Page 41 of Official

I tighten my jaw as the weight of the afternoon comes crashing down on me. “Well, I wanted us to enjoy the island, but the pig was a bit much.” I chuckle, strolling toward the champagne.

“I’m going to have nightmares.” Sam wraps her arms around her midsection. “I mean, I didn’t eat bacon much before this trip, but I definitely won’t be eating it now.” She snaps her gaze at me and says, “I know we added pig roast to our list, but there’s not a chance in Hell I can do that now. Not after Albert barreled into our lives.”

I fight another chuckle when she says the name she gave the pig while we were at the bar. We were surrounded by other people, and it was far easier to give the pig a silly name than it was to address the elephant in the room.

The very heavy elephant between us.

“I’m with you,” I offer. “If I saw all my food alive and well before I ate it, I’d become a vegetarian so fast it’d give me whiplash.”

“I’m one veggie burger away from being a vegetarian. I should just make the leap.”

“You and your principles.” My eyes travel over her lean figure in admiration of her dedication.

I may not always agree with it, but I respect the hell out of her for it. It’s paid off over the last few years—in more ways than one.

It was stupid fucking hot to have those long legs squeezed around my waist earlier…

She catches me staring and shifts from one foot to the other as the energy around us thickens.

Sam frees her wavy hair from a ruffled scrunchy and tousles it over her shoulder with a giggle, but it sounds nervous. “I didn’t take a good look at the bathroom, but how much do you want to bet it’s encrusted with gold?”

“I’d bet my vintage typewriter on it.”

Her smile eases and becomes more genuine, but then she scrunches her nose. “I’m overdue for a shower.”

“Like a library book.” I blow out a frustrated breath and grip the back of my neck. “Wow. That sucked. I’m sorry.”

“No, no.” She waves. “I’m the one who’s sorry you’re using your best stuff on me. Savesomethingfor your scripts.”

“Ha. Ha.” I lift an eyebrow and shift on my heels.Here goes nothing…“Listen, about earlier—”

“We don’t have to talk about it.” She shrugs. “It was silly.”

“I’m so glad you said that.” Wincing, I jolt toward her. “I mean, it was great. You… Sam, you’re amazing, but it was so reckless.”

“Right.” She nods, waving her arm toward the breathtaking view, and rationalizes, “Besides, it’s not our fault. We’re in a romantic place and just got carried away, but it was very reckless, for sure. Too complicated. Totally agree.”

“Exactly.” I work my jaw back and forth as our eyes lock. “We can go back to normal now. It’ll be like the three-second rule, where no one needs to know we dropped food on the floor and ate it.”

Her lips twist. “That’s not scientifically accurate, nor did you just drop your dick inside me for only three seconds.”

I let out a rough exhale, my stomach in fucking knots. “That’s not what I meant—it was just an analogy, which you… hate.”

Could I be any more of an ass right now?

“Like I said, we don’t have to talk about it.” She sways to the side and hooks her thumb over her shoulder. “I’m going to shower.”

Guilt eats away at me as I watch her slink toward the sliding door. When her fingers curl around the handle, I swipe at my lips and raise my voice when I say, “It doesn’t change anything with our deal, though.”

“What?”

“I meant what I said earlier. I’ll do whatever you need me to, including being your online boyfriend.

Her expression softens. “Thank you. That means a lot.”

With a tight-lipped smile, I walk over and lean around her shoulder to open the door for her. As I do, I breathe in her sweet smell, and I have to suppress a deep-rooted groan, especially when she works her bottom lip between her teeth.

The same lip I spent much of the afternoon kissing.

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