A smile lifts my mouth. “The meddlers pushed us together, Juliet and Jean-Claude tricked us into texting, but . . . Jamie, we chose what to do with that. We chose to spend time together, become friends, become . . . more. We made this real on our own, not because of them but in spite of them.” I cup his cheek, my thumb softly tracing his jaw. “That’s vengeance enough for me.”

He leans into my touch, his eyes holding mine fiercely. “Good.”

“So . . .” My smile deepens. “Want to officially stop pretending with me?”

Jamie’s smile is brighter than the stars above us. “More than anything.”

· TWENTY-SIX ·

Jamie

This cab ride is the best cab ride of my life. Bea keeps stretching her seat belt, leaning in and kissing me. I keep kissing her back. Because she wants what I want.

I feel like I can breathe again.

When the cab drops us off, Bea practically skips to her building and throws open the vestibule door. “Want to come upstairs and play with my hedgehog?” she asks.

It’s hard to swallow a laugh, but I manage it, giving her my best poker face. “That’s a disturbing euphemism.”

“Hey!” She lets the door to her building fall shut behind her. “You weren’t supposed to see through that.”

I tug her jacket closer to her chin as she shivers against the cold. “It was a wild guess.”

“I actually meant it. Well, I was hoping playing with Cornelius would be an enticement, then I’d seduce you with my wily ways.”

“And what are those?”

“Um. Well, I was working on that. I thought maybe I’d tickle you to the bed and it would turn into something else.”

“Tickling does not lead to seduction.”

“What does?” she asks.

A smile wins out as I peer down at her. “If I tell you that, I lose my mystery.”

Bea gives me sad puppy eyes. “You’re not coming up, are you?”

“I want to, but no.” My fingers thread through her hair, cradling her scalp. I watch her eyes fall shut. “When we’re together, I don’t want other people around, Beatrice. I want hours and hours, and plenty of privacy for you to be as noisy as you want.”

Her eyes spring open. Her mouth parts as she stares up at me. “I’ve got time. I’ll be quiet. Let’s go.”

“No, you don’t. And you won’t.” I press a kiss to her cheek, then reach past her for the door, opening it again. “And I’ll love it.”

“Jamie,” she whines, clutching my jacket. “Friday wasn’t enough.”

“It absolutely wasn’t.”

“So let’s go fix that.”

I kiss her nose this time, then her forehead. “Go inside and warm up.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” she says, biting her lip. “I’ll be thinking about you tonight, warming myself up in bed plenty.”