Page 40 of Iron Willed Warrior

“Tomorrow’s good for that. I think River’s planning to come by. You’ll also need some new clothes for Cameron Clay.”

He groaned. “Shopping. Can’t wait.”

We kept chatting about the long list of preparations still ahead of us. Only a few days to get it all done. But really, it felt like we were just filling the silence. Because there was something new between us now, and I suspected Cole didn’t know what to do with it, any more than I did.

We reached Keira’s house and went up to her porch. I turned around, not reaching yet for the door. “Thanks for walking me back.”

“No worries.” He was standing in my space. Nearly as close as he had earlier in the bar, when we’d been in character. Yet I felt an urge to pull him closer.

This was a problem. A disaster waiting to happen.

I crossed my arms over his flannel jacket. “Look. I need to say this. Please don’t take offense.”

“I’m listening.” But his eyes were wandering down the length of my body.

I shifted on my heels. “About what happened earlier. It got a bit…heated.”

“The fight? I thought it was pretty low key, all things considered.”

“I mean before the fight. In the bar.”

“The kiss?” he asked innocently.

“Yes, Cole. The kiss. You know that’s what I’m talking about.”

His feet shuffled forward, his weight moving from hip to hip. He reached out his hand and braced it against the front door behind me. “You thought the kiss was heated?”

“That’s what I just said.”

“And here I was thinking you hadn’t noticed.”

My chest was tight, and I felt lightheaded. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s great we’re getting along better.”

“Mmhmm.” He nodded. “Much better.”

“But this will be tricky. The fake relationship part of our cover.”

“I imagine so.” His eyelids went heavy as he glanced at my mouth.

I leaned against the door, my limbs turning liquid. “We need to keep things professional. There can’t be any more misunderstandings.”

“Misunderstandings about what?”

I felt the soft breath of his words against my mouth. And I had no clue what I had been about to say. None whatsoever. “I’m…uh…”

His nose nudged mine. I sighed. His lips were right there, and it would barely take a move to continue what we’d started earlier.Practice. It was supposed to be practice in front of an audience. But here, it was just us.

“We could try it again,” he said. “For the sake of clarity.”

The door flew open, and I stumbled backward. Cole grabbed my shoulders before I fell.

“Oh! I’m sorry. I thought I heard voices.” Keira stood in the doorway, eyes wide. “Did you want to come in?”

“No,” I said, heart beating a mile a minute. “We were just finishing our chat.”

Cole touched his fingers to his lips, while Keira glanced between the two of us.

“Here. Cole, this is yours.” As quickly as I could, I started unbuttoning his jacket.

---