Page 27 of Lost in You (Flirting with Forever 1)

My head bobs. “Trust? Yeah, understandable. But no more referring to ex-boyfriends on our first date.” I wink at her.

A quick giggle escapes her. “Yeah, okay.”

Outside, we pull on knit hats and gloves. The temperature hovers right around freezing, warmer than it’s been in days. I take her hand in mine, and we follow a path that runs around the back of the house and down toward a wooded area. We walk in silence for a while until we hear a bubbling stream up ahead of us.

“It’s so gorgeous out here, even in the middle of winter.” Madison smiles happily and takes a deep breath of the crisp air as she looks around.

“Then I guess it’s a good thing I brought you here. You fit right in.” She doesn’t know I mean it, but I really do. She’s the epitome of natural beauty. This girl—so gorgeous, I could cry.

She swats at my shoulder with her gloved hand, shaking her head like I’m crazy.

Really, she’s the crazy one if she can’t see what I see. “Want to sit down there for a few minutes?”

“Sure.” With our gloved hands still interlaced, we sit on the wooden bench nestled near the stream. “Oh! It’s cold.” She giggles, scrunching her nose up in this adorable way she has. “Look how the ice is forming at the edge of the stream. How long do you suppose before the stream freezes over?”

“I, uh, I’m not really sure.” I let go of her hand and put an arm around her, pulling her closer to my heat. I’d have done it anyway, just to be closer to her, but I’ve also caught sight of someone approaching. Her brother. I lean my head in, nose drifting along her jawline until it reaches just behind her ear. My heart skips a couple of beats when she melts into me. Her reaction to my touch is so swift and so real, I feel terrible when I whisper near her ear, “It’s game time.”

Her body stiffens. My lips graze her ear, “It’s your brother. You’re fine. Just pretend. How would you act, cozied up next to your boyfriend to stay warm?”

She angles her body toward mine, slipping her arms around my torso. “Mm, I’m cold.” She nuzzles her face against my neck at the same time she throws her legs over mine so she’s practically sitting in my lap. I wrap my arms around her, ready for a test of our fake relationship.

From behind us, there’s an obvious clearing of a throat. We both cautiously lift our heads and look up at the person intruding on our “date.”

“Oh hey, James.” Madison smiles at him, and then shivers. “It’s cold out here, but we couldn’t resist this scenery. Isn’t it so beautiful?”

“Yeah. It’s nice. I tried to get Emily to come out with me, but she fussed about how cold it is.”

I chuckle. “That’s kind of why I didn’t tell Madison where we were going until it was done.”

James cocks his head to the side and gives me a quick nod, pointing directly at me. “Smart man.” He coughs then directs his stare at Madison. “Mom and Dad were hoping to see you guys at breakfast, you know.”

James’s eyes coolly assess her. Shit, shit, shit. Does he know something is up? I guess we just have to really lay it on thick. I take a deep breath, hoping Madison doesn’t mind. I pull her impossibly closer to me, take her hand and place it on my chest, holding it there.

Madison gives her brother a cheeky grin and quips, “Yeah, we ended up ordering room service. We had a late night.”

A line creases the middle of his forehead. “I thought you were going back to your room to watch TV.”

I try to hold it back, the laugh deep in my belly, but it’s working its way up, vibrating in my chest. I know Madison feels it where her hand rests on me. Suddenly, she kisses my cheek, the roughness of my scruff probably scratchy against her lips. I have a fleeting, curious thought as to whether she likes it.

She glances up at her brother. “We were sort of watching, yeah.” She presses her lips together, then smiles big at him, trying not to laugh.

He holds up his hands toward Madi. “Whoa, okay. Nope. No, ma’am. No overshares, please.” He jerks his thumb over his shoulder toward the building. “I’m going to see if I can convince Emily to go for a drive.”

“Okay, we’ll see you at the church later, then.” She waves as James turns to go.

I lift a hand, and give him an apologetic smile for his sister’s antics. “See you, man.”

James glances back. “Yeah. Definitely. I’d like a chance to talk with you for a few minutes at some point.” He chuckles. “If you can detach yourself from my sister the octopus, that is.”

Madison sputters, “Hey, now. Be nice.” She shakes her head at him and snuggles in even closer to me.

Hell, yes. I just wish we didn’t have these big damn coats on.

“Hey, I call ’em like I see ’em. You’re the one with the arms and legs everywhere.” He backs away, chuckling to himself before he spins on his heel and walks away. “Later, lovebirds.”

I tuck my head in near her ear again, and touch my lips to the spot just under her earlobe. An achy river of pleasure races through me, just as she says, “Is he still looking?”

Oh, right. She thinks I’m still acting.

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