Page 15 of Fake It for Christmas

I laughed, leaning into his hug. The bulk of his body was thicker and more muscled than mine, and his hug felt like being wrapped in a big, comfortable warm blanket.

“Well, we both care about this house so much,” I told him, improvising more as we pulled back from the hug. I reached down to hold his hand in mine, giving it a squeeze. “I want the Fixer Brothers to see that.”

His eyes locked on mine, and I realized they weren’t just one shade of blue, but a glimmering mix of baby blue and a deeper cobalt ring around the outside.

They were beautiful. He looked into my eyes for a while, clearly trying to calm himself down. He’d been biting his lower lip, and finally, he let it go.

“This feels good,” he said.

I nodded. “It feels really good for me, too.”

I wasn’t so sure I was improvising, anymore.

He swallowed. “Are you sure you don’t mind pretending to be…”

“To be with a man?” I asked. “No, Shane. I’m really liking it. Being with you.”

He looked from my eyes to my lips and back again, and I felt a tension crackle between us like electricity.

I knew if I didn’t do something, that tension would stay there—would bloom and grow and get out of control, and it would certainly show up on camera.

And I was going to defuse it.

I dropped my hand from his and draped my arms gently around his shoulders, moving in closer.

“This okay?” I said in a low voice as I leaned in closer to his face, pressing my forehead against his.

His tongue came out to lick his lips, and I could practically feel the beating of his heart.

“It feels really good.”

I turned my head slightly to the side and closed the rest of the distance between us, pressing my lips to his in a kiss.

Shane breathed against me, kissing me back, his hands finding their way to my waist. He touched me gingerly, as if he didn’t know how far he should go—how far he wasallowedto go.

And so I moved my body up against his, pulling him closer as I deepened the kiss.

Showing him that hedefinitelywasn’t going too far.

“You can kiss me, Shane,” I said as I broke for a breath, keeping my arms locked around his shoulders.

He was gazing down at me with half-lidded eyes, and I swore something in his eyes made me want to just lie down on the couch and let him do whatever the hell he wanted with me. I’d been trying to make him feel comfortable, but in reality this was fucking turning me on, and I didn’t really give a damn why.

“Been too long since I’ve kissed anyone,” he murmured, the look in his eyes still dazed.

“I’m here to help,” I said.

And apparently you’re here to help me, too.

Kissing my male co-stars had been fun in the past, but it had never feltthatgood.

“I think I’m ready to film,” he said.

5

SHANE

I took a long sip of coffee, the big blue diner mug feeling like a beacon of warmth in my cold hands. Steam rose from the cup, and already I felt my brain firing up and coming alive, like a dog shaking off sleep.

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