Page 47 of You, As You Are

“Hey, wait!” Twice in his presence had Maisie jogged, which wasn’t a lot, but it was suspicious. She caught up to his side with her palm going to rub at her lower back. “I didn’t expect you to agree so easily.”

“It’s a tidy idea.”

“It is?” Her frown softened.“It is.”

Of course! She was a genius. Pretending to date would definitely stop Vera and her friends from trying to get them together. It was the perfect plan, and it was all pretend. She wouldn’t have to worry about shaving her legs or looking nice when it was all fake. They’d only have to actually see each other on these hikes, be a little flirty – which Iain already proved he could be (herself, she wasn’t so sure), and the elders would soon give up.

Nothing could go wrong.

Maisie could focus on finding out what Vera was hiding from the Moss clan, and Iain could … well, she didn’t know what Iain could do.

“I know what I get out of all of this but what do you?” she asked, keeping pace.

“The same as you.” He threw her half a glance. “You’ve had this for a few weeks, Maisie, I’ve had this for eighteen months. At least three of them have tried to set me up with granddaughters or nieces or great nieces.”

“Wow. That makes me feel so special.”

Iain rolled his eyes at her comment. “I never met any of those – none of them ever had anything to do with the group – which is why they’re behaving like Ted with a hotdog.”

Ted, of course, spoke Welsh-accented English fluently and whipped his head around.

“I thought the phrase was ‘a dog with a bone’,” Maisie said.

“Whoever coined it hadn’t seen Ted with a sausage.” Bending to the will of the big, golden eyes staring up at him, Iain pulled atreat out of a pocket on his trousers and tossed it for Ted to find within the grass.

“So you don’t want people on your back about your love life,” Maisie said, bringing them back to their dilemma. “Got it.”

“And you’re only here for Vera, not to date anyone.”

“Correct. Although I still don’t really have time for this, fake or not.”

“It won’t have to be a lot. A couple of weeks of being seen together and we can end it.”

“‘It’sounds so clinical.”

Iain shrugged. “Break up. Call it quits. Whatever.”

A couple of the pensioners peered over their shoulders.

Maisie thought for a second. “Are you coming toNain’sbirthday party this week? That’d be a good place to start.”

“Why not start now?”

“Huh?”

Iain turned, and all of a sudden he was in her space. He took the tiny zip of her coat between his thick fingers and drew it down between their bodies, making Maisie’s blood rush to her ears and somewhere considerably lower. His knuckles scraped her fleece underneath with the steadiest, surest pressure, the waterproof fabric opening over her breasts and stomach until it felt like only an inch was left hanging on.

His eyes met her wide ones as she failed to breathe. Too stunned to work any words onto her dry tongue while her body felt as though someone had lit sparklers beneath her skin.

“You looked warm,” Iain said, his gaze lingering on hers before he walked away.

Maisie exhaled in one ragged breath as his back turned to her.

Did he just … Oh my.

It wasn’t a warm day but the warmth that spread through her made it feel like the height of summer.

How could he make her body react like she’d never been touched by a man at all, and then just leave her here to deal with the needy pulse between her legs all by herself? It was a feeling far too dangerous for what they’d just agreed to do.

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