Page 66 of Just Act Natural

It’s been hard to think about much else since our show for her ex. My hands on her, pulling her close. Her sweet and spicy perfume drifting around us. How her eyes had fluttered shut in anticipation. I should have kissed her until she forgot the guy ever existed. But I hadn’t wanted our first kiss to be in front of him, and I’d held back.

Makes no sense, considering he’s the only reason we’re pretending. Well…she’spretending. I’m not doing anything I wouldn’t have already done.

“I don’t know.” Her eyes drift across my chest and down my arms. “I’m not sure you could hold me tight enough.”

Is that an invitation? Let me RSVP.

I grab her around the waist and haul her into my arms until we’re eye to eye. She shrieks with laughter but wraps her arms around my shoulders. Our PFDs put a bulky layer of padding between us, but I like the feel of her in my arms. She feels like she belongs right here.

“I can handle you.”

One of her hands moves over the hair at the nape of my neck. Heat spreads outward across my skin like my own personal supernova, searing everything in its path. That small touch is too much and not nearly enough.

“You did say you like a challenge,” she says softly.

Her weight is no issue, but I don’t think she’s talking about that. Does she thinkshe’sa challenge? Too much for me to dealwith? Too much, full stop? I’ve got a strong suspicion who gave her that idea.

“You’re not a challenge, princess. You’re a privilege.”

Her full smile is like the sun rising over a mountain peak. We go on staring at each other as though the rest of the people out here don’t exist. It’s just Lila and me.

I’ve heard this theory that if you stare into someone’s eyes long enough, you’ll fall in love with them. I might be proving it true. I want to crush her against me like a wild man. I want to kiss her face, her mouth, her neck. I want to keep her in my arms like this forever.

It would make both of our jobs more difficult, but I’m willing to give it a try.

“Ten-minute warning for the eleven o’clock group!” One of the guides peeks his head out of the main office door just long enough to snap us out of our moment.

Pink washes over Lila’s cheeks as she tracks the space behind me. If we’re having anything like the same thought, she’s remembering we’re not the only two people on the planet.

Slowly, I lower her to the ground. We put a little space between us—but only a little.

“So do you have river certifications, too?” she says too casually.

Casual. Here’s where my fake boyfriend acting skills finally come into play.

“Nah. That’s my brother Rhett. He’s a whitewater rafting fiend. He’d be a guide on a river right now if he didn’t have responsibilities at our family’s stores.”

“Just like you would have been a mountain guide.”

“Something like that.”

She watches me too closely, no doubt drawing all sorts of harrowing conclusions.

“It’s our family business. We always knew we would workthere eventually.” One day, I’ll most likely take over for our parents at the helm of operations. It doesn’t feel like that fact would help my case when she seems to think I gave up my dreams for the family business.

I barely even think about it anymore.

“Yeah, but what about doing what makes you happy?”

“That’s what vacations like this are for.” Not that I want the reminder that that’s all this is. Some downtime where I get to pretend we’re together before I have to go back to reality. Hold Lila close for a little while before I let her go.

“I used to think that way, but after spending years at a company that didn’t appreciate me, I’ve realized I’d rather create a life I don’t need to take a vacation from.”

“That’s the tourism job for you?”

“Yeah. If I get it. I spent years trying to maintain the cool-guy image of a tech firm. Everything was all about their bottom line, how smart they are, and making what they do vaguely admirable. Working for Sunshine, I’ll be boosting everyone’s businesses and helping a whole community. I’ll be doing the social media and event planning I enjoy, and also doing somethinggood. I haven’t had that in a long time.”

She could want this promotion for entirely superficial reasons, and I wouldn’t blame her for it. But her earnest desire to build up her hometown and make a difference is like seeing a piece of her golden heart shining out just below the surface. I love that glimpse.

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