Page 6 of Faking It at Sea

She closed her eyes for a beat. “This is a dumb idea, right?”

“Pretending to date a stranger so your friend won’t try to set you up on dates with strangers, on a cruise where half the people on board are here to meet and hook up with new people?” I leaned back in my seat. “It might be a little unorthodox, but I see the appeal.”

Some of the tension drained from her shoulders. “You do?”

“Yeah.” In a way. It could be a win for us both, but we also ran the risk of having it backfire spectacularly.

What if our friends found out what we were up to? Brandon would probably take it in stride, but would Missy? What if we got to know each other better only to discover we didn’t have anything to talk about? Or that we couldn’t stand each other?

The last seemed unlikely, but you never knew. Then there was the alcohol factor. I had a feeling June was a little tipsy. For all I knew, she might turn out to be a completely different person in the morning.

But if the goal was to play pretend, did it matter? We could always stage a fake break up. No harm, no foul. I doubted it would come to that. If anything, the real danger would be developing actual feelings for the woman.

That thought pulled me up short. Was that a possibility?

Maybe.

Even in the short time we’d been talking, I could tell she had the potential to be a lot of fun. She was quick witted, bold when she wanted to be, but she also had this hint of vulnerability that was already calling to the protector in me, reeling me in.

“I’m tempted,” I admitted. “Walk me through what you’re thinking.”

3

JUNE

Am I really doing this?

I eyed Sutton. The guy was all kinds of eye candy. Tall, unruly dark hair, and a smirk that made me want to squeeze my thighs together. He had that broody air to him that twisted my insides into hot little knots, and intricate tattoos running up both arms.

Guys who looked like him were trouble. Just ask my mom about my biological father—the big, broody badass who’d bailed on her the second he found out she was pregnant with me. It was cliche as hell, but he was all the reason I needed to avoid the bad boys, no matter how gorgeous they were.

And Sutton was all kinds of sexy.

I glanced down at my drink.How much gin did Reggie put in this damned thing?More than enough to dull my inhibitions for sure.

A distant alarm pinged in my mind, but I muffled the annoying chime as best I could.

It wasn’t like we would be dating for real.

The drone of the crowd swelled around me, and I pulled my half-empty drink closer, cradling it to my chest as if it were some magical ward that would keep me safe from Sutton’scharms. “Maybe we should go somewhere quieter to hash out the details?”

The idea of approaching this guy and making my pitch sounded great, in theory. In reality, I was way out of my depth.

He raked one scarred hand through his hair. “There’s a world-famous steakhouse on board. Can I buy you dinner?”

“You don’t seem to understand the concept of all-inclusive.” I meant it as a tease, but my nerves were burning right through my buzz, so it came out threaded with a little more bitchiness that I’d intended.

“I’ll let you in on a secret.” He leaned closer, his dark blue eyes seeming to glow in the ambient light of the busy martini bar. “This is my first cruise.”

A relieved laugh bubbled out of me. “Same here.”

“Good.”

I quirked my head. “Why is that good?”

“It gives us a lot of exploring to do. What better way to make people think we’re dating than to wander around this fine ship together?”

“A kiss would probably be easier.” And more efficient. When I realized I’d said the first part out loud, a rush of heat flared up my neck. “I didn’t mean...”

---