Page 48 of The Broposal

“But you and Jackie were so… uh, we’ll say affectionate. Will anyone buy it if you’re not like that with me?”

“They’ll buy itbecauseit’s with you,” I said, trying to come up with a good enough excuse. “Jackie’s super physically affectionate, but anyone who’s seen you with a girl knows you don’t really do PDA.”

Han nodded solemnly, again clearly not saying everything on his mind. “What about you, though? You’re definitely the PDA type.”

“Then it’ll be all the more convincing, right? People who know us well will see it as a boundary you’ve always had. It’ll show them I see you as more than a physical relationship, you know?”

Han nodded again. If he wasn’t buying it, he didn’t say as much, which I was grateful for. If he picked up on what was actually going on, it could change everything. If I let Han know I had any kind of feelings, he’d probably feel pressured to go along with it, since his green card would be on the line. Confusing feelings aside, I wouldn’t do that to him.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

HAN

Iinvited Leti and Tatiana over that night so I wouldn’t overthink why the hell Kennyreallydidn’t want to kiss me. As soon as there was a knock on the door, I went right over to answer it.

“So you and Kenny got over yourfightI see…” Leti said loudly enough for Kenny to hear from the living room. They put finger quotes around the word “fight.”

“What do you meanfight?” I said, mirroring Leti’s finger quotes.

Tatiana laughed. “There are less creative ways to bail from a party.”

Shit. Was I that bad of a liar? If I couldn’t be convincing about the fight, who was to say I’d be convincing about any part of this? Was that why Kenny didn’t want to kiss me anymore? Was I not believable enough?

“What are you talking about? It was a real fight… and we… made up already…” I realized now that inviting them over wasn’t the best move, but smarts weren’t exactly my forte.

“Sure you did, Ale…” Leti winked.

“Was it that obvious?” I asked, giving up the charade.

“Nah, I just know you. You don’t go picking fights. I’m sure Kenny’s fam was convinced, though.”

I sighed in relief, remembering our fake fight with amusement, trying hard not to replay the conversation afterward. No more kissing. Why the hell did that bother me, anyway?

I cleared my throat and stepped aside so they could come in. Tatiana headed for the bathroom, and I followed her down the hall. She glanced at me behind her shoulder and raised an eyebrow. I put my hands on the sides of her arms and let out a shaky breath.

“I need you to be straight with me.” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “Am I a bad kisser?”

Tatiana burst out laughing. “What?Why?”

“You can tell me. If I am.” The idea never crossed my mind before. I’d never kissed someone who didn’t want to kiss me. At least, I hoped I hadn’t. As far as I knew, I was a great kisser. Then again, maybe everyone was just sparing my ego.

“Did Kenny tell you you’re a bad kisser or something?”

“Shh!” I glanced down the hallway to see Kenny distracted with Leti. He didn’t hear. Kenny hadn’t outright said it, but he might as well have. How gross of a kisser must I have been if he didn’t even want to do it for my citizenship? Then again, why did Icareso much about whether Kenny wanted to kiss me?

“Of course not. Just be real with me. You don’t have to spare my feelings.” I sighed, dreading the response I might get. No one seemed to have any issues in the past, but maybe I was blessed—or cursed—with polite lovers. What else was I terrible at that no one bothered to tell me?

Tatiana covered her mouth and laughed again.

“Fuck… I’m terrible, aren’t I?”

“No!” she let out through a laugh. “Trust me, I would tell you. It’s just funny how random this is. You’re usually so confident.”

Relief washed over me, but it left just as quickly. If I was a decent kisser, then why didn’t Kenny want to kiss anymore?

“Well, thanks… Uh, you can go to the bathroom now.” I ducked my head and went to the kitchen.

I grabbed a bottle of wine and a few glasses, then made my way to the couch and sat between Leti and Kenny. They’d already put some movie on, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what I’d done to cause a full halt in such a key aspect of our fake relationship.

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