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I shake my head. Why am I even thinking about that? I can’t date anyone right now!
Then Rudy lifts his gaze to mine, his blue eyes so piercing they strike me mute. Smiling genially, he slides off his stool. “Hi. Iliana, right? We met at Thanksgiving a few years ago.”
“I remember,” I mumble. “You were dating my sister.”
Candice and Rudy had a flirtation going on. I encouraged her to tap that because, well, look at the guy!
But Rudy just laughs. “I wouldn’t go that far. We had one date and one kiss. Schoolyard stuff.” He tilts his head as he holds my gaze, his eyes dropping to my lips.
Heat lashes across my middle, and when our eyes meet again his expression has changed. The air between us grows charged.
I clear my throat and turn to one of the stacks of books to hide the flush in my cheeks. “You can call me Lily, by the way. Most people do.”
“Lily,” he says slowly, and a thrill pierces my stomach. “Cute nickname.” Did his voice just get lower? Why does that make my secret place clench?
Don’t think about your secret place.
“Trina couldn’t say Iliana, so she’d call me Lily when she was a toddler. It stuck.” Nice and neutral topic—childhood nicknames. Growing up. Totally non-sexual and won’t make me want to jump over that counter and throw myself at Rudy.
I glance at him and immediately regret it. Those blue eyes are intent on mine, pinning me to the spot. He moves slowly, leaning against the counter. His shirt drags across his chest, palm moving up to scrub the stubble lining his strong jaw.
I fucking love stubble.
We stare at each other for a few long moments until I drag my eyes back to the table full of books in front of me.
“Can I help you find something?”
Well, I came in here to see what kind of smutty romances Agnes had, but maybe I would be better off downloading an eBook. The thought of buying a stack of sex-filled stories—of having Rudy’s broad hands all over the books while he rings them up—is too much for me.
“How about a book that will make me forget about the world around me?” And all the problems I’m dragging around like an overstuffed suitcase.
Rudy’s full lips twitch and he moves from behind the counter. “You don’t work part-time in your grandmother’s bookstore from the time you’re thirteen to thirty-four without a few good recs. Follow me. I’ve got a few books I think you’ll like.”
He’s thirty-four. That’s only six years younger than me. That isn’t too scandalous…is it?
As soon as the thought pops into my head, I mentally smack myself across the face.
Repeat after me: Now. Is. Not. The. Time.
Men do not exist for me right now. Not for a long, long time. Maybe ever.
Sleeping with Agnes’s grandson would be an epically bad idea. Even by my standards.
I still end up buying every book he thrusts into my arms, though. And I do promise to come back and tell him what I think of them.
CHAPTER 22
Fallon
With only a few days remaining in the competition, dread knots in my stomach. Once this is over, I’m not sure Jen will want to continue. Didn’t she say the whole reason we were sleeping together was to win the title?
What happens after?
She’ll realize she’s way too good for me, and I’ll be left on my own again.
But after a day in town watching Jen bloom around all the people who love her most, I can’t help but wrap my arms around her and press my lips to hers. As evening falls all around the guesthouse, we drift toward each other, clothes falling away from our bodies.
Jen doesn’t tug at my shirt, but I wonder if I should remove it. She might ask me about the tattoo, though, and I’m not ready to tell her about my greatest shame. I only have a week left in this little bubble. I don’t want to ruin it with stories of prison. I’m not ready to see the look on her face when she realizes I’m not the man she thought I was. So, instead, I lay her down on her back and I eat the best dessert of all.
