Page 66 of Ten Rules for Faking It
She eyed it, her lids lowering. He couldn’t help but laugh. She looked like he was passing her a bomb.
“Why did you get me a gift?”
Putting on a serious expression, he straightened his shoulders as though about to give a lecture. “It’s a typical New York custom, when one celebrates a birthday, to offer that person a present. Do they not do that here in Los Angeles?”
Helovedthe way her lips quivered with amusement.
“Come on, you let Stacey give you one,” he teased.
Her cheeks went red like he’d swiped paint over them. What the—? He thought back to what Stacey had said and felt his own face heat up. He shoved the bag forward. “Justopen it. I guarantee it’snotanything like Stacey would give you.”
Everly removed the tissue paper and took out the small wrapped present. When her fingers pressed in, her brows scrunched and curiosity shone in her eyes. “What is it?”
Shifting toward her, he again pulled out his lecture voice. “You West Coasters need a lot of training. So, what happens is, youunwrapthe gift by taking the paper off. Then inside, you’ll find the present.”
Everly reached out and shoved him, surprising him, making him laugh. “You’re quite the comedian.”
“Just helping you out.”
She found a spot of tape and scratched at it. Chris hid his smile by rubbing his hand over his mouth. He should have known she wasn’t a ripper.
When she removed all the paper and saw what lay beneath, her breath caught and her bottom lip slipped between her teeth. He’d had a hard time keeping his eyes off her mouth, and now he was drawn to it again.
She moved the paper and held up the small, soft cat squishy that fit easily in her palm, her eyes blinking rapidly.
“It’s a—”
She looked at him, and the shine in her eyes caught him off guard. “I know what it is. It’s a stress toy.”
He hoped she wasn’t offended. Shit. What if he’d offended her?
“This is the most thoughtful thing ever.” Her hand flexed and released around the cat.
Rubbing at the back of his neck, which felt overheated, he shook his head. “That can’t be true.”
He really hoped that giving her a stress ball wasn’t the most thoughtful thing someone had done for her. It couldn’t be. Because she deserved so much more.
“It is true. It’s discreet and soft, and I really love it.”
Going on instinct, he took the hand that wasn’t holdingthe cat, turned it over, and ran a fingertip along the dulling red crescents that still showed. His heart and stomach twisted in opposite directions from the sight of them. “Maybe it’ll help with this.”
She nodded and pulled in a shuddery breath. Their eyes met, and the effect was more potent when he was touching her.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“You’re welcome,” he whispered back. He swallowed around the tightness in his throat as he pulled his hand back. “So,Veronica Mars.Female PI, right?”
Blinking away the moisture, Everly smiled. Chris’s heart flipped over like a pup eager for attention.
“A teenage PI, and she’s completely badass. You’ll owe me for introducing you to the show.”
Getting comfortable, he shifted on the couch, keeping the distance between them so he’d be able to concentrate. “We’ll see. Have you watchedJustified?”
She shook her head and grabbed some popcorn. He felt ridiculously pleased that she didn’t put the squish toy down.
“No. Is it good?”
“If you want badass, you need to watch Raylan Givens.”
