Page 96 of How Jenna Became My Dilemma

My eyes drift to her beautiful face and her lips. “I just got done telling you that you deserve the best, and then I do this.”

Her smile is sultry. “I wish you’d do more.”

Dang, this woman can be a temptress when she wants to be.

I push my hands through my hair. “We need to leave, or else I won’t be able to stop myself.”

She laughs, amused by my struggle. “Cody Banner, the playboy, knows when to draw the line.”

“It looks like it.”

“Wait until the tabloids hear about this. Your entire bad-boy reputation will go up in flames.”

I honestly wish it would, and I wish Jenna were the reason for it.

“Come on.” I reach my hand out to her, pulling her up to her feet. She straightens her dress and her hair, making sure everything looks normal. “Let’s get back to the party.”

I tug her forward, but her feet stop. “Cody?” I turn over my shoulder, glancing at her. “They signed season two.”

“I know.”

“That’s supposed to be the end of the fake relationship.”

I smile back at her in a teasing way. “It doesn’t have to be.”

Her expression goes serious. “What does that mean?”

“Just that, it doesn’t have to be the end. We can keep playing the relationship up for the cameras and finish out each episode’s release with a bang.”

“And then what?”

I lift my shoulders but don’t answer. I know I like Jenna a lot—more than any other woman I’ve ever been with. I know I don’t want to lose her, but that’s where my answers stop.

It’s not that I don’t believe in love, because I do. I believe that two people can have strong feelings and desires. It’s what happens after those feelings fade that scares me. I’ve convinced myself my entire life that I’ve already lived through the emotional damage that comes from the aftermath of love. I don’t want to do it again.

So even though I have a tangible feeling for Jenna that I’ve only ever heard described, not actually experienced myself, I’m not sure I can see it through all the way. I could never give her the one thing she wants. I could never marry her.

“Cody, what happens after the fake relationship and all the acting is over?” she presses.

“I…I don’t know. Maybe we can just give it some time and figure it out later.”

She stares back at me, nodding over and over while she thinks. Her hand drops out of mine, and she takes a step back. “I’m tired. I think I’m just going to go home for the night.”

“No, don’t leave like this.” I put my hands on her waist, as if I can make her stay. “Come back in the club with me.”

Her chin lifts, not in defiance but to really look in my eyes. “As what? Your friend? Your costar? Your fake girlfriend? Your real girlfriend? Your lover? What would I be, Cody?”

I’m caught off guard by the question and the implications. I want to give Jenna the answer she’s looking for, reassure her that there’s this magical future between us. But I can’t. And I won’t do what countless other men have done—play with her heart until the whistle blows and the game is over. She means too much to me.

So I settle for shaking my head and shrugging, the worst possible answer a man could ever give a woman.

Jenna’s expression masks over. “When we were at the table, I already texted a car to pick me up. I think I’m just going to head home.” She squeezes my arm and then walks past me.

“Jenna, wait.” I say the words, but my feet don’t move. I can’t promise her what she wants to hear, but it’s killing me not to chase after her.

I say I want to grow up.

I say that I want to change.

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