Page 53 of Love is Fake

I don’t have – nor have I ever had – any chill. Not even a little bit.

“Okay…” Kiara sounds wary and she has reason to be. Hell,I’mwary about saying the words out loud.

“I slept with Nox!” I figure the quicker I can get the words out, the easier it’ll be. It’s not.

Kiara’s silence on the other end of the phone speaks volumes.

“What? Clearly you have something to say and I’ve never known you to skirt around what you mean. So just say it, Ki.”

My friend sighs. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt, Iz.”

Immediately, any irritation I was feeling towards my bestie drains out of me and I sit down heavily on the bed.

“I won’t,” I assure her, although I’m not as sure of that as I sound.

“Is it…is it serious?” she asks uncharacteristically hesitant.

Good question.

“For him or for me?” I respond only half-joking. “It’s serious enough for me to be telling you about it,” I admit, biting my lip. “And as my boss, I figured you should know and if you want to take me off this job I totally understand.” But I really, really hope you don’t, I add silently.

“I’m not pulling you, Izzy. Unless you want me to?”

“No!”

“Alright then.” Kiara sighs, telling me there’s a lot more she’d like to say, but neither of us are sure if I’m ready to hear any of it. “Just…be careful, Iz, take it slow.”

I nod into the phone even though she can’t see me. I know she’s right, but I don’t want to take it slow, I want to throw myself into whatever it is that’s going on between Lennox and me. No matter the fucking consequences…

Chapter

Fifteen

Another week goes by before anyone else finds out about Lennox and me. I asked him and Kai not to mention it to Declan as I have a feeling he’d disapprove. They both agreed, for now. But I can tell it’s bothered Lennox.

“Are you ashamed of me or something?” he asks half-joking while we’re having breakfast out on the terrace overlooking the outdoor swimming pool.

“Right, I’m ashamed of the fact that I’m dating arguably the most eligible bachelor in the tri-state area,” I snort.

Lennox goes preternaturally still.

“Dating?”

I almost choke on the gulp of coffee I’ve just taken. We agreed not to label what was going on between us and I just broke my own damn rule.

“Or…you know, whatever,” I cough the words out, waving my hand as if to say it’s just a word I used to describe a thing.

“Ahh, Izzy, is that your way of asking if we’re going steady?” Lennox’s dark eyes twinkle with amusement.

I ball up my napkin and throw it at his head. “Ass.” He deftly avoids the missile, leaning close enough to thoroughly kiss meand I relax against his lips, feeling the depth of his tenderness all the way down to my toes.

“I knew it!” The exclamation from behind me makes me jump, twisting in my seat to see who’s caught us in a lip-lock.

Miguel, the groundskeeper, stands there smiling from ear to ear as I resist the urge to bury my face in my hands. I’m not a big fan of PDA, but even less so when we’re supposed to be keeping our thing on the low.

“Hey, Miguel,” Lennox doesn’t seem to share my embarrassment. In fact, he stretches his arm behind my chair, sliding me closer towards him.

“Maria will be so happy,” he beams and it’s impossible not to smile back at him. “You both come for dinner tonight, yes?” He looks so eager I find myself nodding, ignoring Lennox’s amused expression.

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