“I’m not, huh?”
“Nope.” I shift my toes, pressing them up against his calf.
“I think this counts asunfriendlytouching,” he grumbles, and I dig my toes under a little deeper. “This should earn me at least three more reasons.”
“You’re real,” I say. “And thoughtful. You pay attention and listen with your whole face.”
“My whole face?”
“Yes! You don’t look at your phone. When you’re talking to me, you’re only talking to me. You have no idea how rare that is.”
“This is a fun game,” Carter says, and I reach over and nudge him in the side.
“You shouldn’t ever feel less than your brother. Truly. You’re going to make someone very happy one day.”
The words hang in the air between us, silence stretching for so long, I start to wonder if I said something wrong. But then Carter’s voice cuts through the silence.
“Thanks,” he says softly. “You said some really nice things about me.”
“They’re all true.” Another beat of silence passes before I say, “I’m glad we’re friends, Carter.” As soon as the words are out of my mouth, I wonder if the wordfriendsfeels like enough.
Carter takes a deep, audible breath before adding, “Yeah, me too.”
16
CARTER
I wakeup to my alarm at seven a.m. with Sarah’s arm draped across my midsection, her head resting on my shoulder. I have no idea how we got here—but I know the four hours of sleep I just got were the best I’ve had in a long time.
I manage to retrieve my phone from the nightstand and turn off the alarm without disturbing Sarah, then I drop it onto the mattress beside me and take a second to enjoy having her so close.
Pretty sure the leg she has draped overmyleg wouldn’t qualify as “friendly touching,” which means we’re breaking her rules right now, and as soon as she wakes up, she’s going to realize it. But I can’t bring myself to push her away. Not yet. Not until I absolutely have to.
Sarah stirs, snuggling in a little deeper, and I let myself wrap my arm around her shoulders as I think back on the last eight hours.
The night was not what I expected. At least not entirely. I expected her to look amazing. I expected us to get engaged. But I didn’t expect how easy it would feel. How kissing herwould feel like the beginning of something much bigger than a marriage of convenience.
I’ve never clicked with anyone like I click with Sarah, which is why it was so hard to hear her outline all the ways she wants to protect her heart…from me.
I almost asked her, right before we fell asleep, why we needed the rules at all. She admitted she’s attracted to me, and I’m definitely attracted to her, so what if we just see what happens?
But I couldn’t do it. In the end, I didn’t want to ask because I didn’t want her to tell me that for her, it’s only physical. I didn’t want to hear her say she wouldn’t have chosen me if her brother hadn’t put her up to it.
She’s the one who asked for the rules, so she must have a reason. And there’s not a whole lot I can do about that.
Which sucks. Because holding her like this feelsreallygood.
Maybe I can convince her to give me a chance or at least figure out why she’s resistant. Shedidmention she’s not great at trusting people. So maybe she needs time to realize she can definitely trust me.
Sarah lets out a small moan. “Mmm. Is it time to wake up yet?”
I lift my head to look at her. She looks beautiful. Peaceful. So comfortable. I hate to make her move. But even if she doesn’t have anywhere to be, I’ve got to be on the team bus in less than an hour.
I reach up and brush her hair away from her face. “Yeah, it is,” I say softly.
Her eyes flutter open, and I wonder when she’s going to realize just how much of her is touching me. She blinks once,twice, then slides her hand over my chest before sitting bolt upright in bed.
There it is.Reality hitting her.
