Page 51 of Make it Real
Do not look.
I spun away, swallowing hard. Time to leave before I got attached to this cozy room and the woman who’d created it.
Way too late for that.
“What do you think?” Her eyes seemed to ask more questions than just the one.
“I think June could learn a thing or two from you.” I took her hand again. “Ready to go?”
She nodded, but I got the feeling I’d answered the wrong question. We walked back through her part of the house to the main rooms and fielded goodbyes from her grandma and the rest. Cutting out before they could entice us to stay for pho—that admittedly smelled pretty darn good—we made it outside.
The humid evening air did nothing to ease the tightness in my chest, like I’d held a breath too long. Ignoring it, I kept a tight grip on Callie’s hand, knocking it against my leg as we crossed the yard to my truck. I opened the passenger door for her, and she’d just started to hike her leg up when she noticed what I’d done.
“Oh.”
That soft little sound of surprise made my stomach tighten. I wanted to hear it again. And again. At least a hundred more times.
She spun around, tilting her face up to look at me. “You installed a running board?”
“Figured you shouldn’t have to struggle to get in and out of my truck.”
Her wide smile made that solitary dimple pop. “That’s the sweetest thing ever.”
Seemed like a pretty basic concession for her comfort, but I’d accept the compliment. “Take it for a test run.”
She put a foot on the step and boosted herself up, towering over me. “Now this, I like.”
Turning to me, she rested her hands on my shoulders, her face hovering inches above mine. “This is how it should always be.”
I put my hands on her waist without thinking. “You like having power, huh?”
“Nah. I like having power overyou.”
Little by little, her smile disappeared, the playful moment turning into something entirely too weighty. Her eyes dropped to my mouth, and my stomach dipped, twisting with longing. She tilted her head a sliver in invitation, and good Lord, did I want to accept. I should have kissed her already, pulled her into my arms and held her there good and tight.
I needed to get ahold of myself. I’d agreed to this relationship to get her out from under her grandma’s thumb and away from the jerks she’d been dating—a temporary solution to a temporary problem. Kissing her just might create a permanent problem, and I wasn’t made for those.
Taking my hands off her waist, I shifted away from her. “Better climb on in. Dinner awaits.”
The confusion in her eyes made my heart stutter, and I knew I’d hurt her again. But in another second, she’d packed it away, flashing a smile that touched her lips but not her eyes. “Right. Well. I like the step.”
She tucked herself into the cab and buckled in, staring straight ahead. I closed the door on her and walked around the bed of the truck, five seconds from punching myself. She might not know it, but that woman already had way too much power over me.
SIXTEEN
callie
What’sthe word for when you almost kissed your fake boyfriend but then he dodged you at the last second, leaving you feeling like the world’s biggest moron? Had to be a term for it. Whatever it was, I wore that tonight like a freaking gold star.
Really, this was a good thing. I’d needed the reminder about the wholefakeaspect. I hadn’t forgotten, but I’d definitely let it get fuzzy in my mind. Spending an afternoon laid out on a blanket listening to a man share the tenderest parts of his heart would do that to anybody.
But no, this was good. Better to remind myself now, before I could go and do something really dumb like fall for Jed Evans. Wouldn’t that be terrible?
So. Very. Terrible.
We sat in a booth at Homegrown, waiting for our burgers and fries, our conversation dried up and weird after that almost-kiss.
“I’ll pay for dinner tonight.”
