Page 43 of Revenge Brunch and Other Disasters

Another blink. Pure skepticism. Possibly a sigh.

“Youlickedhis face afterward,” she pointed out. “I’m not the emotionally compromised one here.”

He sneezed and then farted. She took it personally.

Then the door buzzed.

Linda froze.

“If that’s a bouquet of apology roses,” she muttered, “I will set them on fire and use the ashes as contour.”

But it wasn’t flowers.

It wasRhys.

With pancakes.

And a very specific look on his face—the kind that saidwe need to talkand alsoI remember how you tasted.

Linda panicked. Immediately.

“Before you say anything,” she blurted, stepping back so quickly she tripped over Sir Stumps, “I would just like to state for the record that the kiss was a misfire.”

Rhys stared at her. “A misfire.”

“Like an emotional sneeze. A non-binding, fifteen-second—”

He raised an eyebrow. “It lasted fifteen seconds?”

“I counted fordamage control!”

He stepped inside, quiet. Calm. Too calm. Her brain short-circuited at the way his shirt clung in just the right places, sleeves rolled to the elbow like some kind of slow-burn emotional nightmare. He didn't eventouchher—and still she felt it. Just looked at her with thosestupid eyesthat made her feel like maybe the ocean wasn’t so scary if she drowned with him.

“I wasn’t pretending,” he said softly.

Linda stopped breathing.

“You said this was all fake,” he continued. “But it’s not. Not for me.”

Sir Stumps-a-Lot gave anoffendedgrunt and exited the room like even he couldn’t watch two people emotionally combust this slowly.

“Because I don’t know how to handle sincerity! Or people touching me like they mean it! Or—whatever this is!I still have trust issues with mytoaster!”

He took one slow step forward. No touching. Just proximity. Just enough to make her pulse forget how to behave.

“You don’t have to be perfect,” he murmured. “You just have to beyou.”

That did it.

Her heart pulled the fire alarm and leapt out of her ribcage.

“I’m scared,” she whispered.

“I know.”

“And this wassupposedto be pretend.”

“I know that too.”

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