He unlocked one arm from behind my back to run his thumb over my cheek. “It’s not stupid if it matters to you.”
Why did he have to say things like that? What guy cared about a dumb baby name I’d been obsessing over since I was a kid? No wonder women fell at his feet.
My gaze drifted down to his mouth. No man should have lips like that either. Pouty and oh-so kissable. Honestly, they were girl lips. But on him, situated perfectly amid the stubble and almost always present cocky grin, they were…
Unfair. Holden was…too much. Way out of my league. And I needed to stop torturing myself. Now.
I looked up to see him looking at my lips the same way I’d been looking at his. And a surge of desire shot through me. His kisses were powerful enough to steal all the hurt from my chest. At least for a little while. I’d experienced it twice before and I wanted it right then more than I ever had.
But post-kiss? I’d be a blubbering idiot, stuck on my couch alone, drowning my sorrows in a pint of cotton candy ice cream—another obsession since childhood. The last thing I needed was to be another girl he checked off when he was finished. Besides, I was way too old to be macking with some guy for fun. Especially if I ever wanted a chance to have a baby to name for real. I needed a man without commitment issues and Holden was not it.
I tried to step back, to remove myself from his embrace, but his strong arms were locked tight.
His nose nipped mine. “Where do you think you’re going?”
I rested my hands on his bulging biceps and stared at his throat. “I just…this was a bad idea…the whole fake dating thing…I think we should be…d-done.” The last word caught in my throat and I almost didn’t get it out. I was positive he’d let me go then. Probably shove me off and say good riddance to the whole thing.
Instead, his arms tightened around my back and a smile tugged at his perfect lips. “Yeah. I think so too.” But his voice didn’t match his words. He sounded almost giddy.
And he was still staring at my lips.
I cocked my head trying to figure out whatever game he was playing. And then, all at once his hands came from behind my back and trapped my face. “Christy,” he said in a rough voice. And then he closed his eyes and leaned in.
Oh my gosh.
He was actually going to kiss me.
Holden Dupree whoneverkissed girls first.
I stepped back before his lips hit mine. He stumbled, off balance now that I was gone, and his eyes fluttered open, confused.
I threw my hands out. “What are you doing? We just agreed that we weren’t doing the fake dating thing anymore. And since when is kissing part of it?”
He shrugged. “It could be. We’re pretty good at it. The kissing part, I mean.”
I tucked my hair behind my ear and gulped as I slid back another step. Because his expression was the opposite of what it should’ve been. Hungry and amused, with an annoying dash of arrogance.
“It’s not funny,” I said, my temper sparking. “Stop looking at me like that.”
He took a small step forward, closing the gap between us. “Looking at you like what?” His stupid, sexy mouth was curled up at the corners, one hundred percent toying with me.
I grabbed the A.P. Government textbook off my desk and swatted it at him. “Get back. It’s not funny.”
He moved closer, eyes twinkling. “I mean, it’s kind of funny. You can’t tell me you don’t want to kiss me. Be real, Chris. We’ve been dancing around this for weeks. And nowyou’re going to fend me off with a book?” He said it like, of course every woman he met fell at his feet.
They probably did. But I wasn’t going to be one of them. Anymore.
He held his hands out like,C’mon.“Our chemistry is ridiculous.”
I glowered, steam rolling off my head. How dare he play with me like this? He knew my heartbreak. With each step he took, I took another in the opposite direction. But there are only so many places to go in a tiny box of an office. And, finally, he had me backed into a corner, sandwiched between the wall, the bookshelf, and my desk.
His arms spread open, one hand on the desk and the other on the bookshelf, boxing me in as slyly as if he’d drawn the fourth line in the Dots game I’d let Gabby win a thousand times when we were kids. His expression was still amused, but there was a sprinkle of frustration. Well, good.
He shook his head. “I’ve never, in my entire life, had a woman run from me.”
I shrugged, arms folded. “Happy to be the first, Cocky Butt.”
He laughed. “You’re out of places to go.” His adorable nose scrunched. “Maybe you should ask for a bigger office.”
