Page 67 of The Charmer

I hadn't noticed that there was a buffet set up adjacent to the entrance.

"Want me to bring you anything?" I offered.

"I'll drop by later."

"Listen, Julian," I started.

He stepped closer again. "What do you need, my dear?"

"Are we...?" Oh, how could I phrase this without making it awkward? "Is there anyone here tonight who thinks we’re together?"

"There are quite a lot of people from the last party. And there are plenty who know Deveraux. But that doesn’t mean anything. I really don’t care what others think."

"Hmmm... but better to be safe than sorry, right?”

"Georgie, don't overthink it."

That was easy for him to say. Faking that he was attracted to me came like second nature to him. But I didn't know how to play along without giving away the fact that I actually was attracted to him. A lot.

So, all this closeness, the playful touching, had been for the guests’ benefit. But that compliment had been just for me, I was sure of it.

"Let's go to the buffet. I've got a surprise for you."

I raised an eyebrow. "Ooh, this evening is getting better and better.”

He put his hand to my back, and I leaned even closer to him.

Oh yeah, I can see a lot of benefits to having to fake this tonight.

With the mask on, I was even more daring. I put a hand on his chest and felt him take a sharp intake of breath. Then he cleared his throat and covered my hand with his. I stilled for a second, fearing he might take it away. But he didn’t.

Could I use this opportunity to feel him up more? No, he was keeping my hand in place on purpose.

Hmm, what’s that about?

A second later, he stepped back, interlacing our hands and then leading me to the buffet. He pointed right to the center of it.

"Bananas Foster!" I exclaimed.

"Just for you."

I turned to look at him. His hand was at my back again. I put mine back on his chest. "For me? You mean, it wasn’t on the menu?”

“No, but I added it last minute.”

I shook my head. “That couldn’t have been easy."

"I'll give you a hint. I'm the boss. But I did have to do some legwork. Luckily, one of my brothers owns restaurants, and the dessert chef agreed to make an exception."

My heart was pounding in my ears. It was a good thing we still had our hands on each other because I felt like I might lose my balance. This was definitely what swooning was.

This is for show. It has to be. Don't mix things up, Georgie.

Only, how could it be for show? He wasn’t shouting about it at the top of his lungs. He was simply telling me... while holding me close to his chest.

Okay, so maybe it was a bit for show, but I still swooned.

I planned to enjoy this to the max. I had a sexy man putting his hands all over me, who’d bought my favorite dessert just because. What was there not to enjoy?

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