Page 84 of A Summer of Stars

“What are you talking about?” Confusion plastered his face as he stepped closer.

“This.” I waved my hand between us. “All these articles are reporting that this—us—is a stunt because of what Jeremiah is saying. No one believes we’re together, and now everyone’s resharing these articles and commenting on them and reporting that I’m some maneater, and calling me a liar, and a cheater, and—”

He grabbed the sides of my face. “Breathe.”

I stared into his eyes, and my brain hit a wall. I reached for a breath.

“I’ve done the fake relationship thing before; this happens,” he explained, trying to soothe me. But now I only felt more tense.Of course he’s done this before.

“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” I huffed, turning my head up at the starry sky to detour any tears, his hands falling from my face.

“Kiss me,” he said.

“Excuse me?” I nearly tripped, and I wasn’t even moving. “Are you being serious right now?”

“Do you want to prove to everyone this is real? There are about twenty photographers hiding out on this street alone, watching our conversation.”

“And kissing you is going to fix that?” This was thelast thingI needed on my plate right now.

“It gives them something else to talk about. I may be an actor, but you’re not. They won’t think you’re faking it.”

“I… that makes sense.”Why did it have to make sense?This seemed like solving one problem with another.

“You were the one who said you were a good actor anyway. If you’re so good, then kiss me,” he said, daring me. “It won’t mean anything, remember?”

I exhaled. I could do this. I could be cool and not let this affect me.

I took a step forward and rested my hands under the muscles in his jaw, avoiding the look in his eyes, and leaned in. I caught the smell of his shampoo and allowed it to absorb me as I pressed my lips against his.

“Kieran Alexander Seals Relationship with a French Kiss in Paris”

—Oui

MY THOUGHTS LIQUIFIEDand my muscles were taut as her delicate hands held my face and the smell of vanilla wrapped around me.

A wave of relief great enough to cover a hundred coastal homes drowned me as she pressed her lips against mine.

It was as if I had been waiting for this since our last kiss. Counting down the days, hours, and minutes like an addict. Trying to remember what I thought about herbefore. Trying to convince myself that it was just a blip on the radar of our complex relationship. That every dream I had woken up from was an exaggerated idea of what hadactuallyhappened.

But they weren’t. My mind was spinning because this was so muchbetterin the cruelest way.

She was bending me to her will. Pure teasing torture to tire out her enemies and leave them mystified for weeks. And, oh,God, was it working.

Her lips moved slowly against mine, softening and melting away my self-control as I tried to let her lead.

Her movements were hesitant. I did my best not to lean into her and wrap my hands around her waist or run them down her skin. I was intensely aware of how each of her fingers was gripping my jaw and the way her breathing hitched when her lips enveloped mine. But I kept my distance. My hands only grazed her hips.

This would be over in seconds. We only needed one picture. There was no point in providing myself with any more details of her lips or body or breathy noises to have more material to dream about.

It was just a shadow of a kiss compared to last time anyway.

Until she tilted her head and parted her lipsjustenough.

Then, my self-control snapped, and I melted into her.

My lips collided with hers, softening like seashells in the sea. I immediately reminded myself of what it was like to hold on to her hips and run my thumbs over the muscles in her sides, closing the rest of the gap between us. The material of her dress was soft and thin. It made my head ache to think about how little was realistically between us.

What the hell was I thinking?