Page 99 of The Enemy of My Enemy Is… My Fake Boyfriend?

He made me laugh, he made me smile, and he just plain made me happy.

"Hey, baby, I'm in here," Ethan called out.

The smell of fresh paint hit my nostrils, more so as I walked toward the bedroom and Ethan's voice. We hadn't yet discussed painting anything, so I had to say I was a little miffed that Ethan had started redecorating without me.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I turned the corner into the room.

My eyes were immediately drawn to his smile, the brightness of his eyes, and then those dimples that I just wanted to kiss. But something about his smile was almost unsure, a little hesitant, which was strange.

And then my gaze went to the spot above the headboard, which was all covered up in plastic. There were words painted on the wall, in a beautiful script and light purple color. I walked closer to read them through the stencils.

I felt like I was drowning until you pulled me back to the surface...

Seeing Ethan's thoughtfulness brought instant tears to my eyes, and I jumped the man, throwing my arms and legs around him.

To go from Chase's nastiness to Ethan's all-out love was the stuff of dreams. Was it any wonder I wanted to spend every night with this man?

I kissed him passionately and he kissed me right back, slowly backing me into an empty dresser. Pulling away to catch my breath, I whispered, "I love that so much. And I loveyouso much."

His smile made me all gushy inside. "I love you too. So fucking much."

We were interrupted too soon by the buzzing of my phone. It was Annalise. "Don't forget happy hour tonight."

"How on earth does my sister think I could ever forget her birthday?" I said out loud as I texted her back.

Ethan chuckled and let me down gently, before slapping me on the ass. "We better get ready."

A short time later, we walked into a bar on fifth, an upscale and fancy place, which was a little different for my big sister. Usually, she liked to downplay the whole rich girl thing, but apparently not tonight.

I slid in next to the birthday girl, Astrid on her other side, and Ethan sat close to me. I loved watching him interact with my sisters for some reason. Despite Annalise's dire warnings, I could tell she actually liked him. They teased and taunted each other just like real siblings would, almost like Ethan was the brother she'd always wanted, and she was the sister Ethan had never had.

He was kinder and gentler with Astrid who absolutely adored him and requested his help with tech stuff practically every other day, which he always found time in his busy schedule to do. Who knew Ethan Locke would turn out to be so sweet?

"What?" Annalise asked in an annoyed tone. "Why do you have such a dopey smile on your face?"

I elbowed her. "Dopey smile? Why thanks. And why are you so grouchy on your birthday? You're supposed to be in a good mood."

She grimaced as she took a long drink."Not this birthday."

Sure, my sister could be a bit of a grump, but she was usually cheery for birthdays and holidays at least. "What's going on?"

"Work crap. Some new guy started today and he's annoying as hell."

Astrid leaned in on her other side and we made a private little huddle. "How's he annoying?" she asked.

"He made up a stupid nickname for me, he clicks his pen constantly, he ate chips and popcorn all afternoon in the loudest way possible. And he sits right next to me, squeaking and whirling his chair around all the damn time, almost like his entire life mission is to annoy and interrupt me every single second so I don't get any work done."

"What an ass," I agreed.

"Right?" She took another drink. "And even worse, he has a mustache."

Astrid and I both groaned, while Ethan laughed beside me, clearly overhearing every word we said. I laid a hand on his thigh, hoping he'd get my message.

"He totally looks like he should be in a cop parody flick," Annalise grumbled. "Or a '70s porno."

"Ew," Astrid and I both said.

Ethan laughed harder, and I squeezed harder.

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