Page 13 of Accidentally Falling for My Fake Wife

I absently reach over to my large triple latte and take a swig of the room-temperature liquid.

His chocolate brown eyes move to my lips. My breath catches at the heat reflected in them, and my heart skips a beat.

Is he finally going to kiss me, for real?

As if reading my thoughts, his eyes flick back to mine. “I want to kiss you but don’t want it to be pretend. Can I kiss you like I mean it? Because I really want to.”

A spark runs through my body at the intensity, staring back at me, and my knees nearly buckle. Any response I may have uttered gets caught in my throat. I swallow and slowly nod. His hand reaches out and cups my cheek while his other hand slides around my waist, pulling me flush against him. Just as his lips touch mine—

“Susie?” A husky male voice penetrates my haze. I blink rapidly a few times, trying to return to reality. When I look up, I find the brown eyes I’ve been writing about all day staring at me with amusement dancing in them.

Heat creeps up my face, and my stomach flutters. I take a deep breath and force myself to relax.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have interrupted you,” he quickly pushes out while he fidgets with his drink. “I just wanted to apologize if I came off as rude yesterday.”

“Oh, Thank you. I appreciate that,” I slightly lower the lid of my laptop. “I hope I didn’t talk your ear off. I sometimes tend to ramble.”

His eyes twinkle with humor. “It made me laugh for the first time since I found out I was being traded.”

“Well, in that case, I’m happy my weird behavior was helpful.” His eyes widen, his lips form an O, and I can’t help but chuckle. Soon, his laughter follows. “I was just teasing. Do you want to sit down?”

I hit the save button one last time before closing my laptop fully.

“I don’t want to interrupt you if you’re in the middle of something,” he says, stopping to pull out the chair and pointing to my laptop. “You were pretty immersed in whatever it was you were doing. I called your name three times…”

“Yeah, that can happen, and you’re not interrupting at all. It will be there later.” My brows pull together, and I wave my hand at him. “Sit.”

“Are you sure?” He tilts his head, a slight frown marring his forehead. “I don’t want to be a bother.”

Can this man get any sweeter? Down, girl. Off-limits remember? You only get to write about him in your books.

“Adam,” I offer a soft smile and point my finger at the chair he’s holding. “Please, sit.”

He places his drink on the table and pulls out the chair. I rest my chin on my hand and watch him as he easily slides onto the seat.

It’s official. Josh is getting coal in his stocking this year. I shake my head at where my thoughts have traveled.

“What are you grinning about over there?” Adam beams at me, and I notice a dimple pop on his left cheek.

Oh yeah…definitely coal.

I look away and let out a breath. “I was just thinking of a conversation I had with my older brother. Speaking of Josh, how are you settling in?”

“Well, I’ve been a Maverick for two days, so there’s not much to report.” He pulls his drink in front of him and wraps both hands around it as if looking for warmth. I can’t help but notice the peppermint tea tag, and a small grin crosses my lips. “It’s different than my other team, though.”

He looks down at his drink before meeting my gaze. There’s a smile on his face, but I don’t miss the sadness lingering in his eyes.

“You’ve been playing with your brother your whole life, right?” His eyes widen. “I guess you can say football is a tiny hobby of mine, and by tiny, I mean I’m completely obsessed. I know players, stats, games, and whatever information is available. I’m a pretty amazing General Manager in my fantasy football league.”

“Fantasy football, huh?” he laughs a bit uncomfortably. “It’s still weird to know that people I don’t know have access to somuch of my private life. It’s not something I’m sure I’ll ever get used to.”

“Well, you and Steve are unique because you’re twins and have been on the same college and NFL teams. Everyone was talking about you when the two of you were drafted.” I grab my cup and wrap my hands around it trying to hide the awkwardness I suddenly feel at revealing how much I know about him. “It was a very inspirational story!”

“Yeah, I know. Part of me hoped that we’d retire together,” he shrugs and gives me a tentative smile that tugs at my heart. “After my dad passed away, it was my mom, Steve, Olivia, and me. Leaving her behind when we went off to college was tough, but we had each other.”

He pauses and takes a deep breath before continuing, and the sadness returns. “This, though, is even harder.”

I gaze into his eyes, aware that he’s choosing to be completely open and vulnerable with me, and my stomach flips.

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