Page 49 of Fake it With Me

“You do matter.”

“You know what I mean. Like I matter to him specifically. Not just as the person he hired, but as me.”

“Has anything physical happened?”

“No, just those close calls. We agreed nothing physical would happen. I know getting involved would complicate everything but⁠—”

“But you want to anyway.”

“So badly it’s actually embarrassing.”

Janice sighed, and I could picture her sitting in her tiny apartment, probably eating takeout at her desk while fielding my romantic crisis. “Okay. Here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to keep your eye on the prize. Remember why you’re doing this—the money, the dissertation, getting your life on track. Don’t forget that part.”

“I know.”

“Let me finish. You’re going to remember why you’re there, and you’re going to be smart about this. That means no sleeping with him. Not yet, anyway. Get through the contract period, collect your money, and then—once the professional relationship is over—if you still feel this way and he feels the same way, you can explore it. Like adults.”

“That’s very sensible.”

“I’m a very sensible person. Also, and I’m saying this with love—rub one out in the shower tonight and get your head straight. You’re horny and emotional and that’s a dangerous combination.”

I laughed despite myself. “Noted.”

“I’m serious. You’re not thinking clearly because you’re sexually frustrated. Take care of that, remember you’re a badass marine biologist who doesn’t need a man to validate her, and keep things professional for three more weeks. You can do this.”

“Three more weeks.”

“That’s it. Then you can jump his bones with a clear conscience.”

We talked for a few more minutes, Janice updating me on the drama at her office and complaining about her own dating life, before we said goodbye. I set my phone aside and closed my eyes again, trying to take her advice to heart.

Keep my eye on the prize. Stay professional. Don’t complicate things.

I could do that. I was a grown woman with self-control and common sense. Just because Darek Sullivan was gorgeous and thoughtful and had taken me to see whales didn’t mean I had to act on my attraction to him.

Even if my body was currently sending very insistent signals that acting on it would be a great idea.

I was contemplating the merits of Janice’s shower suggestion when I heard footsteps.

Darek appeared, clearly coming to tell me something, and then he just… stopped.

Froze completely, his eyes going wide, like his brain had short-circuited.

I watched him stare at me in my bikini, watched his gaze travel from my face down to my curves and back up again. I watched him swallow hard and forget whatever he’d been about to say.

A thrill of satisfaction went through me. That’s right, I’ve still got it.

I’d been feeling frumpy and academic and decidedly unsexy for months. But the way Darek was looking at me right now? I felt like I could stop traffic.

He just kept staring, not moving, barely breathing.

I let him look for another few seconds, enjoying the power of it. “Can I help you?” I asked with sweet innocence.

He made a strangled sound, then muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, “In so many ways.”

“What was that?”

He shook his head, physically shaking himself out of whatever trance he’d fallen into. Cleared his throat. Looked determinedly at a point somewhere over my left shoulder instead of at me.