Chapter 5: Breaking the Rules

The guest room at the lake house had one bed.

"One bed?" I hissed as soon as the door clicked shut behind us.

Liam glanced around like he was appraising a hotel suite. "Looks comfortable enough."

"We can't"

"We're supposed to be engaged, Mia. What did you think your family would do, give us bunk beds?" He loosened his tie and tossed his suit jacket onto the chair, completely unfazed.

I paced. "We'll make a pillow wall."

He grinned, unbuttoning his shirt cuffs. "By all means. Build your fortress. Just don't hog the blankets."

I was halfway through my pillow barricade when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Liam called before I could stop him.

It was my mother, holding two mugs of tea. Her eyes flicked from the bed to Liam's bare forearms and back to me. "I thought you two could use something warm before bed."

"Thanks, Mom," I said quickly, taking the mugs and forcing a smile.

When she left, Liam sat on the edge of the bed, sipping his tea like he hadn't just been caught in the most suggestive scene possible. "You're overthinking this."

"I'm protecting the plan."

His gaze softened just a flicker, quickly masked by that infuriating smirk. "You really think I'm going to blow our cover?"

"I think you like pushing buttons."

"Only yours."

The tension hung there, thick and electric, stretching across the room like an invisible thread neither of us wanted to snap. I climbed into my half of the bed, turning my back to him, determined to focus on sleep.

The mattress dipped slightly when he got in, the movement subtle but impossible to ignore. Even with the ridiculous pillow wall between us, I could feel his presence the warmth of another person in the bed, the faint rustle of sheets as he settled.

I'd almost succeeded when I felt the mattress shift again. Liam's voice was low, close. "You talk in your sleep, Cross?"

"No." My voice was muffled by the pillow.

"Good. Wouldn't want you revealing our secrets."

I rolled over to glare at him and that's when it happened.

Too close. Too much heat between us. His hand was braced on the pillow next to my head, his eyes darker in the lamplight. My breath caught, and for a split second, I forgot every rule we'd agreed on.

The air between us felt charged, like the moment before a storm breaks. I could hear my own heartbeat, loud and traitorous in the quiet room. Liam didn't move right away. He just watched me, his gaze flicking briefly from my eyes to my mouth and back again.

He looked at my mouth, and I swear he almost almost closed the gap.

Then he pulled back, smirking again. "Goodnight, fiancée."

He reached over and switched off the lamp, plunging the room into darkness.

I lay there in the dark long after his breathing evened out, staring at the faint outline of the ceiling. The pillow wall felt thinner somehow, less like a fortress and more like a flimsy excuse.

My mind kept replaying that moment the way he'd looked at me, the way the space between us had shrunk to almost nothing.

And I couldn't stop wondering if I was the only one lying awake, replaying that almost kiss.