Page 103 of You Fall First

“I’m … yes …” I gasp. “All right. I’m so all right.”

“Do you think they saw?”

“Oh.” My lids flutter. “I didn’t check.”

“If we look now,” he whispers, “they’ll think we care.”

The thing is, I definitely don’t care. But I’m not telling Noah that.

“Better do one more,” he says under his breath. “Just to be safe.”

Then his lips are on mine again.

I twine my hands up the back of his neck, threading my fingers through his thick, lustrous hair. He lifts his palms to my face, tenderly cradling my cheeks. And that’s when the entrance to the hall bursts open, and Dex and Tim push into the room.

Noah and I leap apart as they each take a side of the entryway to man the doors.

“Oh, hey.” Dex startles, spotting us. “Where did you two come from?”

I gape at him, about to burst into flames. “I … we …” I can practically hear the gear shifts cranking in my brother’s brain. He knows. He saw.

“Dutton’s with Kendal,” he says, like we were in here looking for him.

He didn’t see.

He doesn’t know.

“Great, thanks,” I chirp.

Of course I’m already aware Dutton’s all right. Noah made sure Kendal and Tim had him before anyone left the room. But we can’t tell Dex that. Not when he just handed us an alibi on a silver platter.

Sayla enters the room next and drifts toward me slowly, her eyes bouncing between Noah and me. “What are you two talking about?”

“Dutton,” I say. “Of course.”

“Ah, good.” Her faltering smile is a not-so-subtle reminder for me to keep her news a secret. Her enormous, life-altering reproductive news.

Yes, Sayla. I remember. You have a devoted husband and a brand-new baby on the way. Your future’s already begun.

Landry’s too now. And Kendal’s been living her future for years with Tim and their houseful of children. Meanwhile, my future consists of a single kiss that wasn’t even real.

They all have spouses.

I’ve got a fake date to an Alzheimer’s fundraiser.

Still, for one glorious moment, I let myself forget what I don’t have. Nothing in the world mattered beyond the taste of Noah’s lips. He held me as if I belonged in his arms, the puzzle piece he’d always been missing. I felt chosen.

Cherished.

Catching my breath now, I remind myself that Noah’s a man who is attentive to and thoughtful of others. Deeply so. Of course he’d know how to make a woman feel cherished. Any woman.

That’s why his pretend kiss felt so real.

As the final guests file into the room, Landry and Brock waltz into the hall behind them, their hands clasped and held high, pumping in the air like a symbol of victory.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the DJ announces. “Please surround the dance floor while the bride and groom take center stage.”

As my sister and her brand-new husband make their way to the middle of the room, already falling into each other’s arms, Noah and I wander to the edge of the dance floor. We’re so close, our fingers brush, and my hand automatically flexes as I glance around, worried someone in my family might notice. Fortunately, the room is so crowded, we don’t have to bother keeping a safe distance.