Page 12 of The Best Bad Decision

Okay, maybe both could be true at the same time.

But teasing aside, he’d done his best not to push the limits of fake-dating etiquette.

“I’m not sure if I should thank you for that or feel offended that I wasn’t sexy enough to ogle.” I wasn’t sure it was a great tease, but the flash of a smile it earned me said I hadn’t sounded as awkward as I’d feared I would. “Thank you for the information, though.”

Following him up the porch, I aimed my back toward the tree but didn’t do anything else yet. I’d been thinking about how our date should end and about some of the odd things he’d said when he’d been teasing me, and I knew I was missing something important.

Probably several somethings if I was being honest, but I’d never dated anyone like Casimir, so I couldn’t even begin to start listing them off.

He waited, stubbornly patient in a way I both liked and that drove me crazy.

“Do you want me to make sure they can’t see what we’re doing?” I wasn’t going to argue that no one was watching because that would’ve been stupid. “What would you prefer?”

The one thing I didn’t have to worry about was Casimir not having an opinion.

Oh.

He smiled.

“Those are two very different questions.” He paused, eyes filling with mischief. “Which one would you actually like me to answer?”

They were different?

Thinking about what I’d asked and how it could’ve been taken, I started connecting the dots. “Both, please.”

Maybe?

I’d been very clear about needing a fake boyfriend to help steer my family toward reality, but he’d been equally clear that he thought I was attractive. I just had no idea what that meant and what should happen from there.

I was technically still married since Valerie was dragging her feet as much as humanly possible.

I was also nearly hopeless when it came to dating men. They usually just stared at me oddly like I was supposed to be reading their minds and it was always a minefield to figure things out. Thankfully Casimir wasn’t like that.

“I don’t need privacy unless we’re pretending that you’re giving me a chaste goodnight kiss before you head home. In that case it’ll be easier to keep up the charade if they can’t see what we’re doing.” He had a point, but I waited because it felt like he hadn’t answered the question.

Something had his smile coming back as he shifted against the doorframe, somehow making his body look like it had more curves than I knew it did. “If we’re not pretending, then I’m good either way. I don’t mind giving the busybodies a show but I don’t need exhibitionism to enjoy a goodnight kiss.”

Exhibitionism?

So he didn’t mind it but he didn’t need it?

At what point did public displays of affection become exhibitionism?

While my brain tried to process the odd questions, his smile turned wicked. “I’d like more than a polite peck but I’m not going to push you past your limits. I agreed to a fake date, so I’m just answering your questions.”

Somehow it didn’t feel that way even though he was technically correct.

“Thank you for answering my questions.” Now what? “I’m not comfortable guessing what ‘more than a peck’ means.”

He blinked and I could almost hear the wheels in his head spinning faster. “Do you want me to give you my limits or do you want me to tell you how to please me?”

He asked the most curious questions.

Okay.

He was right…they weren’t the same things even if they sounded like they should be.

“I’m going to admit I wouldn’t ask this with anyone else but…but we’ve started out on a very honest footing.” I told myself I wasn’t going to feel stupid no matter how off-kilter I felt. “Is there a right or wrong answer to that question?”