Page 88 of How Jenna Became My Dilemma

“I Googled your dating history: real.”

A flattered smile stretches across my mouth. “You Googled me?”

“I had to know what I’m up against.” His fingers drift down my arm, stopping at my hand, staying there.

“No one worth mentioning.” I glance away, embarrassed by my past heartbreaks and what Google says about them.

His eyes fill with tenderness. “You deserve better than what you’ve had: real. You deserve someone who’s going to love and adore you: real. You deserve a man who appreciates you for all the right reasons, who’s committed and will treat you well: real.”

There’s that hope again, funneling into my heart like a strategy worth pinning my entire life’s happiness on.

I want Cody to be that guy. I want him to love me so much that all his doubts and fears about love and marriage go away. I don’t want to be with him for ratings or magazine stories. I want to be with him because it’s right.

I look straight into his eyes. “Do you know where I can find a man like that? Because I’m tired of looking for him.”

His fingers lace through mine, and he lifts our hands, hanging them in the air between us. “Maybe you’ve been looking in the wrong places.”

“I know I’ve been looking in the wrong places.”

“Maybe I can help with your search.” His other hand slips around my hip. I feel his fingers slide over the skin at my waist—the slowest, most sensual touch of my life. His lips kick up in his flirty way. “He’d have to be handsome.”

“Definitely.” I smile as he pulls my body to his.

“And charming.”

I wrap my arms around his neck. “That’s a given.”

“A great sense of style.” His lips press softly against my cheek and neck. “Popular among the ladies, but not a ladies’ man. The most exquisite chest, arms, and six-pack you’ve ever seen. An arrogant, bad-boy persona that you find wildly attractive. And a good kisser.” He pulls back with a playful smile. “Your words. Not mine.”

“How often do you have to read my accidental text to be able to recite it off the cuff like that?”

“I read that text every night: real.”

His words draw out my laugh. “Well, sounds like you’ve described the perfect guy.” My expression turns serious. “But he’s only perfect if he feels the same way I do.”

“And if he did?” Cody smiles—his subtle one, full of heat and manly sex appeal that has my entire body buzzing.

“Then I think I’d be a pretty lucky woman.”

“And he’d be a lucky man.”

I stare up at him, wanting, waiting, hoping he’ll kiss me—not for show, but for real. His eyes drop to my lips. I think he wants it too, but everything stops when his phone vibrates continuously in his pocket. His gaze breaks from my lips, shifting to my eyes. He doesn’t move to answer. But the moment is ruined. The call severed all desire and pull between us.

He takes a step back, reaching into his pocket. “Sorry. Let me just silence it completely.”

“It’s okay if you want to answer.” My eyes drop to the device just as he pulls it out. Calista James’s face and name cover the screen, and it’s like a cannonball blasts through my heart, leaving a perfectly hollow hole in the center.

“No, I don’t need to answer. It can wait.” He declines the call and switches the phone to silent, never noticing me seeing that it was Calista. Dropping the device back into his pocket, he looks up. “Come on. We better get back to Trey and Whitney.” He glances at the circling speedboat twenty yards from the yacht. “I think we’ve given the paparazzi enough of a show.”

“Definitely.” I force a happy smile, but I’m stuck on Calista James and the word show.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

CODY

The flight attendant rushes back and forth down the aisle of the Flixmart plane, preparing for takeoff. I never know what they’re checking or why they can’t stay in one area, check all the things, then go to the other end of the plane and do the same thing. That seems like it would be much more efficient than the back and forth, but what do I know?

Jenna sits across from me with her eyes closed. She’s not really asleep, just not into me. The last hour and a half of the wedding, while Trey and Whitney cut the cake and had their final dance, was like this. She’s not rude or standoffish, just vacant, void of feeling toward me, which is a big change from where we were.

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