Page 73 of The Facade

“Of course.” I offered her my hand to steady her as she put a foot down, and it was all I could do to keep from pulling her into my arms right then and there and kiss her.

But since she was the one who had initiated our little rendezvous, I helped her down like the gentleman I knew I should try to be and then took a seat in one of the corners.

Cambrielle sat next to me, and as the bubbles from the jets pulsed around us and steam rose from the water into the chilly night air, I told myself to just look at her face. Just look at her face instead of trying to check out every curve she had hiding in the water.

I could do that.

“So,” she said, looking up at me through her long lashes.

“So,” I replied like an idiot, completely stalling because I had no idea what I was doing.

Yes, I knew I was more experienced than her. Knew that a guy with the reputation I had should be completely smooth and in his element in a situation like this.

But I was so not in my element right now because this girl was so beautiful and amazing and made me so freaking nervous.

She scooted closer, her leg brushing against mine, and a live wire could have just been dropped into the hot tub for how electric my body’s reaction was to it.

Calm down, Mack,I told myself as I checked her over.Stop acting like you’ve never sat next to a girl before.

She just looked at me, waiting for me to make a move. And with each heartbeat that galloped in my chest, I knew I was getting closer to completely blowing it with her.

“Is everything okay?” Cambrielle asked, a frown puckering her lips as she studied me. “Is something wrong?”

“No, of course not,” I hurried to say. “I, um, I’m just…” I ran a hand over my hair. “You just make me a little nervous.”

“Imake you nervous?” She put a hand to her chest, like it was a foreign concept to her.

“Yes.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. Then deciding that just being honest was probably the best choice, I added, “You sitting close to me when you look like thatmakes me very nervous.”

She looked down into the water where our legs were pressed against each other then back up to meet my eyes again. “Should I move away?”

When it looked like she might head toward the opposite end of the hot tub, I grabbed her arm and said, “No, don’t.”

“Then what exactly is going on?” She glanced down at my hand on her arm and then back up to my face, her brow furrowed in probably one of the most adorably confused expressions I’d ever seen. “D-did I read things wrong back at the school?” she asked. “Did I just make things really weird by inviting myself over?”

“No.” I shook my head before she could get the wrong idea. “No, of course not. I just said I’m nervous. Not that I don’t want to be exactly where I am right now.” I slipped my hand down her arm and interlaced my fingers with hers. “I think part of me is still having a hard time reconciling this version of you.” I let my eyes give her a good once-over to indicate how attracted I was to her. “With the girl I was throwing mud pies at a few years ago.”

“So you still see me as a little girl then?” she asked, her big, blue eyes wary.

“No.” I shook my head. “I most definitely don’t see you as a little girl.”

There was absolutely nothing about the way she looked tonight that would make anyone think she wasn’t anything besides a nearly full-grown woman.

I sighed, wondering how I could explain this better since I was doing a terrible job of it so far.

I pressed my lips together, searching for better words, then said, “I guess what’s really going on is that I’m wondering how in the world I didn’t notice everything I’m noticing about you sooner.”

“So you’re saying you aren’t having second thoughts about us being here?” she asked quietly, a hint of hope in her voice that made my heart swell.

“No second thoughts.” I slipped my hand to the nape of her neck. “Just lots of new thoughts that your brothers would probably kill me for having.”

“But we’re not going to think about my brothers right now, are we?” she whispered, her gaze dipping to my lips.

I shook my head slowly. “The only thing I want to think about right now is you and me…” I leaned closer. “And this thing that’s happening between us.”

So before I could let my anxious mind overthink anything else, I closed the distance between our lips and did what I’d been fantasizing of doing since last night.

She gasped when our lips connected, in the same cute way she’d gasped last night. But after the initial surprise seemed to hit, she sighed. And the way she sighed into my mouth was my new favorite thing because she sighed like she’d been holding her breath since coming over here. Like she’d been as nervous as I was about what might happen but had just been better about hiding her nerves than I was.

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