Page 44 of Things We Fake
“Not yet.”
When I opened my eyes, he was looking down at me, the sparkle in his gaze unmistakable. My breath hitched. What now? This was uncharted territory. I’d never had a fake boyfriend before, so I wasn’t entirely sure what the protocol was—especially when the fake felt very, very real.
He lifted my hand and brushed a kiss against my knuckles. “I had a great time tonight.”
I bit my lower lip. “Me too.”
“How about breakfast tomorrow? There’s a great bagel place nearby. After that, we’ll hunt for ridiculous hats.”
I laughed. “Seriously, you don’t actually have to come hat shopping.”
“Oh, I do. You promised swans and nests and flamingos. I live for this now.”
“Fine.”
We stood for a moment, facing each other. The amusement faded slowly, and something deeper stretched out between us—charged and warm and terrifying in its intensity. Then he cupped my cheek and bent his head until I felt his warm breath over my skin.
First kisses are usually awkward—two people who don’t really know each other and need time to match, to learn their mutual rhythm and style, to figure out the right angles, to refine the pressure until it’s just right. Not for us. That first kiss was perfect even before our lips met. The way we angled our heads, the way we leaned closer to each other, the way he slid his tongueinside my mouth and I opened to him, sliding my tongue over his in a soft, evocative exploration.
Our lips met lightly at first, and then he claimed my mouth with a mastery that turned my knees to rubber. His tongue teased mine, tasting me slow and deep, and I lost myself into the most perfect kiss I’d ever had.
A moan was trapped inside my chest as my hands fisted the front of his coat, drawing him closer. His warm hands slid under my coat, along the curve of my back, pressing me tighter against the solid heat of his body. I melted into him, feeling the raw strength in him—and the restraint too, tight and trembling between us.
My blood boiled and I felt dizzy, greedy, stunned by the sudden want clawing up inside me. I’d never wanted a man the way I wanted him.
When he finally pulled away, his breath was uneven. His eyes, usually milk chocolate, turned dark coffee—black, deep, powerful, with a kick that jolted me to my core.
“Well, there’s my first wish come true,” he murmured, his voice low and rough.
My lips tingled. My brain had left the building. “Was that a fake boyfriend kiss?”
The corner of his mouth twitched as he brushed his thumb across my bottom lip. “Figure it out. Come on, it’s freezing out here.”
He guided me up the stairs, stopping at my door. One hand lifted to brush a knuckle across my cheek. “Goodnight, Sue. I’ll see you in the morning.”
I nodded, wordless. I watched him walk past me and disappear into Sebastian’s apartment. Only then did I let out a long, shaky sigh.
I raised my fingers to my lips, which were still tingling from his kiss.
Time to come back to Earth, Cinderella.
In a daze, I fumbled through my clutch, found my keys, and let myself into the apartment. God, this man… he was unreal. If one kiss could turn me into a melting puddle, I could only imagine what having him naked in my bed would do.
And that’s where the fantasy screeched to a halt, because my brain decided to bring Brittany into it.
What he’d had with her was real. Judging by the way he’d looked at her at first, he wasn’t exactly immune. I couldn’t believe he’d once been engaged to someone like her. As awful as she’d been as a teenager, she’d somehow upgraded to full-blown villain.
Cam said she used to be sweet. I knew better. I’d seen through her long before she became “the ex-fiancée.” There wasn’t a sweet bone in that surgically enhanced body. She probably faked her way into his bed, his heart—and, let’s be honest, likely screwed his brains out while she was at it.
My cheeks flushed at the memory of her smug little dig:he likes it hot in bed.
Ugh. I didn’t want to imagine her in bed at all, let alone with Cam. But now it was lodged in my brain like a cursed pop song.
What could she do that I couldn’t? Well, for one, I didn’t come with a stripper’s body in designer clothes. She was as close to physical perfection as humanlypossible. If that’s what Cam wanted, then whatever this was between us would only ever be pretend.
But he’d been the one to ask me out. That had nothing to do with Brittany, or my parents, or this whole fake relationship plan. He’d wantedme.
I justdidn’t know why.
