Page 91 of Betting on You

There was a vibe to the way she dressed, the whole I-don’t-think-that-cardigan-even-fits-her-but-damn-she-looks-perfect kind of thing.

Fucking cute, but it was Bailey.

This happened to me sometimes when I looked at her. One second she was Bailey, crinkling her nose in irritation with me while doing something like reorganizing the apps layout on her phone, and the next she was a girl with curly dark hair, long eyelashes, and freckles that begged to be counted.

She was like a one-personFreaky Fridayor something.

It’d be a little concerning if her too-smart mouth wasn’t always there to remind me that she was, down to her core, still the cute blinking brace face from the airport in Fairbanks.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREEBailey

After hiking all day, I was ready for a shower when we got back to the condo. We were going to a fancy steakhouse for dinner, so I got ready in the bathroom upstairs, since the window in my room still hadn’t been fixed. I took my time, really leaning into wavy curls and dramatic eye makeup. I don’t know why, but it felt important that I look good.

I was in the middle of drawing eyeliner tails (sharp enough to kill a man, of course), leaning up to the mirror and full-on concentrating, when my mom appeared in the doorway and whispered, “When did you and Charlie start dating?”

I looked at her in the mirror, and she looked rightfully surprised by what we’d thrown at her over breakfast. I was a terrible liar and immediately couldn’t remember if we’d come up with a backstory. I just said, “On the way here, kind of.”

“Oh.” She nodded and watched me, like she was reconciling it in her head. “So it’s new, then.”

“Brand-new,” I agreed.

“Ah.” I don’t know why, but that seemed to be the right answer. She looked relieved that we hadn’t been in some secret relationship she’d been unaware of. “Well, I like Charlie a lot, but make sure you take it slow, okay?”

I nodded and gave her a convincing “Okay.”

But after she walked away,take it slowkept pinging through my brain. Because even though, in the overall scheme of things, we were taking it very slow (because it wasn’t real), the chemistry between us felt crazy-fast.

Maybe because we’d gone from almost-friends to sleeping in the same room and kissing over breakfast. It was whiplash-fast, which was probably why I felt so unsteady around him.

That was why.

Just that.

The hike—when no one else was around—had been comfortable, so as I put away my makeup and sprayed my hair, I reminded myself to stop getting worked up.

It was all pretend. Charlie seemed to have no problem turning it on and off, and I was going to channel that energy and not worry about every spark that flew, because it was just a side effect of our superb acting.

Or something like that.

Once I pulled on my black dress, I ran down the stairs to look for my shoes in my suitcase.

“Wow.” Charlie was at the bottom of the stairs, and I nearly ran him down. He grabbed my upper arms to stop me, and then he smiled, his eyes strolling all over me.

“You look incredible, even though I don’t like you that way,” he said in a deep voice, his fingers applying the softest pressure to my skin. “Seriously, Glasses.”

I didn’t know if this was part of the faking or not, but the tone of his voice made my toes curl. Because regardless of how he meant it, Iwantedhim to mean it.

A compliment from Charlie was like the equivalent of three from another human.

“Shut up, loser,” I said, reaching out a hand to tug on his tie. He looked hot—he did—in black pants, a plaid button down, and a black tie. “You look like someone I’d call cute if I didn’t know you drink poop water.”

“Aww.” He let go of my arms and tugged on one of my curls instead. Then he looked at my mouth, raised his eyebrows, and asked, “May I, Girlfriend?”

Whoa. There was that superb acting again, because something about him calling me his girlfriend made warmth squeeze me like a hug. I looked up at his lips andOhhh—he wants to kiss me again.

Just a game—enjoy it and quit overanalyzing.

I gave a nod that made his eyes crinkle around his smile as I said, “Of course, Boyfriend.”

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