His eyebrows shoot up. “You want to put my face on the Internet?”
“Yup. You’re my fiancé, remember?” I smirk. “It’s totally normal that you show up on my socials.”
“Touché.” He laughs and I’m distracted by how much Ilike hearing it. “Alright, I’m in. I’ll be your skincare guinea pig.”
“Perfect. I’ll bring some products tomorrow and we can film a little intro video. I’ll explain the routine, you’ll try it out, and you’ll get glowing skin in the process.”
“You’re saying this could be evenhotter?” He points at his face.
“I’m saying you’ll beradiant,Esteban.”
He grins at me and there’s something really genuine in the way his eyes soften. “Cool. Tomorrow, then.”
“Tomorrow.” I nod, smiling back.
And just like that, we have a plan for fake love, flawless skin, and a little social media magic. Totally normal for an engaged couple, right?
Chapter Ten
Esteban
The house is quiet again. Too quiet. The kind of quiet that makes your thoughts louder, heavier, harder to ignore.
I lean against the kitchen counter, arms crossed. The dishes are clean, the counters wiped, the fridge neatly packed with enough rice and beans to feed an army.
I walk to my room and sit down on my bed thinking about her.
After cooking, laughing, and pretending not to be attracted to Eva for the evening, I should be exhausted. But I’m wide awake. My brain’s buzzing, my chest feels too tight, and my bed, though freshly made, looks less inviting than usual. Because she’s not here.
God, that woman got under my skin so fast I didn’t even see it coming. One minute she’s walking into my house, throwing around compliments about the kitchen like she’s not completely throwingmeoff… and the next, I’m mentally bookmarking the exact way her eyes lit up when she said, “I love tostones.”
I scrub a hand down my face and let out a long breath.
It was supposed to be a fake date.
Just a fun dinner to help us build our story, get the details straight and make sure we don’t look like total strangers when we fly to Florida in two weeks and start selling the world the lie of “Esteban and Eva: Happily Engaged.”
And yet…
I had fun.Toomuch fun. The kind of fun that feels dangerous.
She laughed at my jokes. Flirted back, unless I imagined that part, which maybe I did. But man, the way she looked at me when I told her I made the food? That little smile she gave me before taking a bite? And then the moan that followed, like I’d just served her heaven on a plate? That wasn’t fake. No way.
The worst part was how my body reacted to her.
I had to work way too hard to hide the erection that hit me both times she moaned. Once for the food, and once when she went all dramatic and said I’d won her over with fried plantains. I never thought watching someone eat my food could get me hard, but she pulled it off like it was nothing. Just sat there, looking all gorgeous and sexy and completely unaware of the effect she had on me.
Or maybe she knew. Hell, maybe shemeantit. I don’t know. And that’s the problem.
Because yeah, I’m a flirt. I own that. It’s basically my second language. But tonight felt different. I wasn’t just tossing lines for fun. I wastrying. And not just because Ineed her help with McNeal. Which I do. Badly.
If we land this ski resort deal, it’ll change everything for Noah and me. So yeah, Eva’s help is priceless.
But tonight wasn’t about the business. Not really. It was about the way she crinkled her nose when she read my messy handwriting. The way she made fun of me for joking that she proposed. The way she told me her dreams like I was someone she could trust with them.
And damnit now I’m lying in my bed, staring at the ceiling like some teenager with a crush. I even cleaned my damn bathroom just in case she peeks in there tomorrow when she comes over to show me how to use skin care. Because apparently, I’m the kind of guy who’s willing to rub stuff on his face if it means he gets to be near her a little longer.
A serum. A toner. A hydrating mist. Whatever the hell she brings. I’m in. Like,allin.
