Chapter 1Every single one of my boyfriend's boys hit on me. His little loyalty tests.
Making sure I wasn't some gold digger.
Every time I said no, he threw a party. Literally celebrated.
All his friends thought I was ride-or-die for him.
"Damn, even I couldn't crack her. Bro, you can relax now, right?"
And every time, Jax Sterling would apologize.
"I just love you so much, I can't help it, you know? Last time, I swear!"
Said it once. Twice. Ten fucking times.
Until he introduced me to his "new friend."
Older. Stupidly hot. That whole ice-cold-but-smoldering vibe.
My heart went nuts.
Well played, Jax. You finally found my type.
This time?
The champagne was for ME.
Thanks for the gift, babe.
---
"Nice to meet you."
His voice was low. Smooth as hell.
Sexy.
He held out his hand. All polite.
Long fingers. You could see his knuckles. Veins showing under his skin.
Even his hands were hot.
All I could think about was what he looked like naked. I could barely breathe.
"Hey."
I kept my voice flat to hide what I was feeling.
But the second our fingers touched? Like a little shock went through me. Made me tingle all over.
Jax had me sit next to him. Kai Ashford on my other side.
Before we came, Jax had filled me in on Kai's deal.
Manhattan rich kids have their ranking system. Ashfords? Number one, no question.
Kai was the oldest son. His family's whole future was riding on him.
Jax wouldn't shut up about how stuck-up this guy was.
Everyone else in their crowd hung out together, but Kai acted like he was above it all.
Never bothered showing up.
Then Kai went to London for school. After that they had even less to do with each other.
Turns out he just got back recently. Suddenly he's being friendly.
When Jax organized this hangout, Kai agreed right away.
Jax's take on it?
"Probably had no friends over there. Now he's back and finally figured out he should be social."
But in front of Kai, he put on a completely different face.
"Reese, Kai's got crazy connections from London. Your studio's trying to go international, right? You should pick his brain. Why don't you guys exchange numbers?"
I glanced sideways at Jax.
He looked dead serious.
Like he was genuinely thinking about my career. Just networking. Adding a contact.
But I knew—this was 100% another one of his loyalty tests.
Everyone at the table had that "oh this is gonna be good" look on their faces.
I looked around. Yeah, they were all in on it.
Chapter 2
Jax's first test was three days after we got together.
He was worried I was after his money. So he had one of his rich buddies approach me.
Said he could give me way more if I'd dump Jax and be with him instead.
I was totally blindsided.
But more than that? I was pissed.
Couldn't believe Jax had a friend who'd try to steal his girl like that.
So I told Jax about it. Warned him to watch out for this guy.
Turns out Jax just looked at me and smiled.
Later that "friend" apologized. Said he was just helping Jax test me. No hard feelings.
"Girl, you're solid as fuck!" He gave me a thumbs up.
"I offered her eight figures and she didn't even flinch. Bro, you're one lucky bastard!"
Jax sat at the head of the table. Looking smug as hell.
After that, he sent more guys my way.
Hotter than him, ripped, sweet talkers, funny—every type of guy.
Every time one crashed and burned, Jax would organize a hangout to "clear things up."
Eventually everyone believed Reese Carver was obsessed. That nobody could steal his girl.
People said I didn't care about money or status. That I just loved Jax for Jax. That I wanted nothing from him.
Bullshit.
If I wanted nothing, why not just get a dog?
I wanted his money. I wanted his looks too.
Out of everyone I knew, he checked all the boxes. He was exactly my type.
But not anymore.
Kai pulled out his phone.
"Here. Hit me up if you need anything."
Yeah. Jax got to him first.
I ran a fashion design studio. Took on high-end private clients.
Jax knew rich people. I had the talent. Pretty soon everyone knew my name.
I styled some celebrities for red carpets. Every look was fire.
After that I blew up.
Right now, I was the independent designer every celebrity's fans were dying to work with.
But I wanted more.
Wanted my own commercial brand. Wanted to take my designs to New York Fashion Week.
"Reese? Don't space out. Kai doesn't give his number to just anyone."
Jax's voice snapped me back to reality.
I looked up. Kai already held his phone out to me. Fingers gripping the edge all casual.
I pulled out my phone and scanned it.
Ding.
Friend request accepted.
His profile pic was solid black. Nothing else. His display name was just "Kai Ashford."
No posts on his feed. Couldn't tell anything about him.
I put my phone away. Look up. Caught him staring right at me.
He wasn't looking at his phone—his eyes were on my face... my lips.
Just for a second. Then he looked away.
But I still caught the slight curve at the corner of his mouth.
Interesting.
I looked away. Picked up the glass in front of me and took a sip.
Ice water.
He suddenly spoke up. "Switch that out."
"What?"
"Cold water's not good for you."
He pushed his glass over to me. It was warm.
I took a sip and looked down to hide my smile.
When I grabbed my phone earlier, I'd made sure he saw the tampons in my bag.
So far this guy was acing it.
Chapter 3
After that night, I didn't contact Kai first.
He'd agreed to help Jax test me. So he'd definitely make the first move.
I was right.
He showed up at my studio.
Said he was in the area for a meeting. Remembered my studio was nearby. So he stopped by to see if I could make him a suit.
A customer's a customer—of course I wasn't gonna turn him down.
"Making clothes means I gotta take measurements. You in a rush?"
"Nope."
I grabbed my measuring tape and walked over.
Kai took off his suit jacket. Left just a white dress shirt.
Measuring shoulders, arms, everything smooth—until I wrapped the tape around his waist.
The position meant I was basically pressed right up against him.
That clean smell—total mature-man vibes—hit me instantly.
He was looking down. His warm breath on my ear.
Then his lips brushed against my earlobe. No warning.
I jerked back.
He looked down. "Sorry. Couldn't help myself."
I let out a cold laugh. "Jax sent you to test me, right?"
"Yeah." He didn't even try to deny it. "But what if I'm serious now? What then?"
"Oh yeah?"
I looked up. Met his eyes. Smiled. "Then you better work for it."
We stared at each other.
Some things you just know without saying them.
He was gonna say something but his phone buzzed.
He glanced at it and picked up.
"Dude, chill. She hasn't texted me once."
"I can screenshot it if you want."
Jax was saying something on the other end.
Kai looked at me. Then "accidentally" turned up the volume.
Jax's voice came through crystal clear.
"Come on, one more time. Make an actual move on her, see what happens. If you can't get her, then I'll know she's solid."
Kai smirked. "How many times you gonna do this to her?"
"This one's different. You know how our families are—they want us marrying who they pick. She keeps bringing up marriage, I keep dodging it, but my parents won't stop pushing these setup dates. I don't wanna lose her though."
"That's why I need your help. If I know for sure she's loyal, I can handle the family pressure."
Kai looked at me. "If you're gonna marry someone else anyway, why not just let her go? Why keep her hanging?"
"You don't get it, man. I really do love her. If she loves me back, she's not gonna trip about a ring."
"But what if..." Kai's voice got quieter. "What if I'm not faking it?"
Jax laughed.
"Come on. You've had every type of woman. Why would you even go for her?"
"Look—if she passes this, I'll give her a ceremony. Just our circle. That'll keep her happy forever."
"But if she fails, you help me destroy her. I want her wrecked."
Kai hung up.
