“Let’s do it.”
Midway through, my eyelids start to flutter, and before I know it, the credits are rolling as I wake up from an unexpected nap . . . on his lap.
My head is dangerously near his pelvis.
And his hand is on my hair, stroking it absently.
A warm sensation spreads through me. Tingles stretch across my skin, and I like his hand on my hair more than a friend should.
6
Several Months Later
I head to the lobby with my head held high.
Not because Bradley broke up with the realtor.
And not because he’s been trying to win me back incessantly for the last few months.
But because I’m over him.
However, he’s launched a full-scale win-me-back campaign.
Last week, Bradley sent me candy chocolate frogs since he knows I liked them when I was a hard-core Potter fan.
You know, when I was ten.
Earlier this week, he had M&M’s delivered with I L C stamped on them since I Love Charlotte didn’t fit.
Yesterday, the apology came in the form of caramel apples and a card.
Please forgive me. Life without you is like a candy apple without caramel. You’re my caramel, and you’re the one who made my life sweet.
Gag.
The next day as Spencer and I prep to open The Lucky Spot, a platoon of two dozen teddy bears arrives at work. Along with a red teddy—as in a negligee. I gag when I hold up the silk scrap between my thumb and forefingers, then roll my eyes when I read the card.
I would be so beary happy if you would let me give you a teddy again.
Spencer eyes the stuffed animals suspiciously, then grabs a trash bag, scoops them into the bag, and says he’ll be back soon.
I stuff the red silk into the trash can behind the bar.
Thirty minutes later he returns, a gleam of satisfaction in his green eyes. “I’m the teddy Santa Claus. I donated them to a children’s hospital up the street.”
I smile. “That’s fantastic. I’m glad they didn’t wind up in the trash.”
His smile fades though. “But then I felt bad, because teddy bears are a lame donation. It’s not like sick kids need stuffed toys. So I made a $5,000 donation to the hospital just now. I can’t buy them health, but at least I can give them more medical care.”
My heart lurches at his generosity, and I throw my arms around him. “I love that you did that. That’s amazing.”
As I embrace my best friend, I linger on the strength of his hold and the feel of his arms. I catch a faint whiff of his familiar scent—woodsy and clean. It’s the familiar smell of my best friend. But it’s also a new smell. It’s the scent of me noticing him as a man. A ridiculously generous and incredibly handsome man.
I tell myself it’s only the donation effect and hope I won’t feel this way tomorrow, even though that’s a fool’s wish.
I’ve become dangerously attracted to my best friend.
7
I punch and kick my way through the beginner’s karate class, and when it ends, Natalie tells us we were all fantastic. After the others exit, she grabs my arm.
“But you were the best of all. I’m glad you decided to transition from punching out your anger to learning karate.”
“Me too. I’m loving it.”
Her lips curve up in a grin that tells me she’s up to something. “Now speaking of transitions. When do you think you’ll transition to dating again?”
That’s a good question. “Am I ready again? Is it too soon?”
She taps my shoulder playfully. “It’s been ten months, but there is only one way to find out, and I have a hottie to introduce you to. He’s a karate instructor at another studio. He’s smart, funny, and single.”
“All good traits. But why aren’t you dating him if he has so much going for him?”
“He’s just a friend. Like you and Spencer.” She winks at me in an over-the-top fashion.
“Why are you winking like there’s something in your eye?”
“I just have a hunch about you two, despite the whole we’re-just-friends routine. You know my intuition is good. Don’t deny it.”
“Your intuition is good for where to launch a kick and a punch.”
“And for long-simmering affection between besties.”
“Nothing has been simmering between us, I assure you.”
“Then it’s newly simmering affection. I just have a feeling about it.”
“And I have a feeling too. That the charming, funny, and generous playboy will remain a playboy.”
There’s no way that would change.
Until the day we bend the rules in our Captain Fiancé game.
8
A few days later
Lunacy.
This is total lunacy I’m hearing from Spencer at the coffee shop. Utter insanity in the form of a fake engagement.
“Tell me again. You had breakfast with your dad and the prospective buyer of his jewelry empire, and somehow you blurted out you were engaged to me?”
Spencer sighs, laughs, and nods. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
I pretend to inspect his mouth. “Why, yes, your mouth does seem big enough to hold your foot.”
“It’s still a good idea. Admit it.”
“It’s a crazy idea.”
He bats his eyes at me. “That means you’ll do it, right? We play pretend fiancé all the time. This is just leveling up.”
“This is more like jumping up fifty levels.”
As we leave the coffee shop and head toward my building, he makes a case for why and how he thinks we can pull it off. I listen to all his reasons, and then he makes his closing pitch.
“See? It’ll be easy as pie. Wait. No. It’ll be as easy as watching Castle,” he declares.
Laughing, I answer him. “Why do I doubt you on that front?”
“But see, I have complete and utter faith in you. And in me.”
“I want to help you, but...” My voice trails off when I spot Bradley standing in front of the building. I groan inside, thinking of the horrid arrangement of pastel-colored balloons he sent me this morning.
He calls out my name. “Charlotte! Did you get the balloons? Did you like them? They’re your favorite colors.”
He strides over to us, smiling at me, like there’s no other possible answer to his question but OMG, I loved them.
But there is a different answer because Bradley is my past, and I want him to stay there and to stop invading my present. I square my shoulders. “You need to quit sending me gifts. It’s over. We are never getting back together. Do you know why?”
“Why? Why won’t you give me another chance? I’ve been sending you all the things you love.”
“Because you cheated on me. You don’t deserve another chance, even if I liked caramel apples, and I don’t.”
His face falls, and he parts his lips to say something.
That’s when I decide to level up. To shut him up. I grab Spencer’s hand and squeeze it. “Also, I’m engaged to Spencer now.”
I’m leveling up so much that I grab his cheeks and plant a kiss on my best friend’s lips.
But that’s not the craziest thing of all.
The true lunacy is how much I like it. My toes curl, my skin sizzles, and this kiss radiates into every cell in my body.
God, do I like it.
No, I love it.
And that scares the hell out of me. I don’t know how I’m supposed to make it through being his pretend fiancée for a week when I like kissing him this much.
Spencer and Charlotte’s story continues in the smash hit rom-com BIG ROCK, available across all retailers. Sign up for my newsletter to receive an alert when my next books are available!
Also by Lauren Blakely
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