Chapter 3
North
IinviteCandytomy ranch for our third date and show her around. I figure if we’d been dating a while, she would have seen it.
Once I’m done giving her a tour of the barn and the horses, I invite her inside for lunch. The horses love her, as do the barn cats, and she seems to fit right in. I remind myself that this isn't real. She's not here to stay, and it doesn't matter if she fits in because she's not staying.
"So, I was thinking with this timeline, we need to spend some time with my family too," Candy says.
"Of course.” It's the holidays, and a real couple would split time between both families.
"What does the wedding timeline look like?" she asks.
"Well, it starts this weekend with the Christmas festival downtown. Then over the next week, it's a few different dinners. The Christmas light cruise, the bachelor and bachelorette parties, the rehearsal dinner the night before, and the wedding at a lake house on Christmas Eve."
"We should have dinner with my dad before then, and he’ll want me for Christmas dinner if I'm going to miss Christmas Eve."
That's fair, and after spending the entire week with my family and the stress of all this, I'm not going to want to see them for Christmas.
Candy bites her lip, lost in thought, and it’s driving me crazy. What I wouldn't give to taste those lips right now.
A crazy idea pops into my head. It'll be kind of obvious if we haven’t kissed. "You know, maybe we should get the awkward first kiss out of the way. We want to look comfortable with each other in front of my family.”
Candy looks down at her lap, and her face turns bright red. It's sexy as hell, but when she looks up at me, I see the determination in her eyes.
"Okay."
Candy
Holy hell, I’ve agreed to kiss North. The sexy cowboy who wears his Wranglers just right, has muscles for days, tattoos down his arms, and smells like you'd expect a cowboy to smell—all fresh air, leather, and woodsy goodness.
He could get any girl, yet he wants a fake relationship and a real kiss with me. And he's right—we can't have that awkward first kiss in front of anyone. It would blow out the whole cover.
Although I wasn't prepared at all for this. Our kiss has to look authentic while keeping North at a distance because this isn't a real relationship.
Maybe Austin is right, and I haven't thought this all the way through. It won’t be as easy as I thought, but I gave him my word, so I'm going to follow through. What his brother did to him was bull hockey, and I don't want him to have to do it alone.
North steps closer and rests his hand on my waist. His eyes lock on mine, holding me in place. He cups my cheek before slowly leaning toward me, and it feels like forever before his lips gently brush mine.
The sensation of his lips on mine causes me to gasp. His grip on my waist tightens, and he lets out the softest moan before pulling me in and deepening the kiss.
Every nerve in my body reacts to his proximity, and I melt into him. I was determined to keep my walls up, but I’m lost in one of the best kisses of my damn life. It isn't rushed or awkward. It's soft, slow, and panty-melting.
We’re both breathing heavily when he finally pulls away. The heat in his eyes makes me want to kiss him again, but this wasn't a kiss for fun. This was so we didn't blow our cover.
I head home, dazed from that kiss. How is it possible the first time I've been truly kissed was for a fake relationship? And even though I know it's fake, I'm already hoping to do it again.
Since I'm having dinner with my dad tonight, I head straight there. My sister gets into town tomorrow for her school break, so I know he'll want to make plans, and I need to ensure he knows about North.
"You're early." Dad wraps me in a tight hug, greeting me as if he hasn't seen me in years when we had dinner together only last week.
"Hey, Dad. I wanted to talk before we had dinner. I know you're trying to make plans for when Parker gets home."
"What's wrong? Is everything okay? What do you need?" He immediately goes into protective dad mode, and I love that about him.
"Nothing is wrong. I’m seeing someone, and his brother is getting married over Christmas, so there are a few events I need to attend with him."
Dad breaks out into a huge smile. "Let's go inside, and you can tell me all about him. I'm glad you're finally dating."