His Allure, Her Passion Read Online Free Page A

irritating.
    “It’s that bad.”
    Dylan stopped drawing and stared at her, his eyes heavy on hers, clouding her thoughts. “What if I could help you?” He sounded excited, hopeful.
    “What do you mean?”
    He lowered the pencil, but didn’t release it. “I think I may have a way of helping you. An idea.”
    “But?”
    “But you gotta help me, too.”
    What now? What could he ask of her?
    She sipped from her juice, considering. “I know I’m gonna regret this, but shoot. Tell me your idea.”
    “I think your popularity would increase if you went out with me. Everywhere. We go out to restaurant, to concerts, balls, trips.”
    “But you already do all that. Without me. How would I help you like that?”
    “Okay.” He took a deep breath and leaned closer. “You need attention. I can give you that. Paparazzi, covers of gossip magazines, famous people, the red carpet. I can get you all that. All I need you to do is to be there with me. And to go to my father’s ball with me.”
    “Your…father’s ball.” Crap, he was going to put her in between him and his father. Oh, this was bad. “I don’t want to stand between you two, Dylan. Don’t pull me into your family problems.”
    “You’re not going to be a problem. You’re going to be a solution. He set up this incredible ball on Valentine’s Day to launch his factory in New York. But he forbade me to go because I don’t have a serious girlfriend.”
    “Which is true.”
    “Shut up,” he pretended to snap at her. “Why the hell he chose such a dumb date to launch the new plant, I’ll never understand. Perhaps he has a contract with some florists and such. Anyway, if you start going out with me now, we have two months to make him believe we’re serious, and he’ll let me go to his ball.”
    Her heart skipped a beat. “Are you asking me to date you? Seriously?”
    “No, Hay, I’m asking you to pretend to date me.”
    That hurt. She had hoped he wanted to be serious with her. How childish and stupid was that?
    She jumped off the stool and walked across the kitchen, needing some distance from him. “I don’t know, Dylan. I don’t think we should play like this. I don’t want to put our friendship at risk.”
    “It won’t be at risk. We’re grownups, fully conscious of our actions. Besides, we’ll only pretend. Nothing will happen. We just need to hold hands and smile for the cameras.”
    It might not be risky for him, but it would be too risky for her. The crush she had for him was buried deep, locked away in an infinite abyss. She couldn’t let those feelings surface.
    “Why do you even want to go?”
    “Isn’t it obvious? It’s going to be a huge event and my entire family is going to be there.” He averted his eyes.
    “And?”
    “No and.” He pressed his lips tight. “That’s it.”
    No, it wasn’t. At least, it seemed like it wasn’t. At any rate, she had to think about herself and what she would do.
    She sighed. “I can’t.”
    “Don’t you want to be a model?” She nodded. “A famous one? Or at least one who can pay her bills and save enough for retirement?” She nodded. “Hang out with me publicly for two months, and you’ll get it. I guarantee. The press will be after us, trying to find out all they can about you. Even at my father’s ball.”
    She didn’t see any flaws with his plan. Even if it didn’t bring fame to her overnight, hanging out with Dylan would certainly set her apart, bring attention to her. People would hear about her, recognize her. It might be the push her career needed.
    There were two points to consider, though. One, her attention freak-out mode. With the whole press after them, as Dylan promised, she would get sick and hide in a hole and never come out.
    Hayley glanced at him. Dylan was smiling at her, still hopeful, blue eyes shining and melting her guts. But there was something about him. He was so sure of himself. When he walked, each of his steps was precise and strong. Could he give