Page 128 of The Temporary Fiancée
Her lips purse, and she won’t look me in the eye. Mutely, she shakes her head again.
I reach up to brush a loose lock of her hair behind her ear. “Please tell me.”
She takes a long breath in through her nose, then exhales. “I like you,” she whispers, her voice barely audible. “I can’t help it.”
I freeze with my hand on her cheek, staring at her.
“I tried not to, but I really, really do.” She sniffles, swiping at her eyes. “Which sucks. Because we have an expiration date.” She laughs through her tears, but I can tell that there’s no humor behind it. “Because this is all for show. It’s not even real.”
My chest aches at the raw emotion in her voice. For what feels like a full minute, I stand in front of her, silent, trying to process everything she just said.
The first coherent thought I manage to put together isI’m not cut out for this.
I’m not boyfriend material. I’m not qualified to be the caretaker of her heart, and she’s confessing real, true, vulnerable feelings.
It scares the shit out of me.
But I can’t tell her that. So instead, I murmur, “What can I do? How can I help?”
She doesn’t respond right away. Then she pulls me forward and burrows closer to my chest. In a small voice, she says, “Can you… can you just hold me tonight?”
I feel a flutter in my ribcage, alongside the ache. I run my fingers through her hair, trying to soothe her. Trying to make her feel safe, even though I’m silently panicking.
“Okay,” I say at last.
I carry her to my bedroom and help her change into a pair of my sweats and a soft, faded t-shirt. She sits on the edge of the bed, still a little wobbly and a little weepy, as I use a warm, damp towel to wipe away the last traces of her makeup.
Then I lay her down on the bed and crawl in beside her. I take her into my arms, cocooning her body in my own, and hold her.
My nose is nestled in her hair, and I quietly breathe in her sweet scent as she drifts off to sleep. As her breathing becomes more rhythmic, I can’t stop myself from thinking,This feels right.
Holy shit.
It feels right to have her here.
Chapter 28
Olivia
The blindingglare from Reed’s bedroom window rouses me from a deep sleep, and the second my eyes are open, the headache hits me, full force.
Oh, god. What did I do to deserve this?
Images from last night are coming back to me in pieces—the restaurant is pretty clear in my memory, but the bar is a bit hazy, and everything after that… well. It’s all kind of a blur.
I rub my eyes, pushing myself upright. I’m in Reed’s bed, which is comforting at first, but then a little alarming. I don’t remember what I did or said last night; what if I embarrassed myself?
On the nightstand, there’s a glass of water and a bottle of aspirin, two of which have been left out. I reach over to scoop up the pills, then swallow them quickly with a gulp of cold water.
My headache starts to subside. I spend the next few minutes breathing in slowly, trying to make myself feel less dizzy before I slide out of bed. When I finally do make my way into the hall, I can hear movement in the kitchen.
Reed, already up, is pouring coffee into two thermoses. He looks up as I enter the kitchen, grinning.
“Good morning, sunshine.”
I groan in response, rubbing my forehead. “Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up.”
“How are you feeling?” he asks, handing me a thermos.
