Page 5 of Fake Situationship

He doesn’t let people talk business, and he makes sure I’m never left out of the conversation. In fact, he keeps turning things around on me, forcing people to take notice, and I don’t know how to take it in. I’m not necessarily a wallflower, but I’m not outgoing either.

We get a few minutes alone and I sip at my glass of wine as we stand off to the side. “So, which one is your ex?”

“None of them. She’s going to be fashionably late. She’ll want to make an entrance.”

Once again I swipe my hand down my dress, but Zach grabs my hand, pulls it to his mouth, and kisses my palm.

I stand frozen as I watch his lips kiss my palm a few times. “What’s going through your mind?”

Huh. What was the question?

Confused for a second, I gaze at him and he has a wicked smile on his face, like he knows what he’s doing to me.

“Tell me, sweetheart. What has you nervous?”

I swallow harshly, trying to tell my knees to stop shaking. “I feel a little out of place. Everybody here is so high class. I’m just a data clerk with no college degree, no matter how much I wish I did have one.” I shrug to pass it off, but the inferiority is there.

His gaze sharpens and his jaw clenches for a second. He lifts his hand to cup my cheek, as he’s about to say something we get interrupted.

“Well, well, well, who do we have here? She’s a little young for you, isn’t she, Zachary?”

A gorgeous, tall, thin, blonde who personifies elegance herself seems to float over toward us while on the arm of a man around Zach’s age, but not as handsome.

Zach moves next to me, wraps his arm around my waist, and I sink into his side as if I’ve belonged there my whole life.

The realization has me dizzy and excited, but disoriented.

“Natalie, Donovan. This is my girlfriend Claire. Sweetheart, this is my ex-wife Natalie and her new husband Donovan.”

Damn. How am I supposed to compete with her?

Chapter 5

Zach

There’s no point inanswering Natalie’s rude question. She won’t think highly of any woman I have around. I won’t put sweet, desirable Claire through anything more than she has to.

When she admitted to believing she’s lower class than everybody here, I saw red and wanted to set the record straight that she belongs here even without me. She’s the picture of poise and grace. I want to make sure she sees it.

“I thought for sure you would bring one of your lady friends, or maybe even a cousin.” Natalie snipes in the perfect tone of appearing as a polite conversation.

Donovan remains tight-lipped as always. We used to play golf together and didn’t have a friendship, but we were goodacquaintances. As soon as he and Natalie got together, he hasn’t spoken much to me. It’s no big loss.

Something comes over Claire and she smiles wide as she maintains eye contact with Natalie. “Oh, well, those days are long gone. Once we realized we can’t live without each other, we figured why hide our relationship.” Claire gazes up at me with hearts in her eyes and I can’t tell if she’s acting or if she’s sensing this strong connection between us too.

“Relationship?”

“Yes, we’ve been together for a couple of months now. Oh, look honey, it’s the Cartwrights. Let’s go say hello. Nice to meet you both.”

Without saying a word, I follow Claire across the room to the couple I introduced Claire to earlier, who she seemed to take more of a liking to out of everybody else here.

I pull her hand, making her turn around to face me. Grinning, I tuck one tendril of hair around her ear. “That was impressive.”

Claire huffs. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t care for her attitude and I wanted to make sure I did my job.”

I frown at how she’s calling this a job, but before I can correct her, she’s on her toes reaching up toward me and her lips connect with mine.

Not caring why or where, I wrap her closer, demanding the kiss to be more than a simple, chaste one. Once my tongue sweeps inside her mouth, she moans and tightens her hands against my shoulder.

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