Screwed (V-Card Diaries 2)

Nope. I have to put a stop to this—now—and lay down some firm boundaries before we get to the resort.

Wrenching my lips from his, I suck in a breath and lift a hand to wave at the people hooting and clapping from the pumps. “Okay, Casanova,” I say through gritted teeth. “I think we’ve put on enough of a show for the strangers. Save some energy for the people we actually need to fool, okay?”

“I have plenty of energy for everyone who needs to be convinced I’m crazy about my fake fiancée.” He gives my ass a squeeze that sends a lightning bolt of lust shooting straight between my already shaky thighs. “But as the lady wishes. Hop in, Bossy, I want to get there in time to do a little skiing before I meet you and the folks for dinner,” he says, opening the passenger’s side door.

“Good,” I say, sliding into the still warm interior. “That should give you plenty of time to think of a better nickname than Bossy.”

He grins. “There is no better nickname than Bossy. It’ll prove to your gram that I know exactly what I’m in for, being married to a brilliant alpha female.”

I scowl, but don’t respond when he laughs and shuts the door before jogging around to the driver’s side.

I mean…how can I argue with that? I am a brilliant alpha female and his tone made it clear he meant that as a compliment. And he’s right, the smug jerk. If anyone is aware of how bossy I can be, it’s the people who have raised me since I was an equally bossy little girl.

But they also know I have a soft, squishy side, one that might be a little hurt that my fiancé thinks I’m nothing but a ballbuster.

As Derrick pulls out of the gas station, I decide a little vulnerability is in order. “Okay, I agree. Bossy is a good call, but maybe think of something else, too? It’s probably hard for you to believe, but my family knows I can be…sensitive sometimes. I mean, alpha gal or not, I do have feelings.”

He glances my way, surprise in his eyes. I’m bracing myself for a sarcastic comeback when he smiles and takes my hand again. “I know that, Hepburn.”

I blink but he answers my unspoken question before I can ask it.

“You remind me of Audrey Hepburn,” he says. “Classy, beautiful, smart, and always sophisticated. Even when you’re scraping subway gum off your shoe or standing up to bullies in a dive bar. So…what do you think? Hepburn a good backup nickname?”

My lips twitch, but I shut the grin down before it can fully form, not wanting him to know how damned perfect everything he just said actually is. “Yeah. That works. I’ll think of something good for you, too. Something that reflects your less-obnoxious qualities.”

He laughs as he accelerates onto the highway. “Sounds good. I think I have a few of those.”

“At least one or two,” I tease, trying not to think of all the things I’m finding increasingly wonderful about this man.

That’s a good way to get in even deeper than I am already, which is already way too freaking “I now have a fake fiancé” deep.

Chapter Six

Derrick

We spend the next ninety minutes of the drive working out our backstory—how we reconnected as adults when she and Evie moved in together last summer, fell madly in love while watching movies in the park, and impulsively decided to get engaged last week.

“We can’t say any further back than that or Gram won’t buy that I kept it a secret. I’m terrible with secrets,” Harlow says, leaning forward to peer at the snow-covered limbs hanging low around the narrow road. “I hope Dad will be able to get the van with Gram’s wheelchair through here okay. Looks like they got a lot more snow than we did in the city.” She pulls out her cell and swipes the lock screen up. “I’ll shoot him a text and warn him to be careful. And that he might need to stop at the base of the mountain and put the chains on.”

I watch her out of the corner of my eye until she’s finished texting, wondering if it’s the right time to address the elephant in the SUV. If we’re really going to have a fresh start as friends—or maybe more—we should clear the air about what happened at that bonfire when she was in high school.

But when she glances my way, the wariness that flickers behind her eyes assures me this isn’t the right moment. We’re still learning to trust each other. After so many years of having our walls up and smartass remarks ready to fire at the first sign of weakness, we have a ways to go before we’re ready to have that conversation.