Total pages in book: 166
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 157273 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 786(@200wpm)___ 629(@250wpm)___ 524(@300wpm)
Damn, he sold it well. And I thought I was a good actor.
“And you think she wants you?” Caroline challenged.
Every muscle in my body locked, and heat flushed my cheeks as though I’d been called out to my face. Wanting Hudson had never been the problem. Him sticking around was the issue.
“Pretty damn sure, and I know Allie better than almost anyone.” A muscle in his jaw ticked, and he shoved his hands into the front pockets of his board shorts. It had been years since I’d seen him lose his temper, but his tells were all the same. He was going to blow.
“You knew her,” she corrected. “You knew her a decade ago. I did some research—”
My stomach abandoned me. What research?
“You fucking what?” He dropped his arms. “If you weren’t my sister, I would be so damned done with you.”
I knew the feeling well.
“She only dates dancers. Only people in her profession, in her elite little level, and in her tax bracket. And you aren’t any of those.”
She found that out on the internet? How much of this was I supposed to just sit here and listen to? Anger simmered in my chest.
“I already know that.” He shrugged, hands still in his pockets. “So what? Until now, I’ve only dated women I knew wouldn’t ask for a ring. Things change, and I don’t give a shit who she’s dated before, because she’s with me now.”
Okay, that was kind of hot. Really hot . . . if we weren’t faking this whole thing.
“She doesn’t want you!” Caroline shouted. “You have to break it off before you get any deeper. I’ve been watching her all day. I watched her at the party too. You touch her, you reach for her hand, you get her food and take care of her, but she doesn’t do the same. Has she invited you to that giant party her ballet company holds every summer?”
I retreated and let my forehead fall against the siding, squeezing my eyes shut as fury burned hotter with every condemnation Caroline spoke, pointing out all the ways I’d already failed Hudson. He’d convinced everyone, and I hadn’t pulled my weight.
“Should. Have. Been. You.” Mom’s words weaseled their way in. Seemed failure was the theme of my week. I’d failed Hudson and Lina, and now I was failing Juniper and Anne.
“We haven’t talked about it yet,” Hudson countered.
“Exactly. Hudson, she doesn’t touch you. I’d even say she goes out of her way to avoid touching you, and that’s not how a woman acts around the man she wants.”
Screw her. That wasn’t a failure; that was on purpose. I did want him, which was why I was careful not to touch him, not to give in to the electricity between us, not to make a mistake that would leave me broken at the end of the summer again. Shit, had I already ruined our scheme because—as usual—I was too careful?
“So, she’s a private person—”
And still, he defended me. Double shit.
“She doesn’t even smile at you! Not once. Maybe you are great friends, and maybe she’s bored or lonely, but I’m telling you that she is not invested in this like you are, and she’s going to break your heart if you don’t end it.”
That’s enough. I pushed off the wall and took a fortifying breath.
“This is the last time we’re discussing this,” Hudson warned. “I’m not breaking up with Allie. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever, if I get a say. Letting her go was the worst mistake I’ve ever made in my life, and I’ll be damned if your inability to pull your head out of your ass is going to cost me the only chance I have with her.”
My heart pounded as I stepped away from the wall. It was time to hold up my end of the bargain. Just a role. This is just a role. But it wasn’t.
Forcing my mouth into a soft smile, I rounded the corner. “There you are!”
Hudson blanched. “Alessandra—”
“I was waiting in the truck.” Before I lost the nerve, I walked straight to him, rose up on my toes as high as my ankle would allow, cupped his stubbled face in my hands, and kissed him.
I felt his quick indrawn breath, and prayed I hadn’t taken it too far. We’d never agreed on kissing. Or not kissing. But here I was, pressing my lips against his . . . finally. I lingered for a heartbeat, just long enough for my pulse to leap, for my mouth to register the softness of his, then prepared to retreat and face the consequences of my sneak attack.
His arm wound around my waist, and he kissed me back once, twice, then gently sucked on my bottom lip and dragged his teeth across it, waking every nerve ending in my body and stuttering my breath.