Misbehaving with the Millionaire: The Millionaire's Misbehaving Mistress

“From the looks of it, she’ll never need to shop again.”

Gwen closed her eyes and leaned her head back. “Just wait until the new spring lines come out.”

Evie continued to rifle through bags, and clothing piled up around her.

“Evie, start taking all this back to your room.”

“Okay. Gwen, do you—? Never mind. I’ve got it. You just stay there and…and…relax.” She scooped up an armload and disappeared.

Gwen opened one eye. “What was that about?”

He sat next to her. “Remorse, maybe?”

“Trust me, the shopping elite care not who they exhaust in their quest.” Her eyes slid closed again, and the corners of her mouth twitched. “My sister says she has a good eye for style. She’s going to be a sensation.”

For the first time since he’d met her, Gwen seemed fully relaxed. Since her eyes were closed, he allowed himself to study her, his eyes roaming freely over the arch of her dark eyebrows, the curve of her cheek, and the line of her jaw. Her hair fanned behind her, the loose curls snaking along the back of the couch toward his hands. She had a beautiful, elegant profile, and he mentally traced the line down her face, over a soft neck until the chain of her necklace drew his eye to a pendant nestled at the top of gently sloping cleavage.

He had no business ogling the woman, but she intrigued him and stirred his blood in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time. Unable to stop himself, he reached for the lock of hair that fell across her shoulder. He rubbed his fingers over its silkiness before tucking it gently behind her ear.

“My sister says you’re the best. I think I might agree.”

Gwen’s eyes flew open at the quiet statement and a shiver slid down her neck from the touch of his fingers on her ear. She turned to meet his gaze, only to see a heat there she didn’t expect.

Déjà vu. Same couch. Same desire pooling in her stomach, same fluttery feeling in her chest. As much as she’d tried to write last night off as an aberration, she couldn’t deny the repeat of sensations that rippled over her when Will’s eyes lit like that and the room shrank until there seemed to only be enough oxygen for one.

Will’s hand slid down her jaw until his fingers cupped her chin. Heat moved over her skin, and she wanted nothing more than to curl into his hand.

Bad idea, remember? It would be oh-so-easy to fall into Will’s arms, and every nerve ending in her body screamed at her to do so, but she couldn’t.

Nothing good could come of this.

Oh, yes there could, her body argued.

Will’s thumb stroked the sensitive skin under her chin, causing a shiver to run over her. She followed his gaze to the rapid rise and fall of her cleavage as her breathing grew shallow, watching in horror as her nipples hardened under his stare.

It took every bit of fortitude she had to pull away.

“Will, I…I…I need to go check on Evie. Excuse me.”

Coward.

Will’s confused look wasn’t lost on her as she fled down the hallway. Music blared from behind Evie’s closed door, so Gwen didn’t bother to stop and knock.

In the safety of her bedroom, she collapsed across the bed and tried to calm her rapid heartbeat. She stared at the ceiling and mentally recited her list of reasons why kissing Will would be a bad idea.

By the fourth time she made it through the complete list, she almost believed it. But once Evie was launched and she was back in her own house, she would have to start dating again.

She wasn’t sure how long she lay there, but it seemed like only minutes later before Evie knocked at her door.

“Come in.”

“Are you okay?” Evie’s forehead furrowed when she saw Gwen on the bed.

“I’m fine. Just recuperating from your shopping trip. You nearly wore me out.”

The furrow disappeared and Evie grinned. “Sarah warned me you were a lightweight. But it was fun, and if I haven’t said ‘thanks’ already…”

“My pleasure, honey.”

“Will sent me to tell you that he made dinner reservations, and we’ll need to leave in half an hour to make it. So if you want to change or something…”

Gwen hesitated. She’d forgotten all about dinner. Considering what just happened, she should probably stay here. Better yet, she should pack and go home.

Evie picked up on her hesitation. “You are still coming, right? We’re going to Milano’s for pizza. I get to pick the movie, too. Please.”

“Wouldn’t you rather go with just Will? A little family time? You’ve been stuck with me all week.”

“It’ll be more fun if you come.”

How could she say no when Evie looked so eager and hopeful? “All right. Give me a couple of minutes to freshen up.”

“Cool. Will went to change, too, so we’ll see you in a few.”

Gwen fell back on the bed with a sigh. She was making way too much of next to nothing. She was probably no more than a blip on Will’s radar—a “she’s female, must flirt” kind of thing. She could control her hormones for dinner and a movie, and Evie would be there as a buffer.

Giving herself a hard mental slap to sort her brain out, she hauled herself off the bed and to the closet for something cute to wear.

CHAPTER SIX

“SO HOW am I supposed to eat this? Knife and fork?” Evie eye-balled the slice of pizza with everything like she’d never seen anything like it before.

“Easy. You pick it up and take a bite.”

Evie giggled. “Finally. Something I can eat with my fingers.”

Gwen put on her best Miss Behavior voice. “But you must still eat with decorum.” She winked, and Evie tore into the pizza with relish.

Will said something under his breath, and Evie erupted in another peal of giggles. He slid a piece of the pizza onto a plate and handed it to Gwen. She smiled her thanks, careful not to let her hand brush his as she took it.

So much for controlling her hormones. They’d been screaming at her when she’d run from the living room earlier, but they broke into new shrieks when she returned after changing. She’d known dinner would be a casual event and she’d heard Evie’s remark about Will changing, but she hadn’t been quite prepared when she walked in.

It was easier to remind herself of the distance she needed to keep from Will when he was in his suit and tie, but much harder when he appeared in a simple black T-shirt tucked in to body-hugging faded jeans. Her mouth had gone dry at the sight. He looked like the hero of some late-night movie, ready to peel the black T-shirt over his head and do something manly and sexy set to hard-rock music.

He was laughing with Evie, his dark hair falling across his forehead. When he turned that smile on her, she recited her mental list of Reasons This Would Be Bad until the flutters in her stomach calmed. And she kept repeating the reasons every time Will looked at her and started the flutters up again.

For the most part, it worked. Evie did make a good chaperone, talking nonstop and keeping the conversation in neutral areas. By the time they arrived at the restaurant, she felt she had it under control. As long as she avoided direct, extended eye contact with Will and kept a decent distance between them, she could act somewhat normal.

As she settled in to her second slice, Gwen realized—occasional shiver aside—she was enjoying herself.