Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 114337 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114337 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 457(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
His shoulders lifted with a deep breath, and his intense gaze trapped mine. “Sure. If that’s what you want.”
“And you think people would buy that?” I teased.
He smirked. “I do.”
“All right. Let’s do it.”
His pleased smile? It was sexy as hell.
I’d gone to my senior prom, but I hadn’t felt a fraction of the excitement then that I did tonight. Abbie, with all her years of beauty pageant experience, was a master at curling and pinning my hair into an elegant updo. I’d done my makeup, cut the tags off my dress, and put it on.
When I found him waiting in the living room, he wasn’t alone—but he might as well have been. I couldn’t see anyone but him, and the elegant black suit and tie he wore. Had he gotten a haircut this morning? His hair was neat and styled, giving him a polished look.
God, he was devastatingly handsome.
How was I supposed to function when he looked like that? All I could think about was telling him how badly I wanted to kiss him.
But that would be a bad idea. First off, I might die if he said no. And second, what would Nina and Scott think? They stood nearby and had been chatting with Colin until I appeared in the doorway.
At my entrance, all conversation ceased.
This was all pretend, but good lord, did it feel it real. Like he was my date, and Nina and Scott were my surrogate parents. They gazed at me with admiration, but it was the way Colin looked at me with stunned eyes that caused the strongest flush. It heated my body and sucked all the air from the room.
His gaze started at the bottom of my dress and swept upward, gliding over my curves and the delicate, sparkling sequins, moving up until he reached my face. He didn’t have to say a word because I felt it in my bones. He wanted to kiss me just as much as I did him.
“You look beautiful,” Nina said.
“Yes,” Colin agreed.
My voice was as unsteady as I felt. “Thank you.”
Nina was unaware of the force swirling between me and this frat boy who no longer looked like one. She lifted her phone, angling the camera toward him. “Let me take some pictures of the two of you.”
My heart beat wildly as I strolled over to stand beside Colin. When he put his arm around me and his hand came to rest on my hip, I drew in a deep, sharp breath. My response didn’t go unnoticed by him; he pulled me tighter, closer.
We smiled as she took the pictures, and when she lowered her phone, her expression was playful and devious, her question for her husband. “Should we make them do the prom pose where he’s standing behind her?”
“Please don’t,” Colin said, sounding like he was only half serious. But since I was pressed against him, I could feel the tension in his body. He didn’t want to have to put his arms around me right now—not when we both knew we couldn’t do anything more. They were our bosses, and surely they didn’t want us messing up the dynamic in the house.
Scott dug a hand in the pocket of his shorts, produced a set of keys, and handed them over to Colin. “You kids have fun tonight,” he joked, then sobered. “But not in my BMW.”
Colin chuckled then played the part of the son getting to drive daddy’s expensive car for the first time. “No, sir,” he quipped.
“Right,” Nina said. Her tone turned overly dramatic. “Make good choices.”
She’d lobbed it at us like she was kidding, and yet . . . her sparkling gaze lingered on mine. Even the way Scott looked at us was off.
Like everyone was in on the joke but me.
I waited until I was seated in the passenger seat of Scott’s car before mentioning it to Colin. “Was it just me, or were they acting weird?”
“Who?” Colin slid into the driver’s seat and buckled his seat belt.
What did he mean, who? “Nina and Scott.”
He shrugged, pushed the button to start the engine, and then his fingers wrapped around the gearshift. “They seemed fine to me.”
The restaurant was downtown, and during the drive, we talked about school. I was curious how he’d picked his major of public relations, and then regretted asking because he said his parents ‘had strongly influenced his decision.’ It was a nice way of saying he’d just been following orders. They were paying for it, he’d said, but were considerate enough to let him choose . . . as long as it was within the school of business.
He'd been on such a short leash with his folks, had joining the frat been the first time he’d really tasted freedom?
After he’d parked the car in a parking garage, we took the elevator down to the ground and walked one block to the hotel that also contained an upscale restaurant. We were young and overdressed, and I could see confusion in other people’s expressions as we were led to our table.