Tanner didn’t show. But that worked because Mach played excellent interference, totally distracting his mom with way too much charisma. Though, give the guy credit for taking on the task.Mach for the win.
“You should kiss me,” Irina said against Knox’s earlobe. “Make it look good. But no tongue in front of your mom.”
“So on a scale of one to ten, you’d like a two?” He figured he should just confirm this before he wrecked his score without reason.
“Knox.” Irina wound herself around his arm, not inappropriate, just as though she were comfortable enough in his presence to touch him like this.
Honestly, he liked the touching. Appreciated it, and wanted more.
He wasn’t supposed to enjoy it enough to want more.
“I can’t kiss you. You’re supposed to kiss me. Remember? Rules.” He’d laid down the line that she’d be the one to kiss him so he couldn’t back out on that now. Of course that had to happen before his mother entered the picture.
“Kiss me already, stud,” Irina whispered against his ear, gripping his forearm with her fingernails.
Fine. Whatever. She didn’t have to ask him twice. She’d asked him, so that was basically the same as her kissing him.
He leaned in and gave a little peck to her lips. The kind of kiss that two people who truly knew each other would give—a quick, totally-appropriate-for-public-consumption tap against Irina’s mouth.
“When she’s looking, goober,” she said against his lips. “She’s not looking.”
He glanced to his mom and Mach. Mach was chatting her up with entirely too much charm, he’d need to put a lid on that. But his distraction technique was phenomenal, so he’d definitely go on the wedding rotation to keep his parents occupied.
Mom glanced over. Knox looked down to Irina and she looked up at him. They were way too close, way too startled, and way too out of practice, because first their noses collided, then their teeth.
“Ow.” She jerked away, rubbing her front teeth.
He also jerked away, but he added a solid f-bomb to the mix.
Mom frowned.
Mach looked at them like, what-the-fuck?
“Wedding nerves,” Irina said, tapping on her front teeth and then running her tongue over them.
They were fine. His were fine.
Their egos could use a touch of hand holding, however.
“You two are seriously doing this?” Mom asked, folding her hands in front of her since putting them on her hips would be way too cliche for her. “Because you could simply live together and not do the paperwork associated with it.”
Knox deflated as though she’d stuck him with a pin.
“There are much better ways to make a point to your mother than tying yourself up legally to a woman you barely know.”
Hold up. She thought he was doing this to make a point with her?
“What point do you think I’m trying to make?” he asked, because seriously all he was doing was trying to clean up his tabloid image.
“Don’t think I don’t understand. I understand better than you’ll ever know. Marrying a woman you don’t love to stick it to your divorced parents.”
“Why don’t you think I love her?” He scowled.
He did love Irina, even if he wasn’t in love with her. He loved the way her smile made him all warm inside and the way she made him laugh.
“Knox, there is no way you’d fall for a woman like Irina…” She scraped her gaze over Irina’s eclectic clothing and footwear choices.
Enough was enough.
