Page 44 of Fake Out

She blinks, and I don’t miss the hesitation that flashes across her face. “That would be good.”

“Yeah?” I study her. What was the look for, then?

“Of course.” She pushes onto her tiptoes to give me a kiss. “I’m gonna dig into these croissants.”

She turns to the breakfast tray, and I shake away my worry. Maybe I was just imagining that look.

It’s weird — really fucking weird — worrying about what a woman thinks about me, what she thinks about us. Is this part of being crazy for a girl? Being constantly worried that something will go wrong between us?

Doing my best to push down the anxiety, I dig into the eggs that I ordered. Having breakfast with Marissa might be my favorite thing — next to everything we did in bed last night — and it’s over way too soon.

“I need to take a shower.” She starts to collect her dress.

“Take it here.” I wrap my arm around her, not wanting her to leave for even a few minutes.

Her lips curve into a smile. “I don’t have my toiletries.”

“I have things here. Soap. Shampoos. Conditioner.” I kiss her neck. “What more do you need?”

She rolls her eyes, but her smile has only gotten bigger. “Okay. I’ll take it here.”

“Good.” As she turns around and heads for the bathroom, I lightly smack her butt.

She closes the door behind herself, and a moment later, I hear the shower turn on. Sitting in front of the remains of breakfast, I consider stripping my clothes and joining her.

And I’m about to do exactly that — until my phone rings.

Seeing a video call from Tim, I almost hit the ignore button. But though I’m eager to join Marissa, I haven’t talked to Tim in a while. He’s been by my side through this whole journey — if it weren’t for him, I would have never even met Marissa — and I don’t want to keep him hanging.

Grabbing the phone, I hit the answer button and lean back in my chair. “Hey, man.”

“Hey.” He walks around his kitchen as he talks, no doubt making his morning smoothie. “How are the meetings going?”

I grin big. “Amazing. Things are looking good.”

“Oh, yeah?” He laughs. “Dude, that’s great!”

“It sure is. Marissa is an amazing agent. She knows how to talk to people.”

“I’m sure she is, but it’s you as well. You’re Charlie Elwood. People want you to make a comeback, even if they’re afraid to say it out loud.”

That both sobers me and touches my heart. I’m not sure I deserve a comeback after my shitty behavior, but I’m willing to do whatever I need in order to change that.

“You two work well together, too, I assume,” Tim adds. “And the whole fake relationship thing can’t hurt.”

“Yeah. That’s true.”

I’m hesitant to tell him about what’s actually happening between me and Marissa.

Before I can think of anything else to say, though, the bathroom door opens behind me. In the corner of my phone, I see Marissa emerge, a towel loosely wrapped around her body.

“Do you know if there are any razors?” she asks.

A second later, she notices I’m on the phone. Her eyes go wide, and her mouth drops open. She turns around and scurries back into the bathroom, closing the door behind herself.

“Shit,” I hiss.

Ignoring Tim for the time being, I go and knock on the bathroom door. “I’m sorry!”

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