Page 67 of When the Fake Snow Falls

Resting my arms on his shoulders, I brush some of the hair off him before running my fingers through the short hair at the nape of his neck. “To be fair, you’ll still be able to do all those things at the party. That’s kind of the whole point of this.”

His gaze locks on mine, and those warm brown eyes look like they have so much to say. He opens his mouth, but his lips shut too soon. He nods. “You’re right.”

The silence that falls between us feels weighted, so I move to get off him. “Why don’t you check your hair before I leave?”

Chase wipes his hands on his pants and lets out a breath before pushing himself up. “Don’t trust your work?” Looking over his shoulder, he smirks and gestures for me to follow.

I’m relieved when he leads us to a bathroom in the hall and not his bedroom. If I saw Chase’s bed right now, there’s a good chance I’d pull him onto it and make him forget I ever said I couldn’t sleep with him.

“I don’t trust the picky guy who hired me,” I tease.

We both stand in front of the mirror, and all it takes is one look at my mussed hair for me to break into laughter.

Chase raises an eyebrow at my reflection. “Are you laughing at my hair?”

“No.” But when I look at his hair, I start laughing again. “Wait. Yes. Wet it a little. It dried crazy from me tugging at it.”

That easy smile crosses his face as he runs his hand through his dry hair. “I like that you messed me up.”

I work on taming my crazed hair into a messy bun. “Yeah. I wish I could say the same.”

He grins and rests the palms of his hands on the counter next to me, still watching my reflection in the large mirror. “Well, I like that I messed you up.”

My breath catches. I like it too. Maybe a little too much. Once I’m done tying up my hair, I turn to face him, leaning my hip against the side of the counter. “Should I ask why?”

His smile broadens. “Because you put up a good front. Too good, actually.” He stands up straight and steps in front of me, easily pinning me in place and turning me to face him with his arms on either side of the countertop. “The only time I see you crack is when you’re flustered,” he says in a low voice.

Before I can say anything back, he covers my mouth with his, and I could crumble to the floor. Chase lifts me up onto the bathroom counter, my legs on either side of him. He kisses me without reservation, and it steals the breath from my lungs. All my senses are consumed by him, and when his tongue claims my mouth like it’s his for the taking, I blush at the sound it draws from the back of my throat.

Pulling back, he wipes his bottom lip with his thumb, and the corner of his mouth lifts. “And the fact that you let me kiss you like that is your biggest tell of all.” He brushes his thumb across my bottom lip, and I have to fight the urge to take it into my mouth and suck. Chase leans in close. “The fact that you let me make that pretty mouth of yours so swollen and redthrills me like you wouldn’t believe.” My teeth sink into my bottom lip, but he pulls it free. “So, I have to ask. Why is it you can’t sleep with me?”

My heart hammers in my chest. I can’t tell him I won’t sleep with him because I like him too much. That regardless of how much my body is begging to be whisked away so Chase can have his way with me, I’m cemented in the fear that it would mean more to me than it would to him.

“I don’t think of you that way, remember?” My voice comes out like a whisper, but conviction carries every word.

His head falls forward with a shake, and I have to fight the urge to run my hand through his hair again. When he looks up at me, amusement shines behind those eyes. “That’s the story you’re sticking with?”

My hands grip the counter on either side. “What do you want me to say, Chase? That sleeping with you would make this too real for me? That I don’t want to deal with the aftermath of that decision when this ends? You asked me to stand in as your date, and that’s what I’m going to do. Yes, I find you attractive. I think any woman would. But we don’t need to sleep together. That would make this whole thing . . . messy.”

His eyes never leave mine. “Messy?”

I nod, but I don’t dare breathe. That’s the closest I’ve gotten to a confession. I’ve kept my feelings for him tucked away inside a jar, and now the seal has been cracked. Now, it’s going to be a lot more difficult putting the lid back on.

The corner of his mouth twitches. “Sometimes messes are fun.”

Hiding my disappointment with a laugh, I playfully push him out of my way so I can hop down. “Unbelievable.” Without looking back, I head toward the kitchen.

Chase’s footsteps follow close behind. “You don’t have to leave,” he complains with a laugh.

I put my spray bottle back into my bag. “I’m leaving because it’s late, and we both have to work tomorrow.”

He carefully picks up my shears from the table, putting them neatly back into their case.

“Thanks,” I say, tucking them back in my bag.

A dangerous smirk flirts at the corner of his mouth. “What are friends for?”

thirty

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