The Almost Romantic: How to Date Your Fake Husband by Lauren Blakely
Author:Lauren Blakely [Blakely, Lauren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lauren Blakely Books
Published: 2024-03-14T00:00:00+00:00
22
A LITTLE CAVEMAN
Elodie
Sticks and Stones closes at midnight, so the place is still bustling when we grab a booth in the far back, past the pool and Ping-Pong tables. In seconds, a woman with a pixie cut arrives to take our order.
âRosemary fries and a chicken sandwich with sriracha times two,â she says after we place it. âArenât you two lovebirds the cutest?â
Gage startles for a second. Then he adjusts, adding a mostly genuine smile. Ohhh. His employees donât know this is fake, of course, but heâs still adjusting to people assuming weâre a couple. He drags a hand through his hair, a sign heâs a little stressed, but I hope she doesnât know his tells like I do. âYup. We both just have good taste,â he says to her.
âWe do,â I second, then she heads off. When sheâs gone, I ask, just to be sure, âShe doesnât know?â
âNope. And I feel bad lying.â
âI get that.â
âWell, except to Sebastian,â he says with a growl.
I still feel like I need to take a shower because of that guy. But I want to deal with the tension between Gage and me first. I canât let it take up so much real estate. Iâve been noodling on his we good comment since this afternoon. I didnât want to get into it then. I do now, especially after the awkward moments between us tonight, the uncertainty in how we spoke to each other.
But before I can even begin, he takes over with, âElodie, Iâm sorry I didnât listen to you earlier.â
His tone is laced with regret. But I donât know exactly what heâs talking about. âWhat do you mean?â I ask carefully.
He rakes his hand through his thick hair a second time, messy at this late hour, unkempt and a little wild. A lot sexy. âYou were worried you didnât have enough chocolate, and I made it seem like your concerns were nothing. I was only focused on me. And Celeste. And then I didnât even know how to handle her. You saved me with the sparkling water. Thank you. I was in a big hole there. Felt like I was on the mound with the bases loaded.â
I canât help it. I smile. âIs this where Iâm the catcher again?â
He leans back in the booth, a little chagrined but also owning his sports speak. âYou can take the man out of the baseball game, but I guess you canât take the baseball out of the man.â
âWe helped each other,â I say. âI was seriously grateful for your save with the chocolate race. That was amazing.â
âBut I should have listened to you sooner,â he says, like heâs beating himself up over this. âI was obsessed with Celeste and the location. I can get a little single-minded.â
Heâs so self-aware, itâs refreshing. âI noticed,â I say softly, exonerating him. âAnd I understand.â
The other day when he shut down after he touched me, I was hurt. I felt as if Iâd made myself vulnerable because, well, sex is vulnerable.
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