Page 9 of Fake It True

Shell-shocked, all I could manage in response was a choked gurgle.

Chapter Seven

LEO

My heart was pounding so hard I could feel the echoing reverberation of it in my bones. I could barely breathe, and I wassofucking hard for Casey. I knew I had to get a hold of my wits and take a step back.

Her hazel eyes were wide and dark, her lips slightly parted, and her cheeks flushed a delectable shade of pink. As I stared down at her, I noticed the tiny spray of freckles across her nose. Being this close to her only made the lust that had been simmering along flash into fire.

She cleared her throat. “Yes,” she whispered.

Her breathy voice kindled the heat burning inside even hotter. It tookallthe discipline I had and the tiniest thread of rational thought to remind myself I needed to create some physical space. I didn’t even remember why I started to kiss her.

“Wow,” she breathed.

Wow.

That single word played on repeat in my thoughts. Casey’s kiss nearly slayed me.

I didn’t know what the hell to think. It had easily been a year since I’d kissed anyone.

My break up with Dora’s mom was old news. Hell, that had been over six years ago. After I found out about Dora, I learned that her mom had also been involved with someone else when we dated. I only found out because her friend had told me the truth. According to the friend, Dora’s mom dumped me because she was embarrassed.

I had actually loved Diane. Or, I thought I did. In hindsight, it was hard to know. Being ghosted by her had burned. She’d left town and I’d been stuck wondering what the hell happened.

Now, I knew she’d been pregnant. I let out a quick sigh. According to her friend, Diane panicked. She’d already been seeing someone else. Her friend swore up and down she didn’t use anything when she was pregnant. According to Dora’s doctor, her development was on track and there were no signs she’d been exposed to opiates when she was in utero.

I knew I would wonder for years about everything. After that break up, which was disorienting because Diane just disappeared, I hadn’t been serious with anyone. I’d only casually dated on occasion.

While that kiss with Casey looped through my thoughts, I tried to remember if I’d ever experienced a kiss like that. In plumbing my recollections, nothing shined that sharp and bright. That kiss had felt like a cosmic explosion in my body—two stars colliding and creating a fiery burst.

I also kept wondering why I’d talked about Dora in that therapy appointment. Casey and I weren’t real, although that kiss sure felt real.

My curiosity about her kept growing. I wanted to know why she needed to fake a relationship for therapy. Even more thanthat, I wanted to understand the pain that occasionally flickered in her eyes.

It was late evening when I stopped by Firehouse Café around closing. I was hoping to catch her for a few minutes and talk privately. My timing turned out to be lucky. Just as I reached the door, the open sign turned off. When she saw me through the glass door, she let me in.

“Hey, Casey,” I said, as I closed the door behind me.

Her cheeks were pink. “Hey, Leo. Let me lock that.” She glanced up with a teasing smile as she added, “I’ll make you coffee if you promise not to spill it on me.”

I chuckled and followed her over to the counter. “I’ll take a coffee, but only if it’s no trouble.”

“I’ll either pour out the rest of the house coffee, or you can have some of it.”

“I’ll take it.”

She started getting it ready for me, glancing over and adding, “I have a leftover ham twist. I know you love those.”

“I don’t want to make more work for you.”

She rolled her pretty eyes. “Leo, all I have to do is toss it in the small toaster to heat it up for you. That’s as much work, if not less, than carrying it to the back and wrapping it for the night.”

When I nodded, she busied herself with my coffee and getting the ham twist heated up. Quiet fell between us. When she looked up a few moments later and handed me my coffee, the air around us felt weighted with electricity, snapping and crackling. Her fingertips brushed mine as I took the cup from her.

I hadn’t thought through what I wanted to say and startled myself. “Look, I don’t know why you needed a fake fiancé to go to counseling with you, but it doesn’t have to be completely fake.”

Casey’s eyes widened and a flush rose on her cheeks. Fuck me, Casey blushing was beyond delectable. It was a spur in the flanks of the lust galloping through my body.

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