Page 35 of Bright Lights and Summer Nights

“Emma, wait!” Preston calls from behind me.

I sigh, folding my arms across my chest and not slowing my steps in the slightest.

“I need a minute, Preston!” Luckily, I’m able to keep my voice composed. I know if I just get a little space from him, I’ll be able to return to the dinner and pretend that kiss didn’t totally rock my world. I just need a few minutes to gather myself before doing that.

“Where are you going?” Preston asks, his voice closer this time.

A small sound of annoyance comes from deep in my throat. He’s the reason I’m in this situation to begin with—the reason I’m having to come to terms with the fact that a kiss that felt so perfect was only just for show.

“I’m going for a walk,” I call out, looking around to see where I could even walk to.

“A walk? To where?”

“To anywhere you aren’t,” I mutter under my breath, thankful that his voice isn’t too close to me to hear it.

At least that’s what I thought. His fingers wrap around my bicep and spin me, forcing me to face him.

His eyes scan my face with concern. “Did I do something wrong? I wasn’t thinking when I pulled you back in for that kiss and?—”

I don’t let him finish. I’m turning back around and heading in the direction of what looks to be a large garden maze. Luckily for me, Peyton chose a massive property to host her event at, so there are plenty of places for me to escape to. If Preston would just let me.

“Five minutes!” I don’t have to look back to know that Preston is still following me. I can feel him there behind me, hot on my heels as I beeline it to the garden maze. “I just need five minutes, and then I’ll be back at that dinner, perfectly pretending to be your girlfriend.”

“So it was the kiss, then?” Preston pushes, following me into the entrance.

I let out a frustrated sigh, spinning on my heel to face him. He must not expect me to stop because he almost runs into me. His quick reflexes are the only thing that prevent him from doing so.

“Can you just stop with your questions and give me five minutes alone?” My voice comes out more defeated than I want it to, which probably only makes things worse by the way he frowns.

“I’ll leave you alone once I know that you’re not mad at me for kissing you.” He runs his hand through his hair, his eyes anxious as they watch me carefully.

I roll my eyes. “I’m not upset about the kiss.” Maybe I am upset about the kiss, but not for the reasons he thinks.

Preston takes a step closer to me. I take a step back. We repeat the movement until the leaves of the foliage climbing up the maze wall graze my back.

His eyes rake over my face. “Then what had you running away?”

I wish he didn’t smell so good. I wish he didn’t have such piercing blue eyes that make it hard to look away. I wish I’d never agreed to be his fake girlfriend without thinking about everything that entails.

I wish he’d kiss me again.

“Emma.” My name falls from his lips like a warning.

“I just needed to get away from you for a minute!” My words come out louder than I wanted them to, but he’s pushed my buttons by not letting me have a moment to myself.

“From me?” Preston asks. He keeps firm eye contact, making it hard to look away from him, even though I want to fold under his gaze.

“Yes. From you.”

“So it was the kiss, then?” He sighs in frustration, reaching up to run a hand through his hair. “I should’ve told my family no. I?—”

“It’s because I want to kiss you again!” I shout, my resolve finally breaking.

He jolts, my words taking him by surprise.

I take a deep breath in, wondering if I’ll regret telling him that. “The first thought I had when you pulled away was how badly I wanted to convince you we needed more practice…that we should do it again.”

Preston takes a step closer to me, pressing our bodies together. “You think we need more practice?”

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