Page 20

To be fair, I did ask him to drop me back to my place. I just didn't expect it would feel this good not coming back here alone.

I kick off my heels and toss my clutch onto the entryway table, exhaling hard. My pulse is still too high, my body still too aware of the weight of his hand on my waist, the warmth of his breath against my skin.

This was supposed to be fake. And this is me panicking, so I do the only thing that feels reasonable right about now and decide to put all the blame on him.

I spin to face him. "You went overboard."

Liam shrugs out of his jacket like he isn't the problem. "We had an audience."

I scowl heavily at him, arms crossed. "You're mine, Bennett? That wasn't necessary."

He makes a slow, unbothered gesture by extending his palms outward. "Seemed necessary at the time. We want to make a point."

I roll my eyes so hard I nearly see my own past mistakes. "You enjoyed that way too much."

Liam steps closer, like he has every right to, and I don't back away fast enough. His voice dips lower, all teasing and amusement. "You're upset because I sold it too well?"

"Yes."

He huffs out a laugh. "Then I did my job."

I open my mouth, ready to fire back, but I don't know what I want to say. Because the truth is, he did do his job. And I did believe it. Which means others will too.

And I don't know what's worse—that he was so convincing… or that I wanted him to be.

So instead, I grimace at him before turning toward the kitchen just to give myself some distance. "You're insufferable."

Behind me, Liam chuckles, like this is all just so amusing to him. And maybe it is. Maybe none of this is getting under his skin the way it's getting under mine.

But as I grab a glass of water and try to focus on something other than him, I swear I can still feel his gaze on me, heavy and knowing, as if he can totally understand how unsettled I am.

And I hate that I want to turn around.

I hate that I want this to be real.

The thought lingers, sticky and impossible to shake, as I sip my water, as I keep my back to Liam, as I pretend that my entire body isn't still buzzing from the way he touched me tonight.

Fake. It's fake.

But I can still feel his hands on my waist, the press of his lips against my temple, the quiet way he saidmine.

I swallow hard, my grip tightening around the glass. I need to shake this off. I need to?—

My phone vibrates on the counter.

I glance at the screen, expecting a text from Emily or Nate, maybe even Dean.

But it's not.

It's unknown.

And the second I read it, my stomach plummets.

Careful how you play, Ava. You're not the only one being watched.

The glass slips from my fingers, clattering against the counter. It doesn't break, but the sound is loud enough to jolt Liam into action.

In a heartbeat, he's behind me, his body radiating heat, his voice low and urgent. "What is it?"