His fingers grazed mine and I startled.
“Sorry, I’m not trying to make you feel bad,” he said, pulling his hand away. I weirdly wanted to grab it back.
“No, it’s fine. You aren’t wrong.” My tone was bitter.
“But I could’ve said it in a kinder way or, like the old saying, not at all. You deserve better, and when this is over, I bet you find a guy that’s perfect for you.”
I snorted. “You’re a hopeless romantic, aren’t you?”
He shrugged and smiled. “I wouldn’t say that. Hopeful, more like.”
“So why are you single, then?”
He linked his fingers through mine and grinned. “Currently, I’m not.”
My heart did a flip in my chest.
“You know what I mean,” I said, trying to ignore my stupid heart.
“Hey, if this is going to work, we have to act like we’re really together,” he said, another one of those disarming grins thrown my way. “But I’musuallysingle because it’s easier that way. The season is chaotic, we’re constantly traveling and going to practice, and I want to focus on that. On top of all that, I’ve only been in Denver for two years, and I typically go back to Seattle for the summer. Being single is just less of a hassle.”
“Makes sense. And speaking of, about time to take a pic for tonight? Roger commented on the last post. So pathetic, like I wouldn’t know it was him.”
He snorted. “You mean that ‘Kingofsaves’ guy? Yeah, I saw that.”
“Just so you know, you are so not a downgrade. He’s an idiot.”
“Correct on both counts.”
“Here you go,” the waiter interjected, putting both desserts down in front of us. “Enjoy.”
“This looks amazing.” He picked up his fork, a twinkle of humor in his eyes. “I get to try both, right?”
“Iguess. I mean, I wasn’t going to eat all of them.” It was tempting. Seriously, they were both so good.
“How about I snap a pic of you and the desserts, and caption it ‘my girlfriend is sweeter than any dessert’?”
I pretended to gag.
He chuckled. “Too much?”
“Anyone who knows me would think you were full of shit.”
“I’ve kissed you. You’re very sweet.” He said it like he was stating an obvious fact.
I sucked in a breath and my dumb heart flipped again. This was all for show, and I would be smart to remember that.
“Gabe,” I murmured.
“Or we could both bite each end of one of the cannoli a laLady and the Tramp.”
My gaze met his. He sounded calm, but his pupils were dilating. It was probably just the dim light in the restaurant.
Dammit. I wanted to kiss him again.
“No? Okay, then. Guess I’ll just post this pic that I snuck of you earlier.”
I sat up straight. “What picture?”
