“This is an amazing place.”
“Someday my parents are hoping to leave it to one of us, although I’m not sure who.Doyle, maybe.He worked as caretaker for the last few years.”
“What about you?”
He still had hold of her hand, as if keeping up the ruse, but she didn’t hate it.Nor the way his fingers wove through hers.
“I’m not...I’m not an innkeeper.My mom loves people.My dad is a fixture in this town.I...”He drew in a breath.
She stilled, turned to him.“You still feel stuck in the middle.”
He frowned at her.
“You’re not the oldest.You’re not the hockey star.You’re not Doyle.You’re...”
“Just fine, Emberly.Not a project.”
“Thor.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Just the guy trying to look after his brothers, trying to fix everything.”
“I’m not trying to fix everything.”
“Me.You’re trying to fix me.”
“No.”He stepped up to her then.“I’m not trying to fix you.”
She didn’t move away from him, and he stood so close she could put her hands on his chest.Maybe lift herself up and...“I’m not kissing you.”But her gaze went to his mouth.
“It looks like you want to.”And his stupid mouth smirked.
The wind stirred around them, a reminder of summer in the night air.
“This is just a...game,” she said softly.
“You’re the one who started it,” he said, his own gaze roaming her face.“Calling yourself my girlfriend.”
“It’s just a cover.”
He made a sound, deep in his chest.“They might be watching.”Then he dipped his head and kissed her.Soft lips, but strong against hers, his hands cupping her face, his fingers in her hair, kissing her with the taste of desire and longing, and so what if it was a game?
She kissed him back, losing herself to the fairy tale.To this pocket of make-believe and what-ifs and even...a different life.
She wrapped her arms around his waist, stepped closer, hanging on to this man who seemed so inextricably entwined in her life.
“I’m just not built for anything real, Stein.”
But this wasn’t real.And for now, it felt exactly right.
And in his arms, as he wound them around her and deepened his kiss, the sense of her other life, of Phoenix, faded, leaving behind...
Emberly.
Eager, hopeful.
Oh no?—
