Page 20 of Fake for 7 days

While the four girls let their gazes wander through the hotel lobby, I took another big sip of the Tequila Sunrise I was holding.

"There!" Elly finally called out loudly and pointed her finger to a corner. Two men were sitting at a low table there, talking.

"Shh! If you shout so loudly and point over there, they'll notice what you're up to," Fiona warned and pulled Elly's hand down. We all looked to the corner. I squinted my eyes.

That was...

Was it possible?

My pulse quickened.

"I meant the younger of the two, of course, not the older one," Elly announced.

"Obviously," Mira giggled. "The older one would be glad to be kissed at all. That's no challenge for Isabella. But the younger one..."

The younger one was wearing a suit and sneakers.

He had tousled blond hair.

And even though I couldn't see his eyes at that moment because his back was turned to me, I knew exactly what color they were.

Bright blue.

Carter Jenkins.

At the other end of the room sat the attractive Carter, talking to another man.

"That's him," I breathed.

"Who?" asked Elly, the only one who had understood my words.

I cleared my throat. "That's the man I rear-ended."

"Where?" Elly wanted to know, looking around searchingly.

"The man I'm supposed to kiss. That's the one I rear-ended."

Elly looked at me uncomprehendingly. After a few seconds, she realized what I meant and burst out laughing.

"Heeyyyy girls, did you hear that? What a coincidence. Isabella rear-ended this exact guy!"

"Shh!" I said angrily. What if Carter heard us and looked over here? So far, he hadn't noticed me.

"Why 'shh'?" Elly looked at me grinning. "You're going to kiss the guy anyway in a minute, so it doesn't matter if he sees you."

"You rear-ended him?" Fiona and Mira let their gazes wander back and forth between Carter and me.

"Then we've picked the right man," Judy rejoiced. "You do find him attractive!"

I nodded. That was exactly the problem. Where I had just been struggling with the idea of kissing any random man and thought I'd better think of Carter while doing it... now the idea of kissing Carter made me shiver. From head to toe. A warm, exciting shiver.

But...

Why not, actually?

"Isabella." Fiona seemed to be the only one who sensed how I felt and took my hand. "Go for it. Nothing bad can happen." She smiled warmly at me.

Well...

---