Page 94 of Blush Crush

He looks down at his own chest like he forgot about it, then back up at me. “Do you want me to put one on?”

“No,” I say, too quickly.

A cocky smile lifts on his face.

“I mean—” I press my lips together. “It’s your house. You can wear whatever you want.”

“Mm-hmm.” He crosses to the bed and drops down beside me, close enough that I can feel the warmth radiating off him. “I was thinking we could watch a movie. Unwind a little from that dinner.”

The tension in my shoulders eases. As fun as our moment in the truck was, it was still a lot for me. I need time before I’m ready for anything more.

Admittedly, when he asked if I wanted to hang out, I worried he really meant sex.

I know he wouldn’t push me, and he’s been incredibly patient so far, but I’m not going to assume that patience is limitless.

“A movie sounds great.”

There’s a quick flash of relief on his face before he stands and moves to what I assume is his side of the bed.

He points a remote at a TV across from the bed that I didn’t notice before because it was disguised as artwork.

“Come on, doll.” He pulls the blankets back. “Get comfortable.”

I join Cole on his bed, slipping beneath the covers. I intended to leave some room between us since the bed is plenty big enough, but Cole puts his arm around me, pulling me close. I can’t help but stiffen up for a moment because I’ve never beenso close to his naked chest before. His skin is hot and his spicy, sweet masculine scent invades my nose, stealing my ability to recall why I want him to be patient with me at all.

He runs his hand in a soothing motion where he’s holding my shoulder and I melt back into him, no longer interested in keeping any space between us.

Cole scrolls through streaming services to see what movies are available.

I’m terrible at keeping up on what the hot new thing is to watch so I’m very little help.

Eventually he lands on a romantic comedy about two assistants scheming to set up their bosses.

I never would’ve pegged Cole for the romantic comedy type.

“Nora likes it.” He shrugs, likely noticing my surprise. “So I figured you’d like it too.”

I bite my smile, nuzzling my head against his chest.

I actually have seen the movie before but I don’t say anything because I don’t want to burst this little bubble we’re in. Our relationship isn’t real, it’s just supposed to be for show. And even though we’re physical with each other because of the lessons, this doesn’t fall in either category. There’s no one around to act the part for so we really don’t need to be cuddled up the way we are. This isn’t even a lesson. This is…confusing.

It feels like a date. Like a real one. And my stomach dips at the realization.

I thought it would be impossible to fall for Cole. And now I’m worried there’s a real possibility I might’ve been wrong about that.

CHAPTER 28

Cole

I’M IN AWE

“So when were you going to tell me your parents are as unhinged as mine?” I ask about a quarter into the movie.

She angles her head to look up at me, cheek resting on my chest. “I thought it’d be more fun to let you figure it out on your own.” She giggles. “Besides, I thought I had more time. Who knew they’d band together like we were all celebrating an engagement or something.”

It really was like that. The ambush threw me off and I didn’t appreciate it, but it wasn’t as awful as it could’ve been. There was an ease to the evening I wasn’t expecting—a weird familiarity between all of us that shouldn’t have existed given how cutthroat our dads once were with each other. And as cringey as that bet felt, having Ariana beside me through all of it was nice. More than nice. My siblings are great and we show up for each other, but everyone has their own life and their own shit. With Ariana it felt like I wasn’t doing it alone. Like there was someone specifically in my corner for the first time in a long time.

“Your dad gave me his stamp of approval, by the way,” I add after a beat of silence.