Page 72 of Love to Hate You

She pulled back, her eyes sex-hazed. “Is this just a kiss or is it more?”

“I’m moving back to London, so these next few months are all that I can offer.”

“So like a friends-with-benefits thing? Then we’re just long-distance friends?”

“Lots of benefits. And yes. But before you agree, I really want you to think about it. I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“Friends with benefits is one of my favorite romance tropes.”

And that was his fear, that she’d get caught up in the romance of it all, believe that they would somehow beat the odds and it would work out.

“This isn’t a book. This is real life, and my life is jam-packed and chaotic and about the bottom line. And it’s across the ocean. So before you answer, I want you to really be sure.” She opened her mouth to answer, and he could see theyesin her gaze. “Don’t tell me now, when we’re both worked up and hormones are running high.” He brought her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “You’ve had a lot of disappointment when it comes to men. I refuse to be another.”

Chapter 22

fake boyfriend

Summer didn’t think about his proposition as their Ferris wheel car slowly lowered to the ground. Not when Wes held her hand as they got off. Not as he placed the Cone of Shame back on her head. And definitely not when he kissed the tip of her nose in such an endearing way her heart sighed.

She didn’t even think about it as they walked hand in hand down the boardwalk, sharing a triple-scoop ice cream cone and watching the waves come in while the seagulls and harbor seals barked in the distance.

The gentle June breeze blew stray hairs against her lip gloss. The afternoon sun was at its highest, shining down on them and off the cresting waters of the Atlantic. But it was the smell of the cotton candy and wet wood from the pier that brought her back to when she’d been a kid.

“My dad and I used to come down here and fish when I was a kid,” she said, noting that their intertwined hands were swinging as they walked.

“I can’t imagine you fishing.”

“Why, cuz my nose is always stuck in a book?”

He chuckled. “No, because I can’t imagine you catching something and then killing it.”

“Oh, we didn’t kill them. Dad would catch them and then I’d run down to the beach and let them go. It was our thing. Then, when we were done, we’d get an ice cream. I’d get vanilla with sprinkles and he’d get nutty coconut.”

Wes stopped mid-lick and looked at her. “You didn’t mention sprinkles when we ordered.”

“I didn’t take you for a sprinkles kind of guy.”

“Come on.” He tugged her hand and practically dragged her down the pier back to the ice cream truck. He didn’t stop until they were in line and breathless.

“Really, it’s fine just the way it is.”

He looked at her in a way that made her belly flop. “Love, you deserve more thanfine. You deserve the world. And your world includes sprinkles, so sprinkles you shall get.”

“What if you don’t like it?”

“Then I’ve tried something new and know it isn’t for me.”

Summer’s heart stopped painfully in her chest. Was that how he was with relationships? He’d give it a try, and see if the woman in question was for him? And how would she feel if he took a taste and didn’t like her?

Suddenly, she regretted all the food she’d scarfed down that day as it rolled around in her stomach.

“You okay?’ he asked quietly.

No, she was not. Her mind was beginning to spiral into What-If Land. This thing with Wes could go three ways. One, she went for it and things worked out. Two, she went for it and was left heartbroken. Or three, she passed on the opportunity and regretted it for the rest of her life.

This was a WWNED kind of moment. And What Nora Efron Would Do was have the heroine risk it all for love. Not that this was love, but it was something. Something worth treasuring and exploring. She had her answer.

“Wes?” she began tentatively, nerves stringing her limbs tightly.

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