Page 29 of Faking Romance

“What?” I manage after I swallow my bite.

“You have a little chocolate…” He trails off but motions by my lower lip.

I wipe it and he shakes his head. Reaching over he swipes a finger along my lip before he pulls it away and licks the chocolate from his skin.

Our eyes stay locked. Why do I feel like that’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen?

Al comes around with hot chocolates and various alcohols to put in them. I take Baileys in mine.

Leaning back, I look up at the stars. I can’t see many here with all the city lights, but I can see some.

“Do you ever miss seeing them?” I ask no one in particular.

“Seeing what?” Gray questions. I glance over at him. He’s sitting on the outdoor sectional perpendicular to the part I’m on. I scoot into the corner and point to the sky.

“The stars,” I say.

“Good night, we’re off to bed,” Jessa and Troy say in unison, interrupting various conversations.

“Us too,” Margie and Cornelia chime in together.

One by one, folks begin to say goodbyes until it’s just Gray, Cam, Drew, Hutch, Al, and me. Cam and Drew are back to their discussion about Kasen’s whereabouts. Hutch and Al are discussing the local football team while attempting to chime in on Kasen, but it’s clear Al isn’t worried and Hutch isn’t sure what to think. And Gray and I are left alone in the corner of the sectional.

We’re quiet for a few minutes.

“I do miss them,” Gray finally answers the question. “My family has a lake house and my sister and I would sit out on our dock and look at the stars for hours.”

“You have a sister?” I ask, turning my head to look at his profile. He keeps his gaze above us.

“I do. Younger by four years,” he states. “You?”

“I have an older sister, a younger brother, and a younger sister.”

He turns his head. “That’s a lot of kids.”

Giggling, I keep my gaze on his. “It’s only four, not fourteen. Plus, Isla was a bit of a surprise.”

He grins. “She’s the one that was helping you at your store, right?”

I nod, impressed he remembered that.

“They must be proud of you,” he says as he searches my eyes.

“I guess so. I mean, they are all really successful, so…I’m not sure opening a bookstore falls into the impressive category.”

“What? Why not?” he asks, turning more toward me.

“Well, my older sister, Cybil, lives in New York City and is a professor of law. My brother, Jasper, is in IT and owns his own company. And Isla is in grad school for psychology. They are all overachievers, and then, there’s me,” I explain.

“You’re what, twenty-something. And you’re opening a bookstore. How is that not impressive?” he questions.

Shrugging, I answer, “Because it’s just a bookstore and I only can afford to do it because I inherited money when our grandmother passed away. It’s not like I worked for it. I’m not curing cancer of something important.”

Gray gets a look that I can’t quite decipher, anger, annoyance. I can’t tell. “It’s impressive, Roxy. Very impressive.”

He reaches over and gently lifts a lock of hair away from my eye. I freeze. We’re so close I can smell the hot chocolate on his breath and feel the heat of his skin. I start to lean forward toward his lips. He doesn’t turn away. Just as I’m an inch away, Drew yawns loudly.

“I need sleep, people,” he says loudly and stands. I jump back from Gray who has an amused look on his face. What the fuck? What is that about?

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