Act Like You Love Me (An Accidentally in Love Novel) (Entangled: Bliss) (6 page)

Nope. Nothing at all.

…

Sawyer watched the scene play out, and while he kept telling himself Brynn and Leo were only actors, the muscles between his shoulder blades had gotten tighter with every take. He knew he could have no claim on Brynn, but he also knew he wanted one. While he’d been trying to prove a point with the scene, it’d taken all his control not to kiss her in a completely non-1800s-approved way.

And he sure as hell didn’t want to watch Leo kiss her one more time. “Okay, let’s move to the next scene.”

They moved on to where Cecily and Gwendolyn met for the first time. The play was really starting to grow on him—the material, working on a scene and seeing it get better. Sawyer settled back in his seat, now used to the fact that there was hardly any padding in it.

As the director, he probably should be paying attention to the entire scene, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Brynn. Their eyes met and she quickly glanced away. Every time they were together, he thought things were going well. They’d talk, she’d smile—she had the perfect smile. Nice full lips that he now knew were as soft as they looked. He liked the sexy cat-eye thing she did with her makeup, too. Then there were her curves…

Sawyer’s pulse cranked up and he took a drink from his water bottle in an attempt to cool down. Once he was in better control, he forced himself to watch the interchange between the Jack and Algernon characters.

He lasted a minute or two before he was staring at Brynn again. Looks aside, there was something about her. An infectious enthusiasm he wanted to catch. Even when she was mad at him, it was as if she wanted to be mean but simply didn’t have it in her. Which was only more confusing—why was she working so hard to keep him away? He was trying to show her they could at least be friends, like with fixing her door all those nights ago.

I bet she had one of those disastrous relationships and now she’s scared of getting close to anyone.
He’d had a friend in college who was like that. The guy who liked her kept showing her she could trust him day after day, and now they’d been together for more than a year.

For a brief moment, he had the thought that he’d show Brynn she could trust him. But that was crazy, considering she was off limits and by the time she wasn’t, he’d be headed back to New York anyway. He didn’t want to make it worse for her when he left. Still, that kiss wouldn’t leave his mind. There was a spark there, a desire he hadn’t felt in a long time. He needed to at least talk to her, and this time, he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

When they got to the end of the second act, he stood. “I think that went pretty well. We’ll start on the third act tomorrow.”

Everyone started off the front of the stage, and Brynn headed in the other direction—trying to duck out the back again, no doubt. Sawyer charged up the stairs, against the flow of traffic, and slid behind the stage wagon with the garden scenery painted on it.

Good, from here, no one else should be able to see us, even if they haven’t left the theater yet.

There she was, about to pass through the curtains.

“Brynn, wait! Come on, you can’t avoid me forever.”

She glanced over her shoulder at him, and her eyes widened. “I’m not. I’ve, uh, just gotta—”

He grabbed her hand to keep her from bolting, which was what it looked like she was about to do. “Tell me what’s going on.”

“I need to…” She gestured in the direction of the exit, but he could hear the breathlessness in her voice. His gaze lowered to her lips as she said, “Got somewhere…to be.”

His brain told him to stop staring, to forget how nice it had been to kiss her. That this was a bad idea and he should turn right back around and go home before he made things worse. But she looked so tiny and vulnerable, and he wanted to feel that spark again.

He slid his arm around her waist and lowered his mouth to hers. Her hands came up between them on his chest, and he thought she was going to push him away. But then they slipped up around his neck as she parted her mouth under his.

Desire flared through him, and he couldn’t suppress a moan at the way her body fit perfectly against his. He took his time exploring her lips, tasting her mouth, holding her tightly to him.

When she swirled her tongue around his, every thought he’d ever had disappeared.

Then she suddenly stepped back, the shock of going from a kiss like that to nothing a total jolt to his system.

“I can’t do this. I need to go.” She pulled at the curtain, but there was only more fabric. She ran her hand along it, obviously looking for where it split, which gave him just enough time to realize he needed to do something to stop her from leaving.

He put his hands on her waist and her posture stiffened. Not exactly what he’d been hoping for. “Hold up. I shouldn’t have done that, I know. But I feel like I’m missing something every time I talk to you. Tell me what’s going on.”

“What’s going on is that this was a mistake. Now please let me go.”

He dropped his arms, trying not to let it show that he felt like he’d been punched in the gut.

She ran her hands over the velvet curtain again, still looking for the spilt. Managing to be adorable somehow, even as frustrated as he was with her. He was pretty sure that meant he’d already lost his mind over this girl.

She wasn’t even close, so he reached over her and swept the fabric aside. She glanced back at him and his heart clenched.

Then she charged through the opening in the curtain and pushed out the back door, the noise clanging through the sudden quiet.

…

“What the hell? I mean, seriously. What. The. Hell?” Brynn brought her shaky hand up to her still-burning lips. The romantic dreamer in her was having a hard time ignoring the fact that she’d
never
been kissed like that.

And she’d definitely never responded like that. All she’d been able to think in that moment was that she needed to be closer to Sawyer, even though every inch of her had already been pressed against him. Dani’s words about how her heart told her she loved Wes before her brain did popped into Brynn’s head, which so wasn’t helpful right now. This wasn’t her heart. Her heart said he’d hurt her before and she didn’t want to risk it again.

But her lips, her body…they said they wanted more.

Bad idea
was an extreme understatement. Especially since he’d asked her what was going on, his question making it clear he knew she wasn’t being totally honest with him.

What am I going to do? How am I going to face him every day?

She rested her forehead on the steering wheel, the plastic hard against her skin. He was going to figure out she was the nerdy girl who’d asked him to prom, she just knew it. She shouldn’t care—fine, let him know. She should shove that fact in his face so he could see what he missed out on all those years ago.

Only she didn’t want him to know. She wanted him to wonder why she didn’t like him, the same way she’d had to wonder about him back in high school. She wanted him to see what it was like to be rejected. Her chest burned, a toxic mix of resentment and hurt going through her. She pictured herself in the red, supposed-to-be-prom dress she’d made, the sleeves perfectly puffed to Regency-era perfection, the ruffled bodice with a satiny ribbon underneath. Spinning around her room as the skirt billowed around her, foolishly filled with hope.

She’d fantasized how the night would go—how people would gasp at the beauty of her dress like she did whenever she watched
Pride and Prejudice
, finally seeing her as a person they wanted to know. Especially since she’d be on Sawyer’s arm.

Without a second thought, he’d ruined that possibility and shattered her already fragile confidence.

He doesn’t deserve to kiss me, and I’m never letting him do it again.

Brynn looked up in time to see Sawyer’s familiar black car moving through the parking lot. She quickly fired up her engine and drove around the back of the theater, going the extra-long way to get to the road.

She wished that Sawyer had stayed in New York and away from her theater. Avoiding him wasn’t working. She needed a replacement. One who was handsome and could kiss her hard enough to make her forget all about the guy who’d broken her heart when she was eighteen.

Chapter Six

Brynn had been psyching herself up for this conversation all morning, but it wasn’t making it any easier to spit out the words. She’d almost started three times, but people had been coming into the shop and… Okay, she’d chickened out.

She finished replacing the receipt paper on the register and then turned to Paul. “I need dating advice. I know it’s weird, and honestly, if I had anyone else to ask, I’d ask them. But I need help. For one, where do I even go to meet a guy? And then, how do I keep him?”

“Guys are like fish. You wave something shiny at them”—Paul waved one of the silver spinner lures—“and then once you get your hook in, you yank real hard and reel him in.”

Brynn tilted her head and stared at him. “I’m serious.”

“So am I. Here’s the thing…” He looked at her and then shook his head. “Never mind.”

“No, go ahead and say what you’re going to say. I love putting on plays and it keeps me busy, but I wanna have someone to come home to someday.” She swung her arms around. “I want to start living life.”

Paul put his hands on her arms and slowly pushed them down. “You’re just… You’re like a hurricane. You come in talking a hundred miles an hour, swinging your arms around and saying things like ‘living life.’ You’ve gotta hold back when you first meet people. Ease them into the crazy.”

Brynn’s heart clinched. “Ouch.”

“See, this is why I wasn’t going to say anything.”

She took a deep breath and pushed on. “No, I asked. But say I hold back the” —she swallowed past the ache in her throat—“crazy. There’s still the problem of finding a guy. It’s not like I’m going to meet anyone here. I’d never go for a fisherman, and obviously they don’t like me anyway.”

“Howard comes in all the time to see you,” Paul said.

She scowled at her brother. “He’s, like, seventy.”

“More like sixty, and he’s single.” Paul waggled his eyebrows.

“Yay for me.” She propped her elbow on the counter and dropped her chin into her hand.

Paul patted her shoulder and shot her a consoling smile. “You’re a fun person, and you know I love you.”

“But?”

“But sometimes when you start with the love stories, or you throw out a line from a play, no one knows what you’re talking about. I’ve seen you totally crash and burn conversations with guys who were checking you out a few minutes before. And all that stuff’s okay spread out over time. But you’ve got to leave a little mystery. Make them work to get to know you. And really, hold back on the play quotes as long as possible.”

If the conversation continued on like this, she might have to mop her spirits off the floor. “So what am I supposed to talk about? Fishing? Then I’ll be even weirder.”

“Let him talk first. Act interested, but not too interested. Answer his questions with more than a yes or no, but keep it brief. And the less serious you seem about a relationship, the better. You hang out a couple times and make
him
think he wants to be in a relationship.” Paul twisted the silver spinner so that it was hook-side up. “Then you’ve got him hooked and reeled in before he even realizes it.”

“I suppose I bash him on the head to get him to stop flopping around and fighting it, too,” Brynn said.

Paul laughed. “Probably wouldn’t hurt. I think dragging him to your plays and quoting Shakespeare is about the same thing.”

“You really do wonders for the self-esteem, you know that?” She’d expected him to tell her to find someone who understood her and liked the same things. Maybe get tips on where to find that guy. But she supposed this made sense, as much as she hated to admit it. She always said too much too fast. Except with Sawyer, and that was more because she’d tried to avoid talking to him as much as possible.

Oh my gosh, Paul’s right. With Sawyer, I’ve held back, let him think I was some diva actress, pretended I don’t care about him, and he’s all about it. That’s why he kissed me.

She straightened, resolve filling her. “I can do this. I can keep things light.”

“It’d be better if you knew how to flirt. And before you ask, no, I can’t teach you. You’re my sister and it’s weird. Maybe call Dani for that.”

“I’ve seen you flirt, actually, and trust me, you’re the last person I’d ask.” She gave Paul’s shoulder a playful shove.

He laughed, and she joined in. But then she caught movement by the front window, and she stared at the guy standing just outside, his hand on the door. It looked like…surely not. Fate wasn’t that cruel, was it?

Apparently, it was, because Sawyer Raines was totally coming into the Bigfish Bait and Tackle. Brynn’s pulse thundered through her ears. She couldn’t face him. Not yet. And not in here. “I have to go…get something!”

She tried to sneak out the back door, but she’d forgotten to unlock it this morning—which was a total fire hazard on top of being damned inconvenient. She didn’t have the keys, either.

“What the hell are you doing?” she heard Paul say, but she ignored him, frantic for an escape. She glanced around and then ducked behind the shelf with the waders. Because if you were going to hide from someone, there was no better cover than rubber boots that go up to the armpit, right?

Man, up close, these things totally smell.

All her blood was rushing through her head as she heard Paul greet Sawyer and ask what he was looking for.
This is ridiculous. I should just stand up and tell him I work here.

But then she’d have to talk to him, and she’d have to introduce Paul, and then all her lies—which were more like innocent miscommunications, really—would come undone. After all, Sawyer was the one who’d
assumed
she was from LA. She’d never said it.

Had she?

Crap, what if he recognizes Paul?
He was a few years older than she was, so she doubted Sawyer would know him, and even if he did, he wouldn’t realize he had a little sister in his class unless Paul brought it up, and why would he do that?

She leaned forward, even though her thighs were starting to burn, straining to hear what they were saying. “…thinking of doing some fishing from the shore,” Sawyer said.

“Do you need a pole?” Paul asked.

Brynn glanced behind her at the poles and started praying he didn’t. If he caught her back here, she’d just lie down and die. At least it would be a dramatic exit.

“No, I’ve got a good one.”

I bet you do
, she thought, her face heating even though she hadn’t said it aloud. How mature was she? It was official. She’d finally lost her mind, and it was all Sawyer’s fault.

Her phone rang, and she swore as she scrambled to pull it out and shut it up. She hit answer and held her breath for a moment. When she was sure she was in the clear, she lifted the phone to her ear and whispered, “Hello?”

“Brynn? Why are you whispering?” It was Dani.

“Long story.” Brynn cast another glance toward the register. She could make out Sawyer’s feet and the low murmur of his and Paul’s voices. Her brother glanced in her direction, forehead all scrunched up, and she shrank back farther. “What’s up?”

“Turns out Wes does have a friend who’s single. He’s a cop, and he’s helping Wes by going out and trying the adventure tours with him, making sure they’re in the clear, legal-wise and such. He’s super hot, too. I was thinking it’d be fun to all get together so you could meet.”

A sliver of hope shone through. Cop. Hot. What more could she ask for? “Yeah. Sounds good.”

“Cool. I wanted to check with you before setting it up. I’ll see when he’s free and call you once I have the details.”

Brynn disconnected the call and slid the phone back into her pocket. Suddenly everything Paul said hit her, and her stomach rolled over. She’d probably ruin her chances with the prospective guy within a few minutes of their date—she’d never been good under pressure, and she was even worse if there was a cute guy involved.
I might as well call off the date now. Save myself another hit to my dissipating ego.

She heard the ding of the register opening, and then, a moment later, the chime over the door. Footsteps approached and then Paul was staring down at her, arms crossed. “Didn’t we just have a talk about not acting crazy? That’s the first guy not in the senior-citizen-discount age to come by in a while, and you’re back here hiding.”

“That was the director of my play.”

Paul glanced over his shoulder.

She inched closer to the boots. “He’s not still here, is he?”

“No, but he seemed like a nice enough guy. I don’t get why you’d hide from him.”

Well, he kissed me yesterday, and I liked it.
That sounded straitjacket insane, so she shrugged. “He sorta thinks I’m from LA.”

Paul raised an eyebrow. “You told him that?”

“Not exactly. He assumed and I just…let him. A few minutes ago, you told me I needed to not be myself.”

“I said hold back. I’m not even sure
what
you’re doing.”

Brynn used the shelves to pull herself up. “I’m surviving.” She thought about telling Paul the truth. He’d never understood how hard high school had been for her, but when she’d told him the occasional story here and there, he’d actually gotten pissed that people had treated her the way they did. So she didn’t want to get into that, and she didn’t want to explain, and she wasn’t sure how her life had ended up in this weird place.

“If it’s that bad, maybe you should quit the play,” Paul said.

“No, I’m fine, really.” What she needed was for the cop guy to be as interested in her as Sawyer seemed to be right now.

So how do I pull that off, with me being me?

A crazy idea started to form. Apparently acting like someone else was working with Sawyer, and according to her brother—and her dismal lack of a dating life—she needed to learn how to flirt. This could be the perfect opportunity. When Sawyer acted interested, she could see what worked and what didn’t. If he stopped talking to her, then fine, it’d make rehearsals easier. But if it worked, she’d know what to do when she met the right guy. It’d be like the ultimate dress rehearsal. “Actually, I’ve got everything under control.”

…

This was out of control. Sawyer was watching out his window for Brynn to come home, because apparently he was a masochist who enjoyed being dissed by the same girl over and over again. He couldn’t help himself, though. Kissing her had awakened a part of him he’d forgotten existed, and he wanted to see where it went, even if common sense told him to let it go.

Besides, his arms ached from all the work he’d been doing on the house, and he needed a break. So he’d pulled his old fishing pole out of Mom’s garage and bought bait. At first he was going to go out alone—he probably should—but then he got this idea that he’d show Brynn they could hang out as friends, and then she’d see how much fun he could be. And then eventually, he could kiss her again.

Damn, he wanted to kiss her again.

Just when he was about to give up, her blue Camry pulled up. He grabbed the trash bag for an excuse to be outside and headed out the back door.

“Hey.” He could actually feel his pulse pounding in his neck. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this nervous. Or the last time he’d just jumped in without fully thinking things through. He forced his limbs to move forward and toss the bag of trash in the Dumpster. “About yesterday…” He considered saying he was sorry, but he wasn’t, and he didn’t want her to take it as an insult. Shit, he should’ve planned this out better.

She kicked the grass with the toe of her shoe. “Let’s not talk about yesterday.”

Fine by him. “So, I was about to head down to the lake for some fishing, and I think you should come with me.”

She glanced at her house, and he sensed he was losing her.

“Just two friends hanging out,” he said. She slowly turned back to him, and his gaze drifted toward her lips. He was going to have to avoid looking at them if he was going to get through this act-like-friends thing. “I’ve got a spare pole and everything we’ll need…”

The breeze stirred her hair, sending strands of it into her face. She swept it back and tucked it behind her ear. “Okay. Let me change clothes and feed my birds first.”

“Birds?”

“You know, little feathered creatures with beaks and wings?”

He smiled. He shouldn’t like that she was mocking him, but it sent warmth through his chest—yep, total masochist, because he wanted more. “Need any help?”

“No thanks. I’ll only be a minute.” She disappeared into her house, and he went to grab the equipment. So, friends… He could ask her about LA. Where she went to school, things like that. Oh, and he could show her how to fish. Friends put their arms around each other when they showed them things, right?

Well, this friend was going to, anyway.

…

“What do you think, guys?” Brynn asked her parakeets, spinning for them to show off the pink and white sundress she’d thrown on. “Does this say I’m a city girl who is only moderately interested in what you do or say?”

Lancelot ignored her, but Guinevere chirped.

“Good enough for me.” She definitely wouldn’t mention the fact that she talked to her birds—she knew that much even without Paul’s help. But she kept what her brother had said in mind. Stick with light topics and conversation. No quotes from plays or books or movies. Interested, but not too interested.

Maybe I’ll try a flirty smile.
She backed up so she could see into her mirror and attempted a couple, then decided she should keep her lips pressed together. Smiling made her cheeks stand out and gave her a total chipmunk look. No wonder that’d never worked before.

And now I’m psyching myself out.
She slid on her sunglasses. That was better. She put her hand on the doorknob and told herself this was like any other dress rehearsal. You saw what worked, what didn’t, then you made notes and tried it again. It was okay if she bombed it.

Only then she opened the door and Sawyer was standing there holding fishing gear. She desperately wanted to prove she could play it cool with a guy like him. Never mind the fact that his grin sent her stomach up near her throat.