Tate and her husband were scrutinizing our interaction closely as we reached the table. They continued watching aptly as he gallantly pulled my chair out. However, they weren’t able to see that, once I sat, he shoved it back in a little too far, banging me against the lip of the table. Not enough to hurt, but still…

Stupid jerk.

“Wow, Sut,” Tate said with a beautifully brilliant smile. “You look amazing. Camden, doesn’t she look amazing?”

“Thanks,” I replied sheepishly, lowering my eyes as a brand-new blush bloomed across my cheeks.

“This is my husband, Deck. I’m sure you’ve talked when he’s called the office, but I’m not sure you’ve formally met each other yet.”

Forced to lift my gaze, I looked to the man in question. I’d seen countless pictures of him and his bandmates, and as Tate said, we’d spoken on the phone a number of times when he’d called to speak with his wife, but none of that was even close to the magnetism that was Declan Forrester up close and personal.

It was clear by the faded tee and jeans he was wearing that he didn’t give a damn where he was or who he was with; he was comfortable in his own skin and would make no apologies. We were in one of the nicest restaurants in Seattle, and he dressed for comfort, nothing more. Same with Camden. Both of them were currently just as relaxed as they would be lounging around their own homes. Then again, both of them had the money and notoriety to get away with it. His eyes were nearly as piercing as Camden’s, but I preferred the dark of Cam’s over the bright of Declan’s. Not that I’d ever admit that. He wore his dark hair in a similar disarray, and just like Cam, it looked amazing on him.

He gave me a genuinely friendly smile. “Nice to finally meet you in person, Sutton. Tate says you’re a lifesaver.”

“Oh. Well, thanks.” I didn’t want to like him. He was just another rich jerk, after all. But he was Tate’s husband, and Tate wouldn’t be with someone unworthy of her. That had to mean something, right? “Nice to meet you too.”

The waitress stopped at the table with fresh drinks for Tate, Declan, and Camden, then quickly took my drink order before scurrying back off. I’d caught her making eyes at the two stars, but it was obvious she was too nervous to do anything other than her job. Not that I could blame her. I was pretty damn uncomfortable myself, but then again, being a homebody would do that to a person.

It was something Sabrina was always riding me about. How two sisters as close as we were could be night and day from one another was beyond me. She was loud, boisterous, outgoing, and funny. I used to be some of those things… until they were taken from me. Now I was awkward, quiet, and introverted. I preferred my own company to others’ and the constant worry of what they might think of me. The stress just wasn’t worth it, so why bother?

Unfortunately, I had to work if I wanted to do things like eat and live somewhere other than a cardboard box in an alley. After a few shit jobs, I landed with Tatum, and thanks to that I was now stuck in the world’s most uncomfortable situation with no escape in sight.

Someone kill me.

“Can we cut the pleasantry bullshit and get down to it, please?” Camden stated, making an already tense situation that much worse.

The frosty glare Tate sent his way was strong enough to make me shiver, but it was me who spoke before she had the chance. “And can you maybe not act like an asshole for two freaking seconds?”

“Oh damn,” Declan chuckled. “You mean there’s actually a woman on this planet who doesn’t drop her panties at the sight of Camden Knight?”

“You aren’t helping,” Tate groused, elbowing her husband in the ribs hard enough to make him flinch.

“I don’t know,” Camden kept going, pretending neither of them had spoken as he turned toward me and draped a long, strong arm over the back of my chair. “I can play nice if you can. Whaddya say, baby?” He looked at me like he wanted to take a bite out of me more than anything he could order off the menu, and that unnerved the hell out of me. I hadn’t had a guy look at me like that in years, and the last one who did… well, I tried my very best not to think about him. It wasn’t a fond memory at all.

Those denim eyes grew darker as he scanned my face, studying me like he was seeing something unfamiliar for the very first time. My belly flipped and flopped, and the thing that scared me the most wasn’t fear of the past—it was that I actually liked the way he looked at me just then.

I had no business feeling that way. None at all. But especially not about him.

Swallowing down the acid of discomfort that was burning my throat, I put on a mask of indifference and picked up my water, taking a much-needed drink. Once I succeeded in shoving that vile thing back down in my belly where it belonged, I turned to him and replied, “If you can be civil, so can I. We need to put on this act, and you tempering your prickish side will go a long way in me not murdering you.”

“Damn, I like her!” Declan cackled before turning to his wife and declaring, “Baby, she’s the shit!”

One corner of Camden’s mouth hooked up in a teasing smirk, and his eyes brimmed with a challenge I wasn’t willing to accept.

“Well, at least we’ve got it squared that you guys can pretend to like each other,” Tate said drolly.

I wasn’t so sure about that. It was still dicey that this was going to work out, but I needed to keep my job, and I didn’t want to let Tate down, so I had to try.

“Such a relief that’s been taken care of.” Camden’s voice was muffled by the rim of his draft glass, but there was no missing the sarcasm in his tone.

The waitress came back around, having finally found enough courage to take our orders, and apparently to cast sultry, suggestive looks Cam’s way. I was overwhelmed by an irrational feeling of betrayal. I mean, I was sitting right there, after all, and his arm was still hanging carelessly over the back of my chair. This woman clearly didn’t carry the same importance for the bonds of sisterhood as I did if the way she was gazing at him was anything to go by.

Camden, however, seemed completely oblivious to her mooning. Two deep creases formed between his brows as he studied the menu with intense scrutiny as she worked her way around the table.

As Tate ordered, I shifted closer, leaning into Camden, envy twisting my stomach into uncomfortable knots. The thought that she’d so easily disregard me as being his date set a fire in me to prove her wrong. My thigh pressed into his, and my shoulder tucked into the space under his arm. I kept my eyes diligently trained to the menu, hoping against hope that I wasn’t being obvious as I muttered my order to the woman who was really beginning to piss me off.

Then Camden did something I hadn’t been expecting.

His arm on the back of my chair shifted, and I suddenly felt his fingers sifting gently through my hair.

I jerked to look at him just as Waitress Barbie cooed, “And for you?” Her voice went husky when she turned to him, her arms pressing her breasts together as she leaned down to give him a better view of her cleavage.

His gaze went to her eyes—not her boobs, her eyes—and he spouted off his order without it traveling south even an inch. I swallowed down my smug grin when her mouth formed into a pout just before she scampered off.

“See?” Tate chirped brightly. “That’s how you should be acting! It was perfect!”

At her exclamation, my cheeks burned and I quickly straightened. I chanced a peek in his direction to see him staring at his friend in confusion.

Did he not know he was touching me like that?

But the look was there and gone before I could be certain. He removed his arm from the back of my chair and rested it on the table, casual as could be. “Maybe I should take up acting,” he joked flatly.

He’d gone from sweet back to asshole in a flash, and in spite of my best efforts, I found I really hated the shift. It was only a second, one second where he’d shown only a hint of affection, but I liked it.

I liked it way too damn much.

That knot in my stomach might have made me feel like shit, but I told myself it was a good thing. I needed the reminder that he was a colossal jerk to keep me grounded, because the only way I was making it out of this sham of a relationship was if I remembered that as gospel.

Fortunately, before I had a chance to dwell too much, Tate spoke again.

“So Deidra and I made up a preliminary schedule for you two. We’re saying that tonight was a blind date that I set up as a mutual friend to both of you. After this we want you guys to be seen out at dinner a few times, stuff like that. Normal dates.”

“Wow. Talk about keepin’ the romance alive,” Camden deadpanned. Usually his glibness irritated me, but I actually found myself silently agreeing with him on this one. The way she was talking about it made it all seem so cold and clinical. But I guess that was to be expected.

“Hey, this needs to look real, and considering how you two look like you want to rip each other’s head off most of the time, we figured this was the best way to go about it. You want your name repaired, this is what you’ll have to do, Cam. And who knows, maybe you guys will actually start to like each other.

Cam and I looked at one another, and I could have sworn he was thinking the same thing I was.

Not freaking likely.

* * *

The “date” was finally coming to an end, and while I was looking forward to finally being able to go home, change into my comfy lounge-around clothes, and relax in the peace of my own house, I was equally dreading what was to come next.

That being my trip at Camden’s side through the snake nest of reporters. It was all part of the act, and just the thought of it caused acid to slither up my throat, threatening to choke me.

My palms were sweaty and my knees were knocking so bad I was afraid I’d trip on my Jimmy Choos as the four of us headed toward the exit.

“Hey.” At the sound of Camden’s voice I glanced over and up at his concerned expression. “You okay? You look like you’re about to hurl.”

I felt like I was about to hurl. “I’m okay. I just….” Tate and Declan made it outside and the camera started flashing like crazy.

Camden pulled me to a complete stop just inside the door, dropping his voice so no one could overhear. “Just what?”

“I’m not used to this. I’m a really private person. Knowing we’re about to walk out into that….” I pointed to the photographers currently calling out for Tate and Declan’s attention. “It’s freaking me out.”

The shaking in my knees traveled throughout my body so bad he could see it. He looked from my face to my quaking limbs to the vultures outside and muttered, “Shit.” Then he shocked the hell out of me with what he did next.

Before I could move, he took my face in his hands and leaned in, pressing his mouth against mine. His body was as stiff and surprised as mine, but when I parted my lips on a gasp, it seemed to do something to him, and the stiffness disappeared. His arms wrapped around me like steel bands, and he pulled me so tight against him not even sunlight could get through. His tongue drove inside, not a subtle tease but a carnal taking. A whimper worked its way up my throat before turning into a moan as my body became jelly. I sank against him, giving him all my weight as my fingers twisted in the material of his shirt to get even closer.

My brain had completely disconnected from reality as I let that kiss consume me. I wrapped my tongue around his and lifted on my toes to get closer, and as we kissed, the world fell completely away. He tasted like mint and beer, the crisp, hoppy flavor making me delirious.

Unfortunately, like all good things, it came to an end far too soon.

Camden’s head jerked back, but his arms didn’t loosen. Instead, he held me with an expression of dismay on his too-handsome face, like he couldn’t believe what had just happened.

That made two of us.

He managed to get a hold of himself quicker than I did and asked, “There. Feel better now?”

It hadn’t been anything more than a distraction. Why does that sting so much?

“Uh….” I cleared my throat, taking a second to get my head straight. Bright side was I wasn’t shaking like a leaf anymore. “Yeah. I’m good. Let’s do this.”

“Mr. Knight! Mr. Knight!”

“Camden, over here!”

“Is this your new girlfriend?”

“Does she know how kinky you are in bed?”

“Is she aware you’re a pervert?”

It was insane. They were insane. And crude. And vulgar. And complete and utter assholes. They crowded around us, barely giving us room to move as they shoved their cameras in our faces.

Camden’s hand had been wrapped around mine as we exited the restaurant, but when it tensed with each of their insulting, invasive questions, I shook off his hold in order to wrap an arm around his waist. I turned half into him and held on tightly as we worked through the crowd. My dislike for Camden Knight flew out the window as the need to show support took hold.

Finally, Declan’s security guys helped clear a path, and we made it to the valet. I guess sometimes being with a celebrity had its perks, because my car was already waiting at the curb with its engine running.

We stopped at the driver side door, and he turned to scowl at the media being held back a few yards away.

I wasn’t sure what came over me in that moment, but the look of desolation in his eyes and the things they were yelling at him set something inside me on fire. “Hey,” I said softly, reaching up and placing my hand on his cheek, forcing him to turn back to me. “Ignore them.” I continued speaking in a low voice as a smile spread across my lips. “We’re supposed to have been on our first date, right? And we didn’t kill each other, so I’d call that a huge success for us. Don’t let them ruin that.”

The despondency quickly fled, and he returned my smile with the first sincere one he’d ever directed at me. And damn it looked good on him. “I think you’re right. It was definitely a success.”

“Then they can screw off.”

His chest rumbled with a low chuckle as he wrapped his fingers around my wrist and gently lowered it, twining his fingers with mine. “Thanks for the support. Means a lot, Sutton.”

“Anytime.”

He leaned down, closing the space between us, and placed a kiss at the corner of my mouth before murmuring, “Get home safe, darlin’.”

“You too, Cam. Good night.”

I climbed into the car and put it in gear, casting one last glance out the window before finally driving away. The whole way home, my mind bounced between two different thoughts.

The first was That went a lot better than I expected.

And the second was I’m totally screwed.