Page 17 of As Long As You Kiss Me

“It wouldn’t be real. But the truth would need to stay between you and me. We can’t have Aubrey accidentally saying something in front of her mom about how we aren’t really dating.”

“I hate the idea of lying to everyone.”

“It’s for your safety.”

Sully sighed. “I hate it that it’s come down to this. Why did he have to come back to town anyway? Everything was better before he showed up.” Her voice got shaky. “He’s terrifying. I know I put on a strong front when he’s around, but inside I’m shaking.”

“I had a feeling that was the case.” Hearing her voice it aloud only made Jackson want to work harder to protect her. It infuriated him that Mason was scaring her like this. “We need to do everything we can to get rid of him.”

“I know. I’m just not sure this is the right way to do it.”

“When we get back to that table, Aubrey and Bryant are going to have a lot of questions for us. We need to make sure we’re on the same page so we know what to tell them.”

“We don’t tell them anything,” Sully told him. “Because I’m not sure this is such a great idea. I don’t want to have to pretend about being in a relationship. It’s bad enough that Mason destroyed my life.”

“Is there another reason that you don’t want to act like we’re in a relationship?” Jackson asked.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “What do you mean?”

“Is there someone else you like? Someone you wouldn’t want thinking you were unavailable?”

“No. Are you suspicious that a certain person exists like that?”

“A little,” Jackson admitted.

“And who would that be?”

“You don’t have a thing for Bryant?” Jackson prodded.

She shook her head. “Not at all. He’s not my type. I just see him as a friend.”

“I’m not so sure he sees you that way,” Jackson said.

She frowned. “That’s unfortunate because his feelings are one sided if that’s true.”

Why did that make Jackson feel so happy inside to hear her admit that? He shouldn’t care who she wanted to date or not date. But he couldn’t help the feeling of joy that washed over him. He did feel a little bad for Bryant, though. It was never fun to be rejected. Would she reject him, too, if he ever felt serious about her? Not that he could ever allow himself to act on whatever he felt. Not after what had gone down with her brother. “We should probably get back to the table, or they’ll be wondering what’s going on with us.”

“They’re probably already thinking that,” Sully pointed out.

“Then what are we going to tell them?”

“That we’re still figuring things out.”

He nodded. That seemed like a fair answer. Because they were. They walked across the tavern and returned to their seats.

“What was that all about?” Aubrey asked.

“We just need to clear the air a little bit,” Sully told her, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“So are you two just pretending to date to get rid of Mason, then?”

“It’s not set in stone,” Sully said.

Aubrey made a face. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means we’re figuring out what we’re planning to do,” Jackson explained.

Sully’s food arrived, and she dug in. “Want some?” she offered to Jackson.

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