Page 20 of Kiss Me if You Can
Rhys says something to Emily, pulling her attention away from us long enough for me to say, “Piñata? What? And where did the name Marty come from?”
Jake chuckles, and the sound reverberates against my ribcage. “The name felt fitting for the situation.”
“And the piñata?”
He presses his nose into my neck and sends a shiver through me. “I knew I wanted to hit that the moment I saw you.”
I snort a laugh loud enough that I’m lucky a bunch of snot doesn’t come flying out of my nose. If Jake wasn’t holding onto me, I would probably be on the floor and dying of laughter. “That’s the worst joke I’ve ever heard,” I gasp, though I can’t say I hate the implication.
When Jake replies, he speaks in a whisper in my ear that makes me shiver. “I thought you would enjoy that one.”
“Oh my gosh, you two are adorable,” Emily says. She practically has stars in her eyes as she looks between us. “Should we get a table while we wait for Biff?”
“Yes please,” I say, trying to curb my laughter. While Emily talks to the hostess, I twist so I’m facing Jake. “You’d better behave,Marty.” Then something clicks in my mind, and my jaw drops as I realize why he went with that particular name. “Oh, I’m going to kill you, Jake Moody.”
He bites his lip, failing to fight his smile. “No you’re not. How are you feeling now?”
I feel like I want to smack him and then kiss him, or maybe just skip to the kissing part even though I’m supposed to be focusing on this business meeting and not making out with my pretend husband for the first time. Since I can’t go that route, I content myself with running my fingers along his jaw and smiling up at him.
“I’m feeling like you are the best thing to ever happen to me and I’m not nervous anymore. How did you do that?”
He shrugs. “Call it a gift. People are sometimes easier to fix than computers, especially when they’re willing to face their fears and be vulnerable.”
“Who in the world are you?” I whisper.
He leans in and presses his forehead to mine, melting me with the sweetness of the gesture. “For now, your loving husband.”
“And after that?”
“Right this way,” the hostess says, breaking the spell Jake has put over me.
I wish I could have gotten an answer to my question first, but I’m not stupid enough to think I’ll get to keep Jake. Not only do we live in separate states, but there’s the whole matter of the FBI hunting him down. Still, there’s something in the way he’s looking at me that has me wondering if there’s a chance we could be more than passing ships.
If nothing else, Iwillbe kissing this man before the day is through.
“Let’s get a picture before Biff gets here,” Emily says once we reach our table. She hands a phone to the hostess and pulls herself up against me. I am more than happy to take a picture with her, only she grabs Rhys and brings him into the photo as well, and then she looks over at Jake.
Jake turns pale and looks around the restaurant. Pretending to be someone is one thing, but posing for a photo that will likely be seen by millions of people? Even without the risk of someone recognizing him, I have a feeling he’s not much of a public person.
“Oh, Marty doesn’t like being on the internet,” I say quickly, giving Emily my best smile. “Besides, I like keeping him all to myself.”
Before Emily can protest, Jake presses a kiss to my cheek and then takes her phone from the waitress, silently offering to take the picture for us.
I’m pretty sure my face is flaming red, but I smile anyway. I’ll pretend I was so excited to meet Emily that I couldn’t keep my emotions to myself so I don’t have to admit that Jake’s kiss has me reeling in the best way. The feel of his lips on my skin feels like a day at the spa, and it only makes me even more desperate to kiss him for real. I may not survive mouth-to-mouth, but I am here. for. it.
Jake’s smile takes on a mischievous tilt as he snaps several photos, his eyes sliding up to meet mine. He probably knows exactly why I’m so red, and he is absolutely going to be my cause of death if he keeps smirking at me like that.
“Now just us girlies,” Emily says, shoving Rhys to the side. He takes it all in stride, even smiling as he settles in his chair and waits for us to pose together.
Suddenly a thick arm slides around my shoulders, a hot body pressing up against my back as a cloud of cologne settles over me. “Looks like I’m right on time,” a deep voice says.
I don’t miss the way Jake stiffens and drops his smile, though I’m a little preoccupied with the fingers trailing down my upper arm. I’m generally fine with physical contact and am often the one initiating it with people I barely know, but this is taking presumption a little too far.
“Biff,” Emily says through gritted teeth. “Nice to see you again.”
“And you, Matisse,” he says, though his face is angled toward me instead of her. “And this must be the irresistible No Man is an Isla.”
I wiggle myself out from under his arm, nearly falling over as I try to navigate away from him. Thankfully, Jake reaches out to steady me, and there’s a question in his eyes. “I’m fine,” I whisper to him before turning around to face Biff.
