Page 17 of Fake Dating My Billionaire Boss

I catch the slightest taste of espresso and cinnamon when he parts his lips and inhales. Our breath mingles. He brushes his hand from my temple to my jawline. As I open my eyes, I find that he’s gazing down at me, looking straight into my eyes.

He’s not lookingatme. He’s lookingintome.

For the first time in my life, I realize that those are two completely different things.

And as he looks into me, I feel myself staring back into the pools of mahogany with deep, black centers. It’s like I’m staring down a well, or into a tunnel that could carry me to another world.

What’s at the bottom of that well? What’s on the other side of that tunnel?

He searches my eyes, and I wonder if he’s wondering similar things.

His breath hitches. “Ah.Ah hem.Well,” he mutters, as he turns to face our audience.

I sweep my hair out of my eyes and try for a deep breath. It’s hard to get air into my lungs. Some childlike part of me is doing cartwheels.This hunk just kissed the wind right out of me!

It was for show,I remind that excitable, boy-crazy version of myself. Then I turn to face the women on the stairs. They’re currently gawking down at us.

Atmein particular.

“Have we interrupted something?” Damian’s mother asks.

Her voice carries such a chill, it’s like a gust of January wind sweeping down the stairs and swirling around me. I resist the urge to run into the guestroom behind us, jump into that big bed, and hide under the covers.

Damian steps forward. That’s when I realized his hand has slipped back around mine. “Mother, Addison, this is Bella Sinclair.” He squeezes my hand. I like the feeling of his warm palm against mine. “Bella, meet my mother Nora, and Addison.”

“Sinclair… Ah, yes. I remember you,” Nora says. She starts her descent down the final flight of stairs. Her dainty, ring-studded hand trails along the brass banister. Her eyes are pinned to mine. “The Sinclair girl. You moved away years ago. Florida?”

“My folks and I moved to California, actually.”

“That’s right. I remember now. It was a sudden departure. And now you’re back.”

“I’m back.” I lift my chin as she draws closer.

She casts a wary look at Damian’s way. “For how long? May I ask? A short visit, I presume? I wasn’t aware that the two of you were friends.”

“We’re not just friends,” Damian says.

Now Addison stalks down the stairs. Her heels echo on the walls. She hasn’t said a word since asking for “Pumpkin” and I wonder what she thought of the kiss Damian just landed on my lips.

If the way she’s pinched together her bright-red lips is any indication, she’s not at all happy with the situation.

Damian releases my hand so he can wrap his arm around my waist. He pulls me toward him so that my hip bumps against him. “We’re seeing one another. Bella is my girlfriend.”

“I see,” Nora says politely, through gritted teeth. “How delightful. I’m very happy for the two of you. Welcome back to town, Bella.” Icicles drip off her words.

Bo, sitting by my side, utters a low whine.

Damian keeps his hand firmly around my waist. Where our sides touch, I feel all the same tingles that danced on my palm when he held my hand. The man’smagnetic.

How is it that such a cold, aloof, cranky grump can feel this good at my side? His body’s warm and firm, and the soft cotton-silk blend of his shirt feels so soft where it touches the bare skin of my arm.

“She arrived this morning and we’re still getting her settled in,” Damian continues. “Is there something we can do for you both?”

“We only dropped in to see you,” Nora says, looking pointedly at her son and ignoring me altogether. “I texted you several times this morning and didn’t hear back. Addison and I are heading to the outlets in Cherry Creek. I wondered if you need more of your dress socks.”

“Mother, I can buy my own socks.”

“I know you can, darling, but I’m going to be there, and I might as well pick some up if you need them.”

---