Page 47 of Pretend To Be Mine

This should feel awkward, I thought. The morning after with my fake fiancé. But it didn’t. It felt right.

I was going to enjoy the best morning I had in years.

15

ADRIAN

Elizabeth perched on the edge of the couch in our studio space, looking simultaneously nervous and excited. The transformation from yesterday was remarkable. She wasn’t looking at me like I might bite. Instead, she kept sneaking glances at me with a small smile playing at her lips, like she hoped I would bite.

I was very inclined to give her what she wanted. But we had an appointment, and biting was off the table for now.

“Okay, we need to get you mic’d up,” I said, holding up the small microphone. “This is going to clip to your collar.”

“Let’s do it.” She tilted her chin up, giving me access. I tried to focus on the technical task at hand instead of the fact that I’d kissed that neck approximately six hours ago.

I reached for her collar, my fingers brushing against her skin as I positioned the mic. She shivered slightly, telling me she felt it, too. I couldn’t resist trailing my thumb along her collarbone.

“Adrian,” she whispered, a laugh in her voice. “You’re supposed to be putting the mic on.”

“I’m multitasking.” I leaned closer, adjusting the wire, letting my hand linger at her shoulder. “Is it working?”

She squirmed, biting her lip to suppress a giggle. “You’re going to make me mess up my hair.”

“Your hair looks perfect. And you look delectable. I want my tongue⁠—”

“No!” She burst into laughter. “Stop teasing me.”

I hadn’t gone to her apartment last night planning for things to escalate the way they had. The wine, the photo album, the conversation—that was supposed to be the extent of it. Just two people getting to know each other.

But then she’d looked at me with those eyes, and everything had spiraled. I didn’t regret it. Not even a little.

If anything, standing here now, watching her relax into my touch instead of tensing up, I wanted nothing more than to cancel every interview, appearance, and obligation on our schedule. I wanted to take her somewhere quiet. Private. And then take her loud and hard until neither of us could remember why we’d thought this arrangement was supposed to be fake.

“Are you two about done?” Dash’s voice cut through my increasingly inappropriate thoughts. “We’re going live in five minutes and you look like you’re about to start making out on camera. Which is great for getting people talking but I doubt you kids want to broadcast that to the world.”

Elizabeth immediately straightened, clearing her throat and putting a few inches of space between us. A blush crept across her cheeks.

I shot Dash a murderous look.

He just grinned back, completely unrepentant. “You two are looking pretty convincing this morning,” he added, adjusting one of the ring lights. “But maybe save the PDA for after we wrap. Liza Pizza’s audience is family friendly.”

“I wasn’t—” Elizabeth started, then stopped, seeming to realize that protesting would only make it more obvious.

I finished clipping the mic pack to the back of her waistband, trying to ignore how the simple act of touching her made me want to forget all about the interview. “You’re all set. Just remember, be yourself. That’s what people respond to.”

“Be myself,” she repeated. I could hear the edge of nervousness creeping back. “Right. I can do that.”

The monitor flickered to life, and suddenly Liza Pizza’s face filled the screen. She was eccentric, which her viewers loved. She had bright pink hair, multiple ear piercings and was wearing what looked like a holographic jacket that caught the light every time she moved. Her energy was palpable even through the screen.

Thank God we were doing the interview through video. She would be a little much in person and it certainly wouldn’t help Elizabeth relax.

“Hey, hey, party people!” She waved at the camera, then seemed to spot us on her own screen. “Adrian! Elizabeth! Can you guys see me okay?”

“We can see you,” I confirmed, settling onto the couch next to Elizabeth. Close enough to look like a couple, but not so close that Dash would have to give us another warning.

“Perfect, perfect. Okay, so we’re not live yet, just doing a sound check. How are you guys feeling? Nervous? Excited? Need anything before we start?”

“We’re good,” I said. Elizabeth nodded beside me.