Pretend Love Romance by Penny Wylder
Diana
I’m face down in a pint of ice cream. The girls are on their way over to console me with wine and have a massive bitch session. It’s going to be a long one given that they didn’t know about Leo in the first place, and in the span of a week I’ve fallen in love and gotten my heart broken.
After they finish listening to me and letting me cry on their shoulders, they’re going to give me hell for not telling them. Especially since it’s Leo, and they were trying to set me up.
My eyes are already swollen from crying the whole drive home, and there are more tears coming. But for right now, I feel dry. Empty. Nothing but a shell.
I’ll never forget that look on his face. The horror of seeing me there after he declared that he didn’t want me.
The doorbell rings. That was fast, but Emily dropped everything, and I have no doubt that she broke a lot of traffic laws to get here as quickly as possible.
I put the ice cream on the coffee table and get out from under the giant blanket that I have wrapped around me. It will be good to see Em. She’s always helped me talk about things, and she gives good advice.
But when I open the door, my best friend isn’t standing there. It’s Leo. He’s leaning both hands on the doorframe, eyes intense. Fuck, he’s still so beautiful, and I hate how good it is to see him even though it’s only been a few hours.
Leo is staring at me like I’m the only person left in the world. The force of his gaze is a weight. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to fix it. All I’m asking is for five minutes, and if you’re not satisfied after that, you can kick me out and never see me again.”
I shouldn’t let him in. But then again, I don’t exactly have a good track record with things like that this week. Stepping aside, I let him through. He brushes past me, and my whole body lights up at the proximity.
Traitor, I think at her.
“How do you know where I live?”
He turns back to me once we’re in the living room. “I called Emily from her Blue Mountain reservation, and I told her everything. After that, she spilled the beans.”
Leo’s gaze falls on the carton of ice cream and the blanket. And there’s no way that he doesn’t know that I’ve been crying. Good. I want him to know.
He paces back and forth in the room. I’ve never seen him with this kind of energy. It’s frenetic. “When you walked into the lodge, I was…beyond thinking. I was frustrated that my friends’ trust in me had been damaged, and that I was being forced into something just to make it work. But when I said I wanted to be free of everything, I didn’t mean you.”
“Then you have a pretty loose definition of the word ‘everyone.’”
“I meant the situation. The pressure.” He comes to a stop across from me. “I want you, Diana. No matter the circumstances. I may hate what my parents did to force this, but it couldn’t have turned out any better because I want you.”
New tears prick my eyes, and I turn away to hide them. That’s exactly what I wanted him to say. He keeps talking. “I don’t just mean now. I want you always. In my life, in my bed, eventually I want my ring on your finger for real.”
His hands are on my shoulders, turning me back to him. We’re almost kissing, but not quite. Leo’s forehead is against mine, arms wrapped around me. And God, this is where I want to be. Despite the pain and the fear. My soul recognizes him and loves it.
“You fit into my life, Di. I didn’t think it was possible, but it is. Please don’t leave. We’ll figure out where to live. We’ll figure out my job and yours. There’s nothing that we can’t work out. Just—Please.” Then, softer, “I love you.”
I’m really crying now, hot tears spilling over. He pulls me against his chest, and I let myself go. It’s strange for him to hold me while I’m crying about him, but he does. I have things to say, but I can’t speak yet. The terror and hurt are being purged. I don’t ever want to feel that way again.
Finally, the emotion subsides enough for me to breathe. “I don’t want to walk away. I didn’t want to leave. I love you, too. And I’ll be your fiancée any day.”
Leo’s mouth crashes down on mine. All-consuming passion burning us both. We’re tearing at each other’s clothes because we can’t be naked fast enough. He lifts me into his arms and I freeze. “My friends are on their way,” I say. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not be caught having sex a second time.”
He laughs. “I told Emily to call them. I figured that if you kicked me out you’d call them back, and if you didn’t…” The look on his face tells me all I need to know. “We won’t be disturbed.”
That’s good enough for me. I point down the hallway. “The bedroom is that way.”
Leo nearly breaks into a run.
