Page 107 of Reputation (Tempt)

I stood there, wrapping my arms around myself, not knowing what to do or say. It was one thing to have sex with my fake fiancée; it was another entirely to tell him how I felt. And knowing what was at stake, realizing how invested I already was, I decided the best course of action was to keep my mouth shut.

“Come on, Em,” he pleaded. “I know something’s bothering you. Why won’t you talk to me?”

“Because it’s not important.” The words were barely audible.

I wanted to tell him. I did. But…it was a bad idea.

This would blow over. I just needed to wait him out instead of blurting out my feelings and making a huge mistake.

“The fuck it isn’t.” He grasped my chin, lifting until our eyes met. His were angry and confused and a tumultuous swirl of emotions I couldn’t name. “Don’t you get it?You’reimportant to me. And if something’s bothering you, I want you to tell me about it.”

“I—” I glanced away. Tried to steady my breathing and failed. “I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because our situation is already complicated enough. And seeing you with your costar—” I clamped my mouth shut. I’d said more than I’d intended to.

“Wait. Are you jealous?”

“I—” I closed my mouth then opened it. Closed my mouth once more. He wasn’t going to give up, was he? Not until I told him something. “I’m not jealous. Not exactly.”

“Then what are you?” he asked, but he sounded almost disappointed, defeated, and it made me want to confide in him.

“I…” I turned away, embarrassed to admit this but knowing I couldn’t hold back anymore. “When I saw you looking at Mila, I realized it was the same way you look at me.”

“And that bothered you.” It wasn’t a question, not exactly.

I pressed my lips together as if to stop the word from even forming. I didn’t want to admit it, but Nate’s unguarded expression had me saying, “Yes.”

“Why?”

“I think the answer should be obvious.” I couldn’t look at him. I looked anywhere but at him, inspecting the inside of the trailer as if I’d never seen one before.

My chest felt tight, and I wished I’d never said anything. God, why was he making this so difficult?

“I want to hear you say the words.”

He looked at me with such intensity that I turned away. I couldn’t. Wouldn’t.

It was too big a risk. Nothing good could come from admitting my true feelings to Nate. There was too much on the line.

“Do you want to know why you saw the same expression on my face when I looked at my costar as when I look at you?” he finally asked.

Yes. No. I don’t know.

When I didn’t answer, he continued, “Because I was imagining you. And when I’m with you, I’m not acting. I haven’t been for a long time.”

“Wh-what?” I gasped, spinning to face him once more.

He nodded, cupping my cheek. “I’m falling for you, Em.”

I sucked in a sharp breath.He…what?

I could scarcely believe my ears. Some of the tightness in my chest eased, replaced by a tingling. A warmth.

“I’ve been burned so many times. And I know this isn’t what you wanted,” he continued. “But I can’t fight this anymore.”

I wanted so badly to believe the words were true. I ran through our interactions. I tried to filter them through this new lens, but I kept getting stuck. I was hung up on the fact that he might’ve been saying one thing but feeling another. He might still be, even now.

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