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“Pretending what?”

Her eyes fell to my lips and stayed there for a beat. “That I’m not attracted to you.”

My mouth went dry.

She took a step toward me, her chest rising and falling with quick, shallow breaths. “Are you not gonna say anything now?” she asked softly. “Of all times for you to be at a loss for words. Figures.”

“I’m not at a loss for words, Frankie,” I told her, my voice husky even to my own ears.

“Then what?”

I chewed the side of my tongue, weighing my options, the pros against the cons.

I came up with nothing.

The truth was that I hadtoomuch to say; too much I couldn’t even admit to myself just yet.

“I have so much to say,” I admitted, watching as her footsteps swallowed the distance between us. I remained rooted to the spot. “But I can’t say any of it.”

“Why not?”

Her expression never changed, it was open, waiting. There was no judgment hiding in her eyes.

“Because I shouldn’t.”

“Then whatcanyou say?”

A dangerous question, but the up tilt in her lips coaxed the words from me.

“I can tell you the truth, I suppose,” I crooned, watching the way the change in my voice sent a single shiver through her. “I can tell you that you look amazing tonight, just like you always do. I can tell you that you looked hypnotizing on the dance floor.”

She was right in front of me, the scent of her perfume filling my nose. The alcohol on her lips joined the scent of her perfume and I was intoxicated.

Maybe it wasn’t the alcohol.

“What else?” she breathed.

I swallowed the dryness in my throat. “You’re running me ragged,” I told her. “I can’t help but want to know more about you, find out what makes you tick, what makes… you come undone.”

“That’s not very professional, Hayden,” she murmured, but her mouth curved into a smirk. “Besides, I kind of figured that part out already.”

“Yeah?” I grinned, a little breathless at her proximity. “Then what haven’t you figured out yet?”

“Why?”

The word was a whispered breath against my lips and every lick of sense left me.

“Why?” I purred, the word tapering off into a chuckle. “You want to know why? Have you seen yourself? Whowouldn’tbe attracted to you?”

Her fingers warily traced the back of my hand and I willed my heart to slow down before it leaped right out of my chest. She leaned forward, until I could taste the bubblegum vodka on her lips.

All it would take, all that stretched out between us was a single question.

My eyes drifted down her face, over her freckles and stopped at her lips. I lifted a hand to her face, picking a few stray curls out of her eyes.

“It would be so easy,” I murmured, caressing the rosy apple of her cheek.

“What would?”