For a moment, this didn’t feel like a contract. This felt like a real date. A real romance. And for just a moment, Emma let herself believe it. She let herself love him without fear. She let herself believe that he would want her, even if he wasn’t desperate to save his company.
She loved him.
She knew it was all for show, that there were people watching where they went and what they did, analyzing their relationship from the sidelines, but she still loved him. She couldn’t help it. He just made her so happy. He made her feel beautiful and wanted.
He laughed at her jokes. His eyes dilated every time he saw her naked. She felt safe with him. If this wasn’t love, then she wasn’t sure what else it could be.
Maybe she was just deluding herself into thinking she had feelings for him to make this easier. He obviously liked her, since he didn’t have to spend as much time as he did with her. Did that mean that he felt something too? Or was she just pleasant company?
It was so confusing and just made her heart and her head hurt.
“Are you okay?” Jackson asked, coming to a smooth stop at a red light.
“Yeah, why?” she asked, forcing a quick smile.
“You just went quiet all of the sudden,” he said. Silence hung between them, heavy and dark in the night. Her heartbeat seemed to stretch into infinity.
“I was just thinking,” she said softly. She looked down at the floor of the car. She’d at least gotten used to not worrying about her shoes in the car anymore. Jackson swore she could get the car dirty and he wouldn’t mind.
“About what?” he asked. She didn’t answer right away, instead waiting for the light to change so he would have to focus on driving. The light stayed red. It had to be the world’s longest red light. “You were thinking about the contract,” he said, looking up at the light.
She nodded. Her stomach twisted with sudden anxiety. She should just tell him what was on her mind. What was the worst that could happen? He couldn’t dump her. He couldn’t kick her out.
She took a deep breath. “Yes.”
He nodded. His face was strange shadows in the red of the stoplight. He looked up at it, waiting for it to change.
If the light changed, this moment would be gone. He would continue driving and they wouldn’t be stuck in this moment anymore.
“I like you,” she whispered, afraid that she might break the spell. “I like you a lot.”
He glanced over at her and grinned. “I already knew that.”
She rolled her eyes. Of course he’d be arrogant and full of himself. “That’s not what I’m trying to say, and you know it.”
“I know.” His eyes didn’t leave the light. “I like you a lot, too. Much more than I expected.”
“Really?” She was surprised by how much this made her heart race. Her mouth felt dry and sticky.
“Really,” he replied. He looked away from the light and over at her. His green eyes filled her soul with bubbling light. “And it’s not the contract that has me spending time with you. These dinners aren’t in the contract. They’re because I want to spend time with you. I’d rather be with you than anyone else.”
“Really?” Her voice came out as a squeak.
He smiled. “Really.”
He leaned over and kissed her as the light changed. He didn’t care that he was supposed to move because he was kissing her. Really kissing her. This wasn’t the kiss of a one-night stand or a good time. This was a kiss that meant something.
This was a kiss that lead to love.
When they broke apart, Emma was breathless. She grinned at him and then looked back at the light.
It was red again.
She grinned. That meant she got to kiss him longer this time.
Chapter 26
Emma