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I furrowed my brow as I walked around the structure, wondering just how I was going to get a selfie with the goddess of the sea—she was a great deal taller than me, after all. After a few circles, I found a good place to get a leg up, and managed to lift myself with my phone in one hand.
“I don’t think he meant a literal selfie, Luna,” Brad said, concern lining his features as he stepped just beneath me.
I glanced over my shoulder and down, smiling at him. “I don’t want to take the chance that he did mean it literally and not get it. It’ll only take a second.”
Brad sighed. “I really don’t think you’re supposed to be up there—”
“I’m not touching the statue,” I cut over him, climbing up on the base of the structure and reaching up on my tiptoes. I got my face in line with the mermaid, put on my best selfie grin, and snapped the photo. I stepped down while simultaneously texting the evidence to Ezra, nothing but a victory tune ringing in my head.
I misstepped and slipped backward, my heart lodging itself in my throat as my spine aimed straight for the pavement—
A pair of strong arms braced my fall, and Brad hauled me up, one arm under my knees and the other cradling my back as he held me against his chest.
“See,” he said, his breath a little ragged. “I told you, you shouldn’t climb up there.”
“You caught me,” I said, feeling utterly shocked and swoony at the same time. Who the hell catches someone without being in a movie?
“Of course, I did,” he said, still holding me. “I’d never let you fall.”
His words were so matter of fact, so obvious and sincere that they shot right through the heart of me. Adrenaline and need and relief coiled in one jumble of emotions that had me shifting in his arms until my mouth met his.
His mouth was warm and strong against mine, his instant response to the kiss making electricity crackle in my veins. His hold on me tightened, his lips working over mine in a sweet kiss that had heat licking up my spine. I fisted his shirt, kissing him harder, my heart racing against my chest as desire flickered to life inside me.
I didn’t want to stop. I wanted more—
Reality struck me suddenly, forcing me to draw back.
We weren’t pretending.
Not here, where no one needed to believe we were engaged. This was just me and my best friend. Me, making out with my best friend because he saved me from cracking my head open.
“I just wanted to say thank you,” I said, eyes wide and breathing heavy. “I’m sorry.”
Brad slowly shifted me, allowing my body to slide down the length of his as he settled me on my feet. His eyes never left mine. “I’m not.”
My heart climbed up my throat, a whole heap of uncertainty and unbridled need slamming into me from all different directions. He smoothed a hand down my arm, never once attempting to take a step back and put space between us.
This was bad.
This was so very bad.
I didn’t want him to step away.
I didn’t want him to stop touching me like I worthy of devotion.
I didn’t want him to do anything but keep looking at me with those blue-gray eyes of his with that look I couldn’t read but oh so badly wanted to.
“Brad—”
My phone buzzed, snapping me back to a reality where we were in public and on a very important mission. I looked down, my eyes lighting up when I read the text. I flipped my phone to show him.
“We won,” I said.
His smile was the most delicious thing I’d ever seen—all confidence, pride, and just a hint of desire.
“Have I ever told you how magnificent you are?” he asked, sliding an arm casually around my shoulders as he navigated us toward the busy street to hail a cab.
“Never,” I teased.
He told me all the time, but it was easier to fall back into our friendly banter than deal with the very real emotions I was having a hard time denying.
“Maybe I will someday.”
CHAPTER 8
Brad
“Thank you for taking the time to meet with me,” I said, sitting across the table from Ezra. The place he’d picked for lunch was away from the resort where the retreat was being held, a little understated restaurant off of the tourist path.
“You earned it,” Ezra said, taking a sip of his drink before the waiter came to snag our orders.
Luna had earned this lunch for me more than I did. I’d helped during the scavenger hunt, but she was the one who drove us toward the finish line.
A spike of need jolted my veins at the memory of her kiss after I’d caught her when she’d slipped from the statue. Fuck me, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It hadn’t been pretend, hadn’t been practice, it’d been spontaneous and real.
