“That I lied?”
“That you have ridiculously long eyelashes.”
His lips quirked and her gaze went rogue, dropping to his mouth, which slowly curved as she watched.
“Jane?”
“Hmmm?”
“We going to finish this climb?”
“Yes. And I’m going to beat you to the top.” She had no idea why she said that. Oh, wait, yes she did. She couldn’t handle losing.
Apparently amused by her competitive spirit, he laughed, but she went back to climbing. And a few sweaty minutes later, she had to admit, it actually was a huge rush, even when she faltered or took a moment to find the right hold. And when she scrambled to the top and rang the bell, she found herself sweating and smiling from what felt like Mount Everest. A twelve-foot-high Mount Everest. “I did it.”
Levi grinned at her. “You did.”
She nodded and then sat right there at the top because her knees were knocking. He handed her a bottle of water and sat with her. “I’m impressed,” he said. “Turns out, you’re a badass in an emergency, and a badass in a competition.” He smiled. “I like it. I like you, Jane.”
She snorted the water up her nose and then choked.
He rubbed her back until she could breathe. “So you aren’t comfortable with compliments. Noted.”
Actually, it was the “I like you,” which she hadn’t expected. Or her own reaction. She played with the condensation on the water bottle. “So . . . about that pretend girlfriend thing. I’ve got questions. And stipulations.”
“Hit me.”
“You’ve got a close-knit family.”
“If by close-knit you mean half the time we want to kill each other, then yes.”
She met his gaze then. “Look, I assume from how important it was to you that you call them when you thought we were going to die, that they love you very much. I just don’t want to be the one to screw that up for you.”
He looked baffled. “How could you possibly screw it up?”
“Trust me. Families don’t like me.” Starting with her own . . .
“Jane, there’s no way they aren’t going to immediately fall in love with you.”
She felt her face heat up and got annoyed at herself. “I’m . . .” She searched for a way to make him understand. “I’ve got a weird sense of humor. I laugh at things no one else thinks is funny. I’m sarcastic. I say what I think, and it’s not always . . . nice.”
“There you go,” he said. “You’ll fit right in.”
She stared at him. Why wasn’t he scared off?
“What else?” he asked.
She took a deep breath. “What would this thing entail exactly? I mean, nothing . . . physical, right? Pretend or otherwise?”
When he spoke, his voice was serious now. “I wouldn’t want pretend physical anything from anyone. Especially you, Jane.”
She frowned. “Because . . .”
That got her a small smile. “I think I’ll let you wrestle with that one.”
She drew a deep breath. Oh boy . . .
“You mentioned stipulations,” he said, sounding amused.
She nodded and tried to remember what they were. “You have to promise me that this thing stays pretend no matter what, that you won’t fall for me.”
He smiled.