Page 34 of Perfectly Faked

Suddenly, Jaz calls from the other room, “Hey, everyone, it’s almost midnight.”

He blinks—the spell broken—then releases his hold on me, backing away one step, then another, like he’s forcing himself to.

“Guess we should head back,” he says in a strained voice, tossing his towel on the counter. Before he leaves, he looks down at my lips once more, and that’s when I see the conflict in his eyes—before he strolls out of the room, leaving me catching my breath.

I fan myself with the towel he left behind, trying to cool off the furnace inside my body, blazing after our encounter. Was I mistaken, or did I see something behind his eyes?

Right now, I can’t be sure. We were playing around, and things got out of hand. That was it, right?

I hurry to the living room, and since I’m the last to arrive, I wedge myself between a large buffet table and a group of hockey players. A few people shuffle for space, crowding me farther into the corner. That’s when I turn and notice Leo beside me, the only person I shouldn’t be next to at midnight.

I discreetly inch away, but as I back up, my butt bumps into something. A potted plant crashes to the floor with a loudthud, spilling soil everywhere.

I kneel, frantically scooping dirt with my bare hands. But the more I clean, the more the dirt scatters like glitter dust.

“Ten seconds,” Jaz says, starting the countdown. “Ten . . . nine . . . eight . . .”

From my place on the floor, I glance around, searching for an escape route. Rourke is blocking the other way, which means there’s no place to go.

Great.I’m trapped between a man I still have feelings for and one I’d rather not kiss even under threat of public humiliation. Less than ten seconds to figure out how to Houdini myself out of this situation.

Leo looks down at me on the floor, his voice low and teasing. “Looking for your gum again?”

I scramble to my feet, brushing dirt off my jeans, pretending I haven’t been trying to crawl my way out of this. “I didn’t bring any gum tonight. Only a knack for attracting attention.”

“I would agree with that,” he says with a smirk.

When I peek over my shoulder at Rourke, he tips his glass to me, giving me a look that blatantly invites me to stand next to him at midnight.Nope, not happening. I spin back to Leo, whose blue eyes make my heart flutter.

“I know the last person you want to be stuck by is me,” he says, his face turning serious. “But if it’s between me and Rourke, don’t pick me just because he’s worse. I don’t want to be your second choice.”

My heart stumbles like it missed a step.Second choice?He could never be that.

My eyes cut to his, and his blue gaze is like a laser to my heart. There might be a better way out of this, but right now, I don’t want to find it. I want this more than anything, want to lose myself in him, so that I can get over these feelings. Leo has always felt right to me in a way I can’t explain. Maybe one kiss from him will solve this ridiculous need I have to know what it’s like to have him close again.

The crowd chants together, “Three . . . two . . . one!”

“I’m not choosing Rourke,” I say as everyone erupts into cheering. “I choose you.”

His mouth tips up at the corner, a flicker of something dangerous in his eyes.

“Happy New Year, Vic,” he says in a low, husky voice. His gaze drops to my mouth, and he looks at me for an agonizingly long second before stepping toward me, his mouth brushing against mine in a soft, lingering kiss.

His lips feel like crushed velvet, enticingly smooth, moving against mine in a way that’s both tender and electrifying. It’s enough to make my thoughts evaporate and my knees go weak.

Maybe this is why I feel so greedy for him, for everything about him—his smiles, his touch, the warmth in his eyes. Even if this kiss means nothing but an obligation at the stroke of midnight, he’s still...Leo. The guy I never really got over.

When he pulls back, I’m wrecked in the best way. Because he still dazzles me, overwhelms me, makes me long to hear him say that I’m his.

When the noise from the party fades around me, my focus narrows only to those mesmerizing blue eyes—no longer ice cold, but soft, summer-sky blue. For a moment, his face shifts, like he’s going to apologize for what just happened. Instead, he just turns and walks away without a word.

I spin around, looking for a way to leave. Leo left me alone and confused in a sea of people, and all I know is that the look on his face didn’t match what I felt in that kiss. Everything about that embrace was like a tidal wave of pent-up need, even though his eyes told me he thought he’d made a terrible mistake.

Did I just do something I’ll regret? Based on the way my body is still humming with pleasure,definitely not. I’ll never regret kissing Leo Anderson. But if the look on his face is any clue as to whether this will lead anywhere, the answer—heartbreakingly—isno.

He’s got those walls up again, the same impenetrable, unyielding walls he’s had up since our lives crashed into each other. And here I am, standing on the outside, still holding my heart out to him like a fool.

THIRTEEN

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