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“Well, we need to be seen,” she said as if it was obvious.
“I know,” I replied.
“You’ll get used to it.”
“I doubt that, but this isn’t about my comfort level.”
Beth tapped her phone against her palm.
“Are you sure? I mean, if you decide you don’t want to do this after all—”
I curved my palm around the back of Beth’s neck, my thumb nestled in the hollow beneath her ear.
“I made a promise to you. And I’m going to follow through.”
Her eyes brightened. The pure hope on her face sent my heart lurching against my ribs. How could anyone bear to make this girl miserable? All I wanted was to put a smile on her face and do everything in my power to keep it there.
Beth cuddled closer, wedging her shoulder against my chest as she held her phone out for a picture. The top of her head brushed my chin and when I breathed in, her sweet scent drowned out the smells of the diner—cigarette smoke, coffee, bacon. All I could smell was honey and roses.
“I’ll try to make this as quick and painless as possible,” she said. “Cross my heart.”
The next fifteen minutes felt like the most exquisite torture I’d ever experienced. While Beth took one picture after another, I did my best to look the part of a doting boyfriend madly in love with his drop-dead gorgeous girlfriend and he didn’t give a damn if the world looked on.
It wasn’t difficult. As I draped my arm around Beth’s shoulders, pulling her close, nuzzling against her hair, it felt as natural as breathing. With every touch, I wanted more. When she slipped her hand into mine and I threaded our fingers together, I would have been content to stay that way for hours if she let me.
As I swept a lock of Beth’s hair away from her shoulder, her breath faltered.
“You’re really good at this,” she murmured.
A small smile tugged at my lips.
“Told you I could be convincing.”
When I brushed a kiss to the curve of her neck, Beth whisperedoh my Godand tilted her head to the side, granting me further access. I crowded her into the booth’s corner, pinned her in place with my body weight. Trailed kisses up to her earlobe as my hands wandered, mapping the curve of her jawline with my fingertips, or teasing at the buttons of her cardigan.
Beth’s breathing grew shallow and fast. I could feel the frantic flutter of her pulse as I pressed my tongue there.
She dropped her phone and it hit the table with a heavy clunk.
You’re getting carried away,a voice in the back of my mind warned.
I didn’t give a damn. Not when I was punch-drunk on the taste of Beth’s skin and the little noises of pleasure she made with every kiss. Murmurs of disapproval echoed in the diner. Dishes and silverware clattered overly loud.
I kept going, dragging my mouth down Beth’s sternum, nosing at her neckline. The faintest swell of cleavage peeked out from her collar and it drove me wild, thinking about kissing her there, too.
Someone cleared their throat. A thunderous bang on our table made the silverware tremble. I glanced over my shoulder to see a heavyset waitress with beehive hair scowling at us as she set a carafe of coffee down forcefully.
“There’s a motel two blocks away for that sort of thing,” she said. “People are trying to eat.”
Beth smoothed her hair back from her face and straightened her cardigan. Her cheeks were blazing red. She looked as if she wanted to crawl under the table and stay there for a week.
After the waitress was gone, I glanced at Beth. She giggled then clamped both hands over her mouth. My heart squeezed. Holy shit, she wascute.
Despite the waitress’s reprimand, I couldn’t resist brushing my knuckles against Beth’s cheek and leaning in to kiss her temple.
“Looks like we don’t need to worry about convincing the public,” I said.
“Axel,” she scolded playfully with a shove to my chest. “You’re going to get us in trouble.”
