Page 85 of His Fake Fiancé

Their mouths met in a clash of lips and teeth and tongues. She poured every ounce of her longing and love into the kiss, finally willing to share the feelings she’d been holding inside forever.

He tightened his grip, pulling her flush against him. The heat from his body made her feel warm and toasty all the way to her soul, like being wrapped in a blanket in front of the fire. His hand slid up her spine, to the base of her neck, his fingers threading through her hair. Holding her, firmly but gently, taking control of the kiss.

His tongue brushed against her bottom lip, and she opened up let him in. He swept his tongue inside. She moaned. The slide of his tongue against hers set her soul on fire. She couldn’t believe she had been willing to give this up. To give up on her feelings. To give up on Jake.

Someone cleared their throat, clearly not happy with such a blatant public display.

Jake broke the kiss, but didn’t let go of her. He pressed his forehead to hers, their deep, hard breaths mingling.

Her cheeks and the tips of her ears burned, but she didn’t care. Everything she’d ever wanted was here, in her arms. “Jake.” His name was an awed whisper, mostly because she still couldn’t quite believe he was here. That he’d picked her.

His mouth turned up in a devastating grin. “Claire.”

“I can’t… I don’t… I mean…”

He brushed his lips against hers, stopping her babbling. “I usually find it best to not overthink this stuff.”

She laughed, the absolute joy rushing through her making her feel light headed and giddy. Almost like she’d had a few too many cocktails. She rubbed her nose against his, and it was his turn to laugh. It was deep and rich, and she felt the rumble in her own chest.

He gave her a quick squeeze and lowered her back to her feet. She hadn’t even realized she wasn’t touching the ground. He let her go, and she instantly missed the feel of him pressed against her. Which was dumb, but she couldn’t care too much. She’d been waiting her whole life for this. If that meant she was a little dramatic for a while, so be it.

She stared up at him. “You were leaving?” It came out as more of a question than a statement.

He tucked her hair behind her ear again, staring down with her with such openness and love, she could barely breathe. “I didn’t want you to feel pressured or anything. Or to feel like I was trapping you, insisting you say something just for the sake of it. Making you say something that wasn’t true, or that you didn’t feel. That wouldn’t have been fair to you.”

Her insides melted into a gooey puddle. She knew she was grinning up at him like a lovesick fool but she couldn’t help it. Never in her life had she thought she’d get her happily ever after with Jake.

“Well, I can tell you that you aren’t pressuring me, and I mean every word when I say, I love you, too, Jake Callahan.”

The way his eyes softened made her knees wobble. “I know I don’t deserve you, and that I have a lot to make up for. But I promise, I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to be the man you deserve. The person you see when you look at me.”

She skimmed her fingers over his cheekbone, down across his jaw. “You, just as you are, is all I need.”

He brushed his lips against hers again, a barely there kiss that was nowhere near enough. But, given their surroundings—and the already massive public display from a few minutes ago—she could understand why. Didn’t mean she had to like it.

“Wait,” she said, her brain finally catching up to everything around them. “How did you get in here? Through security?”

He shrugged. “I bought a ticket.”

“Wait. What?” She cocked her head. “You bought a ticket? To where?”

“Los Angeles.”

She continued to stare at him. His cheeks turned the cutest shade of pink.

“What?” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “They wouldn’t let me through. I needed to do something.”

“So, you’re telling me that we’re both in the airport, with tickets to Los Angeles.” She batted her eyelashes at him. “You know, a city that neither of our families are currently in…”

The smile that spread across his face could only be described as wicked. “Well, I mean, it’s kind of silly to not use the tickets we paid for…”

“Exactly.” She took his hand and pulled him over so they could sit down. “Wait. Do you have any luggage or anything?”

He leaned in and nuzzled her neck, right below her ear. “No, but then I don’t expect to be needing a whole lot of clothes for the next few days.”

Goosebumps chased themselves across her shoulders, down her spine. Even so, her cheeks still burst into flames. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to any of this. And that was perfectly okay.

Boarding for their flight was called. She and Jake both stood. He slipped his hand in hers, giving a squeeze. Her heart started to gallop, enjoying the freedom to finally beat for what felt like the first time.