XV
Having A Lark
(Lena)
Hello, disaster. My name is Lena.
It’s the second time I’m waking up next to Brady Pruitt, and it feels like my heart is doing backflips.
It’s official.
I’mfeelingthings.
Warm, gooey, butterfly-kissed things that no self-respecting woman should ever feel over an arrangement that’s a total fraud.
This is fake.
Fake!
I scream it at my inner self, but of course she’s too busy basking in the sugary afterglow.
That’s a problem, isn’t it? With his big arms around me and his soft breath falling against my hair, this doesn’t seem remotely unreal.
Not even a little.
And the way he touched me last night didn’t feel fake.
It felt like the realest thing in the universe.
We have a contract, though.
We have a flippingexpiration date.
A moment in time and space and heartache where we’ll part ways as planned. The more attached I get, the more it’s going to break me when that moment comes.
Just because we’ve had gravity-defying sex and his mother likes me doesn’t mean we’re meant to be anything more than temporary partners for a very strange deal.
My heart finally gets the message my brain keeps sending. The gooey feeling fades, replaced by anxiety.
Awesome. So much better.
I’m breathing faster, and his arms tighten around me.
Even in his sleep, it’s like he’s tuned to my mental state with this instinct to protect me—even from myself.
And I remember the way he held me when I broke down and spilled about Harry—the breakdowns I’ve been having way too often lately—and all the sweet things Brady said.
The way he convinced me it’s not my fault.
That sticks in my head like bubble gum to hair. Impossible to separate without hacking it out.
I roll over, pressing my lips to his collarbone, careful not to wake him. Brady doesn’t stir, but he makes a soft sound of contentment and slides his leg between mine.
I breathe with my eyes closed until my nervousness fades and the confusion settles, just letting myself be.
This doesn’t have to be so complicated.
We can enjoy each other just fine.
