Page 29 of Wild Promises

I frowned. "Is everything okay with your family?"

Xander shook his head. "Eli heard about our living situation from Oliver and wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing."

That caused me to pause. Was it my imagination, or were his cheeks tinged pink? Was he embarrassed? "Why would Eli be concerned about me living with you?"

"He just likes to get in my business."

"Maybe it's time for us to take this relationship to the next level," I said haltingly.

He placed his hand on the counter and angled his body so that he was turned toward me. I couldn't breathe without sucking in air that smelled like him. His presence in this tiny kitchen was overwhelming. "What did you have in mind?"

"We talked about moving from friendship to a fake relationship. I think we should get on that. Why wait? Our families aren't going to take us seriously until we can prove that you can commit to someone and that I'm determined to stay in town."

Xander huffed. "First of all, I think that any relationship should start out as friendship, so I don't think we need to move away from our friendship to a relationship."

"That wasn't what I meant. Not exactly." But I was intrigued that he was so intent on having a friendship with anyone he dated. "Besides, this wouldn't be real."

He frowned. "Right."

"This is what we talked about. Are you having second thoughts?"

"Of course not. This is what we both need. I just thought we'd have more time."

"The buyers are coming next week," I gently reminded him.

Xander nodded. "But how will this look?"

"I hadn't thought about the details." My voice wavered slightly when I thought about having to hold his hand in public or even kiss him. How would I survive the closeness that a relationship would require? Surely he'd notice my crush.

"I would think we'd need to be seen in public on dates, and since we've been going out to eat, now we have to hold hands, be more affectionate. Maybe even kiss."

My stomach fluttered at the image of Xander kissing me. "I think you're right."

"Are you okay with us touching and kissing?" Xander asked, his voice lowering an octave.

My body felt like it was on fire, and I was fairly positive it wasn't just the heat of the oven that had been on for the last couple of hours. "That's the plan, right?"

"I just want to make sure you're still okay with this arrangement. We don't have to go through with it."

"How else will I prove to my dad that I'm here to stay? I think he's bracing for me to say I'm going back to Hugh and moving to New York. He doesn't trust me anymore, and I can't blame him. I already broke one promise."

"And I need to show my family that I can take something seriously. It's a relationship that they will believe."

I grabbed serving spoons and moved the dishes to the table. "Why's that?"

"Because we've always been friends, even if we lost touch for a bit there. It makes sense."

I grabbed plates and silverware. "But if you've never been in a serious relationship, why would they believe you are now?"

Xander sighed. "They've always wondered if something was going on between us."

I carefully set the table, not able to look him in the eye. "I've heard the rumors too, but we never did anything to feed them."

Xander grabbed the two wine glasses and the bottle. "This will be easy for them to understand. It makes sense. You're back for the first time in years, we rekindle our friendship, and realize there's something more there and probably has been for a long time. I was jealous of your boyfriend, and now that you're broken up, I could finally make my move."

We sat across from each other, and I started serving myself the food. "It sounds like you've thought about this a lot."

He shrugged. "There's not much else to do out there on the slopes."

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