Page 92 of Going Viral for Christmas
My heart is filling with emotions I’ve been pushing away since the very beginning. I don’t know how to trust them. Or him, for that matter.
Wrapping my arms around myself as if I can hold in the pain building behind my ribs, I keep my attention set on the floor. I cannot look at him. “You don’t get it.”
“I do get it.’ Soren approaches again. The heat of him immediately seeps into me. This man is impossible to escape.
“Those fireworks you mentioned. I want them with you. And I’m not going anywhere until you believe it. I’ll show you that this,” he motions between us, “can be real.”
There’s no teasing in his tone. There’s not even a flirty smirk. Only steady eyes that are locked on mine and an expression so earnest it robs me of air.
This is where my defiance kicks in. And I almost laugh. SorenWhorenPembry thinks he’s going to showmesomething real?
Please.
He licks his lips, tasting the promise—no, challenge–in the air. Strong, muscular arms box me in, one palm against the door behind me, the other brushing my waist. I don’t move. Can’t. Silver eyes dive into mine, lit with an intensely deep determination.
And then he says the line that could destroy a woman. Destroy me–
“Tell me to stop wanting you, Bells, and I swear I will. But mean it. Don’t stand there and lie to me. Or yourself. Because you see…your pulse is racing. And I can tell your heart wants to leap out of your chest and into my mine.”
My eyes narrow. Fuck this guy. He knows nothing about me.
“You say those same things to hundreds—maybe thousands—of women.” The dig rushes out as a sharp little rustle of defense. “You make it seem easy because it is. You’re practiced. Slick.Fake.”
Every word carves another piece out of him. His jaw ticks. He’s hurt. It makes sense. I slapped him with something more painful than the truth—my doubt.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t mean it to besoharsh. I mean… I did, but not to that level. I wanted distance. I wanted armor. I didn’t expect him to actually bleed.
That line though? About my heart wanting to leap into his? That’s ridiculous. Over-the-top. Too much for most romance novels, including mine.
Yet it still made my lungs stop.
So, I stomped all over that line with spiked boots and sarcasm because I’m terrified of him.
And yes, the guilt tastes bitter in my mouth. Maybe I should’ve kissed him again. Or at the very least… not tried to burn down the one person who might finally understand me.
No. Don’t be another one of his conquests, Ava,I plead with myself.Don’t give in. Don’t yield. Don’t make this mistake…
Again.
There’s a long silence between us. Soren’s gaze never wavers. Neither does mine.
“Challenge accepted, Bells,” he says, almost to himself, but loud enough for my rattled heart to hear.
At breakfast, the sun is higher and the smell of bacon, coffee, and toasted bread has replaced the early hush. I sit stiffly at the breakfast table next to Soren, who’s maddeningly at ease.
Fisher is at the end of the table. Between bites of pancake, his eyes bounce between us as though he’s watching a tennis match no one else sees.
My dad focuses on his food with monk-level devotion, and my mother… oh, she’s in full Q&A mode.
“So in your book—Fields of Fire—what inspired that final scene inthe rain?” she asks Soren, leaning in, treating him as her guest of honor on theMorning Mandy Talk Show.
Soren smiles, polite and impossibly charming. “Honestly? I always wanted to end a story with the rain doing the confessing when the characters couldn’t.”
“That’ssopoetic. God, I love that. Ava never talks about your work—why don’t you talk about his books, sweetie? Then again, you didn’t mention yourrelationshipeither, so I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”
Sipping my orange juice, I try not to glare. “We’re not here to dissect my—” The word stalls in my mouth, unfamiliar but not unwelcome. “Boyfriend’scareer, Mom.”
My gaze drifts to Soren. He’s mid-chew, and there’s the faintest smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
