Page 149 of Pretend To Be Mine

“Which is exactly why I said it,” Mimi said.

“We’re leaving,” Adrian announced. “I’ll talk to you all on Monday.”

“Monday?” Sebastian asked. “Do you have plans tomorrow?”

Adrian looked at me. “Yep.”

He didn’t give me a chance to say goodbye. The man was on a mission to get to his waiting car.

My feet were moving as fast as his.

49

ADRIAN

Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of my penthouse. I blinked awake slowly, disoriented by how late it seemed to be. If the sun was already that bright, it meant I had slept well past my usual early rising.

My body felt heavy with exhaustion and relief in equal measure. The past two weeks had been the most intense of my life—four countries, five shows, a fake engagement that became real, a scandal that almost destroyed everything, and finally, miraculously, getting the woman I loved back.

I hadn’t slept for days. That’s what kept me in bed.

Well, that and the warm body next to me. I had a feeling I would be sleeping in a lot more often these days.

I rolled over carefully, not wanting to wake her. I just needed to look. To confirm she was really here. I needed to confirm last night hadn’t been some elaborate dream conjured by exhaustion and desperation.

But nope. There she was. Her hair was spread across my pillow with her face peaceful in sleep, one hand tucked under her cheek.

Was it a little creepy to sit and watch her sleep? Probably. But I just couldn’t look away.

I still couldn’t quite believe it. Twenty-four hours ago, I’d been convinced I had lost her forever. I thought my cowardice had cost me the only woman I’d ever truly loved.

And now she was in my bed breathing softly beside me like she belonged there.

“You’re staring,” she murmured without opening her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips.

“Guilty.” I didn’t even try to deny it. “Can you blame me?”

She opened one eye, then the other, green eyes still hazy with sleep but sparkling with amusement. “I suppose not. Though it’s a little creepy.”

“I thought I lost you. I keep expecting to wake up and find out this was all a dream.”

“Not a dream.” She shifted closer, fitting herself against me like we were puzzle pieces designed to connect. “Very real. Very awake. Very much in your bed.”

I pulled her closer, burying my face in her hair, breathing her in. She smelled like my shampoo from the shower we had shared last night. We stayed like that for several minutes, just holding each other. I felt like we were making up for the days of distance and doubt.

“We made it,” I said finally. “We actually made it.”

“We did. And we don’t have anywhere to be today, right? No shows, no press conferences, no crisis management?”

“Nothing. We’re completely free.” I kissed her forehead, then her nose, then her lips. “No one to answer to but ourselves. No schedule, no obligations. Just us.”

“That sounds amazing.” She snuggled deeper into my embrace. “Though I should probably check my phone eventually. See if the internet still hates me.”

“About that.” I reached for my phone on the nightstand, pulled up the trending topics. My own phone had been blowing up since last night. I’d been ignoring all of it, focused entirely on Elizabeth. I slid my finger across the screen, reading the messages and the headlines Brigg had sent via text.

“You might want to see this,” I said.

“Oh no,” she groaned.