Page 123 of The Prince of Broken Crowns

Once he’s finished, a smile materializes on his lips as he looks at me again. “I have one more thing.” He sticks his hand into the bag and pulls out a chocolate muffin.

I scowl at him. “I said no more buying me food.”

“It’s healthy, and it’ll help you run better.” He hands me the muffin.

I stare down at it like it’s the devil. Maybe it is. Maybe falling for him is my first step toward plummeting to a hellish end. I should step back—run. I’m good at it. Instead, I take a bite of the muffin.

“You need to stop with the gifts and giving me food,” I insist around a mouthful of chocolatey goodness.

“Okay.” But the way he says it reveals he probably won’t.

I shake my head, but before I can argue, he rises to his feet. “We should go get our practice in because there’s a meeting later for people who want to join the cross-country team.”

“What? How did I not know about this?”

“Did you sign up for the newsletter?”

“No. But I will now.” I stand up, stuffing another chunk of muffin into my mouth. “I’ll hurry and get changed.”

He leaves then, appearing more upbeat than when he first wandered in. I make a grand effort to convince myself his shift in behavior has nothing to do with me agreeing to fake date him. But it did coincide with the agreement.

I hurry and get dressed in shorts and a tank top, then pull my hair into a ponytail. I pick up my phone but pause to look at the watch. Do I really need my phone if I have this? Probably not, so I abandon it, slip on my sneakers, and endeavor into the living room, where River is waiting for me.

He’s sitting at the kitchen table with a water bottle in front of him. He has his phone out, and his arms are resting on his legs as he drags his thumb along the screen. He doesn’t notice me entering the room so I pad over to him as softly as I can and tap him on the shoulder.

He startles so badly he drops his phone onto the floor. “Shit,” he curses his wide eyes zeroing in on me.

I slap my hand over my mouth. “Oh my God, I didn’t mean to scare you that badly.”

He leans over to collect his phone then turns it over to inspect the screen. “Just sort of badly, huh?” he jokes.

“Basically.” I lower my hand from my mouth. “Please tell me the screen didn’t crack.”

“Nah, it’s good.” He holds it up for me to see. “I have a pretty good cover on it that softens the impact.”

“Mine would’ve broken.” I bend over to retie one of my undone laces.

When I straighten, his gaze is skating up and down my legs, as if he’s checking me out. He’s clearly attracted to me and vice versa. Hopefully, that won’t complicate this fake dating thing.

“Are you ready to get this show on the road?” I ask as he rises to his feet.

“Yep.” He grabs the water bottle.

We start toward the door, silence encasing us.

When he reaches the door, he grabs the doorknob, but then withdraws and faces me.

“The moment we walk out of here together, the rumors will fly.” He tucks the water bottle under his arm. “So, I want to double-check that you’re all in for this?”

No, but I’ve had to do worse to protect myself.

“Are you?” I counter. “Because you can still back out.”

With his gaze locked on mine, he lowers his water bottle to carry it at his side then offers me his free hand. His answer, I guess.

I open and flex my hand before placing it in his. He offers me one of his small, pretty smiles that gets my pulse racing then opens the door and we step out into the wild.

We’ve held hands before, but that was different because it was just him and me. Now, as we walk down the corridor dotted with people here and there, we’re the center of attention. Heads turn. People gape. A few women glare at me.

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