Page 12 of His Fake Wife

Adam shifted and loosened his tie some more. “I told you, to shut you up. I wasn’t thinking clearly that night.”

“Well, I suppose it wasn’t too shabby as far as first-kisses goes.”

Shock registered on his face as he gazed at me.

“First kiss?

Crap. I could bite my tongue for giving him more ammunition to tease me.

“Not too shabby? You might have had the best first kiss in history.”

“I forgot how full of yourself you are. Thanks for the reminder.”

A grin lit up his face. “You can’t deny my skills. I bet your second kiss didn’t live up to your first. Have you even been kissed at all since that night? I imagine your attitude is a turn off for any man.”

I had kicked off my shoes as he suggested. Now, I wanted to hurl the white stiletto at his head.

“You know Adam, I’m already regretting agreeing to fake a marriage with you.”

His shoulders lifted. “We just have to pull the farce off for two years, then we’ll both be free.”

“If we don’t kill each other in two years.”

“Don’t worry sweetheart. After tonight, I intend to stay far away from you as much as I can.”

Two years of pretending to be in a real marriage in public while skirting around each in private. It sounded exhausting.

“Fantastic,” I sighed, resting my jaw on my hand.

A few minutes of silence passed before Adam said, “I never ask you how you were doing after your father’s funeral. How are you doing?”

My tongue was tied because I wasn’t expecting the soft, sympathetic words. He brought his glass to his lips, eyes fixed on me.

“I feel much better after putting him to rest. I miss him like crazy and I feel guilty about staying away for so long. I didn’t get to say goodbye.”

He nodded. “I’m sure he knew you loved him.”

In the twenty years that Adam and I have been in each other’s lives, I think this was the second civil moment we’ve had. The first was when my mom died when I was ten. A twelve-year-old Adam had given me an awkward pat on the shoulder and murmured his apology. There was no hostility, no teasing, no sarcasm, and I had no idea what to do with that. I cleared my throat and squirmed a bit.

“Uh...thanks.”

The room fell uneasily quiet again. “Hey, Beth.” I looked up. “I was thinking that we could consummate our union, you know so I don’t die of boredom tonight. As bed partners go, I can make do with you for the night.”

Appalled?mostly because I actually thought about sleeping with him?I jumped up with a growl.

“Just when I thought you had a shred of decency.”

His laughter fueled my anger.

“Come on, don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it since we stepped into this room.” His eyes shifted to the California King in the center of the room and back to me. The metallic orbs were too smoldering for my comfort. He swirled the glass in his hand and smirked.

His look alone sent a surge of heat through my system. No one had ever caused such an effect just by looking at me before. It was disturbing. Any kind of attraction to Adam was just dangerous.

Fists balled, I spat, “Not every woman wants to spread their legs for you, you manwhore. If you want somewhere to put your dick, go shove it into an ants nest.” As I stormed to the bathroom, I heard him sputtering. If he choked on his drink it would serve him right. His rumble of laughter only irritated me more.

“Your responses never fail to amuse me.”

I slammed the door shut.

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