Page 324 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 11
I heard my dad’s footsteps heading toward the school.
Jacob looked over my shoulder. “He’s going to be...a lot, isn’t he?”
“My dad is always a lot. But he’s been whistling all morning. He’s been in a strangely good mood.”
“Well that’s good.”
“I guess so.” I found the whole thing highly suspicious.
“Are you ready for our test run?”
I sighed. “Not really. Lying to my parents and Liam is one thing. But lying to Sophie? She’s going to see right through the fake boyfriend test run. Can’t we just loop her in?”
“If we can trick her, we can trick anyone.”
“True.”
“We’ll tell her as soon as she believes we’re actually dating.” He looked over my shoulder and then slid his hands back down. Hisfingertips were definitely resting on my butt. “The news will be all over school by lunchtime.”
“Have you told Axel yet?” I asked.
Jacob shook his head. “I figured we could do it together in person. But his car isn’t here yet. It’ll have to wait till lunch.”
I didn’t love the idea of Axel finding out before I could tell him. I wanted to see his reaction. To gauge if it affected him at all. But what choice did we have?
“Let’s get to class,” Jacob said. He slid his hand into mine and we walked up to Empire High together.
It seemed like everyone we passed turned their heads.
I definitely felt more confident when I was wearing Jacob’s jacket. Or maybe it was just holding Jacob’s hand that did it. But I was standing up a little straighter. And I didn’t even compare myself to any of the other girls wearing their high heels. I felt completely content in my flats.
We walked up the stairs and Jacob held the door open for me.
Sophie and I had decided that we were starting our senior year over last week. A fresh start. But today I actually felt it.
“Do you need to stop at your locker?” Jacob asked.
“No, I’ve already got my books for calc.” My stomach rolled. With all the fake boyfriend stuff, I’d totally forgot that Mr. Halifax was one of the lead suspects for my kiss thief.
Jacob guided me to Mr. Halifax’s room. We stopped in front of the door. “I’ll see you at lunch,” he said. He leaned down and whispered in my ear. “I’m going to kiss you now. Just a peck. Try not to lick my teeth or anything.”
I laughed. “I’ll be on my best behavior.”
Jacob’s nose brushed against mine as he placed a soft kiss against my lips. He slowly pulled back.
It was a quick kiss. But I didn’t bite him or anything. So that was a win. “See. I didn’t do anything weird.”
“If you say so.”
“I didn’t this time!”
He smiled and dropped my hand. “Bye, love.”
I swallowed hard as he walked away. I really liked when he called me that. And kissing him and him calling me love certainly made it a little easier to lie to Sophie for a bit. I walked into calculus.
Mr. Halifax looked up from this desk and smiled at me.
Ah! Don’t look at me!I hurried to the back of the room where Sophie was sitting.
