“Madi, it’s fine. This is what I’m here for this weekend, right? You don’t have to be nervous with me. You can say stuff like, ‘Shawn, treat me like we are intimate with each other,’ and I won’t blink an eye.” I clear my throat. “And here’s another good question: are we just dating or are we living together?”
She chews on her lip and glances at me before dropping her head and staring at her hands in her lap. “Well, my parents will think it’s odd if I hadn’t told them I was dating anyone and all of a sudden I’m living with you, so just dating for now.” From the corner of my eye, I notice her hands begin to fidget and twist together in her lap. I’m not even sure she realizes she’s doing it.
“How long have we been dating?” My gaze slides back up to her face, taking in the little worry lines etched in her forehead and the way she keeps biting her lip. My need to make sure she’s not freaking out is rising steadily as I watch her. The last thing I want is to do all of this and then have her panic and make us turn around. We can get through this weekend for her. We can.
“I feel like it should be long enough that we’re …” She looks over at me, those green eyes pinned on my blue ones. Blinking rapidly, her breath hitches as she opens her mouth to speak. “That we’re—”
My voice rasps up and out of my throat, low and gravelly. “That we’re in love?”
I can see her chest jerking with her intake of breath. “Um, yeah. So, how long does that take?”
“Maybe four or five months?”
She nods. “Okay. So, let’s say four months.”
We fall silent for a few minutes. Finally, I can’t stand it any longer. I prop my elbow against the door, resting my head on my hand as I steal another look at her and then back at the road. “So, um. How do I ask this? Uh, have we …?” My eyebrows wiggle suggestively, trying to put her more at ease with the question.
She covers her mouth before a small giggle works its way from her and she grins, ducking her head between her shoulders. “Yes. I think we’ve definitely done that.”
I groan, purposely sending her a naughty wink. “Thank goodness because I can’t imagine the case of blue balls I’d have if we hadn’t after four months.”
She swats at my arm with a giggle, her face flaming red again. “I can’t believe you just said that.”
“And I can’t believe you and your friends talked for a full fifteen minutes in my place of work about ‘peen,’ as Hadleigh so delicately put it.”
Madison snorts with laughter. She bends at the waist, her hands covering her face, shoulders shaking, and I think this may be the best I’ve ever felt.
And it’s fake. This is fake. I keep needing to remind myself of it because every time I look at her, I just want to pull her into my arms, bury my face in her sweet-smelling hair, and never let go.
It’s going to be an interesting weekend, that is for damn sure.
Chapter 7
Madison
When we arrive at the huge bed-and-breakfast where the wedding is taking place, all I can do is sigh. It’s the perfect countryside backdrop for photos and a beautiful reception. The church where the ceremony will take place is just around the corner; we passed it on the way in and made a note of it since we’ll be right back there tomorrow afternoon.
Overall, it’s a fantastic venue, and I know this girl’s parents must be spending a literal fortune on this wedding. My cousin, Chuck, even seemed excite
d when he’d told me all about their plans a few months back. I hadn’t thought men got excited about weddings, but there you have it.
What must it be like to prepare to get married—to tie yourself to someone else in front of all of your friends and family? I can’t even imagine the case of nerves I’ll have on my wedding day. It makes no sense to worry about it because I’m not sure it’ll ever happen. No sense in working myself up over it, right?
I take a deep breath. Besides, I’m already worked up plenty, thanks to Shawn. He’d incited me into a super-flustered state with all of his questions. You’d think it would be the question about whether or not we’ve already had sex that would have done me in, but it wasn’t. It was actually the question about whether or not we were in love that made my stomach flutter and my blood race. I guess I’m just a hopeless romantic at heart because I do want to believe that’ll happen for me someday. I want to be in love.
I should put all of this conjecture about my future right out of my head for the time being though. Right now, the only thing I need to do is get through this weekend without looking pathetic. But thinking about faking being in love with Shawn? Well, that had about done me in. He makes my mind twirl around thinking dumb things it really shouldn’t—wanting things it can’t have. I don’t know how I’m going to handle this. I’d been hoping that with him by my side, I could pull it off, but I’m also plenty aware of finding myself more and more attracted to him. Not a fake attraction, either. The man is just too damn sexy for words.
When I finally blink my eyes, I snap back to reality. Shawn stands there, head cocked to the side, watching me, as he holds the handle of my roller bag out to me. He’s already got his bag slung over his shoulder, guitar in his other hand, ready to go.
Like a fool, I’d been standing there, imagining what those big hands would feel like gripping the bare skin of my hips. How they’d feel cupping my breasts …
Oh God, Madison. What the hell are you doing?
I shiver in the cold air and take my bag from him. We don’t hesitate any longer before we head inside. I’m glad I brought my heavy coat and gloves, even if they’ll make my outfit for the wedding look ridiculous. Shawn holds the door for me, and I walk past him into the foyer. I stop short when we get in there and see a sweet-looking older lady waiting for us at the check-in desk. Uh-oh. I kind of forgot about this part. The hotel room … I’ll have to share it with Shawn to keep up the pretense of him being my boyfriend.
I tug on the arm of his thick coat. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”
He throws an apologetic grin at the lady behind the desk that has her tittering where she stands, and waving her hand. “Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.”