Ten Rules for Faking It by Sophie Sullivan

Author:Sophie Sullivan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

[21]

Whatever words she’d rehearsed in her head slipped away the minute Chris walked toward her, worry furrowing his brow. Dressed in a pair of jeans and a hoodie, his hair mussed, she wondered where he was coming from. A casual date at his house? A woman’s home? Why do you care?

At the moment, she didn’t. She’d called, he’d come, and the relief of that pushed everything else away. Including her typical reserve as she stepped into him and wrapped her arms around his waist, letting her head rest on his chest so she could hear his steady heartbeat. His arms closed around her automatically. He shut the door with his foot and just stood there, holding her, not saying anything. It was her definition of perfect.

He didn’t rush her, but when she felt like she could talk about it, she stepped back. He bent his knees and looked into her eyes. “Are you okay?” His voice was hushed, but he wasn’t looking at her like she was weak, and for some reason, it made her feel stronger. She wasn’t weak. Just tired.

She nodded, about to speak, but then his eyes widened, his hand coming to her face. His thumb swept, feather-light, across her cheek, reminding her of the scratch. His skin on hers made her cheek feel like a hot spot.

With a frown, his other hand went to her upper arm to hold on. “What happened?”

“Oh. I…” Where’d her words go? Why did it feel like her cheek had its own pulse beneath his thumb?

“Everly? Did you hurt yourself?” His tone was so tender and concerned. It threatened to unravel her again.

“I scratched myself by accident.” She walked into the living room with him on her heels.

Belatedly, she realized she hadn’t followed through with contractual obligations. The thought hadn’t run through her head in her panic or the aftermath. Now, she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d get in trouble. Whirling around with this new concern, her breath caught in her chest, snagging like cloth in a zipper. He wasn’t looking at her like she was an employee or worried about whether she’d fulfilled her end of the bargain.

He’s looking at you like a friend. Someone he cares about. Don’t make it more. You do that. You see things that aren’t there.

“I didn’t go,” she blurted. Pressing her fingernails to her palms, she gave him the rest before she could chicken out. “I couldn’t do it. I’m sorry. I just … It was too much tonight. With the road to the final two and the jokes and my parents’ party last weekend … it just … I’m sorry.”

Chris tilted his head, opened his mouth to speak, and then stopped. He ran both hands through his hair and shook his head. “Okay.” The word bounced off the walls.

Everly’s heart hammered. Did he not understand? Loosening her fingers, forcing steady breaths, she tried again. “I got to the restaurant, and I couldn’t go through with it. I came home and texted him, apologized.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.