Iwake up with Nadia sprawled across my chest like she owns it.
Her braids are a mess, half undone and fanning across my shoulder. One of her legs is thrown over mine, her hand resting directly above my heart. She's drooling slightly, which I find unreasonably endearing.
This is dangerous.
Not the physical intimacy. I can handle that. I've had lovers in my bed before, have woken up tangled in warm limbs and satisfied exhaustion.
What's dangerous is how right this feels. How the weight of her against me fills a space I didn't know was empty. How I'm already dreading the moment she wakes up and the spell breaks and we have to go back to being two people with an expiration date.
My phone buzzes on the nightstand. I reach for it carefully, trying not to disturb her.
Declan
County cleared the main road. You alive up there?
Alive. Plowing out now.
Declan
Heard you have company. Town's talking.
Of course the town's talking. Silas probably had the news spreading before we finished our first drink.
Mind your business.
Declan
Never. Bring her to Sunday dinner. Your brothers want to meet her.
I set the phone down without responding. Sunday dinner is three days away. By Sunday, Nadia will be back in Chicago, and this weekend will be nothing but a memory I'll spend the next eight years trying not to think about.
She stirs against me, making a soft sound of protest as consciousness intrudes.
"What time is it?"
"Just after seven. Roads are clear. We can make the rehearsal dinner if we leave by four."
"Mmm." She burrows deeper into my chest. "Five more minutes."
"Take as many minutes as you need."
She's quiet, and I think she's fallen back asleep until her fingers start tracing patterns on my skin. Lazy circles around my nipple, wandering lines across my collarbone.
"I should check my phone." She doesn't move to do it. "Yasmine's probably sent a hundred messages."
"Probably."
"And my mom. And my dad. And the family group chat that I muted six months ago but still shows notifications."
"Sounds exhausting."
"It is." She props her chin on my chest, looking up at me with those dark eyes still soft from sleep. "They're going to ask about you. My family. They're going to want to know how we met and how long we've been together and what your intentions are."
"We met at The Velvet Antler two nights ago. We've been together since then. And my intentions are to be the best fake boyfriend you've ever had."
Her smile is small but genuine. "You're already the best fake boyfriend I've ever had. Low bar, considering you're the only one."
"Then I'll aim higher. Best boyfriend, period."
