Page 56 of Heart Breaker

Wes glances over briefly before looking back at the road. “Explain.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” I say, twisting the sleeve of my sweater around my fingers. “I got married without telling them first. I married someone they don’t know. I⁠—”

“You…what?”

“I should’ve told them the truth. I know that. But then I saw the tears shining in my Dad’s eyes and the way his whole face lit up when he realized I was married, and the words wouldn’t come. He looked so damn happy for me.”

How was I supposed to look at him and tell him none of it was real?

I stare down at my hands. There’s no limit to what I would do to give my dad more time with us. Marrying Wes means that we don’t need to worry about my dad’s treatment or care, so I would do it again. But part of me does wonder if I went too far. If I should have told them the truth. If I’ll regret it.

“I make impulsive decisions when I’m scared,” I say simply.

Silence settles inside the car. After a moment, Wes reaches over without warning and rests his hand on the back of my neck, squeezing gently. He leaves his hand there as he continues to drive, his thumb brushing absently behind my ear. The tiny gesture, I have to admit, feels really nice.

“I wouldn’t have been able to take that happiness away from him either.” His eyes stay on the road. “And for what it’s worth…I don’t think your parents looked remotely disappointed,” he says, making a right turn toward Vancouver.

No, they didn’t. If anything, my mother looked five seconds away from ordering a custom “Welcome to the Family” sign for Wes. The thought makes me snort softly.

“What?” Wes asks, glancing over briefly.

“I think my mom already loves you.”

His brows lift lightly. “I doubt that.”

I sink a little further into my seat while his thumb continues to brush lazy strokes along my neck. “She absolutely does. You didn’t see the look on her face when you hugged my dad and agreed to dinner.” I gesture between us. “We’re wearing matching wedding rings, and she caught you kissing the top of my head. That’s basically enough for her to adopt you into the Hart family.”

Wes exhales a quiet laugh and the sound settles warm and low in my stomach. My God. This man is becoming a serious problem for me.

Outside, Vancouver blurs by in streaks of headlights and glowing storefronts while warm air drifts softly through the cracked window.

“And now,” I continue, “we have to figure out how to survive dinner.”

Wes arches a brow. “Survive? Are you being maybe a little bit dramatic?”

“You don’t understand how my family works,” I explain. “They’re going to stare at us the entire night. They’re going to spend the whole time trying to figure this out.”

“We’re married,” he says simply.

“Fake married.”

His thumb taps against the steering wheel. “Right.”

Something about the way he says it makes my chest tighten slightly. I clear my throat quickly. “My mom’s one hundred percent going to make a fuss, propose a toast, bake a cake.”

“I think we can handle that.”

“She’s also probably going to cry if you show even a little affection toward me.”

That finally gets a real laugh out of him. “And here I thought the terrifying part was meeting your family.”

“Oh no,” I say. “The terrifying part is that now we actually have to act like a married couple in front of them.”

Wes glances over at me, dark eyes catching mine briefly before returning to the road. “Peach,” he says calmly, “you kissed me in public in front of a restaurant and reporters. I think we’ll survive dinner.”

Heat rushes instantly into my face and the only thought that comes to my mind is, I want to kiss him again. I can’t get that kiss out of my mind, the rough warmth of his mouth, the soft glide of his tongue against mine. It was the hottest kiss of my life. And I need to remind myself that wanting more from Wes is a bad idea. Because all of this is temporary, and if I let things go too far, it’ll hurt too much when it’s time to walk away.

“That was different,” I tell him.