Page 69 of The Guy Who Fake Dated Me

Me.

I got to spend the evening with the beautiful, strong, hilarious, sexy woman who was now reaching for my hand.

Her fingers slid into my palm, and I thought my heart might explode. How much more could it take before I needed an ambulance?

Victoria gave me a smile when she got to the floor. “Hey.”

Both my sister and mom were romantics at heart, and for a moment, I channeled that as I brought the back of Victoria’s hand to my lips and placed a lingering kiss there. It felt like the right thing to do, and when I saw a blush rise up Victoria’s creamy neck, I grinned. “Hey.”

“You’re killing me,” Victoria muttered as she slipped a hand through the crook of my elbow and propelled me away from the stairs.

“You started it,” I said quietly. “How is a man supposed to think with you looking so beautiful?” I partly said it to throw her off balance, but I also spoke the truth.

“My work here is done,” she said.

“Not yet.” I pulled her to me. “We’ve got outfits to judge and dancing to do.”

“Fair point.”

I managed a chuckle, and when we reached a deserted area of the ballroom, we turned back toward the stairs and caught a glimpse of a woman wearing a short, bright yellow dress that barely covered her backside.

“What about that says masquerade?” I asked.

“The mask.”

“You mean the feathers?” They were so thick I couldn’t even make out the woman’s eyes.

“As long as she’s happy,” Victoria said.

“Would you be?”

“I couldn’t pull off that outfit like she does, so no, I wouldn’t be happy.”

Some women might be fishing for me to tell them that they looked good in anything, but Victoria wasn’t like that. She spoke the truth, especially about herself and her body, and wasn’t begging for validation.

I thought back to my list and knew that I was out of reasons not to talk to her about the way I felt.

There were a few things that she hadn’t checked off yet, but it was time to move forward.

I could do it now. No one was near us. However, it might make the evening unbearable, and I didn’t want that. I wanted to enjoy at least part of tonight.

“There’s Courtney.” Victoria pressed her arm against mine. “She looks nice.”

Courtney’s green and black dress matched her brother’s ensemble. The neckline on hers went all the way to her navel, and a slit in the skirt ran from the floor almost up to her waist. Her mask covered half of her face, and she’d left her hair down in long dark waves. “She does,” I said. “Which reminds me, William wants to dance with you.”

“What?” Victoria looked up at me with wide eyes.

“He promised he wasn’t going to steal you but that he had a few questions for you.”

“Weird.”

“Yeah, but he seemed sincere, so I gave my permission.”

That got me an eye roll.

Then I remembered the other half of William’s information. “And Courtney wants to dance with me.”

“Ooh, is she going to try to win you back?” Even with the mask covering the upper half of her face, I could tell that Victoria was excited. “Do I get to fight for you? Should I find a weapon?”

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