“Seriously. How does he do it? The guy’s a magician,” Nate said, staring down at the double sleeping bag.
And a matchmaker with no shame, Ellie thought, positive her cheeks were flushed. “It’ll certainly make it more comfortable than sitting on the ground.”
“I’m pretty sure he didn’t intend for us to sit on it, Ellie,” Nate said, sounding amused.
She rolled her eyes. “I know what he intended us to do with the sleeping bag, Nate. I’m not a twenty-year-old virgin. I’m a sexually experienced thirty-three-year-old woman.”
He opened his mouth and then closed it, taking the bottle of wine and the candles from her arms.
“Don’t worry, in a couple of days you won’t have to put up with the matchmakers of Highland Falls. I can almost guarantee that, as soon as Spencer arrives and they find out we were once engaged, they’ll turn their matchmaking sights on him and me.” She sat on the sleeping bag, wanting nothing more than to lie back and close her eyes and not wake up until Spencer left town. Having everyone trying to set up her and Nate was one thing—she’d totally be on board with that plan. But having them set up her and Spencer was a whole other story.
“No way. They’ve already decided we’re a perfect match, and nothing will change their minds.” He joined her on the sleeping bag, opened the bottle of wine, and poured the merlot into the tiny plastic glasses. “Trust me, I know what I’m talking about,” he said as he handed her a glass of wine.
“I wish you were right, Nate. But you’re not. Just think about it,” she said when he went to object. “Spencer is judging the contest, and there’s nothing this town wants more than to win. They’ll think I’m the ace up their sleeves. It won’t matter to them that we’re no longer together. I told you, Abby already suggested I seduce him,” she said, laying out the food on the paper plates.
“She was joking. There’s no way she’d expect you to do something like that.”
“Maybe not, but that’s because she’s a friend. Some of the other business owners in town might not have any qualms asking me to take one for the team.”
Nate choked on his wine. “Damn it, Ellie.” He wiped off his black T-shirt with a napkin. “Anyone suggests you sleep with the guy, you tell me, and I’ll make sure no one says that crap to you again.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You do realize I’m perfectly capable of telling them myself, don’t you?”
“Five older sisters, remember? And I’ll tell you the same thing I’d tell them. No one talks smack about the people I lo…care about and gets away with it.”
Ellie’s glass of wine stalled halfway to her mouth when he nearly used the L-word in reference to her. Get a grip, she told herself. He cares about you. He doesn’t love you. She took a sip of her wine to moisten her suddenly dry throat. “To be honest, I’m not as worried about the ones who are open about their expectations. I’m worried about the sneaky ones. The business owners who’ve pulled out all the stops. Everything they do and say leads back to love and romance. I guarantee that when I take Spencer on the tour of Main Street, they’ll seat us at their most romantic spots and do everything they can to put us in the mood for love.” Like having them sit on a sleeping bag drinking wine surrounded by the faint glow of fairy lights in the forest and a view of the sun setting on Mirror Lake.
“What do you mean you’re taking your ex on a tour of Main Street?”
“It’s not just the tour of Main Street.” She removed her phone from the pocket of her capris and brought up the itinerary. She turned the screen toward Nate.
A muscle in his jaw pulsed as he scanned the list of events. “Why the hell is your name beside his at every one of the events?”
She sighed. “Why do you think, Nate?”
He tossed back his wine and then poured himself another glass before topping up hers. He stared at the lake and then glanced at her. “You know, you could avoid all of this if we just pretend we’re together. Half the town thinks we are anyway, so they’re not going to call us out on the lie. Same goes for the other half that wish it were true.”
“That might work,” Ellie said, fighting back a smile. Even if she could read Nate’s mind, she didn’t have to. He was clearly jealous of Spencer, and the poor man had no idea. If it wouldn’t give her feelings for him away, she’d stand up and do a happy dance.
“Might? Be serious. It’s the perfect plan.”
“I don’t know. It would be pretty embarrassing if Spencer figured out that we were fake-dating. He’d probably think it was because I’m still in love with him.”
His eyes narrowed. “You’re not, are you?”
“No, of course not. But he always had a bit of an ego. He’s also good at reading body language, and I don’t know if we’re good enough actors to pull it off. It’s hard to fake physical chemistry.”
“We don’t have to fake it, Ellie. We have it in spades,” he muttered, not looking particularly pleased about it.
“You’re right. We—”
“Thank you,” he said, all gruff and growly.
“You didn’t let me finish,” she said, barely managing to keep the laughter from her voice. “I was going to say couples in love act differently than we do. Just look at Sadie and Chase, Mallory and Gabe, Abby and Hunter. When they’re in a room together, they’re either standing close or they’re following each other with their eyes. They always know where the other one is, sharing secret glances and smiles. And they can’t keep their hands off of each other. It’s probably because they’re intimate, and that’s not something we can fake.”
Nate choked on his wine again, but this time he didn’t spill any on himself. “Damn it, Ellie. You can’t keep saying stuff like that to me.”
“Why not?”
“You know damn well why not.” He put down his wineglass and placed his hands on her shoulders, turning her to face him. “You know I want you. You know I have a hard time keeping my hands off you, a hard time keeping from kissing you every time we’re within five feet of each other.”
She put down her glass and slipped her arms around his neck. “There’s less than six inches between us now, and you don’t seem to be having trouble not kissing—”
He swore softly as he pulled her against him, his eyes holding hers as he lowered his head, claiming her mouth in a kiss unlike any kiss he’d given her before. He cradled the back of her head in his big hand, lowering her onto the sleeping bag, his body hot and heavy covering hers. She wanted, no, needed to be closer and wrapped her legs around his hips, deepening the kiss as she did, her tongue tangling with his in a wild, passionate dance.
Nate’s groan reverberated against her lips as he broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“I think it’s a really good idea,” she said, kissing her way down his throat.
“You’re killing me here, Ellie. I can’t give you what you need.”
She rocked her hips. “I’m pretty sure that you can.”