Page 76 of Love Me Like It's Real
Or more specifically, Hayworth paid the check.
If I didn’t know any better I’d say he’s a proper gentleman. But I do. I do know better.
“No. It’s going to be fine. I doubt Mrs. Eichenthal will say anything.”
I turn and stare at him. “What?” he asks.
“You do know there are other people around, right? Even if you two keep your mouths shut there are still a bunch of patrons who can tell on you.”
He brushes it off and puts an arm around my shoulders. The move takes me completely by surprise. And if I didn’t know any better I’d say he was being affectionate. But I do know better.
“Awww, you’re so cute!” Elsa coos in front of us and I rush to tell her to walk facing forward before she slips and cracks her head open.
“It’s going to be fine,” Hayworth says and I try to ignore the sensation on my body from where his body is connected to mine. We might be wearing layers upon layers but it doesn’t diminish the effect or the heat pooling at my core, craving more.
“So you’re saying no one’s going to take your head off for being seen defecting?” I ask somehow without cracking or letting show the raging fire inside.
“Oh no, my head will be chopped. But I can grow another one?—”
“Ah like a lizard.”
“Exactly! And I can live with Red’s if I must.”
I turn my head and raise an eyebrow. “Thank you for your honorable service, Mr. Hayworth.”
“You’re welcome, General Spring.”
I chuckle and slip away from his embrace by pretending to dust something off Arya’s coat.
“You Maplewoodians take your clubs very seriously, huh?”
“Our clubs?”
“Yeah.” I shrug and rejoin his side but he doesn’t wrap his arm around me again, which is for the best. “Your Anti-Valentine Club. The diner feud. I dread to think what else you people have got going on.”
“Oh you’re in for quite a ride here in Maplewood. We love our events out here.”
I chuckle but he slips his hand around mine and I end up choking from the unexpected touch. Classy Felix.
“Oh yeah.” I side-eye Hayworth and he looks ahead at the girls as if answering my unasked question. “I can imagine. I mean who else makes a month-long celebration out of Valentine’s Day?”
Hayworth shivers with disgust, in typical fashion for him. He might be holding my hand but at least I know now it’s all for show, if his reaction is anything to go by. Not that I expected him to change his mind about love overnight or something. Not after everything he’s been through.
Wait a minute. Why do I care about Hayworth and his opinions on love? We’re just fucking. And fake dating. But mainly fucking.
“And it’s getting ever worse. You know how Christmas used to be a couple weeks’ worth of hubbub and the more commercial it became, the earlier the ‘festivities’ began?” I nod, squinting at the air quotes he’s doing with one hand. His other one is still holding mine. Yup. It sure is. “Well, Season of Love is seeing a similar growth if you can believe it. It used to be a week-long jam-packed event on the week of, but then they started their stupid speed-dating early in January. Then they added the charity run at the end of the month and before you know it it’s a six-week madness.”
He notices me staring and stops dead in his tracks.
“What?” he asks.
“Nothing.” I shake my head and laugh. “I just love the fervor with which you hate love.”
“Do you?” He wiggles his eyebrows and leans in closer until only I can hear. “Does it turn you on?”
“So badly,” I answer immediately and deadpan.
“We must do something about that, huh?”
