Page 2 of Fake Hearts and Kisses

“But they think we did.” Blake motions to the room next door. “What will they think if you turned the TV on after we fucked?”

“Then what are we supposed to do for the next twenty minutes?” I ask.

His brow quirks up, just one, making him look even more intimidating than usual. Blake is entirely too handsome. “We can fuck for real.”

I roll my eyes, deliberately looking away from the insanely gorgeous man next to me who just pretended to fuck me for fifteen minutes. Grabbing my phone, I open the Instagram app to bring up Erin’s account. She’s documented her entire trip here, just as I knew she would, adding clever hashtags to each post. I scroll through the images and stop at a picture of my sister and Erin. They are all blonde hair, white-toothed smiles, and leggings tucked into boots. They stand, arms linked, on the rooftop of a car, the lodge we are staying in the backdrop. I scowldown at my phone. It’s annoying. It’s annoying because I’m not in any of them, and Lily is my sister. I should be in these pictures. I should be bundled up in cute little outfits and socks, but I don’t have pretty blonde hair, and I’m about as awkward as a giraffe. Lily’s words, not mine.

“I’d probably need more than twenty minutes.” Blake trails a finger down my arm. “I’d want to fuck you slow so I can savor you.”

My face heats, and I slap his hand. He laughs and rolls away from me, hopping to his feet next to the bed. I go back to my phone and the images.

Last week, Lily called me all giggles and informed me that the next Conner Family Gathering would be in some remote lodge in the mountains. She hinted if things went according to plan, there would be a special announcement. There is nothing special about Lily’s plan or her announcement. Everyone in the family knows if there is going to be a gathering on Valentine’s Day, it’s because someone’s planning to propose or already has. My brother did it with his wife four years ago, so no doubt Lily wants to show him up. Kane, the insanely gorgeous blonde model she’s been seeing for all of eight months, is no doubt hinting at a proposal.

This entire trip screams Lily. She is flighty, spontaneous, and practically handed everything good, all covered in gold and chocolate. I’m mousey, quiet, need to plan everything, and I’m certainly not a fashion designer like her. I’m a pre-K teacher and work afternoons in a bookstore.

I pause at a picture of Lily, Erin, and our brother Forest outside the lodge this morning. They’re bundled in cute sweaters and knit beanies, arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders with huge, toothy smiles on their lovely faces. Kane is holding a pair of skis over his head like he’s ready to tackle the day. The image irritates the shit out of me. They didn’t even bother waiting for me to arrive before heading out for an early morning run. Once again, I’m left out.

“Are you wearing that to dinner?”

I look at the sage green sweater and skinny jeans that I threw on this morning, then at Blake, who now stands near the foot of the bed. I suck in air. Where did his shirt go? I slide my eyes down his chiseled chest to the cut abs and that mouthwatering V that fades into the jeans he’s buttoning. There is a flash of skin as he fastens the button and zips them up. He’s not wearing boxers. Did he just change right in front of me, and I missed it because I was feeling sorry for myself? I need to payattention every second this man is near me because I may have just missed his… nakedness.

Blake slides a black button-up shirt over his muscled arm, covering up the tattoos that snake around from his back. “I hope you wear that sweater. It brings out the green of your eyes.”

I look again at the loose sweater, peeling my eyes away from him. “Thanks?”

Even though we just had fake sex and spent hours together on the drive up here, he’s basically a stranger. A complete stranger who’s about to be introduced to my entire family as my boyfriend.

We arrived at the huge mountain lodge over an hour ago, but the group was already out on the slopes. My parents hadn’t arrived yet, so no one was there to greet us but the lodge owner. She had ushered us through the main lodge, pointing at various rooms, and then escorted us through snow-covered paths out to the private cabins where everyone was staying. Each cabin has two separate quarters in one building, like a duplex. When I asked who was in the cabin next to ours, she’d tapped her chin in thought, then told us it was Erin.

“Dinner is at seven.” She gave us a tight smile, then left us on the porch.

After watching her disappear around a line of pines, Blake and I explored the cabin. We agreed he’d sleep in the living room, and I’d take the bed in the small bedroom. When we heard the shrieks of laughter of everyone returning, I suggested we have loud fake sex to let everyone know how in love we were.

“Ready?”

I look back up at Blake. He’s thrown a sweater over his black shirt and is currently sliding on black shoes. All that black makes his dark eyes seem even darker and his black hair shine. It’s hard to believe this guy was just bouncing on the bed next to me, moaning my name. The guy in front of me looks nothing like the grinning, lighthearted man who was teasing me a few minutes ago. Instead, he looks like the serious, no-nonsense man I met with a day ago.

No one is going to believe this guy is my boyfriend.

I put the bowl of popcorn on the end table before dragging myself from the bed. The thought of joining everyone in the lodge is awful. But, it’s the Conner tradition, so I’m obligated to be here. Grabbing boots, I tug them on, and then walk to the door. I grab the handle and twist, but before I can pull it fully open, Blake’s hand lands on the rough wood next to me, slamming it closed. With a gasp, I spin to face him but stumble back against the door when I find him standing inchesaway. He braces his other hand against the door near my head, trapping me between the door and him.

“What are you doing?” I ask, pressing my hands to his chest as he moves closer like this will somehow stop him from doing whatever he’s planned. His hard chest feels like a rock under my hands. Blake tilts his head down to look at me so that his face is inches from mine, so close his hot breath fans over my face filling my nose with the earthy scent of cedar and smoke.

“You look too perfectly pressed for a woman that’s just been thoroughly fucked.” The way he says the last two words make me think he’s thought about just how he’d fuck me. I squeeze my thighs together, a little unnerved by how close and how much larger he is than me. “We need you looking a bit flushed and tousled.”

Blake tilts his head down and kisses the tip of my nose. My heart thundering in my chest, making me dizzy, I grasp his shirt in fists. He brushes his lips to mine, then licks the seam of my mouth. A primal need rushes through me. I part my lips, inviting him to take more. He takes my offer and drives his tongue deep into my mouth. Falling into the kiss, I slide my tongue along his, releasing a soft, breathy moan. He breaks away suddenly and steps back.

“Now you look hot and bothered,” he says. “Let’s go meet those parents.”

I blink a few times to clear my vision.Did I moan?I think I moaned. How embarrassing.

“What was that?” I smooth my hair down, trying to collect myself. “That’s not allowed.”

He grins. “You didn’t seem to mind.”

I open my mouth to protest, but yeah, he’s got me there. It’s not like I was trying to stop him. I sank into his kiss so fast; I’m still spinning.

“We’re going to be late, my lovely flower,” he says, stepping close, but instead of touching me, he grabs the door handle.

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