Page 44 of The Marriage Mistake

I liked seeing a different side of him. I liked feeling like what I got was something special. The realization made my ribs winch tight. It was hard to breathe.

Blinking, I pushed the thought away. That was probably exactly what Jack wanted—to make me feel special. He was an expert at it, after all. I could still feel the spot where he’d brushed the back of my hand with his fingertips. It felt like he’d branded me with the barest touch.

Swallowing thickly, I met his gaze and continued our conversation from earlier. “This is a mutually beneficial arrangement,” I noted. “So I guess you’re on familiar ground.”

“And you aren’t?”

“No. I’ve never entered into a marriage of convenience with a man I can’t stand for the purposes of making my father roll over in his grave.”

Like a predator stalking his prey, Jack went very still while his eyes remained trained on me. “So it’s not just about the money for you,” he said quietly.

Crap. I’d said too much. Affecting a casual flick of my fingers, I said, “Just your run-of-the-mill daddy issues.”

His hum was low and warm, and it sent sparks flitting through my stomach. “Nothing about you is run-of-the-mill, Ember.”

Dangerous—this man was dangerous. Even though I could see it from a mile away, like the violent crashing of ocean waves against the base of an impossibly tall cliff, certain death churning below, he still made me want to jump.

I was not a woman who jumped off a cliff into frothing, black water. I was not a woman who fell for the charms of a man like Jack Mars.

And yet.

And yet when he reached over once more to touch the back of my hand, I didn’t pull away. He kept his gaze on his own fingers as they stroked over my knuckles and gently turned my hand. He traced the lines on the inside of my palm with his thumb, and a shiver tumbled through me. With his eyes still on the contact between our two hands, Jack smiled.

“Not so impervious to my moves, after all,” he murmured, then jerked his head up when I snatched my hand away.

I gripped it against my chest like he’d burned it, breathing hard, glaring. Shame was a hot coal beneath my ribs. My cheeks burned with embarrassment and anger. He’d been toying with me.

Ocean blue eyes narrowed across from me. His strong jaw clenched. Then, as if with a superhuman effort, he relaxed his expression and leaned back in his chair, a mocking smile gracing his lips. I didn’t like this smile—it reminded me too much of the way he looked at everyone else. Guarded. Flippant. False.

And wasn’t it just ridiculous to think he let me see a different side of him? We didn’t know each other! We wouldn’t know each other.

“No need for that, now,” he said, smirking. “No one will believe we’re in love if you flinch every time I touch you.” His eyes went flinty, and I knew he was talking about more than just this particular interaction. Was he…hurt?

Surely not.

“I don’t give a shit what these people think about me,” I snarled.

He leaned forward, eyes flashing. “So we have at least one thing in common.”

“Don’t do that again,” I gritted out through clenched teeth.

“What’s that, Ember?”

“Touch me like that.”

“You’re the one who asked me what I usually do on a date. We’re supposed to be falling in love, remember?”

I opened my mouth. Closed it. I couldn’t feel my cheeks, they were burning so hot. It was hard to swallow, but I managed after a few tries. I tore my gaze away from his and glared out the window.

“All right! One burrata. I brought an extra side plate and fork so you two can share.” The waitress beamed at Jack, who gave her a smooth smile and thanked her in a low rumble. I kept looking at the ocean outside the big plate-glass windows and wondered how crazy it would look to walk into the surf and dunk my head just to cool my face down.

Very crazy. Very unlike me. And from where I sat, quite possibly very necessary, too.

“This is good,” Jack said, and I glanced over to see him pointing his fork at the cheese, tomato, and olive oil on the plate. He smeared some of the creamy white cheese onto a piece of toasted bread and put it on the extra side plate for me.

I shook my head. “No, thank you.”

“Ember.”