Page 77 of Walkoff Wedding

After pressing the button to end the call, I toss my phone onto the bed and glance down at Addie in my arms.

“I got the sponsorship. It’s done. I fucking did it, ArtGirl. We did it.”

Her entire face lights up, excitement dancing in her eyes as she launches herself up completely in my arms. Her legs fit around my waist, her arms on my shoulders, and I slide my arms around her back, holding her against me as I bury my face in her neck.

“I’m so proud of you, Grant. So, so proud. I knew that you’d make it happen. They will be lucky to have you.”

Pulling back, I reach up with one hand and cradle her face, sweeping my thumb tenderly along her jaw. “I couldn’t have done it without you, Addie. Not just with the shit with my reputation. Just having you here means more to me than you know. Thank you.”

Her head shakes adamantly. “You don’t need to thank me. We’re in this together, remember?”

I know she means together as in our arrangement, but I’m beginning to want more than the arrangement could ever offer.

chapter twenty-one

Addie

“You know you don’t actually have to walk me to class, right?”

Grant shrugs, offering me a boyish grin. “Can’t I do something nice for my wife?”

“You already do more than enough nice things for me. You spoil me, remember?” I reply, brushing past him into the art building as he’s holding the door open for me like the gentleman that he is.

“Mmm… you mean like last night when I—” I come to an abrupt halt in the middle of the hallway, slamming my hand over his mouth as I glance around to the throngs of people rushing past us.

He’s impossible and absolutely determined to make me blush in the worst places possible with his mouth and… his hands. What I’m not going to do is think about how nice he was last night and then be unable to think of anything but him during class.

Which I’m beginning to think has been his goal all along.

“You. Are. Ridiculous. You know that?” I mumble while my eyes dart around the hallway, hoping not to draw extra attention to us.

I realize that the goal of this arrangement is to convince people that our marriage is real, but I’m still trying to get used to the idea of being on anyone’s radar after spending so long doing anything I could to blend in.

He places a hand on my hip, then slides his palm to the small of my back and hauls me to him until I’m pressed tightly against every hard inch of his front. Of course, he’s wearing a pair of gray sweatpants to class today, even though they should be illegal for men, especially married men, to wear in public. Something I never really gave much thought to until recently.

My fingers grasp at the fabric of his T-shirt as I exhale shakily. It seems entirely unfair that he has this effect on me without even trying.

He takes two steps back until he’s leaning against the wall in a more secluded part of the hallway, dragging me with him. While the building is still littered with people making their way to class, it almost feels like we’re alone, the rest of the world fading away.

“What if we skipped class today? Went back home… spent the day doing other things,” he whispers roughly as his gaze drops to my lips. It’s already been established that I’m the equivalent of a girl in crisis when it comes to him, and today it’s even worse because not only is he wearing the stupid gray sweatpants but a backward hat too.

I’ve never skipped a class in my life, but the heated look in his eyes has me considering it.

Just as I’m about to give in and tell him yes, I remember why I can’t.

Crap.

Not today, of all days.

I shake my head. “I can’t. We’re painting a live model today in class, and Dr. Gatti says the project is worth twenty percent of our final grade. He has a no-makeup policy, which means that I have to be there.”

Grant sighs. “Yeah, you definitely can’t miss that. C’mon, let’s get you to class so you can keep your perfect attendance, ArtGirl.”

He tosses me a playful wink, reaching for my hand, and for the first time ever… I find myself wanting to break the rules instead of following them.

All for him.

Somehow, I still make it to class on time despite the fact that Grant used the few spare minutes I had to pull me into an empty classroom and kiss me until I was breathless and shaking.

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