Page 32 of The Love Chase

Ding ding ding.

She’d agreed to this because she needed that money to pay for this gear.

For the first time since I’d known Emma, she’d actually made a decision out of a need to help herself instead of someone else.

Was she ever going to tell me why she agreed to this marriage? Or was she going to keep it a secret the entire time? I knew it was weird for her to agree after how upset she had been with me.

But now it made sense.

It didn’t really bother me if that was the reason why she had agreed, though I did wish she had told me the situation she was in. I would have happily given her the money she needed rather than forcing her into this scam of a marriage. Then she could’ve been out there chasing storms instead of chasing the facade of love…or whatever this was.

Emma shrugged, not deigning to explain further.

“That’s why you agreed to this then. You needed my money.”

I crossed my arms, feeling a little smug that I had figured it out.

“I didn’t need your money,” she snapped, crossing her arms too. “I’m doing this to help you. Bridget’s offer was just convenient timing. That’s all.”

“Well, the money isn’t coming from Bridget, you know. It’s my money you’re being given.”

The color drained from her face as if the thought had never occurred to her.

“I don’t want to take your money,” she whispered.

I stepped toward her and rubbed my hands up and down her arms. The gesture was nothing new between us, but the jolt I felt at the touch sure was.

“Hey, it’s fine. I’m happy to give you whatever you need, Em. You know I’m always here for you.”

Her breath shuddered out of her, and our chests were so close we were almost touching. Emma was tall, but she still had to look up to meet my gaze.

There were the slightest flecks of brown in her hazel eyes. How had I never noticed before?

Emma didn’t say anything. Maybe she couldn’t because I was feeling a little tongue tied all of a sudden too. My hands were still on her arms. As if they had a mind of their own, they slipped down and settled on her hips. Was that my breath catching or hers?

“Liam…” she croaked. Her eyes flicked to my lips for a fraction of a second.

It was enough for me to wonder what it would be like to kiss Emma.

What? This is your best friend! You’re not supposed to be thinking about kissing her!

And then Emma pulled away, out of my reach, and it was like being doused with a bucket of cold water.

She turned so her face was hidden in shadow. “It’s getting late. You should probably go.”

What just happened here?

“Oh. Right. Sure.” I swallowed, trying to unglue my feet from the ground.

Nothing had even happened, and yet, I couldn’t get the feeling of her skin beneath my palms out of my head. I needed to stop it. These were not best-friend thoughts. This was something I’d never felt for Emma, and now I didn’t know what to do with it.

Risking our friendship to figure out what was happening between us was not an option. This fake marriage was going to do that enough on its own. I needed to stop my spinning mind. I needed to quit thinking of Emma in nonfriendly ways. I was going to get myself in trouble if I wasn’t careful.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll head home then.”

I turned to head back into the house to grab my shoes. Emma followed me inside but kept her distance.

I stopped at the door, turning back to look at her. She wouldn’t meet my gaze.

---