Page 68 of Faking Ties

“How I’m still letting my childhood bullies influence me today,” I murmur, still lost in thought.

“Oh, so nothing deep or serious, then, at eight in the morning.”

I glance at him and laugh. “Exactly.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“I just realized I’m not the best at receiving compliments and believing them.”

“You know what that means?” he asks, and I shake my head. “Be prepared to be inundated by compliments. I’ve been slacking. I already promised you that in the hotel, but I didn’t follow through.”

“Please don’t.” I groan.

“Oh yes, I will. Let’s start now.”

“Let’s not.”

He grins. “You have the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen.”

I roll said eyes.

“And you are the most talented person I know.”

“You must not know many people,” I joke.

“New rule. You’re going to have to repeat what I say and not discount it all.”

“Why do you even care about this?” I ask, genuinely curious.

He gives me a pointed look. “How can I not care? I like you and I refuse to allow you to talk about yourself like that.”

Emotions bombard me, and I’m overwhelmed by his words. No one has ever fought for me; not like he’s doing. Or maybe Nina and Mom have, but I was too dismissive to notice or appreciate it.

Tears prick my eyes, and he puts our plates on his nightstand and pulls me into his lap. His arms wrap around me, and a jolt of electricity shoots straight from his touch into the deepest corners of my soul. “I told you, this isn’t fake for me anymore. I’m not sure if it ever really was.”

“Same for me.”

We stay like that for ages, and it’s perfect. We’re in our own little bubble and I’m afraid to pop it. To go back to the real world. Good thing I have another twenty-four hours with him before I have to leave.

I plan to make each one of these hours count.

ELODIE

My leg bounces in the chair, anxious to see Hunter. I haven’t seen him for the last five days, ever since I had to leave to go back on tour. And that’s five days too many.

My heart yearns for him when we’re apart. Every morning, a tremor runs through me when I read hisgood morning, beautifultexts. My heart performs acrobatics in my rib cage every time we video before and after each show.

I find myself slipping and sliding toward a ledge, a ledge so scary I’m resisting it with all my might. But try as I might, I can’t help but fall for him more each day. Admitting it’s not fake anymore only caused my respect and feelings for him to grow.

It’s unavoidable, even if there’s a good chance we’ll only end in heartbreak. My guarded heart might’ve let Hunter sneak in, but I’m worried once he gets hisextension, he won’t need or want me anymore. My own father left me, and I can’t help but be distrustful that Hunter will want to stay. I’m not sure anyone will.

So yes, heartbreak might be inevitable when it comes to Hunter Holt, but so is caring for him.

“Hold still, please,” the makeup artist says, as she lines my eyes and prepares me for Jax’s Rome premiere in a couple hours.

“Sorry.” I sit on my hands, refusing to check my phone for the millionth time. Hunter is on his way to the hotel, but I’m too impatient to wait. I need him now, almost as badly as I need to explore Italy. I’ve only been in the country for an hour, and I’m already smitten. It’s a place I never thought I’d ever visit, and I’m almost thankful Jax chose this city for his next premiere. And the next one? Shanghai in almost a month. A huge part of me wishes I could pretend to be Stella next year while she’s doing her European and Asian legs of the tour to experience all these new cities and countries.

But that’s not possible. She’ll take over her life by then, and I still don’t know what I want to do with my own once this is all over with.

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