I woke before he did. I touched the scruff on his face and bit my lip as I smiled. My toes curled tight under the covers as butterflies tickled the inside of my stomach. Coming home the night before was one thing. The whole wedding thing…even though we were there for a little revenge…it was still the allure of the forever romance. Plus, I got to rip that suit off his chiseled body while he tore the blue dress off mine. He carried me through the threshold of the bedroom and tossed me to the bed.

We went after each other in a way I never remembered with another guy. It was so wild and passionate and it felt like it was going to last all night. And suddenly, my head was on his chest, my heart pounding, my mind fading off to sleep, thinking about how much I cared and that I actually did love him.

But I told myself it was all the wedding crap.

But it wasn’t.

I stared at him as he slept, trying to sort through my feelings. It was real. There was something there.

It felt good. But it also scared me.

He wanted me to come up with a plan to face Parker. After that I had no idea what would happen between us.

So I took the moments I had and just looked at Zayne. To be honest, I had been jealous at the wedding. Steph was beautiful. She had a vixen face, trouble eyes, and cute dimples on her cheeks. She was tall, skinny, and so damn pretty. When Zayne went to talk to her alone, it drove me crazy to just sit there and wait. I couldn’t stop thinking about him kissing her. Touching her. His body hot and sweaty against hers. I wondered if she scratched him harder than I did. Or if she said stuff that I didn’t say. That then took me right back to Parker and Abby. My mind hurt my heart as it flashed the images of Parker fucking Abby. And then my heart hurt my mind, reminding it that they had been fooling around for a while.

That’s why I went to go look for Zayne. I told myself if he and Steph were going to do anything, I wanted to see. I wanted to see if Zayne would be the guy to sleep with his ex on her wedding day. After she was married, actually.

What I found was Zayne backing away from her as she spewed words about having a fling. That’s what Steph wanted. She wanted to keep Zayne on the hook, to use him for comfort and pleasure when she wanted it.

That made her a total…

Whatever.

It was over. I’d survived the wedding with Zayne, the whole reason for his lying to me about my car. The whole reason for his being so nice in the beginning. And now it was over.

I gently rolled to my back and checked the time. I had an hour until I was supposed to be at the cafe.

I got out of bed without waking Zayne. I grabbed my PJ bottoms and my shirt. Truthfully, it was just so cozy with Zayne. Even though I had bags in the spare bedroom and lived out of them, it was comfortable in his room, in his bed, gathering clothes I had thrown there days ago when we started to fool around.

I made it to the door when I heard a vibrating sound. I looked back and saw Zayne’s phone on the nightstand. Someone was calling.

I didn’t want it to wake him, so I hurried to silence the call.

It was from someone named Tilly.

Tilly?

I shrugged my shoulders.

The call ended.

But then the phone vibrated again. I thought this Tilly person was calling again, but it was a text message.

I didn’t mean to read it… but I did…

Hey, Z. Got you all set up to fly here. It’s time, brother. Miami is your new home!

* * *

I turned and bumped into Donna. The hot water splashed out of the cup, and I wanted to scream. Donna was quick to slap my wrist, sending the mug out of my hand and to the floor. The mug shattered and the super-hot water splashed on the floor.

“I’m so sorry,” I said in a hurry. “Did I get you?”

“No,” Donna said. “Just my sleeve. Are you okay?”

I looked down at the pieces of the mug. I faced the counter and apologized to the poor woman who had ordered a cup of tea.

It was the third order I had fucked up so far today.

I couldn’t stop reading the text in my head and picturing Zayne going to Miami. Had that been his plan all along? Did everyone at St. Skin know that he was leaving?

“Bella,” Donna said. “Why don’t you clean this up and take five?”

“No…”

Donna raised an eyebrow.

There was one unspoken rule I knew: don’t piss Donna off.

So I kept my mouth shut and cleaned up the pieces of the mug. Donna took over at the counter as I threw everything out and walked to the back. I opened the door and stood just outside. I hadn’t had a cigarette since the day I met Zayne. I suddenly had a taste for one and walked to my car. I found the old pack and knew it was going to taste like hell.

And it did.

I stood there, smoking, pacing without realizing I was pacing until Donna opened the door and froze.

“Pacing. Smoking. Flustered.”

“I’m fine,” I said.

“Sure you are. You better not be pregnant. Smoking-”

“I’m not pregnant,” I said.

“Then what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“I didn’t know you smoked,” Donna said.

“I don’t,” I said. I smiled. “Not usually.”

“So something happened with Zayne.”

“No,” I lied.

“Right.” Donna nodded. “So, how long are we going to stand here and play this game?”

I dropped the cigarette and stepped on it. “Sorry about the mess.”

“It’s a mug and water,” Donna said. “Want to talk about what’s going on?”

“Right now? No.”

“Fair enough. I’m sorry to tell you this, but your day’s not to get any easier.”

“Why’s that?” I asked.

“Zayne is here, looking for you.”

* * *

He stood there like a badass. Tall, wide, wearing a dark green shirt that hugged every inch of muscle. His dark hair was messy, probably from just rolling out of bed and not having to give a shit how he looked because a guy like Zayne looked hotter when he looked sloppier, in an odd way.

I kept myself protected by staying behind the counter.

“Coffee?” I asked him.

He walked to the end of the counter where I was. “Can I buy you a coffee? Can you get a break?”

“I just took one,” I said. “I’m having a rough day here.”

“Sorry to hear that,” he said. “I was hoping we could talk.”

About Miami? You’re going to tell me what’s up?

“Okay. Should we meet up…”

“Meet up?” he asked. “I want you to tell me what you’re thinking when it comes to Parker. It’s your turn now, right? That was the plan.”

“The plan,” I said. “Yeah. I haven’t thought about it much. I mean, I guess we could just show up? I still have plenty of stuff there.”

“Okay. Whatever you want. The only problem is we left the engagement ring at the wedding.”

“Shit,” I said. “We did. I was going to grab it…”

Zayne reached for my hand. “I don’t need that ring. It’s better left where it is. But if you think we should have one, I’ll go get another one.”

“Another engagement ring?” I asked, swallowing.

“Sure. We want to make this right, right?”

“Make this right,” I whispered. “So, I’d wear a second engagement ring…and be a fake fiancée again.”

Zayne raised an eyebrow. “Why, you don’t want it to be fake?”

Miami! What the fuck are you planning? Lying sack of…

“Bella,” Donna called out.

“I have to go,” I said.

“Hey, are you okay?” Zayne asked.

“Weird day, Zayne.”

“Okay. Well, let me know when you’re done here. We’ll figure something out. You tell me what you want to do, darlin’. I owe you for the wedding. So, anything you need or want, I’m yours.”

I’m yours.

I went to the register with a fake smile on my face.

I was good at this fake-thing, right? Fake running away from my old life. Fake engagement with Zayne. Fake my way through this job and fake as a writer. Fake with another engagement, I guess. Fake as I smiled and took an order for coffee and two cookies. Fake as I said all the cookies were delicious when I had only indulged in chocolate chip.

Fake.

That’s what my life had become.

I looked to my right and there was no sign of Zayne.

He was gone. He had no idea what I knew.

So…I was even being fake to Zayne. I was lying to him as he was lying to me.

Hey, are you okay? he had asked me.

I poured a cup of coffee and started to shake my head.

“No,” I whispered, “I’m not okay at all.”