, loud enough to make my head throb.

“I don’t have much of a choice,” I muttered, closing the last document on my laptop.

Katrina's expression dropped to a mix of horror and pity. “You’re walking into your sister’s wedding to your ex? Alone? After everything that happened?

Cassie crossed her arms. “That’s prime humiliation.”

I lifted my chin. “Who said I’m going alone? I’m going to show what he lost.”

They both froze, identical expressions of shock spreading across their faces.

“You’re joking,” Cassie said.

I looked down at my coffee, tracing the rim. “It’s… complicated.”

Cassie’s eyes narrowed. “Raina.”

I sighed. “Fine. I might’ve hired someone.”

Katrina blinked. “Like a date?”

“Like a fake boyfriend,” I corrected.

Cassie shrieked. “You did not!”

Katrina leaned so close to her camera that all I saw was her forehead. “Oh my God, is it that dancer from the club?”

“Who?” I asked, feigning innocence.

“That dancer!” Katrina hissed. “The one from that club! The one who poured champagne on his—”

“Okay, that’s enough,” I cut in quickly, heat crawling up my neck. “It’s not what you think. It’s business.”

Cassie’s mouth dropped open. “You’re doing business with a stripper?”

“An exotic performer,” I corrected tightly. “And yes. I hired him to pretend to be my boyfriend for the week.”

Cassie clapped a hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh. “So, you did call him! You said you wouldn’t.”

“Like I said, it’s just business and, besides, he's not even my type”

“Right,” Cassie said, unconvinced. “And fire isn’t hot.”

Katrina giggled, her body vibrating with excitement. “I hope this ends up like those books where you two fall in love and live happily ever after!”

I rolled my eyes. “Too bad, this isn’t one of your books. Are you guys missing the part where I said it’s just business?”

Before they could respond, movement caught my attention.

He was here

My assistant was leading him here.

“I have to go guys. He’s here” I said abruptly, standing, almost spilling my coffee

“Make sure to fuck him good.” Katrina whispered

“And give us all the deets,” Cassie added before I hung up

“Mr. Ken,” I greeted, standing straighter than I needed to when he got to me

His lips curved, amusement glinting in his eyes. “You sound so formal, Miss Raina. Should I have worn a tie?”

I ignored the way his voice sounded so velvety. “A little formality doesn’t hurt.”

I didn’t let him reply because I knew he was going to say something flirty. “Come on,” I said quickly, turning toward the glass doors. “The jet’s waiting.”

I felt his eyes on my back as I led the way, but instead of feeling disgusted like I usually do when men stare at me, I found myself feeling aware

Did he like what he saw? Did he like the view?

I immediately snapped out of it, ascending the stairs of the jet.

We took our seats across from each other. He looked annoyingly calm — stretched out across the seat opposite mine, his jacket off, shirt sleeves rolled up, like this was a pleasure trip and not… whatever this was.

He glanced sideways. “You always look this tense before business meetings?”

I kept my eyes on the window. “Only when I have to babysit men with inflated egos.”

“Ouch,” he winced, leaning back into his chair.

My nerves gradually settled into something I hated to recognize — anticipation.

He looked around the cabin, whistling low. “So… you rent this kind of thing often, or is it your standard commute to family drama?”

“I own it,”

He gave a lazy grin. “Of course you do.”

I opened my laptop and slid a folder toward him.

“Before we take off, we need to get some things straight.”

He tilted his head, that slow smirk already tugging at his mouth. “Rules? You’re giving me rules?”

“Boundaries,” I corrected, forcing my voice steady. “If we’re going to do this convincingly, there have to be limits.”

He leaned forward, forearms resting on his knees, gaze too focused. “Go on, then. Hit me.”

“Rule one,” I typed it out just to make it official. “No touching unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

His brow arched. “Define necessary.”

I met his eyes. “Cameras, crowds, my family. Nothing more.”

“Got it,” he said, his voice low and teasing. “So… if I kiss you in private, that breaks the rule?”

I clenched my jaw. “If you kiss me in private, I will break your nose.”

He grinned, like I’d just given him permission.

I hated that my pulse didn’t seem to agree with me.

“Rule two,” I continued quickly. “You don’t speak about my company, my family, or anything personal unless I cue you to. The fewer lies you have to remember, the better.”

“Sounds like you’ve done this before.”

I ignored that. “Rule three: no sleeping in the same room.”

His smirk deepened. “What if your family insists?”

“They won’t.”

“Hypothetically,” he pressed.

I glared. “Then I’ll sleep on the floor.”

He laughed softly. “Sure you will, sweetheart.”

That word again. Sweetheart. Like he knew exactly how it sounded dripping off his tongue.

I inhaled sharply, forcing myself to focus. “We’ll also need to practice our story.”

“Our love story, you mean..” He leaned back, pretending to think. “How did we meet?”

“At a charity gala,” I suggested

He made a face. “Boring. No offense love, but no one’s going to buy that. Nobody believes real people fall in love at galas.”

“Would you prefer I say I met you grinding on a pole?”

He chuckled. “How about this: you saw me at the bar, couldn’t take your eyes off me, and the rest is history.”

I blinked at him. “Do you have an ego problem, or is that your default personality?”

“Both,” he said easily.

I tried to hide the smile forming on my lips, but I think he noticed it anyway. “My family wouldn’t believe that I’d go to a bar.”

“Mm. But yet I found you at a club. Rebellious, I like it”

“I’m not the type to go to clubs. I only went there because it was my friend’s bachelorette party.” I said, then I realized that I was beginning to tell him about my personal life.

I adjusted the strap of my heels and crossed my legs. “Let’s go with this; We met at a fundraiser. You were working security for one of the sponsors. You saved me from a pushy drunk, and I thanked you with a drink. One thing led to another.”

He nodded slowly, gaze dragging up my legs before settling back on my face. “That’s believable.”

Then he leaned in, elbows on his knees again, voice dropping softer.

“Tell me something, Raina. Why all the rules?”

My pulse stumbled. “Because this isn’t real.”

He studied me for a moment too long, then nodded. “Sure. Whatever helps you sleep.”

I looked away, out the window, watching clouds roll past

This week wasn’t about him.

It was about proving to myself that I hadn’t lost control, that I could stand in front of the man who made my body betray me and feel absolutely nothing.

He wasn’t special.

He was just another man.

I’d prove it before the week was over.