“Hello,” an incredibly good-looking brunette said as she opened the door Thursday afternoon.

Braden noticed her British accent right away. He wasn’t sure who this girl was, but he was confident she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen in his entire life. He didn’t normally go for British chicks, but this girl, whoever she was, was something else.

“Is Jessica home?”

“You must be Braden; please come in.”

The brunette stepped back, allowing Braden access to the house, where he had come to pick up Jessica and Candice for their promised shopping excursion.

With the door shut behind them, she led Braden to the living room. “Please have a seat,” she insisted, before taking the spot next to him on the couch.

“Where are the girls?” Braden asked hesitantly. Part of him hoped the girls were running late, really late so he would have more time to spend with this girl, whoever the hell she was.

“Nick came and picked Candy up earlier. He wanted to take her shopping himself. He said something about Candy being his date so he would buy her the clothes she would need for the trip.”

“What about Jessica?”

Braden looked around, starting to get worried that she changed her mind.

“I don’t want you to freak out or anything, but there has been a slight change of plans.”

Braden didn’t say anything. He just looked at the girl, waiting for her to continue. The truth is, he didn’t think he could speak if he had to. He was too caught up in just watching her. This girl’s smile was downright infectious.

“I guess I should introduce myself. I’m Jemma James,” the brunette said as she stuck out her hand to shake his.

“I’m a friend. I’ve been staying with the girls while I was in town filming a movie. We just wrapped, and I was about to head back to Los Angeles when Jessica asked me to do her this favor.”

Braden wondered where this conversation was going. He could tell she was nervous as Jemma squirmed in her seat. He hoped to hell she wasn’t trying to tell him that Jessica was going to flake and ditch him at the last minute. If that was the case, he didn’t know what he would do. There wouldn’t be enough time to find another date; they were leaving in less than twenty-four hours.

“This is really kind of awkward, but I promised Jessica I would be there for her. I wouldn’t normally do something like this. I mean no offense, you seem like a nice guy, but I’m not the kind of girl to jump on an airplane and go off to Fiji for a week with some guy I don’t know.”

“Where is Jessica? Is she okay?”

“Yes, she is, better than just okay. Her sister has been in a coma, and she got the call late last night that she came to. Can you believe it, after all this time she just wakes up?”

“That is good news.”

Braden meant it too. He was happy for Jessica but now what was he going to do? He needed a date to go with him to Fiji. Without a buffer, spending that much time with his family would be excruciating.

“She didn’t want to just leave you high and dry, being the last minute and all,” Jemma continued. “She said it was really important you had someone to go with you to help you keep your family at bay, so she asked me to go for her instead.”

“I see,” Braden said carefully, still letting it all sink in.

“I wouldn’t normally agree to something so crazy, but I know she needs the money you offered to pay her. Caring for her sister is expensive, so I couldn’t really say no. What kind of friend would I be if I did that?”

Braden was in shock. It wasn’t that he cared so much about the last-minute replacement. Jessica was a nice enough girl, but he didn’t really know her. She was just a warm body, some random girl he hired to go with him, so having some other random girl replace her wasn’t that big of a deal.

But this wasn’t just any girl. Jemma James was gorgeous. The whole point of hiring a date was to get one with no possibility of getting emotionally involved. Could he really spend the next week with this insanely hot woman and not want to touch her luscious body?

“So basically, Jessica explained that the trip lasts a week, during which time I’m to pretend to worship you and be your fake girlfriend. She also promised you wouldn’t try and have your way with me, so that’s good. I’m not an escort. If you want that kind of thing, then you’ll really need to find someone else.”

“No, of course. I promise you will be safe with me,” Braden insisted. “No sex in Fiji.”

“Okay then, I guess we have a deal. I’ll be your date for the next week. So let’s go shopping.”

Braden led Jemma out the door and to the back of his limousine. Once safely inside, they were on their way to Neiman Marcus at the Galleria to buy Jemma what she would need for their island getaway.

“Why do you call it a reunion instead of, I don’t know, a vacation or family get-together?” Jemma asked while trying to make small talk with the man. She felt awkward being alone with him, a man she didn’t even know.

“Beats me. It’s just what they’ve always called it, the annual Washington family reunion. I guess back in the day, when there were more of us, everyone would attend, hundreds of cousins and aunts and uncles. Our family isn’t so big anymore, but we kept the tradition alive nonetheless.”

Family tradition is something Jemma could understand, she was British after all, and the entire aristocracy was built on the concept of family traditions.

“Do you and your family get together often,” Jemma asked.

“Not really. We get together only once a year unless there is a wedding, then, of course, we all have to show up for that.”

Braden noticeably shuddered, dreading having to attend yet another family event. When he spoke about his family, he could hear the tension in his own voice. He always sounded like that when he mentioned them, which was one of the reasons he tried to avoid talking about them in the first place.

“Your family can’t be all that bad. Who will be there?”

“My mother and father, as well as my sister Mikayla and her two children, my younger brother Patrick and his fiancé. They are getting married next spring.”

“Oh, what’s the fiancé like?”

“Her name is Evelyn Warren. My mother couldn’t have hand-picked a better bride for Patrick. She’s exactly what my family wanted for him in a wife -- she’s wealthy, pretty, well-educated and she’s a Mayflower.”

“What’s a Mayflower?” Jemma asked, confused by the term.

“It means her family are descendants of one of the original passengers of the Mayflower ship from 1620.”

“Wow that’s impressive, but what would something like that matter for finding a wife?”

“It doesn’t to most people but to my family it does,” Braden regretfully admitted. “To them, they see it as a union of a founding family with a first family.”

“I’m sorry Braden, but you lost me there. What do you mean?”

“I’m a direct descendant of George Washington.”

“As in the George Washington, the first President of the United States,” Jemma asked in amazement.

“The one and only. Guess you know your American history,” Braden said with a laugh. “He’s my seventh great-grandfather.”

“That’s incredible. I can’t believe it. Jessica didn’t tell me that. Come to think of it; she didn’t tell me much of anything about you. But now I get why your family cares about marrying into a family who came over on the Mayflower. Your family must have a lot of social standing so of course, they would want to find you and your siblings’ suitable partners.”

“That seems to be my mother’s mission in life, find each of her children the perfect spouse. She married my sister Mikayla off to a great guy named Caleb, so I give her credit for that. Still, Caleb being a great guy really was just a stroke of luck. My mother was more interested that his father, uncle, grandfather and great-grandfather were all high-ranking military officials. Caleb eventually went on to serve his country as well. Unfortunately, though, he died in the Middle East about five years ago, leaving my sister to raise their two adorable daughters all alone.”

“That’s horrible. I’m so sorry to hear that Braden. Your poor sister. That can’t be easy on her.”

“Now you see why I agreed to go to Fiji? I would do anything for my sister. She loved Caleb so much, and still five years later she hasn’t gotten over his death. I want to try and be there for her as much as I can, more so than I’ve been in the past. I want to help her get on with her life. It’s been five years.”

“Are your nieces going to be with us in Fiji?”

“Yes, the little devils will be there. I’m glad though; I miss Abbey and Alley a lot. I don’t get to see enough of them.”

“Abbey and Alley? I like that. Are they twins?”

“No, Abbey is eight and Alley is seven. Their real names are Abigail and Allison, but they go by Abbey and Alley. And don’t let their cute little faces fool you for a second -- they are evil geniuses.”

Jemma giggled. “I can only imagine. They probably have Uncle Braden wrapped around their little fingers.”

“You know it.”

“So, who else will be with us in Fiji?”

“You already met my best friend, Nick. He lived next door to us growing up, so he’s practically family which is why my mother always invites him to these things. Then there is my aunt Penelope, her husband Alistair and their five daughters.”

“Oh, joy, more family for your mother to marry off. Bet that makes her happy.”

“No, my aunt’s children aren’t Washington’s by name. Penelope is my father’s sister, and she married Alistair Papas, a wealthy Greek shipping magnate. Close enough to get an invite to the annual family reunion but no longer being a Washington by name means they are exempt from having to marry into the right family.”

“Are you serious about that? Is your mother really that anal about the type of family her children marry into?”

“Unfortunately, she is.”

“I thought only the British aristocracy was like that anymore. Guess it’s a thing here in America too.”

“Speaking of which, where are you from exactly?” Braden asked. “I noticed your slight accent when we first met.”

“I’m from a little town called Tamworth, about an hour and a half north of Oxford. Our big claim to fame is that we were the ancient capital of the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Mercia,” Jemma said proudly.

“That’s where you got your start in acting then?”

“No. Back home I was an Instagram model, a social media influencer. From there I somehow got in Maxim magazine, and FHM, The Daily Sport, The Sun. I don’t even know if I could name all the spreads I’ve done over the years now.”

“That’s impressive,” Braden said.

“Not really. Back then it was different, easier. There were only so many of us in the UK doing it, not like here in America where the market was saturated with Insta-models. So it was easier for me to get noticed and get the attention of mainstream magazines because I had less competition.”

“And you’re an actress now,” Braden asked, sure he remembered her saying when they first met that she had been working on a movie.

“Yeah, but I didn’t really start acting until I came to America. I was perfectly happy as a model, then when I came here, I met this agent, and he got me a few small parts, and I was hooked. I loved it.”

“Bit by the old acting bug, hey,” Braden teased.

“Something like that,” Jemma said with a shy smile.

“How did you meet Jessica and Candice?”

“I was at the annual Playboy Halloween party a few years ago and met Candy there. She was one of the new crop of girls that were vying for a spot as a Playmate. Actually, the reason Candy and I became friends was because she was the only one in the bunch who wasn’t trying for it. She was there checking things out, but they were trying to convince her, more than she was trying to get it. She just had this way about her, a confidence that the other girls didn’t have, and we just hit it off and became friends. I got my first real acting gig with more than one or two lines from a producer I met at that party, and I’ve been living in the States ever since.”

“How did you end up staying with them in Houston?”

“I was filming a movie; the biggest one I’ve done to date. The production company put all the cast up in a hotel, but Candy insisted I come stay with her and her roommate Jessica instead. The movie turned out to have huge overruns, and I have been in Houston for almost a year now, so it was nice having friends I could spend time with when I wasn’t working. I think I might have gone mad being locked up in that hotel room all that time.”

“What’s the movie about?” Braden asked.

“It’s one of those big budget action flicks where the hero saves the world and gets the girl, the girl being me. I didn’t think I had a chance in hell of getting the part when I heard I was up against Megan Fox, but in the end,, somehow, they picked me. I play the role of a stripper at a biker bar and so living with Candy had the added bonus of her being able to help me prepare for my part.”

Braden chuckled. “Guess it pays to know the right people.”

Jemma wiggled her eyebrow. “Yes, it does.”

“Have you always wanted to be an actress?”

“When I was younger I wanted to be a police officer. I even got into the academy.”

“Oh yeah? What happened,” Braden asked with genuine interest.

“They kicked me out. Apparently, I was too much of a distraction to the others.”

“You’re kidding,” Braden asked, sure she was teasing him.

“Nope. Dead serious. When they told me that I had to go, I just cried and cried. I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life. Eventually, I just decided that if people were going to judge me by my looks, I might as well use them to get ahead, so that’s when I took my first modeling job.”

Braden wasn’t sure what to even say to that. In one way that was horrible how she had been treated but on the other hand, he also kind of got their point. Jemma James wasn’t just a pretty girl; there were lots of pretty girls in this world. Jemma James was in a class all by herself.

“Can I ask you another question about your family?”

“Of course,” Braden said cautiously.

“What if you fall in love with someone ordinary, like not from a proper, well-connected family? What would your mother do then?”

“Probably disown me, have me cut out of the will. She takes her job as the protector of the family’s legacy very serious. Luckily for me, I have my own money, so I don’t care if I’m cut out of the will or not.”

“Has your mother already been trying to find you a suitable wife?”

“Of course, the moment I graduated from law school, she began polling potential candidates for my future bride. She laid off for a while, but only because she was so angry with me for not going into politics, that she wasn’t speaking to me.”

“She wanted you to be president, like your great-grandfather, didn’t she?”

“It’s been her dream for me since I was born. But it turns out I hated politics, and I hated being a lawyer even more. I was good with business though and used my natural charm to win people over, and that helped me build my empire. When I became a billionaire in my own right, my mother finally started talking to me again.”

“You’re a billionaire? I probably should have Googled you before I agreed to go away with you for a week. I guess I don’t know anything about you at all.”

“It’s alright,” Braden chuckled. “You can just get to know me the old-fashioned way, by actually talking to me.”

“So, anyone else exciting going to be with us in Fiji,” Jemma asked.

Evelyn invited her cousin Marilyn who is going to be the maid of honor at her wedding. Then there is her boyfriend Maxwell who is Baron something or another.”

“He’s British?”

“Yeah, but I don’t remember what his exact title is. I think it was Baron of Bryn or some shit like that.”

“I take it you aren’t impressed with his heritage then,” Jemma asked.

“I just don’t put a lot of stock into it. I like to judge a person on who they are now, not who their family might have once been.”

“That’s a relief,” Jemma admitted, “because my family history isn’t all that spectacular. We’re just a normal family from a small town. My family isn’t rich or well connected. They are about as middle class and normal as it gets.”

Braden smiled. “That’s good. I like normal.”

Jemma giggled. “Okay, maybe saying my family is normal is a slight exaggeration.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what is the story with Jessica’s sister? She didn’t mention anything about her family at the club when I met her.”

“Oh goodness, Jessica has the most tragic family history ever. Her parents were in a car accident when they were on the way to the hospital so that her mother could give birth to her. Both of her parents died on impact, but the ambulance was quick to arrive on the scene, and they were able to save the baby. Afterward Jessica and her sister were cared for by her grandmother on her mother’s side. Their father didn’t have any family to speak of because his parents died years ago, in a car accident as well.”

“That’s horrible, but at least Jessica and her sister had her grandmother, and didn’t have to go into foster care. Does their grandmother live in Houston as well?”

“No, well not anymore. She died a few years ago before I met Jessica -- heart attack, not a car accident. They were sure that meant the family curse as Jessica called it, was finally over and done with but then about two years ago, Jessica’s sister was in a car accident and has been in a coma ever since. Jessica put her in a long-term care facility but it’s expensive, and that’s why she works at Rick’s Cabaret. She needed a job where she could make a lot of cash. Because she’s a hard worker, the club lets her take on double shifts all the time, so that helps even more.”

“I think that may very well be the most fucked up story I’ve ever heard.”

“I know, right?” Jemma agreed. “It just kills me that a sweet girl like Jessica has had such a rough life. That’s why when I heard that you were going to pay her $100,000 to go away with you for a week, I had to go in her place. I know she needs that money desperately.”

“You two are splitting the money?”

Jemma shook her head no. “She offered, but to be honest, I couldn’t do that. I know her situation, and I want her to have it all. But hey it’s not like I don’t get anything out of the deal. I get a free vacation in Fiji with a hot guy, and he’s buying me a bunch of new clothes. I call that a win.” Jemma beamed up at him. “But let’s not talk about money, if you don’t mind. The subject matter makes me feel uncomfortable. Let’s talk about you instead.”

“I’m not sure what else there is to tell you. My father is the former CEO of a major airline, and my mother sits on the board of more charities than I can even count. My brother’s fiancé has also taken up several of my mother’s causes, which is another reason she loves her so much. Evelyn is like a little clone of my mother.”

“What about your sister Mikayla? Tell me more about her.”

“She’s a full-time mother to the devil’s spawn I told you about earlier and she also has a passion for animals. She volunteers her time fundraising for animal shelters, and she’s always conning Nick into doing free legal work for them.”

“Nick’s a lawyer?”

“Technically, but he left his firm a while ago to head up his family’s trust.”

“Well, doesn’t that sound fancy,” Jemma teased.

When they got inside Neiman Marcus, Jemma tried on several swimsuits, showing each one to Braden. The more she tried on, the more he seemed to want to see. At first, she thought he was just really picky and couldn’t find one he liked on her body, but in the end, after going through twenty-three different bikinis, he told the sales girl they would be taking them all.

“All of them? No way Braden, that’s way too many. I really just need one or two.”

“Don’t be ridiculous Jemma. We’re going to be in Fiji for a week. You’ll need more than one or two.”

What Jemma didn’t know was that Braden kept having her try on the swimsuits because he couldn’t get enough of how she looked in them. He was quite sure he could have stayed there the entire day and watched her prance around half naked in front of him.

Sensing her commission check was only going to get bigger, the sales associate gleefully helped the couple pick out a vast array of sundresses, sandals, swimsuit cover-ups and everything else one might need while spending a week in paradise.

Next Braden bought Jemma a collection of Prada luggage and then headed to Victoria’s Secret, where he helped her pick out some bras and panties, as well as some things to sleep in.

“I really don’t need fifteen new bras,” Jemma insisted.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I told you that I would buy you some new clothes, so just relax and enjoy yourself.”

Jemma couldn’t begin to imagine how much money he had spent on her already. She did her best to block that thought out of her mind so it wouldn’t ruin her day -- A day that might have very well been the best of her life.

Braden had treated her like she was a princess. It wasn’t even that he bought her all those things, which admittedly was nice. It was the way he lavished her with attention throughout the day and acted as if she was the only person in the entire world that mattered.

After loading all the shopping bags into the back of the limo, Jemma turned to Braden and laughed.

“Good thing your car is so big, otherwise I might have had to sit on your lap on the way home.”

“And that’s supposed to be a bad thing,” Braden asked, quite seriously.

Without thinking about what she was doing, she moved over and positioned herself on his lap.

“Perhaps you’re right,” she said and then she kissed him.

“You are killing me Jemma. You are making it very hard for me to keep my promise about not having sex with you.”

“Mr. Washington, if I recall, you said no sex in Fiji. Last I checked, we aren’t in Fiji yet, now are we?”

That was all Braden needed to hear. His mouth quickly moved to hers. He sucked on her lower lip, teasing her with his tongue, she tasted sweet. He clasped her face in his hands, and he coaxed her lips open, her tongue darting into his mouth, twining with his. She snaked her arms around his neck and kissed him back with everything she had.

His erection was pressing into her thigh and he ached with need for her.

“Braden,” she groaned as he cupped her bottom, holding her firm atop his groin. “I don’t know if I have a condom,” he groaned.

She wiggled around a little on his lap, before answering him. “I’m on the pill.”

Braden pulled her dress up and over her head; then she squirmed out of her panties.

Braden could barely control himself as he lifted her up and then rolled her over on her stomach with her ass in the air.

He positioned himself behind her, sliding up and down, making her twist and pant. She angled her hips, pushing back, desperate to have him inside of her.

He grabbed her hips entering her in one thrust. She bit her bottom lip to keep from crying out, still conscious of the fact that they were in the back of a limousine, with a driver just feet away from them.

He took her in short, sharp digs, grinding, pushing until his strokes hit something that made her cry out in pleasure. Jemma began to see stars and all her tension started to unravel into long, silky spans of pleasure.

She could feel him still pounding into her until finally, he followed her over the edge.

He collapsed on top of her, his heart thudding against her back. He turned his head and kissed her shoulder blade and when he did her heart fluttered.

She never wanted to move again. He felt so good inside of her. She lay quiet in a kind of sexual stupor.

All too soon, however, Braden sighed and pulled away. He bent down and pressed his lips to her spine, making her hips twitch reflexively. His hands tightened around her heated skin, and then he helped her up, back to her seat where she did her best to get her clothes back on.

Braden didn’t know what to say. That was the most incredible sex he’d had in a long time, and he knew it was absolutely the last thing he should have done. One of the biggest benefits of hiring a date in the first place was to avoid romantic entanglements, and here he’d gone and fucked his date before they even left for Fiji.

Still, as far as mistakes go, he had to admit it was one of his better ones.

“Listen, Jemma …” he started to say, but she put her hand up and cut him off before he could finish.

“That was the most incredible sex I’ve had in a long time, possibly ever. Please don’t ruin it by saying something silly like you are sorry or we shouldn’t have done that. We are both consenting adults. We both knew what we were getting into. Now sit over there on your side of the car and relax so I can enjoy myself after that amazing orgasm you gave me.”

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the seat.

When she did Braden couldn’t help but smile. He was still sure that sleeping with her was a mistake, but it wasn’t one he was going to dwell on. For now, he was just going to do as she suggested and enjoy the afterglow.

Their moment of tranquility was interrupted when Jemma’s phone started to buzz. It was a series of text messages from Candy.

“It seems Candy is going to stay the night with Nick and head to the airport with him in the morning. Guess their shopping trip went well,” Jemma said with a laugh.

“You know, that’s probably not a bad idea.”

“What’s not a bad idea?”

“Staying the night. We’re supposed to be a couple so the more time we spend together, the more realistic we’ll appear to be.”

“I guess that’s true, but I still would need to go back to my place and pick up my makeup case, passport and a few other things I want to bring with us on the trip.”

Braden hated himself for it, but he was glad Jemma was going home with him for the night. It was more than just wanting to explore her body, he also really wanted to spend more time with her and that bothered him the most.

She was not his girlfriend; she was his hired cohort for the next week. She’s being paid to do a job, not suck his cock or be his friend. It would be best if he would remember that.

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