Page 40 of Miss Belief

Never comfortable with compliments, I deflected. “It’s the straight hair. Makes a difference.”

He cocked his head to the side and was about to speak, but we were interrupted by an airline employee who’d walked up. “Sir, madam, your gate has been announced.” She went on to give us directions to the gate and to wish us a good flight.

We walked down the wide concourse toward our gate, weaving in and out between fellow passengers. In front of a convenience store, Reid stopped and handed me his carry-on suitcase. “Can you watch this while I get a few things? And do you want anything yourself?”

“No, I’m good, thanks.”

A few minutes later, he came out with a plastic bag.

“What did you get?”

He dug inside and fished out a box which he then handed to me. “Candy for you, milady. Jolly Ranchers are your favorite, right?”

It was sweet. I couldn’t believe he’d remembered. But then, of course he had. We wouldn’t be able to pull this off if he didn’t remember such things. I murmured a thank you for his thoughtfulness and almost couldn’t wait until we’d boarded the next flight before popping an apple-flavored candy into my mouth.

“How are the nuts?” he asked after I let out a long sigh.

Our code question immediately made me smile. “Good. Yours?”

He bit his lip to keep from laughing. “Doing okay.”

But four hours later, I was definitely not doing okay when the cab pulled up to a massive beachside resort. The entrance was lined with palm trees that looked picture perfect in the early afternoon. White columns and impressive archways led to a spectacular, marbled lobby inside. Were they piping in bird sounds, or were those real birds chirping? And was that the scent of tropical flowers, or did they Febreze the place every few minutes? In addition to all this, there was a large water fountain right in the center of the lobby.

Holy out of my league.

The place looked like something from a movie scene, complete with staff in impeccable tan uniforms and megawatt welcome-to-vacation smiles who took our bags. We were officially in paradise. I jumped when Reid took my hand in his.

“Your nuts holding up okay?” he whispered.

“Yeah. Of course. I was momentarily awestruck by this place. Not playing my part very well.”

He squeezed my hand. “How many times do I have to tell you to just be yourself?”

His words indicated one thing but his actions quite another. Hadn’t he bought me all these designer clothes? But I just smiled. It wasn’t his fault I was out of my element.

We walked in and headed straight for the front desk. I noticed Reid was on edge, his eyes darting around the lobby. I imagined he was wondering who might be about to walk up to him, friend or foe. What a strange feeling that must be. No wonder he hadn’t wanted to deal with it alone. I was genuinely glad to be here for him.

He kept his hand in mine at the front desk, bringing my knuckles up to his lips to brush them with a kiss.

This is all pretend. This is all pretend.

“There are two women staring at us from the floor above.” The lobby was open and airy, with steps leading up to a bar or restaurant on the second level that gave views of the water fountain below. “By the way they’re gawking, I assume they must know you, but neither of them is your ex.”

To his credit, Reid didn’t so much as flick a glance their way. Instead, he smoothed an invisible hair behind my ear and bent his head closer.

“You okay with me kissing you?” he asked in a whisper.

“Stop asking and kiss me already,” I ground out. While he was only putting on a show, my body was already tingling with very real anticipation.

He chuckled, amusement dancing in his eyes. “You’re right. I’ll stop asking.” But instead of dropping his lips to mine, he went for my neck, kissing me below my ear.

A shiver snaked through my entire body.

Move over, warm airplane nuts. Neck kisses were now my official kryptonite.

The clerk handed over the card keys. “Enjoy your stay, Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell,” he said in a thick accent.

While I blushed, Reid gave me a wink and didn’t bother to correct the clerk’s mistake in assuming I was his wife.