Page 52 of Drunk on You

“Not happening, beautiful. Then, we’ll never leave, and we have to go now, or we’ll miss it.”

“Miss what?” I lift my leg so I can roll onto my stomach and hide my face in my pillow.

“It’s a surprise. Now, up!”

He smacks my ass, and I jump off the bed, glaring back as I head to the bathroom to get ready, noting that it’s still freaking dark outside.

“Dress in warm clothes and comfortable shoes,” he adds.

As I sit on the toilet, I think back to how amazing our trip has been despite having to attend the weirdest wedding I’ve ever been to.

The rehearsal, dinner, and wedding were in fact entertaining, as Julian had predicted. But not in a funny sort of way. It was like watching a horror show. Nora screamed and screeched and whined and sometimes cried. She demanded perfection, and everyone around her scrambled around, afraid of being stomped on by the evil bridezilla, while Ryder looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

On a positive note, the wedding venue was beyond beautiful and magical, and even though I’ve rarely thought about getting married, if I were to, I would want it to be like that wedding—minus the scowling bride, subdued groom, scared employees, and concerned guests.

Not that there were many guests. Aside from Ryder’s family—who I learned from Julian is one of the wealthiest families in Texas—there was Nora’s family, who were … fun, to put it nicely. Then, there were Ryder’s friends and colleagues and a couple of Nora’s mean girlfriends.

Julian and I had a good time though. We danced and drank and ate delicious food. And in between the dinner and wedding, we spent all our spare time getting lost in each other.

Yesterday, we spent the day sightseeing, visiting all the cool places and eating our weight in delicious Hawaiian delicacies. We had a wonderful dinner with my dad and Selene, and we ended the night with Julian fucking me from behind on our balcony as the sun set.

It feels like we’ve been living in a paradise bubble, and I’m dreading returning to reality, wishing we could stay here forever—which is weird since I’m a workaholic and I’ve never spent this much time off work or on vacation with someone. It probably has something to do with the dozens of orgasms Julian has given me. I’m blaming it on the large amounts of oxytocin and dopamine that have been released from my brain. And refusing to acknowledge the fact that I’m falling for Julian … hard.

The drive to where we’re going is long, and he forces me to drink a lot of water since we’re heading up high, but the trip is filled with Julian and me taking turns playing twenty questions, so it goes quick. He starts off asking random questions, like what my favorite color and food are. Then, he moves on to ones that require a bit more thinking, like where I would go if I could travel anywhere. And just before we arrive, he squeezes in a few deep questions, like if I see myself having kids one day.

Telling him that I love the color red and would kill for a good Hawaiian pizza was simple. Admitting that I would love to travel to Australia to see the huge spiders and kangaroos people talk about on social media was easy. But having to tell him that I’m afraid to have a family of my own was hard. So, instead, I deflected by saying I could barely keep a plant alive, let alone an entire human. We both laughed it off, but I didn’t ask him the same question, instead asking him something lighter.

When we arrive at the Haleakala National Park gates, Julian pays, and we drive through. The drive continues as we ascend until we reach the summit parking.

“Put these on,” he says, handing me a hoodie and a beanie. I’m confused as to why until we get out and I see how chilly it is up here.

“We’re ten thousand feet up,” he says, grabbing something from the trunk of the rental.

When I look closer, I see it’s a picnic basket.

“We’re having a picnic?” I ask, looking around. “In the dark?”

“You’ll see. C’mon.”

We walk past the information center and head up a trail that leads to a rocky but steady area. Julian pulls a blanket out of the basket and drapes it over the ground so we can sit.

He pulls out two thermoses, which I quickly learn contain delicious coffee. Then, he wraps his arm around me, and I cuddle into his side. A few minutes later, just like magic, the sun begins to rise as we watch the darkness turn to light, exposing the most beautiful view that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Julian Parker might be my fake fiancé, but he’s doing a damn good job at creating very real memories.

chapter twenty-one

JULIAN

“Would it be completely unprofessional if I called out sick tomorrow?” Ana groans as we step through the door.

It’s been a long day of travel, and since it’s only Monday, we’re due back in the office tomorrow morning.

“Probably. But as your boss, I might be able to be persuaded to let you take the day off.”

I smirk at her, and she glares my way.

“Ha-ha. Very funny.” She rolls her luggage to the steps and is about to carry it up herself when I grab it from her and carry them both up.

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