Page 91 of Heart Breaker

We laughed. We teased. We held hands without either of us mentioning it. And every time he reached for me, every time his fingers found mine, the question only grew louder.

Truthfully, I’ve been wondering what’s been happening between us since the moment he told me he wanted to stop pretending with me. Since he looked at me and said, I want you, Lottie Hart.

I’ve tried to convince myself that I’m overthinking it. He’d just gotten swept up in the moment. In this place. But a pretend marriage isn’t supposed to make your heart race when the other person smiles at you across a coffee shop, and they’re not supposed to make you imagine what happens after the year is over.

By the time we walk back to our hotel room after dinner, I know I can’t keep pretending the question isn’t on the tip of my tongue.

“Wait,” I say suddenly, a little too loudly.

Wes turns to face me, and I take a deep breath, determined to get this out before I lose my nerve.

“I need to ask you something.”

“Okay,” he says, his fingers tightening in mine. “Do it.”

I press my lips together, drawing in a steadying breath. “What are we doing, Wes? This is real, isn’t it? We’re not pretending anymore, are we? At least…I think we’re not after what you said…”

I shake my head, feeling slightly stupid now for bringing it up. It’s dusk and the mountain air suddenly feels way too thin, and I wish that I could stuff all the words I just said back in my mouth.

“Peach.”

The way he says my nickname is so quiet, so full of emotion, it barely sounds like a word anymore. The uncertainty that’s been following me all day finally loosens its grip, and it feels like I’m not standing here alone.

I exhale.

This is real for him, too.

His hand rises to my cheek before slipping gently into my hair, drawing me closer until our foreheads nearly touch. “I don’t know exactly when it stopped being fake for me,” he says quietly. “Maybe it was after our first date or maybe it was the first time I kissed you. It might have even been when I realized I’d do just about anything to make you smile including play midnight therapy wine.” He shakes his head, pulling me in a little tighter. “But somewhere along the way, it happened. I haven’t been pretending for a long time.”

I nod, blinking back the sting in my eyes.

“I’ve been trying to convince myself not to fall any harder,” he admits, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “But it turns out it was too late. I was already there.”

He leans down and kisses me without urgency or hesitation, his lips lingering against mine, soft and unhurried, like he’s trying to tell me everything he hasn’t found the courage to say out loud.

I lean into him without thinking, chasing the next kiss before he’s even pulled away. My palm cups the roughness of his jaw, the familiar scrape of stubble grounding me in the moment. When we finally part, he rests his forehead against mine, the same way he did before, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“So,” he murmurs, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “If you’re asking whether this is still just a fake marriage, it hasn’t felt fake to me in a long time.”

The breath I’ve been holding finally leaves my lungs.

Wes draws me into him and claims my mouth in another kiss. He kisses me slow and hard, every lingering brush of his mouth has me melting into his arms. My hand curls around his bicep, holding on as a quiet sigh escapes me when he kisses me again. There’s a tenderness to the way he touches me—patient, attentive, almost reverent. He lingers at the corners of my mouth before stealing another slow kiss, leaving me completely undone by the quiet care behind every movement.

When he breaks the kiss, he takes my hand. “Let’s go inside. I need you.”

I like where this is going.

I cock an eyebrow, my gaze burning over the hard lines of his chest under his shirt. “You really can be bossy.”

“You’re adorable, Peach. Keep that up, and you’re asking to be railed into the bed.”

“Promise?”

He pulls me to the door, his gray eyes clouded with lust. With each step, I’m more and more aroused as my body anticipates what Wes is going to do next.

He leads me inside, my hand firmly in his until he stops by the wall of glass windows and turns to face me. His eyes flash with something that sends a flutter through my chest and an ache in my core.

“Go get your swimsuit on and meet me on the balcony.”