Excerpt!
Maxwell Hutcheson.
He’s tall and fit. Very fit. And the suit that he’s wearing looks killer on him. He’s nothing like what I had pictured in my head when I imagined my first client. This is not what I was dreading.
Dark hair. Light eyes, pale blue I think, but it’s dark in here so I can’t tell for sure. What I do know is that he is one of the handsomest men that I’ve ever seen. And I don’t understand what he’s doing at an Inamorata gala.
I snap back into the present and realize that I’m sitting across from him, staring at his face. It’s as though I’ve forgotten all of my training.
I lower my eyes and face, hoping that he won’t see the heat in my cheeks. I should probably apologize for staring, but there’s no tactful way of telling him that I’m dumbfounded because he isn’t a troll or old enough to be my grandfather.
I don’t get it. Why in the world would this man need a paid companion? Surely women flock to him.
I recall the reasons why many of our clients use our services. They’re busy businessmen, often too engaged in their jobs to have time for dating. That must be it because there’s no way this man would have a hard time finding a woman who was interested in him.
“Cora tells me that you’re brand new. You’ve never had a client?”
His accent is heavily Scottish. You’d think that I would have gotten over hearing it after living in Edinburgh for six years, but the truth is that I still find it sexy as sin.
I look up and smile when my eyes meet his. Yes, I’ve decided that they are pale blue. And kind. I don’t see judgment in them as I am certain that he is analyzing me and my decision to be an inamorata. I believe that you can see into the soul of a person through his or her eyes. Thoughts. Intent. Opinion. The simplicity in their expression tells a story. It says more than any words they could possibly speak.
The lines around the corners of his eyes. The creases around his mouth beneath his facial scruff. The furrows across his forehead. All of these distinct contours mean that he smiles often, and when he does, it spreads over his entire face.
“Tonight is my coming out, I guess you could say.”
“Then I’ve met you at the perfect time.”
“The perfect time for…?”
He hesitates and his uneasiness is a visible mask upon his face. “I want to be transparent with you about what has happened in my life. I need you to understand why I have specific… needs.”
Beautiful, penniless American girl meets handsome, wealthy Scotsman.
Sounds like the beginning of a fairy-tale romance?
It’s not.
This story begins with a contract.
And an exchange of money.
A lot of money.
An angel perches nervously on one shoulder.
A devil lounges smugly on my other.
And even that dark little bastard is leery of what I’m doing.
Maxwell Hutcheson wants the girlfriend experience.
All of it.
And I’m going to give it to him.
I’m not supposed to enjoy being his whore.
I’m also not supposed to fall in love with him.
But I do. Both.
When our contract expires, I will walk away.
Because I have to.
But he’ll always have a piece of me.
I’ll mask my sorrow with a smile.
I’ll hide my love with indifference
… all while it’s killing me softly.
A fairy-tale romance.
It isn’t mine to have.
And this man I’ve come to love so dearly isn’t my happily ever after.
About Eighty-One Nights:
While the characters from Eighty-One Nights are entirely new, their storyline is a combination of fresh material and carefully selected themes, scenes, and settings from The Beauty Series, The Sin Trilogy, Dear Agony, and Indulge. This is intentional. I chose some of my favorite elements from previous releases and interjected them into Hutch and Lou’s story. Let’s call it a “story fusion” between our old favorites and new material. This work was briefly released under a pen name and was titled The Girlfriend Experience.
Sounds like the beginning of a fairy-tale romance?
It’s not.
This story begins with a contract.
And an exchange of money.
A lot of money.
An angel perches nervously on one shoulder.
A devil lounges smugly on my other.
And even that dark little bastard is leery of what I’m doing.
Maxwell Hutcheson wants the girlfriend experience.
All of it.
And I’m going to give it to him.
I’m not supposed to enjoy being his whore.
I’m also not supposed to fall in love with him.
But I do. Both.
When our contract expires, I will walk away.
Because I have to.
But he’ll always have a piece of me.
I’ll mask my sorrow with a smile.
I’ll hide my love with indifference
… all while it’s killing me softly.
A fairy-tale romance.
It isn’t mine to have.
And this man I’ve come to love so dearly isn’t my happily ever after.
About Eighty-One Nights:
While the characters from Eighty-One Nights are entirely new, their storyline is a combination of fresh material and carefully selected themes, scenes, and settings from The Beauty Series, The Sin Trilogy, Dear Agony, and Indulge. This is intentional. I chose some of my favorite elements from previous releases and interjected them into Hutch and Lou’s story. Let’s call it a “story fusion” between our old favorites and new material. This work was briefly released under a pen name and was titled The Girlfriend Experience.
Check it out on Goodreads!
Georgia Cates is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Best-Selling Author of The Beauty Series. She resides in Mississippi with her husband and two daughters. Please visit georgiacates.com for additional information.
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