Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
J ami's entire body buzzed with an energy she couldn’t quite control. Her fingers kept flexing involuntarily. The weight of the ring on her hand was heavy, like a constant reminder that this was real. Too real. She wasn’t even touching Jed, just sitting next to him. Still, it felt like he was crowding her space.
He smelled smoky, like the lingering scent of a barbecue where the wood chips were special, the kind that seeped into the food, lingering on the tastebuds. Every breath she took was him—spices, char, and heat. It filled her lungs, wrapped around her senses until she was drowning in it, in him. His broad shoulders took up all the space beside her. Every time she glanced in his direction, he was there. Big. Solid. Unavoidable.
Even when he wasn’t speaking, it was like his voice boomed in her ears, filling her head and making her skin prickle with awareness. How was she supposed to survive this? This temporary marriage that already felt too permanent in just a day.
"How did this happen?" the producer asked them.
"I proposed to her yesterday. She said yes. We were so eager to be together that we went straight to the Justice of the Peace."
Jed said this all with a grin—the one that always made her heart skip. It caught her off guard now. And then it was pressed against her mouth. Jed kissed her, hard, decisively, like he was claiming something that had always been his.
Her body jolted, a rush of heat surging through her. Her pulse quickened, beating in her throat as her hands instinctively reached for him, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt. She didn’t know if she was trying to push him away or pull him closer. All she knew was that she was lost in him, in the warmth of his lips, in the way his stubble scratched against her skin, igniting sparks that ran through every nerve.
Her senses blurred—every taste, every scent, every touch became his. She tasted the faint smokiness of barbecue lingering on his breath, a reminder of who he was and everything he represented. The taste was intoxicating, familiar yet foreign, and it consumed her. His lips moved against hers with purpose, heat radiating off him, overwhelming her in a way that made her knees tremble.
Was she standing? No, she was sitting. So why did it feel like she was falling?
Her mind was spinning, trying to make sense of the kiss, of the way her body reacted as if it had been waiting for this—waiting for Jed. His kiss was firm, demanding, but beneath the hunger, there was something else—something that felt dangerous in its depth, something she wasn’t sure she could survive.
Her chest tightened as her heart slammed against her ribs. Her breath caught in her throat. She wanted to melt into him, to let herself get swallowed by the heat, but a part of her was terrified. This wasn’t just a kiss. It was Jed Winchester, taking over her world, piece by piece, one kiss at a time. And she didn’t know how to stop it.
When he finally pulled back, leaving her breathless, her lips still tingling, Jami stared at him, her heart racing as she tried to remember how to breathe. She didn’t even care what the producer thought, didn’t care what anyone around them saw. All she knew was that the kiss had changed something in her, ignited something she hadn’t been ready for.
And God help her, she wasn’t sure she could go back now.
How was she going to keep up this pretense? The warmth of his body next to hers, the way his lips kept finding hers with such ease—it was like standing on the edge of a cliff, and every time he touched her, she swayed a little closer to the edge.
"You two are going to be ratings gold," the producer said, excitement clear in his voice.
She wasn't built for this. She wasn’t an actor; she was a food critic, for heaven's sake. She thrived on precision, on measured movements, exacting thoughts. She’d spent her time in high school in the Home Ec room perfecting recipes, not playing pretend on stage.
But Jed... Jed. What he was doing to her wasn't in any cookbook she'd ever read. His presence was like an unexpected spice, a heat she wasn’t prepared for, making her hunger for things she’d spent years trying to avoid. If she wasn't careful, he’d know. He’d know that she had feelings for him, that she had always had feelings for him. That the kiss they’d shared all those years ago had been a turning point in her life, a moment that had steered her onto a path where she kept looking for a way to turn back.
Now, though, he was holding her in his arms like she meant something. Like she was more than just a woman he’d married for a TV show. And that scared her more than anything.
They were sitting at a small table that Rick, the producer, had set up for the interview. Lights glared in their faces, cameras trained on them. Jed’s shoulder pressed against hers, warm and solid. His thigh touched hers, grounding her to the moment, while their feet brushed under the table. She was thankful she’d changed into closed-toed shoes; if her bare pinky toe had touched his, she was sure she’d be a goner.
Rick cleared his throat and started asking more questions. They were simple at first—how they met, what their families were like. Jed answered easily, his voice smooth and confident.
“We grew up on the same street,” he said, glancing at Jami with a small smile. “There was always this rivalry between our families. But then, we ended up in the same Home Ec class in high school.”
Jami stared at him, caught off guard by the ease with which he was spinning their story. He was playing it up for the cameras, right? This was just for the show.
Jed turned to look at her, his gaze mischievous. “She made chicken dumplings one day,” he continued, his voice dropping to a softer tone, as if he were sharing a secret. “I tasted them and fell half in love with her with the first bite.”
Jami’s breath hitched. She gazed up at him, stunned. Was this part of the act? It had to be. He'd never said anything to her about her dumplings.
“You had to know it was true,” he said, his voice a low murmur that sent shivers down her spine.
Jami blinked, her mouth dry. “I... I didn’t know.”
He chuckled softly, his gaze never leaving hers. “Well, now you do.”
And then, before she could process what was happening, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers again. This kiss was gentle, teasing at first, but it quickly deepened, pulling her into a whirlpool of sensations. She felt his hand move to cup her cheek, his thumb brushing against her skin, and something inside her shattered.
She heard a crash—a violent, internal sound that echoed in the deepest part of her. It was the sound of all her walls coming down, crumbling under the force of this kiss. It was the sound of her falling, of finally admitting to herself what she had been denying for so long. She was in love with Jed Winchester. She had fallen hard, and there was no going back.
The kiss ended, leaving her breathless, dazed. Jed pulled away slightly, his eyes searching hers, his thumb still tracing slow, lazy circles on her cheek. Around them, there was a flurry of movement—cameras flashing, lights brightening, capturing every moment.
It hit her like a splash of cold water. The cameras.
Her head spun. That kiss wasn't real. It was for the show. Just like the one before it. But what about that first kiss? The one back in high school. Why had he done that? She'd never known.
Jami felt like she was drowning, unable to tell where the act ended and reality began. Jed was staring at her, his gaze intense, filled with something she couldn’t quite decipher. And she... she was lost, hopelessly tangled in the web of her own emotions.
"The cameras love you two," Rick's voice called out, breaking the spell. "The audience will as well."
Jami blinked, tearing her gaze away from Jed, feeling the heat flood her cheeks. Her heart was a wild mess, her thoughts jumbled. She looked down at their intertwined hands, her fingers trembling.
This wasn't real. She had to remember that. That look in his eyes, the way he held her hands. It was all just for the cameras.
There was no recipe, no perfect blend of ingredients, that could tell her how to navigate this. She was flying blind, and for the first time in her life, she didn’t have a plan.