Page 10 of One Night Valentine

She grabs my hand. “Sis, I’ll be back. I’m going to walk Cruz outside.”

I’m laughing as she pulls me out on the sidewalk. “I guess I’m leaving.”

She stops and looks up at me. “I just figured that was enough of a show.”

“We should probably get our stories straight, don’t you think?”

She points inside. “Wait. You were serious in there? You want to take me to dinner?”

I want to scream yes, but I do my best to play it cool. “Yeah, I want to take you to dinner. I mean, if your family is going to be convinced we’re together, we should probably know a little bit about each other.”

She shakes her head. “It’s not a date.”

“No, we have one date, and it’s on Valentine’s. This is a… study session.”

“Okay.”

I gesture to the window without looking at it. “We have an audience.”

She looks toward the front of the store, and I do the same. There are six faces, one being her sister, staring at us through the flowers.

She nods at me. “Yeah, we do.”

I bring my hands up and cup her face, and her eyes widen. I smile, looking into her big blue eyes. “I’m going to kiss you… is that okay?”

She nods, and I lean down to press my lips to hers. I intend for it to be a small kiss. Just a pecking of our lips, because of course her sister would expect us to, and she practically has her face pressed to the window.

But as soon as our lips meet, it’s like an electric shock travels through my body all the way to my toes. The way Tara gasps, I know I’m not the only one that feels it. I should release her, but I do the opposite. I move my hand to the base of her neck and deepen the kiss. For a split second, I think I’ve messed up, and then her hands slide around my waist, pushing her breasts against my chest. I take full advantage, tilting her head to the side and deepening the kiss. My tongue slides against hers, and when she whimpers, I have to force myself to pull back.

We stare at each other wide-eyed, and I am practically panting as I try to get my emotions and my hardening dick under control. “Tara…” I start, not sure what to say, but this is proof right here that this is a bad idea. I lose my head when I’m near her.

She smiles up at me. “It’s fine. I know it’s for show. You don’t have to worry about me falling in love or anything, big shot.”

I give her a stiff smile and realize that I can’t say the same thing. Right now, it scares me to death because I can easily see myself falling for her.

“Okay. I’ll be back at six.”

She steps back, and I grab her hand, threading our fingers together. She looks at our joined hands and then shakes her head, still smiling. “You’re laying it on a little thick, aren’t you?”

I shrug, taking a step to her so we’re close again. Fuck, I’m messing this up.

She squeezes my hand. “You know we can figure this out by text, right? We don’t have to go to dinner.”

I nod. “I know, but I think we should be seen together.” I hold my free hand up. “But it’s not a date.”

I watch her closely. Did her smile fall a little? Is she feeling this connection between us? Or is it just me?

She points a thumb toward the shop. “I really have to get back to work.”

Reluctantly, I release her. “Okay, yeah, I should go, too.”

Because I can’t resist, I kiss her forehead. “I’ll see you in a little while.”

“Okay.” She takes a step, and I’m still holding her hand.

She laughs, looking back at me. “I need my hand.”

Chuckling, I release her. “Right.”

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