My eyebrows rise higher than ever.
But he isn’t finished yet. He curls one leg under himself and starts to gesture with his fork like he’s conducting a PowerPoint presentation about me, getting into it. “You used to have a cat named Buttons, but you developed allergies, so you gave him to your sister. You miss having pets but you want to wait to get a dog until you, and I quote, “have the little white picket fenced house to go with one,” and you look so goddamn cute when you blush and smile like that,” he adds, winking at me again.
I burst into laughter. Mostly to hide the stupidly happy smile that’s burgeoning on my face. “Luke…”
He shifts closer to me on the bed. His blue eyes are so close I feel like I could trip into them at any second, fall into his gaze and forget the rest of the world. “I remember a lot about you, Celia. More than you think.” His gaze drops to my lips, as he tilts a fraction of a foot closer. I mirror him, until our noses are almost touching. “You’re the kind of woman who makes me want to pay attention.”
“Oh?” I can feel his breath on my lips, and I’m sure he feels mine on his. I bend a little closer, so my lips brush against his as I speak. “Why is that, exactly? Just because I’m irresistible?”
“Exactly.” He grins, and then he kisses me, and fireworks explode in my belly, curling outward toward my fingers and toes, until every nerve ending feels electric. When we break apart once more, he smiles at me, softer this time. “And, because I’m the best husband ever,” he adds, and I laugh again as he leans back over to pick up his fork once more.
We eat for a few minutes, me watching him out of the corners of my eyes and pretending to look away whenever he catches me. He shifts topics, talking about the day ahead of us, the spa we should check out in the hotel and the sunset drinks he’s planned for us later. All the while, I can’t shake his voice from my mind. You’re the kind of woman who makes me want to pay attention.
All this time we’ve been working together, all the time that I’ve been secretly crushing on him and writing fanfics about an imaginary dream I never thought could happen in real life… Has he been doing the same? Has he been thinking about me like that too?
Or is this all just an act? All just a play for the weekend, to win his friend’s bet. After all, how many times has he reminded me so far that he’s competitive? It’s how we wound up in this situation in the first place. Because he couldn’t stand the idea of losing one silly bet with a friend.
Still, this seems like more lengths than he has to go to just to win. Breakfast in bed, complimenting me, reminding me of how well we know each other, how this is more than just a weekend fling. He knows me, and I know him too.
Could this be real?
He catches me watching him and smiles at me, lifting his cup of coffee in salute. I lift mine too, and we share a smile, before we both take slow drinks, our eyes never leaving one another’s. I want to know. I want to ask him if this is real. But I don’t, because I’m scared.
What if he says no? What if he thinks I’m crazy for reading more into this than there really is? He told me upfront that this was just a one weekend deal, one silly bet, and then it would be over.
I can’t fall for him. Not anymore than I already have. It’s bad enough I let myself get embroiled this deep. We only have one day and one night left here. I’ll enjoy it, and then come tomorrow, I’ll take this ring off my finger and stop being his wife.
This is the only time we’ll ever get together.
As much as it hurts to think about, I know I’m making the smart choice. Better this than risking getting my heart broken.
10
After breakfast in bed, we head down to the spa to meet Meghan and Paul. They’re smiling, chatty. If they heard us screaming in our room all night long, they don’t let on. They greet us with hugs and then Meghan hooks her arm through mine and points to the spa features.
“Looks like the massage rooms are separated by gender,” she explains, “And there’s a free facial package we should probably take advantage of too. We can meet the boys afterward in the steam room and sauna, those are connected for both men and women. You fine with me kidnapping your wife for a bit, Luke?” she calls over her shoulder, probably because he’s been trailing us from the moment we walked away, his gaze fixed on me.