Page 50 of In the Net
“Sebastian … there’s no way you’re talking about actually being my date for my cousin’s wedding and pretending we’re a couple all day long.”
His eyebrows bob provocatively. “I am.”
“But … why?”
He shrugs. “It’ll be fun.”
“A day with my family, fun?”
“The wedding’s going to be near our hometown, right?”
“Yeah …”
“Well, it’ll be an excuse to visit Bryce. That, plus getting to see Mackenzie green with envy all day long. Win-win.”
Excitement leaps in my chest. “Your visit with Bryce went well?”
Sebastian’s cheeks color, his smile growing less wry and warmer. “Yeah. Really well.”
“I’m glad,” I say, and it’s the truth.
“So, it’s a date?”
Indecision swirls through me. Showing up with a date like Sebastian would get my family off my back about my love life for once. But this proposal just seems too nutty to say yes to.
Sebastian can sense my uncertainty. “Come on. Just imagine showing up to that wedding with a trophy boyfriend like me on your arm. You used my name with your cousin back there. Surely you’ve considered using my body, too.”
I flatten my lips at him. “Trust me, Sebastian, using your body is one thing that has never crossed my mind.”
His smirk mocks me. “Try saying that again, Harper. This time, at least try to make it sound likeyoubelieve it.”
Something about the taunting look in his eyes has the memory of our kiss burning on my lips again.
No, this is too ridiculous. Spend an entire day, around my whole family, pretending I actuallylikeSebastian Lawrence? How are we going to deal with all the questions that assume we’ve been dating for months? How are we going to avoid seeming awkward with all those eyes on us? There’s no way we can spend an entire day under those conditions without the truth that we can’t stand each other shining through.
I shake my head. “There’s no way we’d be able to pull it off. Don’t worry, I’ll find another date in time.”
His expression sinks in disappointment. He’s about to protest, but when my eyes tick to his lips, those lips that just moments ago robbed me of breath like nothing ever has, and sparks skitter over my skin, pebbling my nipples under my shirt, I know it’s time to end this conversation.
“I really do have to get going,” I say with haste. “Thanks for helping with Mackenzie, but don’t worry, I’ve got the wedding date situation under control.”
But for the rest of the day, what I really don’t have under control is the way my body reacts every time I remember that damn kiss.
20
SEBASTIAN
The first game of the season is just minutes away.
It’d be a lot easier to stay focused and be mentally present for the last opening day of my college career if I didn’t have those two kisses with Harper ricocheting through my mind.
I can’t get her taste off my lips or her scent out of my nose. What I sure as fuck can’t stop thinking about is that tiny little moan that ghosted through her lips right before I pulled away from the kiss I planted on her in front of her cousin.
When I overheard her talking about us to Mackenzie, I wanted to help her.
If it wasn’t for her pushing me to book that trip back home to visit Bryce when we were still in the Paris airport, who knows if I’d have had the guts to go through with it. I might have never made up with my best friend.
Bryce and I are messaging each other every day like it’s old times. It means the world to me that we’ve rekindled our friendship, and I have Harper to thank.
