Page 32 of The Love Lie
It is.
IT IS.
“That’s what I want,” she answers, voice clipped. Because, obviously, it’s not. He knows it. She knows it. The bartender who’s been serving them drinks for an hour probably knows it too. But the only thing she wants more than to eat Cooper’s face off right here at the beach bar, then drag him back to their bungalow to have her way with him is to help her sister. And those two things are at direct odds with each other.
She quickly slurps up the last of her piña colada.
He downs the rest of his beer.
The five-minute walk back to the bungalow lasts a millennium in the taut silence stretching between them. Sam doesn’t even glance his way as she fumbles with the key and pushes open the door.
He grabs her hand and stops her.
She looks then, over her shoulder, up at his too-close face and his burning gaze. His hold is gentle, yet commanding.
Don’t do it, those steady eyes seem to say.
Don’t cross that line.
Don’t go back inside.
Don’t become a stranger.
Stay here, with him.
Keep having fun. Keep laughing. Keep playing.
Keep pretending.
But that’s the problem. Deep down, she can already tell that with him, on some level it’s not a game. There’s potential there, a popcorn kernel of it wedged so annoyingly deep no amount of pressure can dislodge it. She can’t give in and let it fester. She’s got to pick and prod and poke until it’s gone.
He runs his thumb over the back of her hand. “Sam…”
“Rule three, Cooper.”
He stills.
She takes the opening and shakes her fingers free. With her tail between her legs, she flees into the bungalow, grabs her computer from the table, and retreats into the safety of her room.
Unfortunately, work is the last thing on her mind.
Goddamn it.
Sam grabs her phone. Without thinking, she scrolls to the usual name, hovers over the call button, then—remembers.
I can’t call Em.
Literally, she can’t call Em. Her sister’s phone is tucked away in her bag, waiting to be mailed back to Georgia the second she returns to the US.
She could call Jake.
He could pass Emily the phone.
She could come clean to them both and confess about the accidental engagement. She could beg her sister for forgiveness and promise to make it right. She could ask for her opinion…or her blessing.
She could.
Except…
