LOGINA San Francisco boy. Famous actor and model. Renowned playboy. Damaged lover. And a heartless robot. He needs to fix his reputation. I need money for my sister's treatment. Everything about us is fake ... but sometimes the line between fake and real can get blurred. Enrique Blackburn turned himself into a robot. Untouchable. Emotionless. The quintessential bachelor of the silver screen. He doesn't do love. He can never say the words. Especially not to me, his contracted phony girlfriend. But despite the consequences I let him take my breath and steal the things I know. Like fire on fire, he burns himself into my heart. And that's the last place I want him to be. We made an arrangement. We agreed to a contract. No sex. No love. No relationship. Can I unfold him? Can I make this real? Can I make him find his heart? But most importantly - can I make him say the words?
View MoreDate = 1 AugustPlace = San Francisco (UCSF Medical Center)POV - AriaI’m starting to realize that the human body has strange coping mechanisms to ensure survival.Like right now … sitting here in the ER, on a hospital cot in my blood-spattered sundress — I have the overwhelming urge to tell a joke. Why? The hell if I know. Probably some primal, stupid instinct to pretend I’m fine while the universe sets itself on fire.But even if the want is there, my brain’s not exactly open for business, let alone humor.It’s just a giant, dark echo chamber looping the same fragmented footage on repeat — crash, scream, pain — as if it’ll make sense the next time around.Spoiler — it doesn’t.So, instead, I watch Marco pace up and down in front of the door — like he’s rehearsing a guilt he can’t name. His right hand clutches his injured, definitely broken, arm, where a nurse trapped it to his chest with a makeshift sling. He refuses treatment and painkillers until one of his brothers comes to rele
Date = 1 AugustPlace = San Francisco (Lombard Street)POV - AriaAs we cross the street, I think to myself — it’s the kind of day that tricks you into thinking life has finally settled — sun warm on our backs, laughter bouncing off Lombard’s crooked turns, the city is shining, the dresses are perfect, and for once, nothing hurts — yet.“Let’s go join the boys and have a wonderful dinner together,” Haley suggests. “What do you girls think?” I’m in. Not for the food, but because, for some reason, I miss my man all of a sudden.“I can do with some grub,” Mel agrees. “I’m literally starving.”Ahead, Jackson is standing with River still clinging to him like a baby koala, the tiny person in black between them and the man who looks a lot like Marco, as if stuck in the same position.The rest of the guards are scattered around like it’s some invisible manhunt no one told me about. One’s eyeballing the sky like he expects a sniper to parachute in from a passing seagull, another keeps checking
Date = 1 AugustPlace = San Francisco (Trixy’s Boutique)POV - Aria“Eh … welcome again to Trixy’s Boutique,” Trixy says, bravely attempting round two of her grand entrance.She’s now flanked by two assistants. One is a short, round girl with cheeks like apples and an expression that says she walked through the wrong portal today and ended up in a live-action soap opera. The other is a tightly-wound forty-something with a bun so aggressive it looks like it’s trying to escape her skull — and pulling her eyelids sideways in the process.This time, finally, Trixy has our full attention. Mainly because we’ve exhausted our daily allotment of penis jokes and rogue-whip commentary.“I’ll be helping the little ones,” the squishy assistant says brightly, her clipboard already out and ready to conquer small chaos. “What kind of dresses did you have in mind for the flower girls?” she asks, eyes landing on me.I glance at Leyla, who’s practically vibrating with joy on her bed. Her little pink bea
Date = 1 AugustFifteen days left.Place = San Francisco (Trixy’s Boutique)The best bridal shop in town.POV - AriaTrixy’s Boutique is tucked into a quiet corner of the city — a quaint little place with ivy crawling up its brick face, a curved door, and a little bell that chimes like it belongs in a movie about fairies and hope and people who still believe in happy endings.But the moment the armored Jeeps come to a full stop, reality follows. The bodyguards exit first, scanning the block. Shadows in suits with earpieces and grim faces. They’re silent, mirrored sunglasses, armed beneath their jackets.Somewhere out there is still someone who wants to harm us. And he wasn’t done with us. We don’t say it aloud, but the pressure of it hovers like fog in the summer air.“Okay, ladies,” I say as cheerfully as I can muster, stepping down from the SUV and smoothing my dress. “Let’s go try on some fantasy dresses before the universe throws another plot twist at us.”Inside, it smells of van
Date = 30 JulyEveryone got here in record time.Place = San Francisco (Black Pit)And we’re all moving here for safety.POV - AriaThey say moving house is one of the best but most stressful things you can do in life.They say this like it’s a normal process. Like you box up your books and your throw pillows and your cat, and you carry your curated life across town with the assistance of some overly muscular moving men and a U-Haul.What they don’t say is that if your life includes your hunky fiancé, three feral children, and the entirety of the Blackburn-Grimm baggage buffet, moving becomes something else entirely.It becomes hell.Sweet, sentimental, wildly inappropriate hell.We’re officially moving into the newly renovated cottage at Black Pit — the one I woke up in after the warehouse incident. An act of madness I apparently consented to while distracted by Enrique’s dimples and the promise of honeymoon sex.Or maybe because it’s the only option at the moment. We can’t move into
Date = 25 JulyThe days pass slowly, but uneventfully - no more messages or choices.Place = San Francisco (Inferno)POV - AriaWARNING – Sex scene!!!I am blindfolded.Not in the kinky way, though I won’t have objected. No, this is Enrique’s theatrical kind of blindfold — the silk is so soft it probably has a fancier passport than I do. The elevator beneath my feet hums quietly, rising higher and higher until the quiet ping marks our arrival. I feel his hand tighten around mine.“Are you going to push me off the roof?” I ask, my voice dry. “Because if this is how you’re dealing with your commitment issues, it’s against the contract.”He laughs. That deep, melted-chocolate sound that always makes my stomach do flips.“You should read the fine print first.”The door whooshes open. I smell something sweet — candles? Flowers? Something soft and indulgent in the air, like warmth and peaches. His hand is at the small of my back now, guiding me forward.One step. Two. My heels click against
Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.
Comments