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Okay, I’ve admittedly imagined Tyler in some steamy scenarios during some self-pleasure sessions…and if I’m being completely honest with myself, that’s the only way I’ve been able to get myself to the big “O” in a while…
That familiar wave of shame heats me from the inside out once more.
I’m so broken.
That’s why I told Tyler that sex was off the table. Maybe if there wasn’t something wrong with me…down there…I’d feel more confident about this setup. I’d have the guts to propose a friends-with-benefits type of situation so the two of us could make the most out of this setup.
But that can’t happen. My body won’t allow it.
I don’t let myself dwell on that too long. Instead, I refocus and tell myself that it’s not appropriate to fantasize about Tyler when our set-up isn’t about that. It’s about helping Tyler and acting like his girlfriend when we’re around his family and friends for the next few months. Nothing more.
I make myself take another deep breath as nerves crackle in my chest at the thought of how everyone will react when they see us at brunch together.
All of our friends know I have a crush on Tyler. And they’ve repeatedly warned me to steer clear of him. They’re going to be shocked when they see us together.
I do a final check of my makeup in the mirror before stepping out of my car.
Behind me, I hear a low whistle. When I turn around, there’s Tyler, looking me up and down, that gorgeous grin pulling at his beautiful mouth.
I bite back a smile. “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself. Wow.” He does another once-over as he walks up to me. And then he looks me in the eye and flashes a sweet smile. “You look beautiful.”
I grin so wide, my cheeks ache. “Thank you.”
Normally, when a guy checks me out, I hate it. So often, it’s creepy. But Tyler is so confident and genuine when he does it. I can tell he’s not objectifying me or trying to make me feel uncomfortable. He complimented me because he genuinely thinks I look good.
I take in the charcoal gray suit and crisp white button-up he’s wearing. “You look really handsome,” I say.
That’s an understatement. He looks like a freaking model. Like he just walked off the pages of a Hugo Boss campaign.
He steps back, holds his arms up at his sides, and does a spin. I chuckle.
“I clean up pretty well, huh?” I roll my eyes and laugh at him.
He closes the space between us and rests a hand on my waist as he pulls me closer to him. A shiver runs through me.
“I don’t look half as good as you though,” he says. “That dress.”
He glances down at the knee-length floral print dress I threw on this morning—the one that hugs my hips and ass perfectly.
I do a playful knock of my hip to the side. “You like it?”
He grins and nods. “Very much.”
It’s not a surprise that Tyler is complimenting how I look. We have a pretty flirty friendship, so he does stuff like this often.
But right now it feels a bit more special. Maybe because we’re pretending to be a couple and I’m getting a taste of what it would be like to date my best friend.
He swipes my hand in his. “You ready to do this?”
I nod once. “Ready.”
He leads me to the front door of his dad’s fancy restaurant, opens it, and gestures for me to walk in first. We walk through the second set of doors, into the darkened entryway of the French restaurant.
Since it’s closed today for the family brunch, there’s no one at the host stand. Tyler leads me by the hand through the front of the restaurant. The dining area has been rearranged so that instead of the three dozen sleek, dark wood tables that normally occupy the space, they’ve been rearranged into one long rectangular configuration along the middle.
His siblings and their significant others, along with his parents and a handful of other family and friends, are already there. They’re standing around the long table, chatting and laughing with each other so they don’t see us yet.
