Page 32 of Heartsmashed
“Uh oh,” I heard Drew say behind me as I turned to face Beckett.
“Oh, Becks. My dear, sweet boyfriend.” I almost saidfakeboyfriend and had to stop myself. Maybe I needed to quit referring to him that way in private. “If there’s one thing you need to know about me, it’s that I would hobble in from my deathbed before I let these three get bragging rights for all eternity.”
He arched a brow and glanced past me at my brothers and Drew, and whatever he saw on their faces made him nod. “Understood.”
“Good.” I smiled and leaned in, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before I realized what I was doing.
Oh…shit.
I froze, still inches from his face, and cursed silently.
Was I not supposed to do that? I didn’t even know why I had, other than it felt natural to do it, but what if he didn’t like it or thought I’d just crossed a line? I mean, we hadn’t discussed kisses, even cheek kisses; we’d only mentioned holding hands and casual touches and?—
Beckett curled his arm around my waist, pulling me in close and not leaving an inch of space between us. He held me tight, his fingers spread across my lower back, his breath warm on my lips as our eyes locked.
Oh my God. He’s going to kiss me for real,I thought, and it was a welcome thought. I’d thought about it all last night when he’d fallen asleep beside me and I listened to his steady breaths, imagining what it would be like to rip the pillow barrier away and press my lips against his. Well, when he was awake, anyway.
He stared down at me, and I wanted to tell him to just do it, to kiss me, because no way in hell was I making another move. The ball was in his court now.
Fake boyfriend, fake boyfriend. The kiss wouldn’t be real.
I could pretend it was real, though. Beckett would never have to know.
There was definite heat in his eyes, simmering behind the cobalt blue. His hand flexed against my back, and just when I started to close my eyes in anticipation, he said, “Don’t think this means I’m going to take it easy on you.”
Rome fucking cackled at that as Beckett let me go and began to stretch his beyond-perfect body.
“Looks like you’ve got some competition,” Rome said, and I flipped him off.
Beckett had left me a little dazed from that hot move, and?—
Wait a second.He’d done that on purpose, hadn’t he? He knew how hot he was—I’d told him all night last night, stupidalcohol—which meant he was using his sex appeal to throw me off guard.
Nope. Not happening.Focus. You are not letting any of them take you down. Not even Beckett. Not even if he got on his knees and?—
A shrill whistle had those thoughts fleeing before my dick had a chance to get involved. As the instructor took her place on the course in front of us, I noticed few of the other guests of our moms had decided to join in on the competition.
“Okay,” the instructor called out, clapping her hands and pulling everyone’s attention forward. “We’re going to break into teams?—”
A loud chorus ofnos, including my own, had the instructor frowning. “I’m sorry?”
“No teams,” Hudson said. “Individual times. Every man or woman for themselves.”
Drew nodded. “I agree.”
“Yeah, I’m not sharing the glory.” Rome crossed his arms, and the woman’s mouth fell open in recognition. He winked at her.
The bastard better not get preferential treatment.
“Trust us, it’s better this way,” I added. “Besides, there’s only room for my name on the trophy.”
The instructor frowned. “There’s no trophy.”
“Oh, we’ll find a trophy,” Rome said.
She looked a little stunned by the responses, but quickly recovered and decided to go along with it. As she gave us a rundown of the course, the energy shifted from teasing to full-on electric.
I felt Beckett getting into position beside me and resisted looking. If I caught another glimpse of the way he filled out those shorts a little too well, I wouldn’t be so quick to get in front of him, andthatwas not an option.
