AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Shane takes a drink, his eyes meeting mine over the rim of his glass. “And then the second time I saw you, you were talking to my brother Quinn, and I got jealous. Like wanting to kick the crap out of him jealous.”
“Ooh, I like that!” I say. “That’s a great touch. People will love it. We need to add more details along those lines. It’s the details that make the story believable.”
His eyebrows scrunch together. “That’s what actually happened,” he says.
I let him enjoy his joke for a beat, then laugh. He doesn’t join me. He just watches me steadily, his eyes taking in every inch of my face. It’s unnerving…and I like it way too much.
“Ha ha ha,” I say when he doesn’t deliver the punch line.
He gives me a quizzical look, his brown eyes all innocence and long lashes. “Uh, okay? But we actually did meet that time. It was at the fundraiser for Hott Spot, and you went up to the desk to talk to Quinn?—”
“Oh, yeah, Quinn!” I say. “He’s basically my hero.”
He scowls. “Why would you say that?”
“Wait, what’s wrong with Quinn being my hero?”
His scowl deepens. “I didn’t say anything was wrong with it. I just asked why.”
“You asked why in a way that made it sound like—never mind. He’s my hero because he developed the drug that gave us a couple of years of extra time with my father. My dad had ALS.”
“Ivy. I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you,” I say. “It was a really tough time, and I still miss him a lot. But yeah. That’s why I love Quinn.”
“Got it,” he says stiffly. “Yeah. Can’t compete with that.”
If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was jealous now. But that’s ridiculous, right?
“I mean, I’m fake marrying you, not him, right? So you fake won the fake competition for who’s the better catch.”
He gives me a look I can’t read. “Right.”
I nosh a few chips and guac, pondering our story. I’m enjoying this more than I was expecting to. It’s like building a character’s backstory in acting. “Okay, so did we have a history in LA?”
“A romantic history?”
“Yeah. Or…maybe we were just friends and both wanted more, but circumstances made it impossible. Like you were just this total player and I didn’t think you wanted commitment…”
“Best to stick with the truth,” he says dryly, tossing back a sizable slug of scotch.
“…and I was getting out of LA for good and you didn’t think I wanted that lifestyle, so even though we were both pining for each other, we didn’t act on it.”
“Sounds suspiciously close to real life,” he says. “Minus the pining part, of course.”
“Of course,” I echo. “But don’t you think we should stick as close to reality as we can? Makes it easier not to screw up the story.”
“Yeah. Definitely.”
“So in LA we wanted to be together but felt like we couldn’t…but when we met again, we?—”
“—couldn’t stay away from each other,” he supplies.
“One thing led to another?—”
“We fell fast,” he says. “It was a whirlwind. All that pent-up sexual tension.”
“Right.” My cheeks are hot, probably from the wine. My body feels loose and flowy, the way it does when I’m doing improv or acting. Creativity flowing through, wild, buzzy energy. “And it just worked. Like, you know when you have that chemistry with someone?—”
