Page 25 of A Marriage of Anything But Convenience

He opened the gate and Nara shoved Derek toward the ride. The seat was so small Nara worried they both wouldn’t fit, but she climbed on after Derek and was able to squeeze in beside him. The man put the bar down and locked it into place.

Nara couldn’t help it. A smile crept onto her face that she was sure looked smug.

“You happy now?” Derek squirmed, his large bicep crowding her.

“You’re going to have to put your arm around me, or you’re going to shove me out of this thing.”

He did as he was told, even though he gave a slight grunt as his arm rested behind her. Nara grinned and snuggled into him. “There. That’s better.”

The Ferris wheel turned to let on another passenger. A ten-year-old boy. Nara held in a laugh. This was so much fun. Derek cleared his throat in that way that told her he was going to say something, so she looked up at him.

“Is this what you meant by PDA?”

Her face heated and she averted her gaze. Why had she even said that, about PDA? She was in a strange mood. Kind of flirty, maybe? She didn’t know. All she knew was she couldn’t get kissing Derek off her mind, so she was trying to figure out a way she could test it out without actually kissing him for real. That was the thing that popped into her head. The idea that eventually they’d need to pretend to be married in public, where other people knew them.

But why she’d decided to blurt it out like that at the park she had no clue. It was stupid. And even more embarrassing when Derek couldn’t figure out what she meant. Now, what was she supposed to say to him? His blue eyes pierced through her as he stared at her, waiting for her to answer him.

She shrugged, thinking it best to play it off as no big deal. “Yeah. I guess.”

“I mean, my arm around your shoulder. That’s what you meant, right? That we should do things like this?”

She glanced up at him to give him a short nod, but his intense gaze captured her and took her breath away. The Ferris wheel moved again, but she no longer paid attention to it. All she could do was look at Derek and take in his serious expression.

His voice had been light. Conversational. But his gaze told her another story. This question wasn’t the light one he’d wanted her to believe. There was something more going on. She just didn’t know what it was. Finally, she managed to speak. “Yes.”

He gave her the curt nod she was going to give him and stared out at the view. Even though the Ferris wheel was small, it did get them up high enough to see some of the city lights, which she had to admit looked pretty.

His fingers grazed her arm. It was the kind of simple thing someone who cared about you would do without thinking. But this wasn’t a normal situation. And his touch wasn’t something she could easily ignore. Not with her heart now racing like Forrest Gump.

Maybe she could scoot over a little, and he wouldn’t notice. But when she tried, she couldn’t budge even a quarter inch. She was pressed up against his side like peanut butter on jelly. And to make things worse, she was now smelling his cologne. His masculine, almost woodsy scent.

His thumb moved a fraction of an inch and a cascade of tingles shot down her arm. The ride jerked to life and moved them to the top position. She tried to ignore the now obvious attraction she was feeling toward Derek as she stared off into the distance.

“I love how everything looks so tiny up here. The people all look like ants.” Derek leaned over and peered down.

Was he making a joke? Nara bit her lips together, trying not to laugh. He could be really funny sometimes. She’d been so blind to it before. She decided to play along. “I know. You can barely make out those cars over there. They look like beads.”

“It really is amazing how far you can see. I think I see a building from a block away.”

She snickered. “I think I might get a nosebleed.”

He turned to her. “Right? I think the air is thinner up here.”

His fingers trailed down to her elbow. “I’m finding it harder to breathe,” she mumbled to herself.

The ride began to go around. They must have filled all the seats. Her stomach dropped as the ride descended. It tickled her insides. “This goes faster than I thought it would,” she said, laughing.

His hold on her arm tightened. “Indeed.”

She suddenly remembered his seasickness and gasped. “I totally forgot you get motion sick. Are you okay?”

He nodded. “This doesn’t bother me.”

Relief poured over her. She would have felt terrible if he’d gotten sick with the ride. How could she have forgotten a thing like that? She was so bent on forcing him to do something spontaneous and a little silly that she wasn’t thinking. “Are you sure?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t lie about that. I’ve decided it’s totally not worth it, after almost losing it on the boat. I should have learned my lesson the first time.”

“Okay, good.” Satisfied, she sighed and leaned into him, closing her eyes and enjoying the ride. The motion, combined with the feeling of being next to Derek, made her almost giddy.

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