Chapter 18
RENéE
Javier took a bite of his steak and grimaced. “Tastes like wood.”
I let out a loud, over-the-top laugh, practically clapping my hands. “Oh my God, hilarious !”
He just stared at me, deadpan. “What’s gotten into you? You can drop the act. Your brothers aren’t here.”
I snorted, stabbing a piece of my salad with way too much force. “Please. You really think they’d leave us alone after practically shoving us into this ‘date’? Look again.” I tilted my head toward the nearby corner. “They’re right there, failing miserably at hiding behind that fake plant.”
Javier turned, and when he spotted Aeros and Hael, his smirk turned into a full laugh. Aeros had a menu held up to his face like a makeshift spy shield, while Hael stood in front of the specials board, pretending to read it—upside down.
“They think they’re subtle.” Javier chuckled, shaking his head.
I rolled my eyes. “I bet they’re trying to figure out if this whole ‘fake dating’ thing is real or if we’re just messing with them.”
Javier leaned in slightly, a familiar mischievous glint in his eyes. “Guess I should sell it better,” Javier murmured, leaning in close with that maddeningly playful glint in his eye. The one that managed to pull me in every single time. And then, just as smoothly as if he did this sort of thing all the time, he reached across the table, thumb brushing the corner of my mouth, wiping away a smudge I hadn’t even realized was there.
The touch was so brief, so simple, yet it sent a spark all the way down to my core. My face heated up instantly, and I hated myself a little for how much I’d missed this—his hand on me, that familiar warmth. It had been over a month since we’d been together, and now, just from that tiny touch, I was melting. God help me, I thought, trying to snap myself out of it.
But as I tried to steady my breath, I couldn’t keep my eyes from drifting to him again, caught up in the way he moved—so damn effortlessly charming, even when he was doing nothing more than cutting his steak. And then he looked up, catching my stare, and my heart stuttered as I looked away, scrambling to pretend I hadn’t just been imagining him naked on top of me and—
He didn’t say anything, thank God. But when I glanced at him, he was watching me, a soft smirk playing on his lips, looking way too pleased with himself.
“You know,” he said, his voice dropping into that low, lazy murmur that made my pulse quicken, “there’s a lot more to me than you think. Stick around, and maybe you’ll see something that actually makes you feel something.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Right now, I’m feeling plenty unimpressed,” I shot back.
His grin only widened. “You’re ridiculously hard to impress. Most people would’ve swooned by now.”
“Maybe because you’ve never done anything swoon-worthy,” I said, grabbing my water and taking a long sip to hide the fact that I was seriously reconsidering my stance on swooning.
“Oh, is that right?” He leaned in closer, his voice a teasing whisper. “Maybe I’m just saving it. For when it really matters.”
A shiver ran down my spine, but I forced a scoff, tilting my head back. “You mean... never?”
He chuckled, leaning back, way too satisfied. “No, Renée. For when you finally admit you don’t actually hate me... and never did.”
I blinked, caught off guard. My heart skipped, and I felt my cool slipping. “You’re so full of yourself,” I said, scrambling to cover up the way his words hit a little too close to home.
“Not full of myself,” he said softly, his gaze holding mine with an intensity that made my pulse stutter. “Just... hopeful.”
I crossed my arms, raising an eyebrow. “Hopeful or not, save it for later.”
Just as I reached for the bread basket, his hand brushed mine. A simple touch—totally innocent—but it sent a ridiculous spark up my arm. I jerked my hand back as if his touch had burned me, and—damn it—there went those stupid butterflies again. Honestly, how was I reacting like this over a simple brush of his fingers? He’d touched me in far fewer innocent places before, for heaven’s sake.
I sat up straighter, forcing calm. “Could you just pass the bread basket?” I said, sounding cooler than I felt. “And maybe drop the act a little while you’re at it. My brothers might be watching, but I don’t need an Oscar-winning performance.”
His brow lifted, a smirk teasing at the corner of his mouth. He placed the bread in front of me, leaning in just a little too close. “You know,” he whispered, “if this were an act, I’d be lying it on a lot thicker. Your brothers would probably come charging in to rescue you.”
We both glanced at Aeros and Hael, who were now blatantly whispering to each other, stealing not-so-subtle glances at us.
Javier turned back to me, his grin widening. “Guess I’m keeping this pretty convincing, huh?”
I rolled my eyes. “Or they’re just really bad spies.”
I followed the scent of freshly baked brownies into the kitchen, my stomach already growling. Pearl was there, her grin wide and mischievous as she set a tray of gooey perfection on the counter.
“Did you bake brownies?” I asked, already eyeing the corner piece.
She smirked. “Not just any brownies. These are super addictive... if you know what I mean.”
“Give me some,” I said, grabbing one without waiting for permission. I bit into it, warm chocolate melting on my tongue. Pearl watched me eat, her amusement growing as I reached for another.
Just as my fingers brushed the tray, her phone rang. “Hi, babe,” she cooed, turning her back to me.
I tuned her out. She was talking to her boyfriend, and my thoughts immediately drifted to mine—or rather, my pretend boyfriend. Javier.
What the hell was he doing right now? We’d been back in New York for a week, and I’d barely seen him. It should’ve felt like peace, a break from all the chaos, but instead, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. Every damn day, there he was, taking up space in my head like he owned the place.
“You might want to pace yourself there,” Pearl said, slipping on her shoes, and snapping me out of my spiral.
“It’s just brownies,” I muttered, reaching for my fourth.
She smirked again. “Special edible brownies.”
I froze mid-bite. “What?”
Pearl grabbed her bag and headed for the door. “Save me some. I’ll be back soon.”
“All brownies are edible, you know!” I shouted after her, but the door slammed shut behind her.
I stared at the tray. Special? Nah, she was probably messing with me... right?
But I couldn’t stop. The brownies were weirdly addictive. Bite after bite, my mind kept circling back to him. Javier. His touch, his stupidly perfect gray eyes, the way his hands felt on me.
God, I hated him. Hated how warm he could be, saying things that made my heart race—only to turn around and claim he hated me. Utter. Hatred. His words stung like a slap, yet here I was, stuffing my face with brownies, trying to drown out the sting of his voice in my head.
The more I thought about him, the worse it got. I missed his stupid face. His stupid eyes. His damn hands are on my body. My skin prickled just thinking about it, and heat bloomed in places I didn’t want to acknowledge.
Nine brownies in, my willpower crumbled. I grabbed my phone, the chocolate smudging the screen as I typed.
Me: What are you doing?
His reply came back in under a minute.
Javier: Missing you. You?