"Knowing what, exactly?" she pressed.
I took a deep breath and tried to decide how much to share. "That what I felt for you was different from what I felt for anyone else. You’re special to me, Liv. You were then and you still are now."
She was quiet for so long that I wondered if I'd said too much. Then she reached across the space between us, her fingers finding mine on top of the covers.
"I'm glad you told me,” she whispered. "Even if it took a fake marriage to get you to say it."
I squeezed her hand. "Go to sleep, Liv. Like you said, we've got a big day tomorrow."
She groaned but didn't let go of my hand. And that's how we fell asleep, not wrapped in each other's arms like a real husband and wife, but connected by our hands, a fragile bridge across the space between us.
As I drifted off, I wondered what it would be like if this weren't pretend. If I could roll over and pull her into my arms, kiss her goodnight, and wake up to her next to me every morning. The line between what was real and what was fake was blurring. If we weren’t careful, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
CHAPTER 4
OLIVIA
I woke to sunlight streaming through the crack in the room-darkening curtains and the solid weight of Garner's hand still in mine. His face was relaxed in sleep, his usually guarded features softened, those dark lashes I’d always been jealous of fanned against his cheeks.
My heart did a slow roll in my chest. He looked younger like this, more like the boy who'd climbed through my window a thousand times growing up than the tattooed mountain man who made women swoon when he walked into a room.
His words from last night echoed in my head. What had he meant that I was different? Different how? Different like a sister? Different like a best friend? Or different like... I didn’t dare let myself go there.
I carefully extracted my hand from his and slipped out of bed. The bathroom mirror reflected my wild bedhead and flushed cheeks. I twisted my hair up and splashed cold water on my face. Last night was some good acting. Garner didn’t mean anything by it.
By the time he woke up, I was dressed in jeans and a light sweater, sitting in a chair facing the window and scrolling through the retreat schedule on my phone.
"Morning," he said, voice rough with sleep as he pushed himself up on his elbows. His dark hair was messy, the ink on his arms catching the morning light.
“Good morning. Coffee's here. I ordered room service."
He grunted his thanks and disappeared into the bathroom. I headed out to the balcony, where I’d set up our breakfast of pastries, fruit, and a carafe of coffee. The view was stunning with mountains rising majestically against a cloudless blue sky, the lake below like polished glass.
A few minutes later, Garner joined me, freshly showered and dressed in another one of his henleys that stretched across his broad shoulders. He poured himself a cup of coffee and leaned against the balcony railing.
"What's on the agenda today?" he asked, taking a sip.
I scrolled through my phone. "Relationship warm-up games at nine. Then a hike at eleven." I glanced up at him. "I think the hike might be our best chance to look around."
He nodded, his expression unreadable. "And what exactly are 'relationship warm-up games'?"
"I’m not sure, but I apologize in advance."
The corner of his mouth twitched. "You're the one who got us into this, baby girl."
Baby girl. He'd been calling me that since we were teenagers, but now it sent a flutter through my stomach that had nothing to do with friendship.
"And you're the one who agreed to come," I pointed out, reaching for a pastry to distract myself.
"I never could say no to you." His eyes held mine for a beat too long, and I looked away first.
"We should get going." I left the uneaten pastry on my plate and stood. "We don't want to be late for whatever fresh hell Serena has planned."
Turned out "relationship warm-up games" involved blindfolds, which immediately sent my mind spinning into places it definitely shouldn't go when thinking about my best friend.
"The foundation of intimacy is trust," Serena told us as we stood in the resort's Zen Garden. "Today, we'll practice trusting our partners with our physical safety."
She handed a silky blindfold to each couple. "One partner will wear the blindfold while the other guides them through an obstacle course. No touching allowed, just verbal instructions. Then you'll switch."
