The Playboy's Princess by Joy Fulcher Page A

than a few dates. He needed to make sure he wasn’t acting out of character, or his parents would be suspicious.
    “I suppose you’re right.” Laura sighed. “I just want to see you happy, Andrew. I want you to know love.”
    “Well, maybe this girl is the one,” he said, smiling.
    His mother patted his knee and nodded her head. “I hope so. May I tell your father?”
    “Sure,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “But there’s not much to tell yet.”
    His father was going to have to find out about Jade some time, so it didn’t matter if it was sooner rather than later. And, to be honest, Drew would rather not have to tell him himself, because he knew the mocking look he would get. His dad would assume Jade was just another girl that Drew was only semi-interested in and wouldn’t take it seriously.
    Well, Drew would show him. In a few months, they would be married, and Drew would have access to his own money. But, up until that point, he still had to support himself, and that meant charity work. He’d tried his best to think of something he could do, but working in a soup kitchen or volunteering at a church weren’t really things that would hold his interest. He knew his mom would have some advice as she’d been doing charity work for years, and he’d been waiting for some time to bring it up.
    “Mom, can I talk to you about something?”
    “Of course, honey,” she replied, her hand still on his knee.
    “Dad suggested I do some charity work, and I wanted your opinion on what I should do.”
    “Well,” she said, titling her head. “There are lots of different things you could do. I do charity work for homeless youths mostly, but I’ve also done fundraisers for AIDS research and animal shelters. The key is to find something you enjoy doing and see if you can find a way to help someone by doing it. You know, I believe many of the high schools take on volunteer sports coaches. Would that interest you?”
    “That sounds perfect,” Drew said, liking the idea. It wouldn’t even feel like working. Sports was something he could definitely help kids with.
    “I think I actually heard of a school in south LA that’s looking for a basketball coach. I could put in a call for you if you’d like.”
    “That would be great, Mom!” He kissed her cheek and stood up. “I think I’m going to have an early night.”
    “Good night, dear. Oh, and Drew?” Laura called as he walked down the hallway toward the large mahogany staircase that lead up to the wing of the house where his bedroom was.
    He stopped and turned back to look at her, cocking an eyebrow in question.
    “I have a good feeling about this Jade.” She smiled.
    “Me too.” He laughed as he made his way upstairs.
    After a quick shower, Drew pulled on a pair of old sweat pants and lay down on his bed. He hadn’t been able to get Jade out of his head. It was a conflicting feeling. Part of him was happy about that; it would make their ruse all the more realistic, but at the same time, he didn’t want to actually develop feelings for her. Yes, they would be married, but they had to keep it professional. The last thing they needed was for either of them to develop feelings and ruin the whole plan.
    No, he would make sure this stayed a business arrangement. It shouldn’t be too hard; all they had to do was stay focused.
    He wiggled down into a more comfortable position on the bed and closed his eyes. His mother would probably have arranged for him to start work by tomorrow, so he wanted to get in as much sleep as he could.
    Hours later, he rolled over, and his arm slipped around something warm and soft. He half-opened his eyes and saw a large mess of red curls. Breathing in deeply, he recognized Jade’s sweet scent and smiled.
    “Jade,” he breathed softly as he snuggled in closer to her back.
    His fingers traced figure eights on the silky skin of her stomach as he lightly peppered kisses on the back of her neck. She hummed in contentment,