Page 381 of How to Kiss a Hawthorne Brother
He shakes his head. “Nate and Joni will board first and let the gate agents know we’re on our way, then they’ll text when the plane is mostly boarded so we don’t have to sit there while everyone walks past us.”
“Man, the things you have to think about.”
His lips curve into the easy grin I’m beginning to love. “Are you hungry?” He looks around. “There are usually snacks in these things. And bathrooms, too. Nice, when you don’t want to get cornered coming out of the stall.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Has that ever happened?”
“More times than I can count.”
We walk together to a table full of snacks and iced beverages. Just beyond the table, there’s a bartender serving an older gentleman a beer.
Flint lifts his hands to my shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze. “We only have a few minutes, so I’m going to hit the bathroom while I can. Will you be okay here?” His eyes dart around the room like he’s legitimately worried about my safety.
There’s no one else even here, aside from the guy at the bar, but I appreciate his concern anyway. “I’ll be fine,” I say.
He leans forward and presses a kiss to my forehead. “Be right back.”
I close my eyes for the briefest second. It would be so easy to just give in. To soak up his attention and wrap it around my heart. To chase away the fear that’s currently acting as a giant barricade, and justsee what happens.
Could I do it? Could I actually—
“Oh my gosh. Are you actually dating Flint Hawthorne? That’s him, isn’t it? I swear, if it isn’t, your boyfriend could play his twin brother.” The woman appeared out of nowhere—could she have truly entered the lounge just in the time I had my eyes closed?—and is standing uncomfortably close to me. The look of expectation on her face is strange. She doesn’t just want an answer, she almost looks like she’sentitledto one.
I know the whole purpose of this is to beseenas a couple. But does that really have to happen right this second?
I take a step backward. “Yeah, funny. He gets that a lot.”
She frowns. “So, itisn’thim?”
From the corner of my eye, I see Flint emerge from the bathroom. I take another step backward, away from the lady in front of me and toward Flint. “Sorry. I’ve got to go now.”
She looks from me to Flint, and her expression shifts. “Shut. Up.” She steps toward him. “It is him!” she squeals.
I turn and walk quickly now, grabbing the hand Flint is holding out as soon as I reach him. He looks over my shoulder, makes polite eye contact with the woman, says a quick, “Hi, there,” then tugs me right out the door.
“She literally came out of nowhere,” I say as we walk. “And she didn’t even say hello. She just asked if my boyfriend was Flint Hawthorne.”
“What did you say?”
“I was like, ‘Yeah, funny. People make the comparison a lot.”
He chuckles. “That one has actually worked for me a few times.”
We approach the gate, and Flint slows. They’re clearly already boarding, but there are still people everywhere. “Come here a sec,” he says. He tugs me toward the wall and spins me so my back is against it, then hovers in front of me, his big body shielding me from view to anyone passing by. I lift my hands and press them into his chest, reveling in the warmth coming off him.
“What are we doing?” I whisper.
He smiles down at me. “We’re hiding.”
“Hmm. Do you do this often?”
“It’s a little more awkward when I’m traveling alone,” he says. He wraps his hands around my wrists and tugs them around his waist. “A guy standing against the wall all alone? That’s a reason to worry. But now?” He leans down and brushes his nose along my cheek. “Now I just look like I’m getting a really fantastic goodbye kiss.”
“It isn’t goodbye if we’re already through security.” It’s a stupid thing to say. But focusing on the logistics of airport goodbyes is the only thing keeping me from kissing him right now, which is a very alarming realization. I am exactly two hours into this entire fake dating scheme, and I’m ready to abandon all restraint and jump in?
“True,” Flint says. “Stupid TSA has ruined so many potential grand gestures with their rules.”
“Grand gestures? Is that a romance movie term?”
