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“Chocolate. I figured you might need the reinforcement tonight.”
Oh my goodness, I could truly kiss this man.
No! There would be no more kissing. In fact, if things went the way I hoped and Bob and Sophie gave up, there would be no kissing Nick Whitley ever again.
But I didn’t like that thought at all either.
“I’ll get it, and we can share.”
“Actually,” Nick said, “I need to go.”
“Oh.”
Why did I keep getting more disappointed as the evening went by? What did I expect? That he’d stay the entire night with me? The man had been traveling all week. He probably wanted to go home and relax. Or he wanted to go out on the town and have fun.
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him what his plans were for the rest of the evening, but it was none of my business.
“Let me know if Bob and Sophie say something, okay?”
“Sure. They probably won’t reply anytime soon, though. Have fun tonight,” I added, hoping he’d give me a hint regarding what he was up to.
“I definitely will.”
Well, what does that mean? Is he going on a date?
No, I couldn’t think about that. My whole body rejected the idea. My stomach sank, and my heart felt heavy. Would it be like this when we had to move in together as well? I couldn’t imagine feeling like crap every time he wanted to do something on his own.
Don’t get ahead of yourself, Allison. Most likely you can forget this whole crazy idea because moving in together probably won’t be necessary at all.
“Good night, Allison.” He tilted forward, and for a split second, I was certain he was going to kiss me again. My entirebody geared up for it. Then he brought his lips to my cheek. It burned where he kissed me. He scratched my skin lightly with his five-o’clock shadow, and when I shuddered, I hoped to God he didn’t notice it.
After he straightened up, my cheek was still on fire. “You, too, Nick.”
I watched him walk away and sighed. Damn, he even had a sexy walk and a sexier backside. Under the porch light, I caught the glimmer of the diamond he’d given me.Temporarily, Allison—get it together.
Wow, there were no two ways about it. Nick Whitley was an absolutely gorgeous man—who might or might not become my fake husband.
Chapter Twelve
Nick
On Saturday morning, I woke up later than usual. It had been a long week, and yesterday I caught up with a college friend who was in town for the day, and we stayed out until late into the night. I was glad I caught him as he was passing through.
My family was having a picnic today at Maddox and Gabe’s hotel, forty minutes outside the city, if the weather held. If not, we’d eat indoors at their gourmet restaurant.
As I got out of bed, my thoughts went back to last evening at Allison’s. Bob and Sophie were exactly as unpleasant as I remembered them. The whole thing had been difficult to get through, but kissing Allison had been such a damn highlight. I’d go through an entire dinner with Bob and Sophie again if it meant I got to kiss her. I’d been looking forward to the moment when I’d have an opportunity to do it again. I was sure one would rise occasionally. After all, it came with the description of fake fiancé.
After getting out of the shower, I checked my phone to see if everyone was already on the way. First, I saw a message from Allison, then realized she’d sent me a picture. No, a screenshot of an email.
Hi, Allison. It was good to see you and Nick yesterday. Don’t think that changes our plans to file for custody. I look forward to your wedding.
Allison: ...
Indeed, there was nothing else to add.
Fucking Bob and Sophie. I didn’t understand what their game was. I distinctly remembered Jim telling me that his parents weren’t very involved in the twins’ lives, that they’d rather do anything else other than take care of Annie and Jack.But their motives didn’t matter. People did shitty things all the time. I’d learned a long time ago not to waste time guessing why someone did what they did.
I texted her back quickly.