Too Close For Comfort

“You shouldn’t have said that to him,” Christian said the moment they got in the car.

“He shouldn’t have talked about your grandfather like he’s already dead,” Jessica shot back.

Christian’s hands gripped the wheel tight, his jaw working like he was holding back words. Jessica watched him, waiting for him to yell, to tell her she overstepped. Instead, he let out a long breath.

“Thank you,” he said quietly.

Jessica blinked. “What?”

“For defending him.” Christian’s eyes flicked to her, then back to the road. “Nobody’s said something like that to Matt in years. Not even me.”

“He deserved it.”

“He did.” A small, tired smile crossed Christian’s face. It was the first real smile she had seen from him. “You’re not what I expected, Jessica Powell.”

“What did you expect?”

“Someone who’d take the money and stay quiet. Not someone who’d fight my battles for me.”

“I’m not fighting your battles,” Jessica said, though her cheeks felt warm. “I’m just not going to sit there and let some rich man talk down about a dying old man like he’s a business problem.”

Christian nodded slowly, his eyes staying on her a beat too long before returning to the road.

They drove in silence for a while, the city lights sliding past the windows. Jessica’s mind kept replaying Matt’s cold smile, his warning about the wedding.

“He’s going to try something,” she said finally. “At the wedding.”

“I know.”

“What if he finds proof? About Barry, about all of this being fake?”

Christian’s grip on the wheel tightened again. “Then we make sure there’s nothing to find.”

“How?”

He didn’t answer right away. When he finally spoke, his voice was lower, rougher. “We stop acting like strangers pretending to be in love. And start acting like people who actually are.”

Jessica’s heart skipped. “What does that mean?”

“It means Matt watches everything. Every look, every touch. If we hesitate, if we’re too careful with each other, he’ll see it. The only way to fool him is to stop performing and just… let it happen.”

“Let what happen?”

Christian pulled the car to the side of the road, the engine idling in the quiet dark. He turned to face her fully, and the intensity in his eyes made her breath catch.

“This,” he said, and closed the distance between them.

His lips met hers before she could think of a reason to stop him. The kiss was slow at first, testing, like he expected her to pull away. When she didn’t, his hand came up to cup her jaw, pulling her closer, and something inside Jessica simply gave in.

Her hands found the front of his shirt, gripping the fabric as heat spread through her whole body. This wasn’t supposed to feel like this. This was supposed to be practice, supposed to be fake, but nothing about the way her heart was slamming against her ribs felt fake at all.

Christian pulled back first, both of them breathing hard. His eyes were dark, unreadable, his hand still resting against her cheek.

“That,” he said quietly, “should convince Matt.”

“Right,” Jessica whispered, her voice shakier than she wanted it to be. “Convince Matt.”

Neither of them moved for a long moment. The air between them felt thick, charged, like something had shifted that neither of them could take back now.

“We should go,” Christian said finally, pulling back and starting the car again.

“Right,” Jessica said again, staring out the window so he wouldn’t see her face. “Home.”

The word felt strange in her mouth. She didn’t have a home anymore. Not really. Just a house that belonged to a stranger she had just kissed like she meant it.

They didn’t speak the rest of the drive. When they reached the house, Christian walked her to her room without a word, stopping at the door.

“Jessica,” he said as she stepped inside.

She turned. “Yes?”

He looked like he wanted to say something else, something bigger than what came out. “Get some rest. Tomorrow we start planning the wedding for real. Dress fittings, guest lists, all of it.”

“Okay.”

He nodded and turned to leave, then stopped again. “Jessica.”

“Yes?”

“That kiss,” he said, his voice quieter now. “It wasn’t just for Matt.”

Before she could respond, he walked away, leaving her standing in the doorway with her heart pounding and her mind racing.

She closed the door and leaned against it, pressing her fingers to her lips like she could still feel him there.

This was supposed to be simple. A contract. A year of pretending. Two million dollars and a clean exit.

But nothing about tonight had felt like pretending.

Her phone buzzed on the bed. Jessica picked it up, expecting a message from Lira about tomorrow’s schedule.

Instead, it was an unknown number.

I know your little secret, Jessica. Barry told me everything about your engagement. How fast do you think Christian will drop you once his grandfather finds out you’re a liar?

Jessica’s stomach dropped. She stared at the message, her hands suddenly cold.

Another text came through.

Meet me tomorrow. Alone. Or I show Arnold everything I know before the wedding even happens.

The number wasn’t saved, but Jessica had a sick feeling she already knew who it was.

She thought about waking Christian right then, showing him the messages, asking for help. But something stopped her.

If Matt already knew this much, telling Christian might not be enough to fix it. She needed to know exactly what he had, exactly what he was planning, before she brought this to anyone.

Her fingers hovered over the reply button. She thought about the two million dollars. She thought about Arnold’s soft, hopeful eyes at breakfast. She thought about the way Christian had kissed her like he meant every second of it.

She typed back four words.

Tell me where. When.

She hit send before she could change her mind, her heart pounding as she stared at the screen, waiting for Matt’s answer to arrive.