Page 21 of Marrying a Spy

All of the air felt as if it had been sucked from the room as Noah snapped his gaze up.

“A kiss? Really?” Sophia said, a nervous chuckle escaping her lips.

Jordan looked up, the expression on his face was relaxed. “Of course. It’s part of the package.”

“Can’t he just kiss me on the cheek or something?” Sophia peeked up at Noah. Her cheeks had turned quite pink. There was a pleading in her gaze that Noah could understand.

“Yeah. We’re fine with no kissing photos,” Noah said.

Jordan had stopped looking at his camera and was watching the two of them. His eyebrows were furrowed. “It’s just a kiss. Every engaged couple wants one.”

Realizing that their credibility was the line, Noah smiled. “We’re just joking. We don’t mind.”

Sophia’s gaze whipped to him. “We don’t?”

He drew her closer and glanced down at her. “Of course not. Why wouldn’t I want to kiss my Soph.” He leaned forward and brushed his lips against her cheek.

The warmth that spread across his skin from that one touch had him regretting that he’d said anything. But he didn’t want Jordan to think their engagement was fake, so even though it terrified him that they were moments away from kissing, he knew he had to do it.

Sophia backed away as far as she could. There was a look in her eye. One that said, “what the heck are you doing?” But he just played it off with a confident smile.

“Great. Whenever you are ready,” Jordan said.

Noah nodded and counted down from five in his mind. He leaned forward and prayed that Sophia would do the same.

The kiss lasted about a nanosecond. Sophia pulled back and glanced over at Jordan. Noah blinked, not even sure the kiss had happened.

“Happy?” Sophia asked.

Jordan snorted. “I know this marriage is for the money, but that had about as much passion as if you were siblings.” He leaned toward Noah. “Come on, man. Kiss her.”

Noah glanced over at Jordan and then back to Sophia. Her eyes were wide. He furrowed his brow, hoping that she would understand. They needed this kiss to be believable.

“Come on, Soph,” he said. “We need this to be good.” His voice had dipped low as he pleaded with her.

She hesitated, then sighed. “Fine.”

Noah studied her gaze as he moved closer to her. When their lips touched, the world around him began to blur. Lights flashed around them, but all Noah could think about was how right it felt to hold Sophia in his arms again. How right it felt to kiss her.

Despite his better judgement, he pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. Electricity exploded throughout his body as they fell into a rhythm. They’d done this before, and yet, it was different now. Deeper.

Sophia responded to him. At first, she was hesitant. He could feel her fear. But, that disappeared as she sunk into the kiss as well.

And then fear gripped Noah’s stomach. He’d been here before. Caring for Sophia felt as natural as breathing, but he couldn’t do that. Not if he was leaving once the wedding was over.

It took all his strength to pull away, but he did it. He kept his gaze from slipping down to her. Instead, he turned to look at Jordan. “Did you get it?” he asked, praying that his voice came out natural and not emotionally charged.

Jordan nodded as he paused to study the back of the camera, tapping his finger on a button. “Yeah, you guys did much better the second time around.”

Noah nodded and stepped back. Even though he wanted to look at Sophia, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her fold her arms across her chest, and for a brief moment, she pressed her fingers to her lips.

His stomach twisted. She’d felt it too. This was exactly what he’d been so worried about when Scott approached him with this assignment. No matter how much time has passed, feelings can still remain. Hearts changed once, stay changed forever.

What the heck had he done?

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