Page 37 of Sincerely Not Yours

“We started dating back in February. The day after Valentine’s Day.” Harris licked his bottom lip, like he enjoyed playing with Keith. “But it feels like we’ve been together forever. Right, baby?”

Gigi smiled, thoroughly enjoying the show and how it sounded when Harris called her “baby.” “Feels like it’s been forever,” she replied, leaning forward to rest an elbow on the table. She held Harris’s gaze, feeling her confidence creeping back in.

“Right after Valentine’s Day?” Keith’s voice went up an octave. “How . . . how’d you guys meet?”

Harris stared intently at Gigi, looking straight into her soul, and she wondered if he’d ever been an actor. Because he was playing this up. He should win an Oscar for this performance. Gigi was going to buy him a trophy. She barely remembered what Keith had asked until Harris spun a story.

“At a bookstore,” Harris said, smirking playfully at Gigi. “We both reached for a book at the same time. Our hands touched, and Gigi spilled her coffee on me. I was smitten. I’d never been so happy to have hot coffee soaking my shirt and burning my chest.”

Gigi’s grin skated into a full smile. She laughed, wanting to play along. “The book was a special edition ofThe Great Gatsby,” she added, keeping her voice steady. “The publisherhad just released it that day, and we were both desperate to find a copy.”

“Instead, we found each other.”

“It was fate.”

A spark—a real one—shot between them. The current zipped up and down her spine, and Gigi swallowed. She’d never been this drawn to anyone in her life, and for a second, she let herself hang out in that space. After all, she was currently pretending to be Harris’s girlfriend.

“I’m beyond lucky that fate intervened, sending me to a bookstore I’d never been to before, just so I could meet this beautiful woman,” Harris added. “We started talking about the book, and before we knew it, an entire evening had passed. We’ve been inseparable since.”

“Seriously?” Apple leaned in, her eyes wide with curiosity. “That is so romantic!”

Harris grinned, his gaze never leaving Gigi’s. “It was. It is. Gigi’s incredible. I could never let her slip away. Only an idiot would.”

Keith cleared his throat, looking annoyed. “Well, that’s . . . just wonderful.”

Harris’s lips tilted into a crooked smile. Gigi returned it, warmth filling her like the first bite of freshly baked bread. Strangely enough, she hoped Keith and Apple would stick around so she could continue this charade with Harris. She didn’t want him to stop looking at her like he was.

Just then, the host announced a break in the trivia game. Lively music started playing over the bar’s speakers, and the first few chords were instantly recognizable. A group of girls cheered at a table near the bar.

“Do you hear that?” Harris asked Gigi, his gaze tipping upward like musical notes played above his head. “They’re playing our song.”

Keith’s face scrunched in confusion. His arm dropped from Apple’s shoulders. “Your song is Shania Twain’s ‘I Feel Like a Woman’?”

Gigi couldn’t help but to laugh. It bubbled up from her belly.

“It’s an inside joke. You’d never get it.” Harris shrugged at Keith before reaching for Gigi. “Dance with me?”

Gigi stood from her chair, placing her hand in Harris’s, a sense of peace and gratitude swirling in her chest. “I’d love to.”

Locking her fingers with his, Gigi followed Harris, leaving Keith and Apple behind. He guided her to an open space between a few tables and the bar. With a firm but tender touch, he drew her close. One hand clasped hers, the other settled on her waist, and he swayed them into a slow rhythm that had nothing to do with the upbeat song.

“That should shut him up.” His face was all hard lines and his gaze flicked past her, toward Keith. Though she didn’t care about Keith anymore. Harris was with her, holding her, making her feel special. This was where she wanted to be, and who she wanted to focus on.

“Thank you for doing that. I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that.”

His gaze shifted back to hers. “Don’t apologize. I wanted to take that guy into the back alley and give him a knuckle sandwich, remember? You saved me from jail.” With a blink, his hard stare went soft, making her knees weak as Jell-O.

“You make an amazing fake boyfriend,” she said, trying to tamp the longing in her voice. Could Harris tell she was imagining what it would be like to be together, for real?

He pressed his lips together, keeping his thoughts to himself. His fingers curled on her waist, pulling her closer, and Gigi’s heart bounded as she eased into his embrace. Her body conformed to his. Her heart thumped against his solid chest,keeping time with the erratic drums and electric guitars popping over the speakers.

There’s something real here, right?She couldn’t be that crazy. Harris couldn’t be that good of an actor. Whatever it was, Gigi lost herself in it. She lost herself in Harris. She set her cheek on his chest, and they swayed to the music. Before she knew it, Shania sung the last chorus, leaving Gigi wishing for an encore. “I Feel Like a Woman” had taken on a whole new meaning for her.

Gigi picked up her head, looking at Harris. “I liked that even better than trivia,” she whispered as the music faded.

“I did too,” he replied, holding her even though the song was done. “And I really enjoyed our trivia game.”

Butterflies the size of pigeons swarmed her belly. Just then, a slow song started, reigniting Gigi’s hope to stay in Harris’s embrace.

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