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Jane
I brace myself for impact. I knew this moment was coming, but it still catches me off guard. Just when we were starting to feel at ease with each other in those intimate poses, we’re back to being awkward. At least I am. Colton doesn’t seem to hesitate one beat.
Angling himself to face me, he places a hand on my cheek to bring me closer. He leans forward, and I feel like I’m going to melt before our mouths even touch. His lips press softly onto mine, and my heart flutters in my chest. I want to scold it, tell it there is no need for all that fluttering—that this is just a fake kiss. But it’s not, because Colton’s lips are indeed locked on mine. I press my lips forward and wonder why he doesn’t deepen the kiss. I want to part my mouth and get lost in this, but then I remember my own stupid rule: no tongue. Why did I have to mention that? Tongue is good.
I almost moan at the loss of touch, but I remember my manners. Colton studies me with a hazed look that tells me the kiss had the same effect on him. Then, he turns around and sneezes.
Okay, so maybe it didn’t have the same effect. And it shouldn’t have had an effect on me either. I want to splash myself with cold water. This is not real. It’s all the stupid ring’s fault. That thing is pure perfection, and I myself wouldn’t have chosen a better fit.
He opens his mouth to talk, but a torrent of sneezes come out instead.
“Have you been kissing the cat?” he asks, his eyes now bloodshot.
My eyes fly wide. “I did,” I whisper. “I’m sorry. I totally forgot.”
“You can’t kiss the cat, then kiss me,” he hisses, eyes darting from left to right. “You should at least wash your mouth afterwards.”
“Wash my mouth,” I say, struggling to keep my voice a whisper. “I’m not a kid who said a bad word. Besides, I didn’t know we were going to kiss.”
He sneezes again and again. “I need to take an antihistamine. Now.”
Excusing himself to Rick and Amanda, he scurries away.
In the corner of my eye, I spot Agnes on the patio, her arms crossed as she glowers at me with a stern look. Great, now she’s going to hate me even more.
Rick left to pack up the equipment in the trunk, but Amanda remained behind. I’ve been making small talk with her for the last few minutes while we wait for Colton.
Finally, he comes back, his tie slightly askew.
“Should we do the interview out here?” Amanda chirps.
“Wait, what?” I ask, my stomach sinking.
“The interview for the magazine feature,” Amanda explains like it’s obvious.
Colton’s face tells me someone’s getting fired. “No one mentioned an interview.”
Amanda starts fidgeting with her necklace. “I’m sorry. We did mention it to your team. The feature includes a photoshoot and a small interview to publish along with it.”
“We didn’t sign up for this,” Colton roars, his volume rising, and Amanda is two steps away from melting to the ground.
I place a hand on Colton’s chest, not surprised to feel his heart racing. “It’s fine, honey. We can do the interview. It’ll be fun.”
He opens his mouth to protest, but I throw him an insistent look. Refusing the interview would probably raise flags, and the last thing we need is a nosy reporter who’s on to us. Plus, it’s no big deal. Improv is my jam.
Colton sits down on a lounger. “Fine. We can do it here,” he suggests, but it almost sounds like a growl.
I sit down next to him, and Amanda takes a seat across from us. She whips out a notepad and a voice recorder from her bag, her hands still trembling a little. “Okay. I’ll start by asking you a few questions. The aim here is to get to know you a little more, so don’t hesitate to throw in some anecdotes. Our readers love feeling like insiders into a couple’s life.”
I nod while Colton just sits in brooding silence.
“Right. So, the first one is easy. How did you meet?”
“We met on the Love Connected app,” Colton says. “Obviously, I’d been on it for years, and when she created her profile, we immediately matched.”
“So, it does work,” Amanda says with an awkward laugh.
Colton sits up straighter, his face unreadable. “Yes.”
