She looks at me like she doesn’t know whether to laugh or melt, so I close the door and circle to the driver’s side, trying not to let how much that moment meant actually show on my face.
As I pull out of the lot, Lilac glances at me. "Did you talk to my brother last night?"
"Tried," I say. "Couldn’t find him anywhere."
She rolls her eyes. "He was probably home tattling on me. My mom has called me twenty-six times today."
My hand tightens on the steering wheel. "What’d you tell her?"
"Nothing. I’ve been avoiding her calls," she says, softer now. "I wanted to make sure you were sure about this whole fake engagement thing. We could still say it was a prank. Or a joke. No harm, no foul."
I pull into the parking lot of the academic quad and shift the SUV into park. Then I turn to her.
"Lilac," I murmur, reaching out to cup her face.
Her breath catches and I pull her to me slowly, like I’ve imagined doing a thousand fucking times through the night. My fingers slide over her cheek, her jaw, down to her hand, where I lace my fingers through hers and rub my thumb over the ring I put on her finger last night.
The ring that means more than she will probably ever know.
"I’m in this with you. It’s not a joke. It’s not a prank. I’ll do whatever I need to in order to keep you safe."
Her eyes glass over, but she turns her head slightly, blinking it away. I gently tilt her chin back toward me. "You can cry if you need to, baby. You don’t have to hold it all in anymore.” She blinks, letting her tears fall down her cheeks. I haven’t seen her cry in the longest time, and I always assumed it was because she’s so strong, but I suspect it’s because she’s reprimanded by her parents for showing her feelings. “Whatever you need, I’ve got it. And I’ve got you."
She sniffs, lets out a little laugh. "Why are you doing this? You’re not getting anything out of this, Callum."
I shake my head. "Your family pretends to be perfect and they’re willing to do this to you. It doesn’t sit right with me, and I’m not going to ruin your life when I’ve spent most of mine protecting you."
She looks at me like she doesn’t understand.
I know I’m going to have to tell her everything. The things I’m hiding from everyone. The truth about who I am and who I’ve had to be to survive.
But not yet.
Right now, I need her to know she’s not alone. And that I’d rip the entire world apart just to keep her breathing.
"We need to get our story straight," I say. "We’ve been dating in secret. The pressure from your parents to be with Vincent forced us to come clean. Simple. Clean. Easy to remember."
I pause, watching her for a reaction. She hesitates just for a second, but it’s enough to make my chest ache. Then she nods, slowly, like she’s deciding to trust me.
I lean in again and kiss her. It’s soft, unhurried, but I can’t help the way my chest tightens the second her lips part under mine. She melts into me like she was made for this. For me. I groan and try to deepen it.
CRACK.
A football slams into the windshield.
"Motherf—" I curse, but Lilac is already pushing away from me and throwing the door open before I can stop her.
She storms across the lot, straight toward Adam. He’s got that smug, overcompensating look that makes me want to break him in half.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" she snaps. "You’re acting like a child."
He scoffs. "You’re screwing everything up. Like always."
"Why do you care? You sleep with every friend I’ve ever had." She shoves him and he jerks forward like he’s going to shove her back, but thinks better of it when he sees me. “Did you throw that rock last night? Because you just did the same damn thing with your little football. It’s important, Adam. Did you?”
"I told you no, I didn’t. What else do you want from me?" he’s sneering at her, and for the first time in my life I can say I truly hate Adam Fairbanks. “Mom and Dad want you with Vincent. It’s a good opportunity. A smart one. We’re trying to build something here."
My blood boils.
