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I had wanted it to happen all afternoon. I tried to talk myself into liking that he was neutral toward me, but the truth was that he drove me wild. I wanted so badly for him to like me—to kiss me.
I melted in his arms, going to him, kissing him back. The first one was a long lingering kiss where we took a second to let the newness sink in, and then I let it happen two or three times—these were softer and more relaxed but faster. Beau's mouth was full and soft, and it stirred up my insides, from my chest down to my core. I felt like I had been zapped with hot electricity. Our kiss was electric.
"Thank you," I said, stepping back from him with a deep, hitching breath. His kiss had literally taken my breath away.
"Thank me?" he asked, looking stunned.
"Yes. Thank you, Beau. Thank you for not leaving me hanging on that. I wanted that to happen."
"I wanted that to happen, too."
"I wouldn't mind a few more of those every now and then while you're in town."
"I don't mind a few of those, either," he said. "But I am not saying anything about any of this to Rose or AJ, or anybody else. They would call us out and make a big deal of it. It would not fly under the radar. I am not going to mention this to them."
"Good," I said. "I don't want you to. People don't understand fake relationships."
"No, they don't at all," he said, still looking at my face.
I leaned up and kissed his mouth again, and he easily kissed me back. I held it for a moment, trying to enjoy it through all the heart pounding.
"But we understand," I said after I pulled back.
"What do we understand again?" he asked, being funny and sounding dazed.
I laughed. He wiped his mouth with his own forearm.
"Thanks a lot," I said sarcastically. "Are you wiping it off?"
"I'm trying to make sure I'm good to go back out there," he said. "They're already going to ask me about coming in here. I don’t want to have lipstick on my mouth."
"I don't have on lipstick," I said.
"Let me see," he said, curiously staring at my mouth. He came in to kiss me again.
I kissed him back and then pulled back just enough to study his mouth. "Nope," I said. "Nothing's there. You look totally normal." I could not make myself resist. I kissed him again, two or three times, before pulling back with a reluctant groan.
"Okay, that is my fake limit for the day," he said, staring away dazedly and shaking his head. "That's all I can handle."
"Oh, okay," I said, sounding a little surprised even though I assumed we were finished. The fact that he wanted to stop hurt my feelings a little, but I wasn't going to tell him that. Feelings weren't supposed to be involved. "What about tomorrow?" I asked, trying not to seem too disappointed as he broke away and headed toward the door.
"Tomorrow is a new day," he said.
***
Before I knew what was happening, the weekend came and went. I worked less this weekend and spent time with the Morgans and Camerons. When I did work, Beau or others in the family helped me, so it went faster. We took photographs for my website and social media, and Ralphie and Hank were both models.
I made plenty of time to hang out and not work, though. We ate burgers and popped fireworks with activities like swimming and backyard football or kickball. Hope, Charlie's wife, had grown up on the lake, and she invited several people over to the house. Her brother had just moved back from Nashville, and he came over with a few other local people at different times on Saturday and Sunday.
It was now Monday, and the house was quiet again. I was left with my emotions, which happened to be ramped up.
Caleb headed back to Florida with Hank this morning. In the grand scheme of things, I had no business being at this house and likely wouldn't return, so my farewell to Caleb had seemed like a permanent one. Even that didn't make me as sad as the idea of saying goodbye to Beau. I couldn't stand the thought of it. He would be leaving in the morning. He would be in Chicago for a week and then Japan for four weeks. By the time he would make it back to the states, I will be back in Chicago and no longer staying at this lake house. That thought scared me. As of tomorrow morning, I would have no more connection to Beau Cameron, and my heart was already starting to break because of it.
He and I had flown under the radar this weekend, but there were plenty of stolen glances and stolen kisses, and as I held back tears, I realized there had been stolen hearts. My heart broke at the thought of Beau leaving tomorrow and heading for Japan.
He would only be overseas for a month, but I was sure we wouldn't see each other afterward. We made no plans to. We spent a lot of time together, but most of it was with other people. We only did the whole fake boyfriend thing when absolutely no one was looking, which had been rare that weekend.
I woke later than usual, and I was on the wrong side of the bed thinking about Caleb being gone and Beau leaving tomorrow morning. I got dressed, washed my face with cold water, and put on a little makeup for the day. I wasn't the type to wear a ton of makeup in the first place, but my regular regimen had decreased since living on the lake.
