Page 17 of No Reservations

His smile turned to a look of pure shock. “What?”

“Boyfriends kiss. If people never see us kissing, they might get more suspicious.” I tried to tell myself it was a practical idea based on my eagerness to successfully fulfill the terms of the contract only, but who was I kidding? I really wanted to know what Cole’s lips felt like. “It might help to practice before we have to do it in public.”

He cleared his throat. “Do you really think someone is going to demand that we kiss in front of them?”

I grabbed his hand and turned toward him. “No, but think about it. It’s a natural thing that people in a relationship do, right? We have to make it look real.”

Silence spun out, and I thought Cole might refuse for a second. When he made no move to initiate or escape, I decided to take things into my own hands. Ever so slowly, I eased my hand up his arm and over his shoulder until I cupped the back of his neck. My thumb stroked over his warm skin as if trying to erase any tension related to the moment itself. I didn’t want our first kiss to be stressful. I wanted it to be magic.

Before I could parse that thought, I leaned in and brushed my lips against his. It was barely a touch, but it lit up my nerve endings and made my breath catch in my throat. I felt him swallow as I trailed my thumb lower again. Another breath, another brush of our lips, and I dared to press a little bit harder.

Cole shifted to slot our mouths together and turned the initial exploration into something steamy. His hand landed on my thigh, and mine slid into his dark, lush hair. It felt like silk,exactly how I imagined it would. We kissed again, drew back less than a breath, and again.

He pulled back before I wanted to, but someone had to keep things professional, I guessed. I folded my hands in my lap, and he ran a hand through his hair. “That was… convincing,” he said at last.

“Yeah, it was,” I agreed with a smile. “I think that would convince anyone.” I had to get up before I did something crazy like tackle him onto the bedspread. “We should probably practice again sometime just to make sure.” I threw the last words over my shoulder as I grabbed my phone and headed for the door. “Get up and ready. I’m going to plan something fun.”

***

“The app says the cache is hidden around here somewhere.” I looked up from my phone to scan the patch of nondescript woods surrounding us. It looked pretty much the same as every other bit of woods we’d passed while following my GPS directions.

Cole leaned over to peer behind a fallen tree, the curve of his ass catching my attention more than any hidden containers. He wore a pair of slim navy shorts and the new hiking boots I’d made him buy. “What’s it supposed to look like?”

I checked in a crevice between two boulders. “It doesn’t tell you that. It’s a prize geocache, though, so that means it’s a container with little things inside. Maybe the size of a lunch box? The app says it’s camouflaged. Look for sticks and moss.”

“Everything is covered in sticks and moss.” When I turned around, I caught Cole staring at some point below the hem of my t-shirt. His gaze shot up to my face as he cleared his throat. “Are we having fun yet?”

My good humor sank. I’d never gone geocaching before, but the website made it look like an adventure. “We can leave. I mean…” I glanced around at the trees and ferns. This was hardly a public appearance designed to dispel rumors. “If you’re not having fun.”

His lips tipped upward in that handsome smile I’d begun to crave. “I am having fun. I want to find this box.”

We double-checked the GPS coordinates, read a few online tips about spotting camouflaged caches, and spread out to continue the search. Three minutes later, Cole called out, “I found it!”

I spun around to see him staring up into a pine tree. He pointed upward as I jumped over a few rocks and roots to reach his side. “It’s about fifteen feet up hooked to that branch.”

“Who’s going to climb?”

“I think you should,” I answered immediately. “You’re probably lighter than me, and I can catch you if you fall.”

“You’re the rugged outdoorsman,” he countered with a wide smile.

“All the more reason for you to try. I’ve already had plenty of tree climbing adventures in my youth. I’m sure you never climbed anything more exciting than a fire escape growing up in the city.” We smiled at each other like idiots for a minute before he grabbed the lower branches and started up. I stood under him ready to help. The view was magnificent.

It didn’t take long for him to unhook the carabiner and bring the box down to the ground. We found a logbook inside, which we both signed, and an array of little trinkets. I took a clay turtle painted yellow, and Cole opted for an enamel pin with a pine tree on it.

“Now we have to leave something.” I’d explained this to him on the drive through town to reach the recreation area with the hidden geocache. We stopped at a local shop for some trinkets.Two keychains with pewter birds landed in the box next to Cole’s contribution of rainbow-colored carabiners.

He stopped me before I replaced the lid. “Would it be strange to leave… well…” He pulled his wallet out of his pocket and extricated a business card. “I could leave a coupon code for a free signed t-shirt or photo from the band. Maybe whoever found the cache next would like some merch, or at least they could sell it if they didn’t like the band.”

I stared at him, my mouth hanging open. “Cole, you don’t have to put that kind of swag into a geocache.” It was the first time I’d seen him use his position and status for anything, and it was only to make sure a random person experienced the find of a lifetime.

That handsome smile popped out again. “Trade up, right?” He used the pen to print a note and code on the back of the card, tucked it into the plastic bag that protected the log, sealed the box, and carried it back to the tree. Once he was on the ground again, he reached out to take my hand. “It would be amazing if a fan found them, wouldn’t it? I hope so.”

I tugged him closer and couldn’t help but plant a kiss on his gorgeous mouth. “You’re something special, Cole.” Nothing about that kiss or the press of his fingers against mine felt fake. We headed back to the parking lot hand in hand and didn’t talk much on the way back to the inn. All the words I wanted to say seemed locked behind the knowledge that this was supposed to be pretend.

Chapter 10

Cole

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