Like I wasn’t hyperaware of his tall, handsome form standing just a few feet behind me.
“So…” I said, folding a top and setting it in the drawer. “We’ve established that you’re okay pretending to be my boyfriend and sharing a room…” I hesitated. “But are you actually okay with everything that comes with that?” I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Because if we’re doing this in front of Diego… I do want it to feel real. Convincing.”
I studied his face, trying to gauge how far he’d actually thought this through.
“Are you okay with that?” I asked again. “Because last time we talked about your love life, you mentioned that even holding someone’s hand was a pretty big step for you.”
“About that…” He rubbed the back of his neck, looking a little sheepish. “I know I said holding hands was a big deal. But… I’m okay with it.”
“You are?” I paused, searching his face.
He nodded. “Yeah. I mean… I know I’ve been kind of slow getting to a place where I’m comfortable with all of that.” He let out a small breath. “But I know you a lot better than the other women I’ve gone out with so, I don’t think it will be an issue. In fact, this might actually be good for me.”
“You think so?” I asked, trying not to get too excited over the idea that holding hands with Theo might become an actual thing in the near future.
He nodded. “It can be like a trial run. Practice for the future.”
“Practice?”
“I just mean…” He huffed out a quiet laugh. “That practicing things like holding hands. Being close. Kissing…” He paused momentarily, his voice lowering just a fraction. “Doing all that with you can help normalize it so I’m not such a scaredy cat in the future.”
And even though I probably shouldn’t have let my mind wander with him standing just a few feet away, I did anyway.
Because, yeah… if he was up for it, I was more than willing to help him get that practice in.
I just wouldn’t think about the fact that he was using this little arrangement to build up the courage to kiss some other woman in the future. Nope, I would just ignore that little piece of information and blissfully live in the fantasy landthat, for the next few days at least, he was planning to kissme.
My gaze drifted to his lips for a second. But when I met his eyes again, I was suddenly very aware of how close we were standing.
Of the way his gaze had intensified.
Of the warmth spreading through me.
“Okay,” I said, pushing my daydreams aside to be revisited later. “If you’re fine with all that… then I guess we can just see how things go.”
“Perfect.”
I closed the drawer. “But if it ever feels like too much, you need to tell me. I can figure something else out.”
He swallowed, then gave a small nod. “I will.”
A quiet beat settled between us.
And then it hit me.
Kissing might not mean the same thing to both of us.
He might be thinking of doing something quick. Simple.
A peck.
While I…
I wasdefinitelythinking of something else.
So, if we were going to pull this off, there were a few things we needed to get right.
I tilted my head. “But do you actually think you’ll be able to make it convincing?”