Page 45 of The Fake Date Deal

A radio crackled, and I heard chatter, Juan heading up now to film the kiss.

“Let’s bump noses,” said Marco. “You know, mess it up. That way, we’ll have to do it again.”

Now was my chance, this fun, tender moment. Marco’s eyes were alight with gentle affection. His smile said he felt the same, so why was my throat tight? Why was my heart pounding hard? Why did my chest hitch when I tried to catch my breath?

Maybe it’s all just fun for him.

Maybe it’s one-sided.

I saw myself telling him, the words spilling out. Marco shifting away from me. Dropping my hands. His smile turning strained, his eyes going shifty. And we weren’t done yet. We still had our kiss scene. How could we film that with my heart fresh-broken?

But what if he does want more? What if?—

Juan’s car rolled up, then a truck for the crew. I kissed Marco one more time, then let him go. I’d tell him, I would, but somewhere more private. Somewhere only I’d know, if he broke my heart.

CHAPTER 18

MARCO

Ihad a whole romantic night planned for after our shoot — dinner and dancing, a late drive, the works. But Eve’s phone started buzzing halfway down the mountain. She dropped it in her bag, then fished it back out.

“I wouldn’t look,” she said. “But it’s my parents’ last night here. They might want to see me.”

I crossed my fingers they wouldn’t, but Eve frowned, then sighed.

“You wouldn’t mind, would you? Hanging out with my parents?”

Hell, yeah, I minded. I’d made reservations. We were meant to be dining in a place overlooking the Sagrada Família, on an ivy-draped terrace under the stars. The perfect end to our day and the perfect place to ask Eve, what if there’s more to us? If we could be real? My race against Rafael was coming up fast, but there’d be more races after that. More trips. More adventures. Maybe they’d be sweeter with Eve by my side — and maybe, what if she felt the same way?

“What were they thinking? A couple of drinks?”

Eve glanced at her phone again. “No, they’ve asked us to dinner. My sister will be there, so you could meet her.”

The way Eve said it, it sounded almost like a question. A shy invitation into her life. My heart did a stutter-step. Maybe this was a good thing?

“Dinner sounds great,” I said. “Tell your family we’re in.”

We had to hurry to make it on time, which meant we showed up still made up from our shoot. Eve’s sister had a field day with her showy new look.

“You know what this reminds me of?”

Eve groaned. “Don’t say it.”

Gabriella smirked. “When we were little and you stole Mother’s makeup. And you made us all let you give us makeovers. Aunt Lynn found a picture, from when she caught us. Hold on a second…” She scrolled through her phone. Eve made a grab for it, but Gabriella snatched it away.

“I know it’s here somewhere.”

“Come on, delete it.”

“What, this masterpiece?” Gabriella held it up so I could see it, a circle of little girls dripping with color. They looked like they’d faceplanted in a tub of rainbows. I tried to stay straight-faced for Eve’s sake, but my lips twitched, and then I was laughing.

“That was thousands of euros,” said Camille. “Every last color, every lipstick and blush. All my eyeshadow, and the mess was just…”

“I remember that.” Sean shook his head. “They’d smeared it all over, this sparkling dust. I’d open my briefcase and it would puff out. Faceprints on the curtains and on the bed.”

I took Gabriella’s phone for a closer look. She and Gabriella stood grinning, blonde and blue-eyed, and I couldn’t tell for the life of me which one was which.

“She used to make us play Oscars,” said Gabriella. “She’d roll out this blanket like a red carpet, and we’d put on Mother’s heels and totter up and down.”

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