Kellan slid his thumb over my cheek, wiping away a few stray, involuntary tears.
My stomach performed a perfect swan dive and dropped into my shoes as he stared into my eyes. The rough pad of his thumb grazed the side of my nose. “I don’t think I’m ready to lose you yet, Blakely.”
8
KELLAN
The way she looked up at me at the restaurant… the shimmer of hope in her eyes… almost made me lean down and slant my mouth over hers right there. She was a living, breathing contradiction. Based on the way she’d pitched in at the party this evening, she had a kind heart. Yet she insisted on letting some douchenoodle walk all over her at work. There had to be some reason she hadn’t handed in her two weeks’ notice and continued to work with a manipulative asshole of a man.
We drove back to her condo in silence. The only sound came from the light rain falling on the windshield and holiday tunes playing on the radio in the background. It wasn’t even ten o’clock yet, but I was wiped. After spending hours picturing her pleasuring herself with her vibrator last night, I wasn’t sure I could stand another sleepless, unsatisfying evening.
“Are you tired, or do you want to watch a movie or something?” Blakely asked as we entered the condo.
The cat greeted us at the door. I figured after we’d shared a bed, he might have warmed up to me. I bent down to run my hand over his back.
“A Christmas movie?” I wouldn’t mind relaxing in front of the TV for a bit after I got out of my damp jeans. “I’m not really in the mood for a holiday movie unless it’s ‘Die Hard.’”
“I could get on board with that,” she said. “Maybe after it’s over, we can figure out how we’re going to handle any questions that come up tomorrow night.”
“What kind of questions?” I hadn’t thought anything through before I told her co-workers I’d be at the party. Fake dating someone was turning out to be more complicated than I expected.
“You know, questions like how did we meet and how long have we been dating.” Blakely set her purse down by the door.
“So, how did we meet? Do you want to tell them the truth that you knocked me out with a nutcracker?” It didn’t reflect so well on me, but she was the one trying to save face. I was fine sacrificing my man-card and admitting she got the best of me if it would help her put Asshat in his place.
“Hmm,”—she kicked off her shoes—“it’s got to be something believable.”
“Online dating?” I suggested.
She shook her head. “No. I’d never sign up for one of those apps.”
“Why not?” I wasn’t a fan, but I knew several people who’d found their one and only through a dating app or service.
“Just not my style. I don’t usually put myself out there like that.” Having lost a few inches of height when she kicked off her shoes, she padded toward the kitchen on bare feet.
I followed, fully committed to figuring out our fictional first meeting and not minding the way her ass swished from side to side in front of me. “Where do you like to hang out?”
“My apartment.” She laughed. “Sorry, I’m pretty boring.”
Boring wasn’t a word I’d associate with Blakely. We hadn’t had a single lull in conversation since we’d met. She had a great sense of humor, and I couldn’t seem to wrench my gaze from her miles of curves.
“You’re not boring at all. Maybe we met at the grocery store. We reached for the same item and our hands brushed. We knew then it was fate bringing us together.”
Her nose crinkled, and she got the cutest look on her face. “What item were we reaching for? It’s got to be something good. Something romantic.”
Shit. That was a lot of pressure. I tried to come up with some edible item that would fit her criteria. “How about an eggplant?”
“Seriously?” Her eyes crinkled and she let out a laugh.
“Yeah. I make a killer eggplant parmigiana.” I cocked my head, waiting for her to challenge me.
“You don’t think ‘eggplant’ is too obvious?”
“Nah. Cucumber would be too obvious. A rump roast would be too obvious. Pineapple would be—”
“No pineapple. I’ve seen the memes on social media about people who put pineapples in their carts.” Her hair floated around her face as she vigorously shook her head.
“That leaves eggplant.” I shrugged.