Page 73 of The Match Faker

Valid point…

‘The questions will probably be standard stuff, like how we met, what we like about each other, that kind of thing.’

‘And what about the physical stuff? You gonna rehearse that too?’

‘They’re not going to ask us to shag in front of them so they can check our chemistry.’

‘Obviously not! I meant how will you show other forms of intimacy and convince them? And how are you going to kiss?’

Kiss?

My body froze.

‘They won’t expect a snogging session,’ I scoffed, my heart racing. ‘That’d be crass. Lots of couples aren’t into public displays of affection. We’ll just be one of those. We’ll sit close to each other and maybe we’ll touch hands. Or he could stroke my cheek or something.’ A thrill raced through me as I remembered how good it had felt when Liam did that outside the restaurant. ‘We’ll be fine.’

‘I think it’s worth you doing a dry run, just in case. At some point, if you really want to convince people you’re together, you’re going to have to lock lips. And you don’t want it to be a mess. The kiss needs to look smooth and natural like you’ve done it a zillion times before. And that’ll only come with practice. You should try it when you’re in bed together again tonight.’

‘We won’t be sleeping in the same bed again. I’m buying a new airbed with a working pump at lunchtime. Then I can sleep on it in the living room. They’ll be no more bed sharing and definitely no kissing.’

Staying at Liam’s house to avoid the paps was one thing, but playing tonsil hockey was a different story.

I’d barely survived the night sleeping in the same bed as him. If his mouth touched mine, I’d never recover.

We might be forced to live under the same four walls, but from now on, I was staying as far away from Liam’s body and lips as possible.

28

Liam

Ishrugged off my coat and took off my shoes. It was good to be home. I’d had a long day and was so shattered, I could sleep right here in the hallway.

After hauling myself to the living room, I collapsed on the sofa. I hated this damn sofa.

Which was exactly why Mia had ended up in my bed last night. And why I was so tired. I’d be surprised if I slept for more than a couple of hours.

It was impossible to focus on sleep when I knew she was beside me. I kept picturing the moment when the duvet had dropped. The curve of her arse, how much I’d wanted to grab hold of those butt cheeks…

When I woke up, I’d turned on the bedside lamp. Seeing Mia lying there wearing my shirt took my breath away. She looked so fucking beautiful.

Watching the way her chest rose and fell as she slept was so calming. At least she hadn’t been up all night having dirty thoughts like me.

Even after I’d dragged myself to the shower, then to the shoot, I still couldn’t stop thinking about her. Fuck knows how I was going to survive sleeping in the same bed with her again tonight.

I’d thought about getting a new bed, but the paps were still hanging around. So if they found out what was being delivered or the bed company leaked a story, that could spark unwanted headlines. Sounded paranoid, but this shit had happened to me before, so I was speaking from experience.

Best-case scenario, they’d think Mia and I were having so much sex we’d broken the original bed. Worse case, they’d start a load of ‘trouble in paradise’ stories saying that we’d fallen out already and I was staying in the spare room.

It’d make no difference whether the stories were true. Perception was everything. It was easier to just share a bed. It wouldn’t be for long. I could handle it.

Hopefully.

I heard the key in the door. I’d left one for Mia this morning so she could come and go freely.

‘Hey.’ She stood at the doorway. Damn. I knew that dress would suit her.

Whilst she was eating dinner last night, I’d picked out some stuff online that I thought would be a good fit and emailed my London stylist. I’d had to guess Mia’s measurements. It wasn’t difficult. Growing up, Mum had dragged me along to enough clothes shops, and yeah, I’ll admit, dating more than a few women of all shapes and sizes helped.

And the fact that I’d caught more than a few glances of Mia’s body didn’t hurt.

---