Faked (Ward Family #2)(16)

Her jaw set stubbornly. "That doesn't sound like a very fun game."

"No?" I turned her again, pulling her back into my chest. "Agree to disagree."

"So you'd want me to dissect you right now?" she asked, face flushed from the way I'd just tilted her back.

"Hell no."

She bit down on the smile that threatened to spread. Oh, I wish she hadn't.

I wanted to see that smile unfold and know that I was the one to make her do it.

"But I'll tell you one thing I know is true, and if you want to do the same to me," I conceded, "then I'll allow it."

"Deal."

We danced quietly for a few moments of the song, and I thought about how to say what I wanted to say, without showing my hand that I damn well knew she wasn't her sister.

"What I know to be to true," I started slowly, "is that my stupid brother has never danced with you like this."

Her eyes flashed again, but I couldn't pinpoint the emotion behind it. "How on earth could you possibly know that?"

I shifted my hand, brushing my fingers against the knot of bone that I could feel under her soft, soft skin. She shivered.

Instead of giving her the answer she wanted, I lifted my chin. "Your turn."

As we swayed together, her hand tightened slightly in mine. Forgetful of what it might do to her lipstick—another sign that I was right about her not usually wearing it—she chewed on her lip and thought carefully before saying anything.

"I know that you've accomplished pretty amazing things if someone like Richard Harper recognizes you immediately."

I smirked. "Yeah, recently my biggest accomplishment is getting my ass fired after a drunken tirade that someone caught on camera and uploaded to Twitter."

She watched my face carefully. "Social media is a double-edged sword for most athletes."

"It is indeed, princess." We swayed again, my fingers moving against her skin as we did.

"But that one moment doesn't negate the career you've built." She glanced over my shoulder into the ballroom, almost refusing to meet my eyes. "I hope you know that."

Idly, underneath the swell of unstoppable pride that she said it at all, I wondered if she realized that it was the most un-Lia thing she could have said to me.

But she still said it.

God, I wanted to ruffle this girl's feathers and see her in her full glory when she wasn't afraid to hide whatever she kept simmering under the surface.

"I do," I told her, executing another gentle turn. "Not everyone does, but ..." my voice trailed off. "My family just sees it as another piece of proof to indict me, no matter what I did before it."

"Which is hypocritical," she interjected immediately.

I stopped our swaying. "Is it?"

"Of course." She shook her head. "If they care so much about getting kids involved in sports and teams and activities, how could they not be proud of you for achieving what you have? Teaching kids perseverance and grit is one of the most valuable lessons we can give them."

Laughing under my breath, I pulled my hand from around her waist, sliding it up her arm and letting it hover in the air, just before I used my thumb to tip her chin up.

Claire's breath caught. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she whispered.

"You're not even trying, do you realize that?"

Her tongue darted out to wet her lips. "W-what do you mean?"

I dipped my head and took a deep inhale of her hair, before letting my nose graze along her cheekbone so that I could whisper against her ear. Before I did, her hand curled into the lapel of my suit jacket, and I waited to see if she was going to push me away.

"You're not even trying to pretend that you're her anymore, princess."

She was out of my arms before I could blink, her eyes wide and startled, a hand pressed to her heaving chest.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Her voice was steady.

"Yes, I think you do." My eyes never left hers. "Why did you come here tonight?"

Her inhale was sharp, and she blinked rapidly. "Because I'm Finn's best friend."

"Don't lie, princess," I said gently. "That's not very nice."

"And what you're doing right now is?" she tossed back, not so gently.

I grinned.

That grin, innocent though it might have been, was what made Claire snatch her purse and walk quickly away from me. The swish of her dress and the toss of her hair had me chuckling under my breath. The rest of the night would be even more interesting now.

But then she veered away from the restrooms and headed straight toward the hotel entrance.

"Shit," I whispered. I turned toward the ballroom to grab my phone and keys from where I'd left them on the table and almost ran straight into Adele.

"Where's Lia?" she asked, eyes bright with excitement.

Probably requesting an Uber, but I didn't tell Adele that.

"Why? What's up?"

"She met Richard Harper," she gushed. "We were talking when he came back to his seat, and when I mentioned Lia, he told me they'd met out here! They spoke, and he was so impressed with her." Her eyes flicked over my face. "He met you too, apparently."