Page 22 of Pretend Girlfriend

My body went stiff. “Don’t you dare renege on our deal.”

“You messed the evening up. The deal is off.”

I jabbed a finger into his chest. It was like poking a brick wall. “If you don’t get me that job, I’ll tell them the truth about tonight.”

Landon’s eyes flared angrily. He started to say something back, but his family was walking outside now. “Joanna, I’m so glad you’re dating my son,” Danicka said while giving me a big, tight hug. “And I can’t wait to see you next weekend. We can be catty together.”

“Catty about what?” Marisa asked.

“The other women at the wedding,” Danicka replied smoothly. “Gossiping about who has good taste, and who couldn’t buy it at the dollar store.”

Marisa giggled. “Cousin Sara is coming to the wedding. She always wears the tackiest dresses!”

I said my goodbyes to the rest of the family. Clark gave me a kiss on the cheek and told me to take good care of his son. No matter what Landon thought, tonight felt like a big success.

“We’re parked out back,” Clark announced.

“Me too,” Landon said.

I pointed to the left. “I’m double-parked on the street this way.”

Everyone was standing around, and it took me a moment to figure out why. They were waiting for me and Landon to say goodbye to each other.

“I’ll walk you to your car,” Landon said.

“Oh, don’t be so shy,” Danicka exclaimed. “You can kiss in front of us. We won’t tease you.”

Landon and I turned toward each other. I was still angry that he wanted to bail on the deal, and there was barely-withheld anger behind his dark eyes.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” I said, giving him a hug.

He hugged me back. “Text me when you get home safe.”

“Will do.”

We pulled apart slightly, and Landon gave me a soft kiss on the cheek. The charade was over. We could go home, now.

“Aw, what’s that all about?” Clark teased. “Kiss her like you mean it.”

“We can turn our backs if you want,” Danicka said.

I was ready to leave. I was mentally drained from the evening, and I knew I was going to be arguing with Landon about the terms of our deal. But he was giving me a pointed look. We have to make it look real.

Hoping that meant he would stick to the agreement, I said fuck it, and threw myself into a passionate kiss.

Landon was a good-looking guy, but we didn’t have any chemistry together. We’d been faking it all night, and just barely, at that. And he was kind of an asshole.

But something came alive inside me as I kissed him goodnight. Our lips connected in just the right way, and his body was warm and hard and sturdy against mine.

And the strangest part? I could sense the same thing from Landon.

His arms tightened around me like he meant it, one palm holding me possessively at the lower back. He pushed into the kiss with desire, making the tiniest little groan deep in his throat. I was surrounded by his scent, a cologne that was like leather and smoke, with his musk deeper underneath…

“Okay, settle down you two,” Clark said. “I was only teasing.”

We pulled away a few inches. Landon’s dark eyes were wide, and I saw the same surprise I felt mirrored back at me. Neither of us had expected that.

“Text me when you get home,” he whispered.

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