Ten Rules for Faking It
Page 35
“You matter, Everly. More than anything. I said I’d never been in love, but I was wrong. I wanted to call you or text so many times this week. That expression about feeling like you’re missing a limb or a piece of yourself? It’s true. I did all the things I had to do to get back here to you, but the entire time, I felt like I was operating without my heart.”
She gripped his wrists, hanging on. “I’m sorry about … everything. The things I said. Not giving you a chance to explain.” Her eyes darted to his chest. She took a deep breath and met his gaze again. “How I reacted to you being divorced. That’s kind of a personal issue for me, but I’m working on it.”
He turned them so he was leaning against the table and pulled her between his legs, his hands going to her hips. “I didn’t fight for my marriage at twenty-one because I was a kid. I wasn’t in love. You asked me if I believe in divorce. I do. Because I don’t think people should spend their lives in a bad situation if they truly aren’t happy. But that doesn’t mean I see it as an option. As a way out. It might be for some people, but if you give me … if you give us a chance, I wouldn’t want the option. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Everly. That includes fighting for you no matter what. That includes making promises and never breaking them. Never giving up. If you let me, I’ll choose you over and over and over again. Forever.”
Tears spilled over, and she gave in to the desperate need to hug him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed him until he made a strangled noise. She pulled back, laughing through her tears.
“I’ll choose you back. I promise. Every time,” she said.
He cupped her jaw, stared at her lips before meeting her eyes. “You might have said it first, but I said it out loud first.”
She bit her lip. Was there such a thing as too much happiness? Her chest was going to burst. “I love you.”
Chris grinned, kissing her nose. “Despite all the reasons it shouldn’t be me?”
She laughed, pressed her body tightly to his, loving the fact that she could. “I was lying to myself. It’ll always be you.”
He kissed her forehead, moved along her temple, his breath fluttering over her skin softly, heating it, healing her heart and making her pulse race wildly. By the time his mouth found hers, her breathing was ragged. She locked her fingers in his hair and kissed him back, reveling in the feel of him against her, the taste of him. She could spend a lifetime kissing him if there wasn’t so much more she wanted to do. His hands roamed, pulling her tighter into his space until not even air fit between them.
He came to his senses first, right about the time she was wondering how sturdy the tables actually were. God. He made her forget everything. He made her want everything. With him.
When he pulled back, he left only a fraction of space between them. “I, uh, arranged a few days off for you. I was hoping I could maybe have a few dates with you.”
Everly’s groan morphed into a laugh. “I want nothing more than to spend time with you. To be with you. But I cannot take another dinner out or crowded restaurant for a while.”
His fingers tightened on her waist, sliding up and down. He pressed kisses along her collarbone, up her neck, stopped at her earlobe, and whispered, “Good thing none of our dates involve leaving my house. That’s why they invented takeout and Netflix.”
“God, you’re perfect,” she said as his lips touched hers again. His words belatedly pulled her back. “But it has to be my place.”
His brows moved down, and his forehead creased. “I don’t care where we are as long as we’re together. But do you not feel comfortable at my place?”
She smiled, her cheeks stretching with happiness. “I’m comfortable with you. It’s not your place, it’s just … I recently adopted a couple of needy roommates.”
His frown was instant, and his right eyebrow arched up adorably. “Roommates?”
She nodded. “Yes. Wallace and Mac. I hope you like them.”
She couldn’t read his expression exactly, but she could make a guess at where his thoughts were headed. She bit back the giggle that wanted to escape.
“Where exactly are Wallace and Mac sleeping? Are they a couple? Why do you need roommates?”
She smoothed her fingers along his forehead crease and then pressed her mouth there. Her heart danced in her chest as she grinned at him.
“They sleep on my bed. With me. I hope you don’t mind a crowded bed,” she said.
He started to speak, but she cut him off. “They’re not a couple. They’re actually brother and sister. I needed them because I’ve wanted kittens for a while now but was afraid to make the leap. I mean, what if it didn’t work out? What if they tear my furniture up? What if they wreck my stuff or hate me? What if they hate each other and fight all the time?”
Chris’s grin sent spirals of pleasure through her body. “That’s a lot of what-ifs.”
She nodded. “That’s how my brain works. It can be exhausting.” She said it with a smile but meant it as a warning.
He pulled her close. “Good thing I’ve never needed much sleep. You can’t get rid of me now, Everly.”
Her fingers curled into his shoulders. Happiness was almost as terrifying as fear. “I don’t want to get rid of you. I love you, remember?”
He laughed. “Trust me, I won’t forget. You won’t forget I feel the same. Because I’ll tell you over and over and over again.”
She could definitely live with that.
[41]
Everly carefully inched up in the bed until her back was against the headboard. She used the flashlight on her phone to locate the folded piece of paper she’d set on her nightstand. Glancing over at Chris to make sure she hadn’t woken him, she unfolded the paper she’d read a dozen times. The words were etched on her heart, but she liked seeing them in print. Chris slept with Mac curled up in the crook of his arm and Wallace on his stomach. His very drool-worthy, sculpted stomach that she’d spent considerable time admiring up close.
The sound of his breathing and the kittens’ dual purrs were the best soundtrack she’d ever heard.
She read over the words one more time, imprinting them on her brain before turning out the light and snuggling into Chris and the kitties. But she didn’t sleep. She just lay there, smiling into the dark, thinking about his list. And how incredibly happy she was that she’d stepped outside her comfort zone so she could be sure that where she landed was exactly where she was meant to be.
Ten Reasons It Will Only Ever Be You
The thought of you fills me with this inexplicable happiness.
Your face is the first thing I want to see every day. What I want to fall asleep to every night.
I’ve become addicted to making you laugh, just to hear the sound.
I love the way you analyze a situation from every possible angle. Including ones I didn’t know existed.
You don’t just make me want to be a better man, you make me feel like one.
Nothing is impossible beside you.
You’re sexy, adorable, pretty, brave, and amazing. (That’s technically more than one, but it’s all sort of wrapped up in an incredible package.)
Your heart. You give so much without asking anything in return. It makes me want to give you everything. Forever.
You don’t want to go out every night. (Don’t tell Noah, but I’m actually happier in small groups, too. Like groups of two. You and me.)
Your brain. It fascinates me the way you have a thousand thoughts to every one of mine. I could spend eternity listening to you.
I love you. I’m in love with you. I’ll choose you every single day forever if you give me the chance. I won’t give up or give in. It’ll always only be you.
Acknowledgments
People probably don’t believe this part is harder to write than the book. Not because there’s no one to thank but because this is the point where the author becomes terrified of missing anyone who made their journey easier, happier, bearable, or possible.
The good news is it’s not an Academy Award speech so it can go on endlessly. The bad news is if I forget someone, I’ll forever be reminded, in print, that I forgot. If this happens, let me know and I’ll mail you a handwritten thank-you note for the role you played in helping me see this dream through.
For now, let me do my best to make it clear how much I appreciate so very many people. Alex. There are not enough words. Ironic, right? You believed in me and this story at a time when I was done believing in myself. Working with you has made me fall in love with writing all over again. Thank you. I hope we have many, many books together.
To Mara and the many other people at St. Martin’s who are behind the scenes helping this book come to light, thank you. I probably owe more than a thank-you to anyone who had to correct my comma and semicolon usage.
To Fran. We did it. We’re going to keep doing it. You told me we would. Thanks for truly believing it and helping make it happen.
To Christy for helping me to be funny, for making me laugh, and for lifting me up.
To Renee and Kim, thank you for your ears and shoulders and kind hearts.
To Tara for believing from the first story you ever read for me that I was headed here. Even when I didn’t.
To Rob Michaels for not only being a great deejay and a funny guy but for being gracious, helpful, and doing open chair which gave me this idea.
It’s starting to feel like they’re cuing the music and there’s still so many people! Stacey, Cole, Sarah, Sara, Charlene. To Shannyn and Robin who read it first when it wasn’t ready for human eyes. To Nicole, for so many things it’s hard to list. But mostly, for believing in me so hard.
To Kira Archer, Lauren Layne, and Lyssa Kay Adams. I feel so cool that you read my book. It’s impossible to state how important it is to find your tribes. They hang on to you even when you feel like you don’t belong or deserve to be there.
To my kids for their patience and constant cheerleading. I’m better because of you two. To Matt. How is it that twenty years later, you make me laugh more than ever? I’m so grateful for you.
To Brenda. Thirty years. That’s a hell of a lot of staying power. You deserve an award. What you get is me. To everyone who gets up every day, powers through the worry, pushes past the doubt, you are not alone. None of us are.
Thank you to anyone who reads this book. You have no idea how privileged I feel to be sharing it.
About the Author
SOPHIE SULLIVAN is a Canadian author as well as a cookie-eating, Diet Pepsi–drinking Disney enthusiast who loves reading and writing romance in almost equal measure. She writes around her day job as a teacher and spends her spare time with her sweet family watching reruns of Friends. Ten Rules for Faking It is her rom-com debut novel, but she’s had plenty of practice writing happily ever afters as her alter ego, Jody Holford. You can sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraph
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
First published in the United States by St. Martin’s Griffin, an imprint of the St. Martin’s Publishing Group
TEN RULES FOR FAKING IT. Copyright © 2020 by Jody Holford. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.stmartins.com
Cover design and illustration by Ali Mac
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Sullivan, Sophie, 1976- author.
Title: Ten rules for faking it / Sophie Sullivan.
Description: First edition. | New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2021. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2020035349 | ISBN 9781250624161 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781250624178 (ebook)
Subjects: GSAFD: Love stories.
Classification: LCC PR9199.4.H6454 T46 2021 | DDC 813/.6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020035349
e-ISBN 9781250624178
Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.
First Edition: 2021