Page 43 of Fake Dating My Billionaire Boss

For a brief moment, I forget all about the act. All I can feel is the falling sensation that makes me want to reach out for the deck rail and take hold.

Either that or kiss her.

I want to kiss her. I really, really do.

And it would be a good thing to do, given the fact that my mother appeared a moment ago, and she’s now huddled with Addison across the way, watching me and Bella from afar.

“Bella…” Her name comes out in a husky whisper. I break my hands away from hers and use my fingertips to tuck a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. “Can I… Can I kiss you again ?”

Now I’m only very vaguely aware of our audience. The world’s closing in on me, like I’ve stepped into a tunnel. All I can see now is Bella, and I watch emotions I can’t decipher flit across her face.

Yes. Say yes,I beg internally.

I have it bad for this woman.

When did it happen?

Sometime between sitting across from her at the Hidden Garden and walking her dog, I think.

Her pearly white teeth press into her plump bottom lip. One dark brow tucks under the other. “Sure… yeah. That’s what we’re here for, right? A kiss would be the perfect offensive move.”

No, I mean really kiss you.The thought surfaces from my depths, but I don’t voice it. I stop myself just before it slips from my tongue.

“Let’s do it,” she says. Her voice wobbles with uncertainty, and a cloud of worry darkens her sunny features. She steps in close to me and closes her eyes.

And even though I want to kiss her—reallykiss her—her worried expression pulls me out of the moment. My tunnel vision fades, and I become aware of the others watching us.

“On second thoughts, no.”

She opens her eyes...

“No?”

“We’ll pull out that showstopper later if needed.” I try to keep my tone light. Like I’m not a man stumbling head-first into a pit of feelings I can’t control, didn’t see coming, and don’t want to deal with.

“Okay… sure. Later. Great.” She licks her lips, then looks out at the scenery beyond the deck. The sun’s sinking behind Henley Hill, to the north. “Hey, I have a weird question for you.”

“Aren’t all of your questions weird?”

“Not all of them. But this one is. Or it will probably sound weird to you. But curious minds, you know. They have to know. So, you and your family use water from the Silver Springs for your soda, right?”

“Correct.”

Why is she curious about such a random thing?

Her odd behavior from yesterday springs to my mind.What was she up to, at the old textile factory?When I returned to my packing duties, I found half the boxes had been pried open and rifled through.

“So, you guys must own the spring, right?”

“We do.”

“Since when?”

“For the past two hundred years, I believe.”

“Two hundred years… hunh. Are you sure that’s the case?”

“As far as I know. Why?”

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