Page 24 of Finding You
He laughed, a deep throaty laugh that made me want to go sit on his lap. Shit, I had to draw some clear boundaries on this relationship, and fast.
“Also,” I said, avoiding his gaze. “No physical stuff. And definitely no sex.”
He smirked at me, as if he found my crazy entertaining. “I respect your boundaries. But I’m here in case you get curious.”
How dare he? “Curious?” I waved at him, manspreading on the tiny couch. “Unlikely.”
He continued to smolder. If I had been wearing panties underneath these shorts, they would probably be dust on the floor by now. My legal poker face came in very handy in moments like these. “I could not be less curious, actually.”
“I admire your ability to keep a straight face. You are a tough negotiator. But what if I drop and do some pushups?”
I felt my face falter but shook my head. Had he seen me staring at him last week? He must think I’m some pervy stalker who gets off on watching hot guys do pushups. It’s the truth, of course, but I don’t want him to know that.
I recovered and stood with my hands on my hips. “This works. We will do a set number of fake dates and then go to the engagement party and the legal gala. As long as we follow the rules, this should work.”
“We can continue to hang out as friends, right? Ginger has gotten attached to you.” At that moment Ginger picked up her head and gave me a bored look.
“Of course,” I said. I valued his friendship. He was one of the very few people I enjoyed hanging out with. “But there will be no hand-holding, kissing, or romantic hugging.”
“What the hell is romantic hugging?” He smirked again and it was so sexy it made me wish he was just doing his normal smolder. “Are you afraid I’m going to give you a sexy hug and you won’t be able to resist me?”
I rolled my eyes dramatically.
“And I don’t agree to those rules,” he continued. “We have to act like a normal couple. You don’t know my brothers, but if we are going to convince everyone, then you have to act like you like me. So hand-holding, hugging, kissing, and general PDA are on the table.”
“In public only.”
“If you say so. And dancing. We’ll have to dance together.”
I made a face. I hated dancing.
“Do you know how to dance?” he asked.
“Not really. Why, do you?”
“I do, actually.” That was a curveball. What other surprises did this hunky, tattooed dog dad have in store for me? “I’ll have to teach you how to dance then.”
“Fine.” I hated dancing. Despised it. But the thought of being in Declan’s arms while he led me around barking orders made me squeeze my thighs together. What was it about this guy that made me such a horn ball? “I’ll put that in.”
“In what?”
“The contract I’m drafting in my head right now.”
“You are not writing a contract for our fake relationship.”
“It’s a mental contract right now.”
“But what if you violate it? What if you fall in love with me and my man bun?”
“Not possible. But if I did, I would be in breach of contract. And you could sue me for damages.”
“That certainly sounds romantic.”
“I’m not trying to be romantic, Declan. I’m trying to be pragmatic. Rules are great. They help people color in the lines and understand expectations.” And I knew I would need rules to keep my hands off of him.
“I’m all for agreeing on the terms, but this seems like overkill.”
“Trust me. I am an expert in contracts. This will be watertight.”
