Page 10 of Faking It Right
His eyes locked onto mine, and for a fleeting second, the exasperation faded, replaced by a spark of heat that kicked my pulse into overdrive. “It’s not the worst idea I’ve ever had.”
I squeezed his thigh. “High praise indeed.”
“Don’t push it,” he warned, but my hand remained right where it was.
“How much longer until we arrive?”
“A few hours,” Ryker replied. “Think you can behave yourself that long?”
“Not a chance in hell.”
The steering wheelcreaked under Ryker’s grip as we passed the “Welcome to Sierra Vista” sign. His jaw clenched tight as he kept glancing at his phone in the cup holder, as if waiting for a text from his mom to drop like a bomb.
“You know, if you squeeze that steering wheel any harder, you might break it,” I said, keeping my tone light. “And I’m pretty sure your insurance doesn’t cover ‘death grip due to family drama.’”
He didn’t laugh. Not even crack a smile. He kept staring straight ahead at the road, his shoulders creeping up near his ears.
I dropped the teasing tone, studying his profile with genuine concern. “Hey, are you okay? You look like you’re about to face a firing squad instead of your family.”
“I’m fine,” he insisted, but the slight tremor in his voice said otherwise.
I turned in my seat to get a better look. “No, you’re not. Are you having second thoughts about this whole fake boyfriend charade?”
He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Maybe.”
“We can still call this off,” I offered, even though fake dating was the closest I’d ever get to having what I truly desired with him. But watching him stress was like watching a cat scrambling to escape a full bathtub. “Seriously, we can turn around right now. We can tell your mom I got food poisoning or something.”
Ryker took a deep breath and shook his head. “No, I need to do this. Maylin is supposedly perfect.” He sighed in defeat. “Mom won’t stop singing her praises. According to her, Maylin is beautiful, smart, kind, ambitious, and comes from a good family. She’s a history major who volunteers at animal shelters and probably rescues orphans in her spare time.”
“And I’m not?” I feigned disappointment, clucking my tongue with mock severity. “I’ll have you know I’m an excellent catch. I’ve never once abandoned an orphan.”
That got a smile out of him. “How noble of you.”
“But seriously, if this is stressing you out, we can bail.”
He shook his head again. “No, it’s not only about Maylin. It’s about the endless parade of women Mom trots out for me to date. She means well, but she won’t stop trying to set me up with every single woman she meets. I need to put an end to it.”
“And I’m your nuclear option?”
“Something like that.” He sighed. “Besides, my family loves you. This should be easy.”
I leaned back in my seat, adopting a mock regal pose. “True, I am universally adored.”
“By everyone except me,” he retorted, but there was no malice in his tone.
“You adore me the most,” I countered. “You just hide it better.”
He rolled his eyes but didn’t deny it, which I counted as a small victory.
“We should make sure we have our stories straight for when we tell your family we’re dating now. What’s my favorite color?”
Ryker snorted. “Gray, for some inexplicable reason.”
“Because it’s the same color as your eyes,” I teased. He scoffed, even though it was the truth. “Yours is blue for the same reason. Favorite food?”
“Anything with peanut butter,” he replied. “And yours is that spicy ramen from the place down the street from our apartment.”
“What am I allergic to?”
