Page 42 of Heart of Thorns

“Fine,” she relents. “No talk of your parents’ money. I’m assuming that also relates back to some Daddy issues?”

My mouth opens and closes, but I’ve got nothing to say to that.

Our waitress appears, just in time, and takes our order. Briar gets water and a lemonade. I get the same, plus a basket of fries and boneless wings. My stomach growls at the thought of food. And, under normal circumstances, I’d probably have ordered a beer.

But this isn’t a date. It’s more like a business meeting.

As soon as the waitress is gone, Briar bulldozes ahead with, “Myfirst rule is that there’s no intimacy.”

“Do you mean sex?” I run my thumb under my lip.

She nods once, tightly. “No undressing or under-the-clothing touches.”

“Well, duh.” My stomach knots. “This is just for show, grumpy cat. I don’t really want to fuck in public, so…”

“Great.”

“But we do have to havepublicdisplays of affection,” I continue. “Hand-holding. Kissing. My arm around your shoulders. I know smiling isn’t your strong suit, but you have to seem happy to see me.”

Her throat works. “Kissing?”

Oh,interesting. I lean forward. “What, you afraid of a little mouth-to-mouth action?”

“No.” The lie comes out too fast.

It’s just too unbelievable.

“There’s nothing wrong with kissing.” I smirk. “I’m quite good at it, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I’m not.”

“So practicing goes out the window,” I muse. “If there’s no intimacy in private.”

I imagine pressing her up against a wall and getting in real close. I bet her breath would hitch, and her eyes would widen… her pupils would dilate.

“What about the physical therapy help?” She clears her throat.

“Right.” I nod to myself. That was part of my pitch, wasn’t it? Help her out with the knee. “We don’t want to overdo it. And, frankly, my schedule is shit during the season. Three times a week should be good to ease into it.”

“I don’t want to ease into it.”

I shake my head, trying to suppress my smile. I was the exact same way—not that I’d tell her that. The pressure to get better, to fix what was hurting, was all self-driven.

“Three days a week,” I reply, more firm. “After my football practices, unless you have something else going on in the evenings? Any late classes?”

She shakes her head.

“What else, then?”

“My two best friends know.” She gives me alook. “Lydia and Marley. The ones I was sitting with. They know this isn’t real.”

My chest tightens. “Spilling our secret already?”

“I—” She glances away. “They’re a big reason I’m even here right now.”

“That’s quite existential of you.”

Briar frowns and tucks her hair behind her ear. “They’re the only ones who can know. I trust them, they’re not going to say anything.”

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