Page 8 of Faking With You

He tops up my wine, and I thank him as I take my first bite of dinner, fighting the urge to moan around the mouthful. Mac takes a bite, watching me, and I grab my napkin, wiping my mouth before saying, “This is really good, thank you.”

He nods and says, “You’re welcome.”

Awkward silence fills the air as we both have a few more bites. He’s the one to finally say something, though.

“You said you have questions.”

I put my spoon down, nodding. “I do. This whole thing is a little weird to me.”

He takes a sip of his wine, and I watch as he swallows and his throat bobs. My skin starts to heat at my ears as his tongue darts across his lips. I’m already having a reaction to him that I thought I’d be able to avoid today. “I understand that. I’ll answer whatever questions you have.”

“You said you need me to pretend to be your girlfriend, why not go and find an actual girlfriend?” I ask.

His fingers delicately run up and down the stem of his wine glass as he watches me, his head tilting to the side slightly as the corner of his mouth tips up the smallest amount.

“Because you fascinate me.”

The way the word fascinate rolls off his tongue has me fighting back chills.

I take a small sip of my wine before asking, “And what would you need me to do?”

Something flashes in his eyes before he says, “I need to convince my father that I’m in a serious relationship, so that means we need to get to know each other enough that we can answer basic questions. We’ll need to place some of your things around my place in case my father decides to make one of his surprise visits.”

I nod a few times. That sounds easy enough. Spend some time together and get to know him, and I’m sure I can part with some things from my apartment to make it seem like I’ve stayed here before. I don’t have the courage to ask him about how he’d help me with mymanifestation.I dip my head and focus on my food, avoiding looking at him and knowing that it’s our next topic.

When I can’t fight it anymore, my gaze flicks to his face. The look in his eyes has heat growing between my thighs, forcing me to take another sip of my wine.

CHAPTER 7

Mac

Ican tell Eliza is not going to bring up the fact that part of this deal is that I’ll help her with her manifestation to finally have sex this year. Her eyes are focused on her food, but when they meet mine briefly, her sharp intake of air is audible as a blush starts to spread across her cheeks before her eyes find her food again.

She’s shy in a way that intrigues me, because when she’s with her friends she seems so sure of herself, so in control.

“This isn’t a one-sided deal,” I say, and she only responds with a slight nod. “I’ll help you with your...manifestation.”

She nods again, and I don’t say anything until she looks at me again.

“Eliza, we’ll take it at your pace.”

She nibbles her bottom lip, and I want to take it between my teeth and pull, seeing if she enjoys it just as much as I would. She continues to avoid my eyes, picking at her food.

“Do you have a list?” I ask, and her head shoots up, an eyebrow crooked. “Do you have a list of things you want to do?”

She shakes her head slowly. “No.” She swallows. “I haven’t thought about it much.” She tucks her hair behind her ear, her blush slowly spreading.

“Okay, we’ll figure that out as we go.” I talk as though she’s said yes, but she doesn’t stop me, just nodding along as I talk.

We finish eating in silence, and I clear our plates, returning with two bowls of ice cream. Her eyes light up as she sees them. When we finish, she begins to play with her fingers, picking at her nails. I can tell she’s about to push her chair back and excuse herself, but I’m not ready for her leave. Not only have I not gotten an actual answer from her, I want to spend more time with her.

“Will you help me?” I ask, and she stops her movements and looks at me.

Her eyes stay on me for several seconds before she finally says, “Yes.”

I can’t help the smile that pulls at my lips, and she dips her head. I take a chance and lean forward, my fingers lightly brushing her cheek as I tuck a piece of hair behind her ear and say, “I think this is going to be fun.”

She fights her smile as she bites her lip and a blush spreads down her neck.