“Define behave,” Arden said.
“I’ll try not to turn him into a frog,” Selene shot back. “But no promises.”
Iris moved deeper into the bookstore, the sounds of Arden’s and Selene’s voices drifting away, the stress of the past day easing from her shoulders.
As much as she claimed she hadn’t agreed to cake testing, Iris was glad for a distraction.
She’d lucked out that Monty had been home that morning and full of stories about the exciting things that went down at the star-studded party he’d attended.
His never-ending talking had allowed her to avoid speaking to Finn as he got up and got ready for his day.
She wouldn’t even let herself look at him as he moved around the apartment.
Part of that was her frustration with him for forcing her to remember that their date had been fake all along—despite the very real feelings it had evoked in her.
The other part—the one she was desperately trying not to acknowledge—was that no matter how annoyed she was about how effortlessly Finn could fake real feelings; she couldn’t deny that there was still some definite yearning on her part.
Fine.
It was more than yearning.
It was the kind of aching that had kept her awake all night, tossing and turning and tangling in her sheets, leaving her feeling overheated and unsatisfied.
She couldn’t help but remember the way he’d kissed her, how his hands had teased and tantalized, how he’d been able to read her body so well, to give her exactly what she needed.
Iris was no stranger to all the lovely ways her own body could feel. While she had never really found a love match in her past, she’d been as curious as the next woman when it came to casual dating and exploration with the opposite sex. Everything from that first awkward, uncertain fumbling to a few lovely weeks enjoying the company of a man she knew would never be more than whispered moans and gentle caresses. But no one had ever been able to make her sing the way he could.
And it was just so disappointing that the man who could make her feel those things was the one with whom she could never have a real relationship.
She wasn’t sure Finn was capable of having a genuine connection with anyone.
Iris reached for the first cover that caught her eye. Then another. And another. But as she made her way back toward the front of the store, she couldn’t seem to stop herself from grabbing another of Caprica Coraline’s books, even though she knew it was a romance. A spicy one that was only going to compound those needy feelings inside her.
She couldn’t help it. Despite her current situation, she was a hopeless romantic at heart. She craved those warm and tingly sensations she got from seeing two characters fight for their love.
Sure, when she finished one of those books now, she was filled with a deep well of sadness at the idea of not being able to experience her own love story anytime soon. But she could live vicariously through the characters on the page.
“You sure you want this one?” Selene asked as she rang her order up. “This is extra romantic. I mean, they have a bunch of roadblocks, but it’s a pretty epic love story.”
“And how would you know that?” Arden asked, shooting her a devilish smirk. “It’s hard to take your anti-love campaign seriously when it sounds like you devoured that book in one sitting.”
“I skimmed it. One must understand the battlefield to dismantle the war machine.”
“Admit it. You can’t get enough of books where people kiss and cry and feel things.”
“I read it for purely academic purposes. I was studying the psychological repercussions of unrealistic expectations.”
“There’s nothing unrealistic about love and love stories.”
“Grand romantic gestures come to mind.”
“They exist in real life.”
“Oh, please.Realpeople don’t do grand romantic gestures. They forget your birthday and track dirt in on your rugs.”
“You’re kind of cute when you’re cynical.”
“And you’re kind of tolerable when you’re silent. So, let’s focus more on that. Anyway. Cake.”
