Page 46 of One for the Road
Music should have been playing. A slow, thumping base as Alistair seemed to sweep into Brown’s in slow motion, à la Edward Cullen at the start ofNew Moon. Briefcase in hand, not a stray curl in sight, lips curled into a smile that turned my mouth dry.
It was the most erotic look I’d ever seen in my life, and it wasn’t right. It didn’t belong on the Alistair I knew. And definitely not aimed in my direction.
I unstuck my tongue from the roof of my mouth. “Hey—”
The press of his lips on mine cut me off.
My eyes snapped wide, meeting his closed ones as the frames of his glasses pressed into my cheek and –oh god. He was . . . kissing me.
My hands gripped the counter, unsure where to place them as I scrambled to decide whether to pull away or kiss him back. Should I kiss him back? Surely, we should have discussed this first?
Alistair’s hand cupped my cheek, and I tried to relax. The position was awkward with the counter in between us. The height difference made it worse.
Absently, I heard Juniper whisper, “New, huh?”
A small sigh puffed against my mouth, hot and minty as his lips slowly parted and –bloody hell– I was already anticipating his tongue.
When was the last time I’d been kissed? Really, truly kissed beyond a cursory peck in the morning?
My mouth made the decision for me, softening. Parting.Muscles finally relaxing – right as Alistair pulled away.No!I wanted to scream. A defiant whimper built in my throat, and I had to stop myself from chasing his lips.
It felt like reading a fade-to-black scene in a romance novel. Cutting off right at the good part.
“Hey, guys,” Alistair greeted Callum and Juniper. Entirely composed. Entirely back to normal, as if nothing unusual had happened at all. “Can I get a black coffee, Isla?”
“Sure,” I heard myself say from some distant planet, in no condition to handle boiling liquid.
My eyes rocketed over to Teddy, relieved to find her bent over her colouring book, headphones back in place. She hadn’t seen it.Good. That was good.
The only good thing to come from any of this.
We were barely three days in and I already wanted my fake boyfriend to kiss me again. I was so screwed.
11
Isla
Alistair: Pick you up at 7am?
Isla: You really don’t need to do this. The food market doesn’t finish until 3pm, you’ll be bored.
Alistair: Boyfriend Alistair doesn’t mind being bored if he’s with you.
“You aren’t ready,” Alistair said when I opened the door Saturday morning. The front door. Not the connecting door. We were still pretending that didn’t exist.
That little divot cut between his brows again, right where his glasses were slipping down his nose. I was beginning to realise that meant he was disappointed. Something hadn’t followed his grand plans.
“You’re early.” My voice sounded like I’d just attempted to run a marathon without doing any training whatsoever.
Panic. I was panicking. Had been panicking ever since I’d gotten home, laden with ingredients from Brown’s, and realised the sheer magnitude of pastries I had to bake in one night. Why had I only suggested trying something newto Jess the day before the market? I could prepare our old menu in my sleep.
There wasn’t ever a good time to get distracted by a closed-lip kiss from your neighbour/fake boyfriend. But this definitely wasn’t it.
I’d spent the remainder of the afternoon shift feeling like a shaken fizzy-drink can, flipping between replaying the moment like a Regency-era wallflower who’d partaken in a sordid tryst, and bailing on this ruse altogether. What I should have been focused on was prepping for the food market.
I was so distracted that even Teddy noticed, very quietly saying “Aren’t we getting pizza anymore?” when I’d completely missed the turning on the drive out of Kinleith. I’d been forced to make a five-point turn on the narrow road.
Alistair checked his watch. “By three minutes. Would you have been ready in three minutes?”
