“You’re making this too real,” I mumble into his skin, my body still shaking.
His hand stills on my back.“Then let’s make it real.”
My heart skips a beat—lurches painfully in my chest.I force my eyes to stay closed, force my breathing to stay even.“Let’s talk about this later.”
For a moment, he says nothing.Then his lips press against the top of my head, soft and gentle.“As you wish.”The phrase makes something in my chest squeeze tight.He’s said it before—at the race, when I told him to just have fun instead of worrying about winning.Both times, his voice had held that same note of yielding, of giving me what I need even when it’s not what he wants.
His breathing deepens, slows, and I know he’s fallen asleep.But I can’t.My eyes open, staring at the ceiling of my childhood bedroom.The glow-in-the-dark stars I stuck up there when I was twelve are still visible, faint green dots against white paint.
My heart pounds against my ribs.
‘Let’s make it real.’
Four weeks.That was the deal.Four weeks of pretending.Then we go back to New York, and everything returns to normal.
Except nothing about this feels pretend anymore.Not the way he looks at me.Not the way he touches me.Not the way my family has welcomed him like he’s always belonged here.Not the way my heart races every time he walks into a room.
I turn my head slightly, studying his face in the darkness.In sleep, he looks younger, the hard lines of his jaw softened, his expression peaceful in a way I rarely see when he’s awake.
‘I’m not letting Chase have any claim on your traditions,’ he’d said when he agreed to do the race.
‘There’s nothing I won’t do for you,’ he’d promised when I told him about Amber.
‘Then let’s make it real.’
I press my hand to my chest, feeling my heart hammer beneath my palm.This was supposed to be simple.Help each other through the holidays.Show my ex I’d moved on.Help him avoid his family’s expectations.Clean, straightforward, temporary.
But Alexander Castellano has never done anything halfway in his life.And now I’m lying here, naked in his arms, trying to remember why I ever thought I could keep my heart out of this.
Outside, snow begins to fall again.I can hear it hitting the window—soft, persistent, relentless.Like him.
I close my eyes and try to sleep, but all I can hear are his words echoing in my head.‘Let’s make it real.’And the terrifying part?
I want to.
Iwake up to the shrill ring of a phone that definitely isn’t mine.My eyes crack open to unfamiliar darkness, and I fumble across the nightstand until my fingers close around the vibrating device.Alexander’s phone.The screen reads “Mom” in bold letters.
Oh, shit.
I sit up so fast my head spins, the sheets pooling around my waist.Where is Alexander?I listen for the sound of running water from down the hall, but there’s nothing.The house is quiet except for the phone’s insistent ringing.
My thumb hovers over the screen.I could let it go to voicemail.I should let it go to voicemail.But what if it’s an emergency?
I swipe to answer.“Hello?”
There’s a pause on the other end, just long enough for me to wonder if I’ve made a terrible mistake.
“Oh.”A woman’s voice, warm and slightly surprised.“I wasn’t expecting...Is this Olivia?”
Every muscle in my body tenses.“Yes, hi, Victoria.”
“Well, this is a surprise.”She sounds amused now, and I can hear the smile in her voice.“I didn’t realize you were with Alexander.”
My face flames.“He’s, um, busy right now.Can I take a message?”
The silence stretches again, and I start mentally cataloging every worst-case scenario.What if she thinks I’m some random hookup?What if she’s disappointed?What if?—
“No, that’s fine.”Her tone is lighter than I expected.“I’ll call him later.How are you, dear?”
