Free It's Only Make-Believe by Shawn Lane

CHAPTER 1
    "So, you're not even having sex?"
    Sebastian Kincaid did not want to hear the answer. Except for not wanting to look like a geek, he would have plugged his ears and sung loudly during Melody Jenks's response to Ming Chow's inappropriate question.
    The three of them were having lunch on the patio of a lovely little bistro where they frequently dined. They'd been discussing Melody's relationship, such as it was, with eligible bachelor Luther Winthrop.
    "Keep your voice down," Melody hissed.
    Indeed, Sebastian thought, lowering his sunglasses a tad to glance around at the other tables. No one seemed to be paying particular attention to them.
    "But to answer your question..."
    Bloody hell.
    "No," Melody said. She took a large sip of her mango margarita, leaving a rather large imprint of dark red lipstick on the rim.
    Sebastian relaxed a bit. So she hadn't had sex with Luther.
    Good.
    "The thing of it is we aren't really dating." Melody leaned her head on one of her hands. Her polished nails bore the same red as her lipstick. They both went rather nicely with her warm cinnamon skin.
    "What? You've been on three dates," Ming protested.
    6

    It's Only Make-Believe
    by Shawn Lane
    Sebastian shot the perky Asian with the dyed red hair a quick look of disdain. She really needed to keep quiet. He made a note to himself to give his paralegal extra work when they returned to the office. He checked his watch.
    "Oh, please," Ming said, watching him. "We haven't been here that long."
    "I didn't say anything."
    Ming rolled her eyes and turned back to Melody. "You were saying?"
    "Luther and I are old friends," Melody said. "Now that he's rich and eligible, women won't leave him alone."
    "I should have such problems," Sebastian muttered. He took a large swallow of his beer.
    Melody smiled. "You might have those problems if you loosened up." She indicated his Armani suit. "Everyone's causal these days. Haven't you noticed you're the only one still dressing like that in the office?"
    "I'm a barrister. I like to dress the part."
    "It's lawyer , Einstein," Ming said. "You're in America now."
    "Well, whatever. What has that got to do with women throwing themselves at me or not anyway?"
    "You're not approachable." Melody studied him with her large, chocolate brown eyes. "You're cute enough for a white guy."
    Thanks .
    "An English white guy no less," Ming said, giggling.
    "I think I have a new case you'll need to do loads of overtime on," Sebastian told her.
    Ming bowed her head and took a sip of her drink.
    7

    It's Only Make-Believe
    by Shawn Lane
    Melody laughed. "The point is you look GQ , but your expression and your attitude all say 'Get away from me.'"
    "Hardly."
    "Anyway, we're talking about Mel and Luther, not you,"
    Ming said. "So women want Luther. Why does that mean you're not having sex?"
    He hated himself for it, of course, but Sebastian almost wanted to know the answer. Pathetic really. He shouldn't be getting a woody over a co-worker anyway. Definitely bad form.
    Melody shrugged. "Like I said, we're old friends. Basically, Luther asked me to pretend to be his girlfriend to keep all the overzealous women away."
    Sebastian snorted. He knew it was indelicate, but really.
    What nonsense.
    Both women glanced at him.
    "What's the derisive snort for?" Ming asked.
    "It's more likely he hasn't come out of the closet and he wants Melody to pretend to be his girlfriend for that reason."
    "Oh, no. Luther is not gay," Melody insisted.
    Whatever. Sebastian gestured for the waiter to bring the check.
    He'd had the hots for Melody since he ended up joining the law firm Peyton, Wallace, and Jenks earlier that year. Melody being the Jenks in the firm's name. He hoped to make partner himself one day, and getting hard whenever he was near Melody would not help his chances. He really needed to get laid. Maybe that would help. Of course, getting images of him and Melody naked out of his head might help, too.
    8

    It's Only Make-Believe
    by Shawn