“Not quite.” He takes my hands in his and moves a few inches closer. “You remember that clause in the contract?”
“The one… um… about property?”
“Nope.”
“The one about confidentiality?”
“No…”
I swallow hard. “Oh…”
“Yes, Francesca, my darling fiancée. I think it’s about time we had our first kiss. Only it mustn’t seem like our first kiss, of course.”
“I… oh… um…”
“Displays of affection should be natural but appropriate, remember? You signed the contract.”
“Did Tane put in a clause about no tongues?”
He chuckles. “He didn’t get around to it.”
“Oh my God.”
He tries not to laugh. “Are you ready?”
“I need to prepare myself.”
“In what way? Are you worried about the angles or something? You need a protractor?”
“I mean mentally,” I say, exasperated. I’m trembling a little. “Are you sure we should do this? I thought people didn’t like public displays of affection.”
“They do if you’re famous. They lap it up. And they enjoy seeing people in love. It makes them feel good. So the more besotted you look, the better.” He grins.
“You’re enjoying this far too much.”
He chuckles. “Just pretend I’m Tamati.”
“You don’t want that.”
“Why not?”
“You want me to slap you?”
He laughs. “Pretend I’m Tamati before you broke up, is what I meant.”
I frown. “In what way?”
He cocks his head at me. “You were in love with him, weren’t you?”
“Um…” I think about it. “It’s hard to remember what I felt like when we first met. I found him attractive. But by the end all I felt was irritation.”
“How romantic.”
I just shrug. Then I say, “Have you ever been in love?”
He snorts. “No.”
“Then how do you know how to act?”