I Pretend You're Mine

7. Hope

Tim's hands spanned along the thin strip of bare skin between the waistband of Lucy's jeans and the hem of her crop top with his thumbs ghosting beneath her shirt, and he felt her fingers deliciously digging into his back as they kissed. It was more desperate and wanting and hungrier than any of the other kisses they shared over the weekend, and he could not stop himself from getting lost in the way their tongues tangled together. It was the closest to meditation he would ever experience, because her lips had a special way of clearing his mind and centering it on one purpose- LUCY.

Before he wanted to, Tim had to break away from her to breathe. When her eyes flew open to meet his, there were a million things he wanted to say, but all he could remember was how she attributed the heat behind their undercover kiss as "basic biology".

He was just STARING at her, and Lucy knew she was pretty speechless too, but her eyes begged him to speak and explain what compelled him to kiss her when they were alone in the guest room. Before they kissed, Tim had said she is the most important person in his life- his best friend and his favorite person. So, she thought this moment must be a turning point.

They were standing right on the razor thin edge of their friendship and about to cross over into the mysterious and boundless territory of "something more", if only Tim would SAY something.

When he remained frozen, Lucy decided she would tell him the truth. She would use her words and let him know how she feels about him. Because frankly, their weekend as fake fiancées had not made her fall in love with him; she ALREADY loved him. Pretending around her family, just like their time undercover, was simply an excuse to act on her feelings without being honest. But, she would be now. She had to be truthful if they had any hope of transitioning their relationship from something platonic to something deeper. So, Lucy opened her mouth to speak.

"I thought someone was coming," Tim whispered, and his eyes darted towards the doorway.

The wind was completely knocked out of her, and not just because of the head spinning kiss they just shared that emptied her lungs, but apparently, he had only kissed her to maintain their cover? "Right," she replied awkwardly and smoothed down the front of her shirt.

"Let's uh...get our bags and bring them back to the cottage," he suggested and started leaving the bedroom as waves of emotions crashed over him. Tim spent the entire walk out of the main house, over to the car, and down the beach towards the cottage kicking himself for failing to tell her the truth about how he feels as the real motivation for crashing into her.

Lucy silently followed him, only carrying her purse, which was the one item he allowed her to hold while he, as a gentleman, slung all of the other bags over his shoulders. She kept looking up at him silently questioning why he would kiss her just because he THOUGHT he heard someone approaching. Then again, she had kissed him in an airplane bathroom to lend authenticity to their mile high hookup, so maybe that was what he was doing. But she had to admit, part of her reached for him in that bathroom, because she wanted an excuse to kiss him, and she wondered if a part of him was similarly motivated when he kissed her just moments ago.

They settled back into the cottage easily; already knowing how all of their belongings would fit together in the space. Afterwards, Tim eyed her and considered his options- he could say he kissed her because he loves her or he could keep his mouth shut and let her continue thinking it was all an act.

He inhaled sharply, but then stopped himself from speaking; Lucy had JUST broken up with Chris, his breakup with Ashley was still fresh, plus, he did not think he could be so lucky that she actually loves him. Lucy is quite skilled at undercover work, and she viewed their engagement charade as something akin to undercover personas that were in love, but the REAL Lucy could never love him. She's smart, warm, generous, funny, gorgeous, and loving- how could a woman like that love a man as broken as him? Even suggesting he has feelings for her could upset the delicate balance of their friendship that had already been tested when they went undercover as a couple before.