Page 7 of The Grump's Fake Wife

Looking at him so up close, I realize how handsome he is all over again. Our faces are inches apart, his breath hot against my skin.I drop my gaze quickly, clenching my fist against the sudden urge to trail my fingers over the sensual curve of his lips.

“W-what are you doing?” I stutter, looking anywhere but his face.

“What else? I'm stopping you from walking out on meagain.Look at me, Lilly. Please,” he adds when I don't oblige.

I raise my eyes to him, and I'm surprised to see the gentleness on his face.

“I'm sorry,” he says softly. “I didn't mean to embarrass you. We don't have to do anything you don't want to. Besides, being a virgin is nothing to be embarrassed of. It makes you even more special.”

I blink at him in surprise. I can't believe someone like Gabriel Foster just apologized and called me special in the same breath.Maybe I judged him too soon?

“Thank you, I guess…” I mutter, wondering what he could be playing at. “Can I go now?”

“Not until you have dinner with me.”

“Dinner?”

“Yes, Lily,” he replies, his lips tilting in that arrogant smile that I'm beginning to associate with him. “Your duties as my fiancée start now.”

Chapter Four

Gabriel

“Where are we?” Lily asks, looking around. Her magical hazel eyes are lit up with a childlike wonder, making her seem younger than her twenty-one years.

Somehow whenever I'm with her, I forget that I'm older.

“My house,” I say, in response to her question.

She looks at me then, her eyes slightly opening in surprise. “W-why did you bring me here?”

“I figured you might not be comfortable being seen in public with me just yet,” I reply, searching her face for a reaction.

“That's thoughtful,” she mutters, avoiding my eyes. She looks around once more, her eyes lighting up with awe all over again. “You have a really beautiful house.”

My chest swells with pride at her words. I've gotten tons of compliments over my house from guests over the years, but they were most pretentious words aimed at pleasing me. But there’s a simple honesty about Lily that makes her words much more impactful.

"This way," I say, leading her toward the open kitchen. I pull out one of the high stools and gesture for her to sit. "I'll make dinner."

“You cook?”

I look up to see her gaping at me with such unabashed shock that I can't help but chuckle. “Nothing grand. I figured we could get to know more about each other over some pasta and wine.”

“There's nothing much about me anyway,” she murmurs, dropping her eyes. Her words are accompanied by a deep sadness that breaks my heart. I know there's a reason she agreed to this charade, but it’s one she isn’t ready to tell me. Not yet.

"Have some wine, wifey," I say, sliding a glass over to her with a smirk that's sure to ruffle her feathers.

She wrinkles her nose. “Don't call me that.”

I chuckle. “You're the only one that gets to take such an impudent tone with me, you know.”

She ducks her head to hide the rosy hues on her cheeks. “I'm sorry…”

Damn. She's too adorable for her own good.

The rest of dinner goes more perfectly than anticipated. I make a simple pasta dish and try to keep a simple conversation going. Although she doesn't say much about herself, she looks more relaxed twenty minutes into dinner than when we arrived. Somehow, her flaming red hair has escaped its messy bun, cascading down to her shoulders like molten fire. The soft glow of the kitchen light highlights the gorgeous features of her face:enchanting hazel eyes, a button-like nose, high cheekbones, and those lips... Plump and just begging to be kissed.

Right now, she's laughing at some lame joke I made seconds ago, and I'm finding it increasingly difficult to repress the urge to kiss her.

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