Page 88 of Movers and Fakers

A wet laugh escapes me.

“That shirt better stay in your bag, Prince Charming.”

He chuckles and pulls me in for a sweet kiss.

“I’ll see you in a little while. Text or call me if you need anything, okay?”

My head bobs. I’m still at a loss for the proper words to convey how I’m feeling. He gives me a goodbye kiss, then walks to the elevator, winking at me before the doors close.

I’m in love with him, I realize as I turn to look out over the city below.

He’s flirty, and over the top, and drinks attention like water. But he’s also generous, caring, and unbelievably thoughtful. He makes me feel safe to just be. No worrying if I’m too little or too much. He takes care of me without expecting anything in return and treats my family and friends like they’re his own, taking their chaos in stride. He’s everything I thought was too much to hope for. So, in spite of all the times he’s driven me crazy …

I’m in love with Hayes Rosewood.

Chapter forty-four

In Your Corner

Hayes Rosewood

I stick my hands in my pockets, then take them back out. Shift from my right to my left foot. A restless sort of energy burns in my limbs. I went to my old boxing gym earlier while Aurora was dancing, but I still feel like I’m trapped inside my own skin. Though I’m not wearing a tie, it feels like there’s one around my neck growing tighter by the second as I wait for Aurora to join me in the hotel lobby.

My parents offered for us to stay in their penthouse, but I turned them down. The last thing I want is for Aurora to feel as trapped as I do. I adjust the sleeves of my black suit jacket, the gold cuff links with my initials glinting in the light. The R seems to stand out, glaring up at me.

I can’t keep living like this. My head tips back to rest on the wall I’m leaning against. I shut my eyes. It used to be easier to distract myself. Host another fight, go to a party, date a new girl. But even before I started dating Aurora, that had stopped working. Now that I’m with her, it’s like my future is knocking on my front door, demanding answers I still don’t have.

“Hayes?” Aurora’s voice floats over to me.

I open my eyes and all the breath leaves my lungs. She’s—everything. That’s the only word that can hold how I feel when I look her over. She went with the red dress, the one that I secretly hoped for all along but thought she wouldn’t choose because it’s brighter than what she usually wears. The neckline is high, wrapping around her slender throat, but there’s a slit up the side that exposes one of her long legs as she walks toward me. And I know from purchasing it that her back is exposed, the fabric draping down low.

She gives me a shy smile as she approaches. All I can do is stare. Her hair is twisted up in a soft bun, with pieces curled and left down around her face. Heat spreads through me, chasing away that restless energy and replacing it with a hunger to draw her close and kiss her berry lips.

“Are you okay?” she asks.

I clear my throat. “I don’t know. I’m pretty sure my heart stopped beating when I first saw you.”

She ducks her head, hiding her smile. I reach out and tip her chin up.

“You look incredible, Aurora. Everyone is going to be jealous of me tonight.”

An emotion I can’t quite place sparkles in her blue eyes, which are enhanced by the soft, smoky eyeshadow she’s put on.

“You clean up nice too, Prince Charming,” she teases, resting her hands on the lapels of my jacket. “Are you ready to go?”

I let out a sigh.

“We could say you’re sick?” I echo the thing she said right before I met her family for the first time.

She laughs a little.

“It won’t be as bad as you think.”

“You’re right, it could be worse,” I joke, and tuck her beneath my arm.

She’s taller in the heels she’s wearing, but still not taller than me.

“What are you so worried about?” she asks as we walk across the lobby’s marble floors. “I haven’t asked because I didn’t want to upset you, but I’m concerned that I’m going in unprepared.”