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. Looks like our fictional kids are fucked.She laughed. Guess so.But you re moving way too fast for this fictional relationship. Touché.Favorite food? Steak and potatoes. She sighed as they pulled into the parking spot.She really didn t want to goinside.Didn t want to start this whole charade.They were so going to fail.In fact, she d bet they had a ninety-four-point-six percent chance of failing and that was beinggenerous.Why couldn t she be allowed to just enjoy her sister s wedding in peace? Without a date, peoplewould bombard her with questions about when she was going to settle down.Yet with a date, she ranthe risk of having people bombard her with the very same questions.She was damned if she did.And damned if she didn t.She checked her hair one more time.Lowering the visor, she asked,  Your favorite food? Lobster and scallops. He unclicked his seatbelt. Are we going with my real profession, or arewe making up a more prestigious one?Surprised, she looked at him, her hand half-way to her face. Private security and past Marine? Itdoesn t get any better than that in my family.They re big on military and service men. All right.So we re telling the truth? That I couldn t cut it in the Marines?She reached out and squeezed his thigh, but he still didn t look at her. There s no shame in leavingthe Corps.Most of your co-workers at your new job will be the same as you.Private securityprimarily is made up of former military.And private security is okay with my family too.I m sure ofit. She hesitated, debating her next question about his time stationed abroad. What happened overthere anyway?He pressed his lips together. Nothing.You ready to go in?No, she wasn t.She d rather sit here and talk about his life some more, and about what hadhappened when he d been overseas, but she knew he was done.The topic was closed, and she had torespect that.She had a sinking suspicion he was running from something, or someone, as if he felt he owed adebt and he had to sacrifice his own happiness to pay it.But she wasn t going to push it.Now was notthe time.Not after he was trying so hard to make tonight with her family easy for her. Let s do this. She opened the door and stepped out, her foot slipping on a patch of ice uponcontact.Laughter and music trickled through the cracked door of the restaurant.Her parents hadrented a hall out for the pre-wedding party.A few distant cousins huddled outside of the door,smoking and chatting.Normally, Kayla would be the responsible one.The one who took care of themall if they drank too much, making sure they all got into bed okay and didn t puke all over themselves.But not this time.This time, she was going to forget about them and enjoy her sister s wedding with Cooper at herside.She d dance.She d laugh.Maybe she d even get a little drunk herself.Then, when she was donehere, she would go home with Cooper and have crazy-ass orgasms all night long.Take that, world.Cooper came up to her side and slid his hand into hers. What are the odds we ll fail?She hesitated.Maybe she should sugarcoat it for the sake of optimism and all that universe crap. Fifty-fifty. Liar, he said under his breath. Give it to me straight. Ninety-four-point-six, I d say. She stole a peek at him. How d you know I was lying? You blushed. He rubbed his jaw, his gaze on the restaurant door. Do we love each other? Howlong have we been together?Kayla couldn t stop focusing on that word.Love.Coming from him, it sounded& hell, she didn tknow.But it hit her hard for some reason. Uh, yeah.We love each other.We should say it a fewtimes, I guess.Get used to it.Lay it on me, big man.He stopped walking, cupped her face, and met her eyes. I& I& I can t.I ve never said it to awoman other than my mother before, and when I do, I want it to be real.If I ever say I love someone,I ll mean it.I can t pretend that.But I ll make sure they can see we re in love.The way he was looking at her felt an awful lot like love, so that could totally work.And knowinghe d never told anyone that he loved them before kind of made her happy.What the hell was up with that? It wasn t as if he was ever going to say it to her.They wouldn t know each other long enough to progress that far.And for the first time, his upcoming move overseas didn t make her happy.It made herfeel& restless.Itchy.She cleared her throat and forced a smile, covering his hand with hers. As longas you can say it with your eyes, it works for me.He wrinkled his brow. Like this? He gave her a smoldering look that would rival IanSomerhalder.Hot damn. How s that?Freaking breathtaking.But that wasn t love that his eyes were screaming at her.No, they weresaying, fuck me now.And she wanted to oh so badly. Keep staring at me like that and I ll be sneaking you into the bathroom for a quickie. She quicklylowered her eyes. But that kind of look s not what I meant.I was talking about the way you werewatching me before.All warm, tender and sweet.As if you really cared about me. Sweet and tender? He blinked in confusion. I didn t realize I was looking at you that way.Maybe it was a trick of the lighting.Her pulse kicked up a notch. Oh. Yeah. He shook his head slightly and dropped his hand, seeming to be as confused as she feltright now.He stepped back from her and dragged a hand through his hair. I ll try to recreate it,though. All right.Here we go.He weaved his fingers through hers and led her inside.As soon as their feet crossed the thresholdof the restaurant, her mother pounced on them with open arms.She must have been watching for theirarrival.Buried in layers of red curly hair, and the familiar scent of Chanel perfume, her motherhugged Kayla tightly.She returned the embrace with the hand that wasn t still entwined withCooper s.For some reason, she didn t want to let go of him yet. Hi, Mom. Sweetheart, we missed you at Christmas. Pulling back, she gazed at Cooper over Kayla s head,her mouth curved in a smile. But now that I ve met your infamous boyfriend, I can totally see whyyou stayed home.I would have, too.Kayla s cheeks heated.Leave it to her mother to speak her mind without any censure.Very un-Southern of her. Mom, this is Cooper Shillings.Cooper, my mother, Holly.I m sure my dad will bealong soon, too. Mrs.Moriarity, I m happy to finally get to meet you. Cooper shook her hand. I ve heard so manywonderful things about you.Her mom beamed up at him, holding his hand with both of hers. And I ve heard almost nothingabout you. She quickly cut her eyes at Kayla, but her warm expression was firmly in place when shereturned her gaze to Cooper. I m so pleased to meet you and so happy you could clear time in yourschedule to join Kayla.Will you be staying for the whole weekend and the wedding?After her mother released his hand, he replied,  I do believe so, yes.I report for my new job onMonday, but I ll be here until then.Refresh my memory, what day is the wedding? Saturday, Kayla offered quickly.Then she smiled at her mom, her heart racing [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]