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“We need to think of a way to get Lance and Priya to believe this has been going on for months, in secret Maybe we could tell theet each other after the holiday party That we’ve been seeing each other since”
Never mind that for her, at least, it was partially true She’d never really forgotten about Zac and the way he’d ht—sexy, desired, beautiful, precious—even if it had been fueled by too
“We need to convince theot serious fast and noe’re ready for the next step”
Zac sat back and shook his head “It’s not going to be as easy as you think”
Carmen hid her wince—barely “Because you’re an expert in deception?”
“I’ve had some past experience with it, yes”
She didn’t miss the flash of hurt in his dark eyes before he dropped his gaze to the floor
“I ing ame lately”
Her curiosity was piqued again before she could taether had anything to do with it, but a little flare of hope still fizzed inside her anyway
“Off your game? Since when?”
“I don’t know A couple months I’ve been busy, okay? That’s all” He sat forward and rubbed the spot between his broith his fingers “Listen, if we do this, what about all the little things couples know about each other? Birthdays, favorite colors, favorite foods, pets, personal peeves? Trustin two seconds flat if you don’t know all that stuff about me Hell, he knows all that stuff about me”
The tension inside her ratcheted higher She’d already gotten herself neck-deep in this situation and the tide was threatening to pull her under All she could do noas keep her head above water and roll with it
“We’ll each write it down Create a dossier of our lives then give them to one another to memorize”
“A dossier?” Zac snorted “What are we? Super-spies?”
“I’m serious It’s only three days We don’t need to know every detail—just the big stuff, like you said” She sighed and gave him an exasperated look “How much of that will come up anyway? We’ll be sure to avoid Lance and Priya as much as possible at the conference, just to be on the safe side Shouldn’t be hard with such a busy schedule Okay?”
“I still think this is a h and a flat stare, Zac said, “Okay”
Her posture sagged with relief He wasn’t lad to have it out of the way Carmen checked her watch, then pushed to her feet and tossed her empty cup in the trash
“Thank you I’ll text you with the flight details And maybe you’ll fill o with me”
“Don’t count on it,” he said as she walked away
Carlanced at him over her shoulder as she exited the cafeteria “I never do”
Maybe you’ll fill o with me
After Carmen had left, Zac sat alone in the cafeteria to finish his break, knowing he could never tell her the truth His past was a secret he didn’t share with anyone For good reason
God, he was such an idiot He never should’ve accepted her offer, no matter how much he wanted to revisit the ches about him that made a return to The Arctic Star Resort reckless or insane
Neither option made him feel better