Page 58 of The Casanova Complex

And it blows my fucking mind.

How the hell do you have a girl like Merritt and fumble her? How do you not pay attention to every single thing about her? Her favorite movies, her favorite music, the things that earn you that sweet, soft little smiles that are few and far between.

What a fucking idiot.

Merritt is the kind of girl you only pay attention to.

Of course, Gauthreaux would fuck that up, and you know what? I’m glad he did.

“Why not flowers?”

“I just don’t like them. They die, and it feels like taking the easy way out when you’re trying to show someone you care about them.”

Hm.

I nod. “Fair. What would you want in place of them?”

“I don’t know?” Her brows draw together as she pulls her lip between her teeth. “A book? A record? My favorite candy? Something that shows that the person actually knows you. Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is fuck him, and if this is the only fuck you I can send to him, then cool. He deserves way more, plus a kick to the balls.”

That makes me grin.

“Stabby per usual,” I murmur. When her pink, pillowy lips pull into a half smile, my gaze drops, tracing over them again and then again because I can’t stop fucking staring.

Just as quickly as it came, it’s gone, and she shrugs, shifting on her feet like she feels it too, the same pull that I am, and it’s too much. Either that or the fact that I’m studying her lips like I should be studying this project we’re assigned together on. She hastily reaches for the contract and snatches it off the table.

“We need to discuss the details.”

“Okay. Hit me.”

Her eyes narrow. “Time frame. How long are we expected to keep up this… charade?”

I shrug. “As long as it needs to look believable, I guess. Through the season?”

“Okay. So… March?”

“Works for me. Hopefully by then, you, my beautiful good luck charm, will have us on our way to the Frozen Four with me in the net.”

Merritt nods. “Fine. We’ll be close to graduation at that point anyway. But my conditions are this.” She pauses, flipping the page over. “No touching. No flirting. No anything that’s not necessary for the purpose of our arrangement.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” I say, chuckling as I shake my head. “So you’re expecting people to believe that you’re my girl, and I can’t even touch you?”

“Keep it to a strict minimum. And only when absolutely necessary, as stated above. Which means when we’re in public and surrounded by witnesses.”

“Yeah, no. Listen, if you want to actually pull this off and convince your fuckass ex that you’ve moved on with me, you’re going to have to loosen the reins a little bit. There is no fucking way anyone would believe that the girl I’m obsessed with isn’t going to have me touching her or kissing her every chance I get. Especially since you’ll be the first girl I’ve ever dated… like ever.”

Her mouth falls open before she quickly recovers, snapping it shut. “That is… wow. Okay, well, still. The rules still apply. Only when necessary. One kiss each game for your stupid superstition thing, and touching only when in public. We do this until March, and then we walk away, and it’s over. This is an arrangement, Legros, not a real relationship. There have to be rules to this, or I’m out.”

My lips twitch, but I nod. “Don’t worry, Merritt. I promise I’ll follow all of your rules, and I’ll only touch you when you’re begging for it.”

It’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when.

I think Merritt might be the girl that’s… more.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

MERRITT

Realistically, I shouldn’t be this nervous about tonight since, you know, it isn’t actually real, but tell that to my anxious brain, which is spinning at ninety to nothing right now.