Page 6 of Stuffing My Obsession
She lets out a mock gasp, then laughs. “I didn’t mean to admit that out loud.”
I laugh too, shaking my head, and then I turn to find her looking at me with an unreadable expression. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s just…” She trails off, shaking her head with an amused smile. “You don’t look like the kind of man who laughs often.”
“I’m not,” I deadpan. “But you’re funny.”
“Sometimes, I am,” she says, her gorgeous blue eyes sparkling with mirth.
Damn. She’s got a sense of humor too?
I return my attention to the road ahead, and there’s a long stretch of awkward silence between us.
I don’t like it. I want to hear her voice. Her laughter.
“Anyone I should look out for in your hometown?” I ask, glancing at her again.
She shrugs. “I don’t think so. Asheville is pretty safe—well, except maybe Danny Meyers. He used to have a big crush on me back in eighth grade. He’d follow me everywhere and leave me notes and stuff. It got bothersome at one point, and I had to tell him off, but thinking about it now…it was kinda cute.”
“I see.” My grip tightens on the wheel and I suddenly feel like punching this Danny guy in the face.
“You know…my parents still bring him up sometimes. His family were neighbors of ours, and my mom is convinced we’re destined to get married.”
My jaw tightens. “I don’t care if he’s an old friend. If he acts funny, I’ll—”
“Relax,” Paris says with a little laugh. “Danny’s harmless. He can be…weird, but he’s just Danny. I’m sure he’ll be no trouble.”
My hands squeeze the wheel until the leather creaks. I keep my eyes on the road, voice even. “I’ll decide that.”
“He’s not in town anyways,” she says with a shrug. “Last I heard, he was on a cruise halfway across the world with the money he got after his parents passed.”
I nod once, the knot in my chest loosening slowly. The guy might as well be dead, but I don’t give a damn. She’s mine and I don’t like her talking fondly about some other man.
She bites her lip. “I was thinking…about what to tell my parents.”
“About what?”
“Well, about you. I can’t exactly tell them I need a bodyguard if I don’t want them to worry. I think it’d be best if I just say you’re my boyfriend.” She says the last sentence all in a rush, like she thinks if she says it faster I’ll be more likely to agree.
I try to stop the grin that wants to spread across my face. “You want to tell your parents I’m your boyfriend?” Fake or not, she can’t know about the wave of possessiveness I feel at the thought of claiming that title.
She nods, still trying to convince me. “And it’ll get my mom off my case about trying to set me up with someone too. Two birds, one stone.”
“Someone like that creep Danny, you mean.” My voice betrays a little of the rage I feel when I think of him.
She laughs and shakes her head, then leans in slightly to smooth out the wrinkles on my forehead with her thumb. “At ease, soldier,” she whispers softly. “Danny won’t be a problem.”
I didn’t even know I was frowning hard until she did that. I smile at her, a genuine one, and tell her, “Okay, I’ll be your boyfriend.”
She smiles back, grateful, her face just a few inches from mine. I let my gaze drift to her lips, then back to her twinkling eyes.
It’s taking every ounce of my self-control not to pull over by the roadside and kiss her senseless.
Chapter Three
Paris
God, those eyes.
