6. Cruz
6
CRUZ
Even as I make this agreement, I know I shouldn’t.
This is going to blow up in my face, but looking at Tara, I can’t seem to make myself care.
She’s everything I want in a woman, and I know I shouldn’t want her, but I can’t let this opportunity pass me by.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
She looks at me like she doesn’t understand the question. “Why wouldn’t I, exactly?”
I shrug and cross my arms over my chest again. Just talking about it makes me defensive. “I wasn’t lying. I’m not sure what is going to happen on Wednesday. If it blows up in the media, then you may not want my help.”
She shakes her head. “Nope, you’re not getting out of it that easy. You just told my sister you’re my boyfriend. There’s no way I can show up without you now.”
I nod. “Okay, want to go back out there?”
She fists her hands at her sides. “Not really… but I have to.”
I hold my hand out to her, and her eyebrows lift as she looks at me. “Come on. I’ll go with you.”
She puts her hand in mine, and I walk with her slowly toward the office door. I feel her take a deep breath and let it out before we walk over the threshold. We don’t get too far into the shop before we’re met with Tara’s sister. She stops in front of Tara and taps her toe at her. “Tara, what is going on here? I don’t know anything about this man. You didn’t tell me you were dating, and you can’t bring a date to the wedding now. You already turned in your RSVP.”
Tara walks past her sister. “First of all, I don’t tell you everything. Second of all, yes, I turned in an RSVP, but I also added a plus one so yes, Cruz is coming with me.”
Tara’s sister holds her hand out to me. “Since my sister is so rude, I guess I’ll introduce myself. I’m Brynn, Tara’s younger sister.”
She’s holding her hand out to me like she wants me to kiss it or some shit. I grab it awkwardly, shake it, and then drop it. Since Tara told her my name earlier, I don’t say it again. She looks between me and her sister. “So how did you two meet?”
Fuck, I guess we should have come up with some kind of story, so I decide to stick with the truth. “Through my sister.”
Tara has to help a customer, and she keeps looking my way worriedly. She doesn’t know me really well, but there’s no way I’m going to fuck this up.
“And how long have you been dating?”
I smile and look lovingly toward Tara. “A few months.”
“And…”
Before she can get the rest of the sentence out, Tara comes toward me, and I grab both her hands. “Have dinner with me tonight? Red’s Diner?”
Tara’s face turns red, and I love seeing the blush in her cheeks. “I would love that, but I’ll be working late tonight.”
I put my hands at her waist and tug her softly toward me. “Please. I’ll come by here, we can walk to the diner, eat, and then I’ll walk you back.” She hesitates, and I pull her closer. “Come on, you have to eat. After dinner, I can come by here and help.”
Surprised, she smiles. “You want to help me make arrangements?”
“I’d like to watch you make arrangements. But yeah, I can help too.”
She’s smiling, and I see the instant that she remembers this is fake. She nods her head. “Okay, yeah, sure. I’ll go to dinner with you.”
She grabs my hand. “Sis, I’ll be back. I’m going to walk Cruz outside.”
I’m laughing as she pulls me out on the sidewalk. “I guess I’m leaving.”
She stops and looks up at me. “I just figured that was enough of a show.”
“We should probably get our stories straight, don’t you think?”
She points inside. “Wait. You were serious in there? You want to take me to dinner?”
I want to scream yes, but I do my best to play it cool. “Yeah, I want to take you to dinner. I mean, if your family is going to be convinced we’re together, we should probably know a little bit about each other.”
She shakes her head. “It’s not a date.”
“No, we have one date, and it’s on Valentine’s. This is a… study session.”
“Okay.”
I gesture to the window without looking at it. “We have an audience.”
She looks toward the front of the store, and I do the same. There are six faces, one being her sister, staring at us through the flowers.
She nods at me. “Yeah, we do.”
I bring my hands up and cup her face, and her eyes widen. I smile, looking into her big blue eyes. “I’m going to kiss you… is that okay?”
She nods, and I lean down to press my lips to hers. I intend for it to be a small kiss. Just a pecking of our lips, because of course her sister would expect us to, and she practically has her face pressed to the window.
But as soon as our lips meet, it’s like an electric shock travels through my body all the way to my toes. The way Tara gasps, I know I’m not the only one that feels it. I should release her, but I do the opposite. I move my hand to the base of her neck and deepen the kiss. For a split second, I think I’ve messed up, and then her hands slide around my waist, pushing her breasts against my chest. I take full advantage, tilting her head to the side and deepening the kiss. My tongue slides against hers, and when she whimpers, I have to force myself to pull back.
We stare at each other wide-eyed, and I am practically panting as I try to get my emotions and my hardening dick under control. “Tara…” I start, not sure what to say, but this is proof right here that this is a bad idea. I lose my head when I’m near her.
She smiles up at me. “It’s fine. I know it’s for show. You don’t have to worry about me falling in love or anything, big shot.”
I give her a stiff smile and realize that I can’t say the same thing. Right now, it scares me to death because I can easily see myself falling for her.
“Okay. I’ll be back at six.”
She steps back, and I grab her hand, threading our fingers together. She looks at our joined hands and then shakes her head, still smiling. “You’re laying it on a little thick, aren’t you?”
I shrug, taking a step to her so we’re close again. Fuck, I’m messing this up.
She squeezes my hand. “You know we can figure this out by text, right? We don’t have to go to dinner.”
I nod. “I know, but I think we should be seen together.” I hold my free hand up. “But it’s not a date.”
I watch her closely. Did her smile fall a little? Is she feeling this connection between us? Or is it just me?
She points a thumb toward the shop. “I really have to get back to work.”
Reluctantly, I release her. “Okay, yeah, I should go, too.”
Because I can’t resist, I kiss her forehead. “I’ll see you in a little while.”
“Okay.” She takes a step, and I’m still holding her hand.
She laughs, looking back at me. “I need my hand.”
Chuckling, I release her. “Right.”
She tilts her head. “I didn’t realize you’d be so affectionate, Cruz.”
Tense now, I ask her the question even though I don’t know if I want to know the answer. “Does it bother you?”
She pauses and then shakes her head side to side. “No, it’s a surprise, but it doesn’t bother me. If anything, I like this side of you.”
With that, she gives me a little wave and disappears into the store. Before the door shuts, I can hear the squealing from inside. I stand at the window, watching inside, and Tara is surrounded by smiling women. Well, they’re all smiling except for Tara’s sister. She has a frown on her face, and I’m not sure what to make of it. You would think she’d want her sister happy.
I stand here longer than I should, wanting to go in and protect Tara from whatever is brewing with her sister. As I stand here with my arms crossed over my chest, I get some reprieve when a customer draws Tara away and her sister gets on her phone.
I look at my watch and then stuff my hands into the front pocket of my jeans. I’ll see Tara in less than four hours, and it’s crazy that I want to stand here and protect her from her own sister. I walk away and realize that for the first time today, I almost forgot about my retirement.