Page 53 of The Bluffing Game

I lean forward so that I can whisper in her ear, “I love the way your lips curl up when you laugh. And I love the way you’ve done your eye makeup today.”

Her breathing is suddenly shallow, and I watch as she swallows.

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“You wore some eye makeup. I notice these things. You didn’t have that color eyeshadow on when we were in the restaurant earlier. Did you pretty yourself up for me?”

She groans loudly and rolls her eyes. “For you or for when I’m going to the bar later with the girls? You can decide which one of those answers sounds the most realistic to you.”

“I know which one I hope it is,” I say. “Honestly, I hope you did it for me. I hope you find it just as hard to resist me as I find it to resist you.”

“Dalton, we can go back and forth with these questions, and I can tell you what you want to hear, or I can tell you the truth. And the truth is …”

I hold my hand up.

She frowns. “What?”

“Maybe, just maybe, I don’t want you to have to lie to yourself or to me.”

“Excuse me?”

“Let me ask you one question.”

“What’s the question?”

“I’m only going to ask it if you promise to be honest.”

“I’m always honest.”

“Okay, so here’s my question then.”

“Yes?”

“If I were to lean forward and give you a kiss right now, what would your reaction be?”

I wait for her to deny how she feels. I wait for her to tell me she’d slap me across the face, that she’d leave, that she’d want nothing to do with me.

“Oh, that’s a very easy answer,” she says, grinning at me.

“Oh, yeah? And what’s the answer?” My heart pounds, and I wait for her to lie. I wait for her to tell me that never in a million years would she ever want to kiss me.

“Well, if we were in that exact scenario, this is what I’d do.”

My heart stops as she leans up on her tiptoes, grabs my shoulders, and presses her lips against mine. There’s a challenge in her face as she steps back and licks her lips.

“So, there you have it. There’s your kiss, Mr. Leone.”

“I guess we still have to see what you’d do if I attempted to kiss you,” I tease her, shocked I can speak. That was the last thing I’d expected her to do, and yet it makes me like her even more. Because one thing I know about Sage is that, even though she’s fighting whatever there is between us, she still acknowledges that it exists. She wants me just as badly as I want her, and yet neither one of us really wants to move forward; maybe because neither one of us is in a position to, but a part of me wants to change that.

Part of me wants to throw caution to the wind and see where everything goes.

“Daddy!” Toby comes running up. “Hold my teddy bear, please. Cheeseburger doesn’t like the swings,” he says as he hands it to me.

I take it from him and nod. “You having fun, Toby?”

“Yeah, it’s so much fun.” He grins, leans over, and grabs Sage’s hand. “I’m glad you came to play so you can talk to Daddy while I’m having fun with my friends.” He beams like he just got a milkshake. “You smell nice.”

“Thank you,” she says and ruffles the top of his head. “You’re a cute kid, Toby.”