Page 68 of June Kisses

“Look at me, Sunshine.”

The sound of his nickname for her triggered something unexpected, something almost painful.

She shook her head. “No.”

“Dammit, Sunnie. Look at me.”

Stealing herself, she turned toward him, fighting to calm her racing heart, her shaking hands.

Landon gave her a sweet smile. “It was never pretend. Not for me.”

She knew that. She’d always known it, but fear was setting in deep and she was spiraling out of control. “You lied. You lied about everything. About the reason for pretending to date me.”

Landon sat up, his bare legs hanging over the edge of the bed. “Lie feels like a strong word.”

“You lied to me instead of manning up and asking me out.” There was a tinge of anger in her voice that she hated.

He crossed his arms, drawing her attention to his muscular biceps, his six-pack abs. She closed her eyes.

Don’t look at the pretty man.

“What would you have said if I’d asked you out for a date?” he asked.

She forced herself to look at him as she told him the truth. “I would have said no.”

“Why?”

“Why?”

Landon started to stand, but she shook her head, waved for him to stay where he was. Right now, the sheet covered him from the waist down. If he stood up, revealed that he was still naked, she’d remember everything they’d done…and how much she wanted to do it again.

He relented, remaining where he was. “Why would you have said no?”

Landon never let her get away with just saying something vague. He always called her on it, expected her to dig deeper, to say more.

She sucked at that.

Why would she have said no?

This time she actually had the answer. Sunnie started throwing up fingers as she ticked off everything on her list, fighting to bring some semblance of reason back to this. “Because we’re complete opposites, a total mismatch. Because we’re at two different places in our lives. I don’t want a relationship. You do. Because you’re practically my freaking brother. You’re Finn’s best friend. And you work for my dad.”

“Is that it?”

She threw her hands up, frustrated and…terrified. “How many more things do I need?”

“Aren’t you missing the big one?”

Sunnie fell silent, uncertain what he meant.

Landon stood up, the sheet falling away as he crossed the room toward her. Her gaze dropped to his erection. Despite her obvious anger toward him, he was hard as a rock.

“No,” she said hastily. “That’s not happening again.”

She lifted her hands, putting them on his chest to hold him back when he got too close.

“Tell me the real reason you’re fighting with me, Sunnie.”

“I told you.”

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