We have a fake relationship to execute.
7
A Thin Line Between Love and Hate
Collin
“Wow. Love that enthusiasm. You can’t wait to be my girlfriend, can ya?”
“Hardly,” Noli scoffs. “More like I want to get this over with as fast as possible.”
I lean back in my chair and study her as she swallows down a gulp of coffee, grimacing from the moment it hits her tongue until I’m sure it’s all the way down her esophagus. I laugh at her sour expression. “Why is your face like that?”
“Like what?” she spits.
“Like you’ve swallowed poison. You’re supposed to enjoy your coffee.”
She looks down into her mug and frowns. “Coffee is purely utilitarian. A means to an end. You should know that as a cop. Isn’t your whole shtick coffee and donuts?” She shoves a bit of the pastry I brought for her into her mouth, and I’m momentarily distracted by the fleck of powdered sugar that gets lodged in the crease of her lips. When her tongue darts out to lick it away, I swallow.
“Exactly.” I clear my throat. “Coffee and donuts are delicacies, meant to delight the palate. Don’t tell me that’s not a delicious gingerbread donut hole.”
“We cannot be seriously having this argument right now.”
“Oh, I take my coffee and donuts very seriously,” I respond solemnly. I take a slow swig of coffee, maintaining eye contact over the top of my mug as I do.
“I have never seen you eat a donut, Rattler.” Her eyebrows arch in a challenge. “So how would you know?”
I lean in. “You keeping tabs on me, Kasper? I’m honored.”
She leans back and crosses her arms over her chest. “You brought donuts for the whole team every Friday and never once had one yourself. I assumed it was because you were being precious about your physique.”
She says it with all the disdain I’m used to having her direct at me, but at the same time, her eyes rove over my body. My skin feels like it lights up with each pass of her gaze. Under Noli’s scrutiny, I find myself sitting up straighter, puffing out my chest a little bit more. I don’t know what it is about this woman that makes me bend over backward trying to impress her, but I do it all the same. And Idotake care of myself. Not because I’m precious about it, but because I need to be in shape to do my job well.
When her gaze meets mine again, I smirk at her and hold my arms out wide. “I’m guessing you like what you see.”
She huffs. “Don’t flatter yourself, Rattler. I’m not one of your ladies in waiting.”
“No, you’re not.” I reach for her hand across the table, twining our fingers. She visibly flinches, but I hold steady—both her hand and her gaze. “You’re my girlfriend. Lucky for you, you get to enjoy this whole package whenever you want.”
I drag my thumb across her knuckles, and she draws in a shuddering breath. “This, right here, is what we need to talk about.”
“What? Holding hands?”
“Public displays of affection in general.”
“What about them?”
“I’m not a fan.” She looks away from me.
I study her profile. She’s chewing on the cupid’s bow of her upper lip. I wonder if her opposition to touch and affection has anything to do with her experience with her ex-boyfriend. I’ve only heard bits and pieces of what happened from Poppy andMack. From what I gather, the guy wasn’t just a tool; he was the entire shed. And that’s putting it nicely.
I could press her about it, but something tells me that’s not the right call at the moment. Magnolia Kasper prides herself on being tough as nails. I’ll bide my time, and maybe she’ll open up to me eventually. In the meantime, I’m going to keep being the shameless flirt she thinks I am, because it’s way too much fun driving her crazy like this.
“This may surprise you,” I whisper, drawing her gaze and forcing her to inch closer so she can hear me, “but I am a big, big fan of PDA.”
I hit her with a wink.
She rolls her eyes so hard I think maybe she hurt herself. But I’ve successfully erased the look of uncertainty that I glimpsed in her gaze when she admitted she didn’t like PDA, and that was my goal.
