Page 65 of The Love Syllabus

“No, I’m talking right now. Let me be clear, I didn’t wake up this morning crying into my pillow like some damsel in distress. You wanna know what I did do?” I pause for dramatic effect. “I stretched.”

Vic blinks again. “You…stretched?”

“Yup. Because I run after two precious girls all day long, and by the end of the day, my back is in pain, but this morning, it felt incredible for the first time all summer. Hell, I might even send you a thank you card.”

Gary snorts.

Vic exhales sharply, shaking his head before running a hand over his low fade, and when he looks back at me, his expression changes. Less guarded, more raw.

“You’re right,” he admits softly. “I don’t think you’re weak at all.” His gaze dips, and his fingers flex. “In fact, it’s your power that scares me.”

Catching me off guard, I tilt my head and study him. “My power?”

His jaw clenches before he finally admits, “The power you have over me scares the shit out of me.”

My anger still simmers, but underneath it, something else crackles – a desire so thick and undeniable. I narrow my eyes at him.

Then I turn back toward the window, tossing over my shoulder, “Good, youshouldbe scared. Now sit there and marinate in your fear.”

With that, Gary laughs, and we sit in silence until we arrive to put on a show for the whole town to see.

Chapter 17

Selling the Dream, Living the Lie – Kerry

Welp, here we are, sitting in a restaurant, putting on the performance of a lifetime. All eyes are on us, but we’re avoiding looking at one another at all.

I’m still mad. I’m still shutting him out. But I’m also a woman of my word, and I agreed to help Mr. Flip-Flop Feelings over here look good in front of the man who holds the keys to his restaurant’s success. Across from us are Kendra and Jeff Jones, the City Manager and his wife. They’re all smiles and enjoying the warm, easy flow of conversation.

Meanwhile, Vic and I? We’re just two actors in a romance neither of us believes in, but somehow, we’re selling the hell out of it.

Kendra beams at us. “So, how long have you two been dating?”

“Five months,” I say at the same time Vic says, “seven months.”

I pause. He pauses. We literally practiced this a million times! Kendra tilts her head, amused.

But Vic lets out a deep, amused chuckle and shakes his head as if he and I have some inside joke. “See, this is exactly why I adore her.”

I blink. Adore? Excuse me? Doesn’t he meanignore?

“Kerry’s adamant it’s been five months because she’s only counting from the day I finally convinced her to give me a real shot.” He smirks, leaning in, lowering his voice like he’s about to tell them the cutest story ever. “Before that, she kept saying we were just hanging out or casual.”

Kendra gasps, hand over her heart. “Oh, I love this!”

Jeff chuckles, shaking his head. “Man, I know that game. Women have flipped the script on us. Got us chasing them around.”

Vic grins, really laying it on thick now. “Right! I kept telling her,‘Kerry, you’re literally at my home five days a week.’I mean – my kids even love her. She’s practically their teacher at this point.”

Ooh, I’m going to kill him!

But Kendra is eating this up. “Oh, my goodness, and what did she say?”

I open my mouth to correct this absolute nonsense, but Vic beats me to it.

“She said,‘Nope. Until we go on a real date, I’m single.’” He shakes his head dramatically, squeezing my hand again. “So, if you ask her, we’ve only been together five months. But if you ask me, I was hers the moment I saw her.”

Kendra lets out a dreamy sigh. Jeff claps him on the damn back like he’s just won an award. I sit there, stunned, because this lying, sneaky, manipulative bastard just spun our blatant mistake into the cutest love story of all time.

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