Page 38 of Salty, Spiced, and a Little Bit Nice

“That would be wonderful.” I gave her a grateful nod. “I appreciate that.”

As she turned to say something to Phil, Alec planted another kiss on my temple, while whispering into my ear, “You’re doing so well. Such a natural-born liar.”

I shivered a little, because even though I knew he did that for our audience’s benefit, the not-fake kiss feltsogood. And maybe it was me being delusional, but I could have sworn he lingered longer than he should have.

Jacqui waved at someone from across the room. “I should go mingle. But I’m staying in town for the weekend. Maybe we could all catch up for brunch tomorrow.”

Recoiling, I glanced at Alec. Things had gone well so far, but if I had to do an encore performance within twenty-four hours with fewer people and far more scrutiny, I didn’t know how convincing I’d be.

“Don’t we have that appointment?” I said pointedly to him, hoping he’d play along. “That, uh, lunch thing with your friends?”

“They canceled.” Alec smiled, ignoring my low growl. “See you both tomorrow.”

As soon as they walked away, I hissed at him, “I can’t do two days in a row. She’s so nice, and I feel guilty lying to her face. She’s already convinced, right? So we can wrap this up. Tell her we’re not going.”

“We had a deal,” Alec hissed back. “Remember your store?”

We had a glare-off, although I knew he was right.

“Please, Ellie. You know how important this is for me.” He switched tactics, his eyes now pleading. “We’ve gone this far, and she’ll be expecting us both tomorrow.”

My biggest mistake before we started this charade was failing to give a heads-up to my naïve heart, followed by a stern warning that we shouldn’t, under any circumstances, fall for Sir Grouchiness and his charms. Because right now it was begging me to say yes, since (a) what kind of heartless monster would reject his desperate, heartfelt pleas? And (b) a lotwasat stake for him, so how could I live with myself if my refusal to see Jacqui tomorrow ruined his business deal?

“No more than one hour.”

“Two hours, and I’ll knock five percent off your rent.”

“Ninety minutes, and ten percent.”

He grinned at me. “Eight percent, and you have yourself another deal.”

“Done.” I offered my hand to shake on it.

Ignoring my outstretched hand, he pulled me in for a hug, wrapping his arms around me. My overexcited heart let out a thrilled whoop, while my nerve endings went on high alert and hummed with pleasure, because I could feel the sharp outline of his hard body molded against mine. My nose was nestled into his neck, and this time I inhaled his scent without shame.

“It’ll look suspicious,” he murmured into my ear, making me shiver even though the air inside the room was warm, “if they saw us shaking hands.”

He pulled away and gazed down at me. My heart was thumping loudly, because he was so close—all I had to do was tilt my head a little to the left, and I could be kissing him.

Whoa, wait. What the actual WHAT?

Okay, time for a hard mental slap, plus maybe ten roundhouse kicks for good measure. That reminder tattoo inside my eyelids was starting to look like a brilliant idea.

Nobodywas going to kiss anyone, definitely not while I was alive and breathing, because none of this was real. It was allmake-believe, and the quicker I could drill those cold, hard facts into my thick skull, the better it would be for all parties involved.

Especially for my gullible, unsuspecting heart.

CHAPTER 11We Were Both (Not) Moving in Sync

Alec’s initial plan of leaving the party early was flushed down the toilet almost instantly. He spent the evening talking to too many people, and we ended up staying for over three hours. By the time we walked out into the cool night air, he was more than a little tipsy.

“You’re not driving. In you go.” Opening the passenger door for him, I pried the keys out of his hands. I bent down and reached across the passenger seat to buckle him up, ignoring the delicious feel of his solid body beneath mine. “How much food have you had tonight?”

He peered at me from under his eyelashes, looking indignant. “A lot, if you must know. I ate three of those mini shrimp thingies.” He held up two fingers to emphasize. “Three.”

“That’s it? No wonder the alcohol is partying in your body. Next time eat first, then go forth and network. Got that?”

“Yes, ma’am. The shrimp thingies were soooo yummy.” He yawned, then audibly sniffed. “Ooh,yousmell yummy. Like a bouquet of flowers.”

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