The Bookworm's Guide to Faking (The Bookworm's Guide #2) - Emma Hart Page 0,56
thumb brushed against the back of my arm, and the sensation of the soft pad of his thumb against my bare skin made goosebumps break out down my arm.
At least I didn’t shiver. That really would have given it away.
Could I blame this on the wine?
I really had to stop drinking wine around Sebastian Stone.
It made me feel things.
No, it didn’t.
It made me acknowledge these things I felt, and that was a very scary prospect.
Because I didn’t want to.
My life was simple before he came back. I held a grudge against him, I was happily single, and lived an easy life.
Now everything was complicated.
This was the reason I didn’t really date. Feelings were difficult and complicated, and I didn’t have the time for them.
Lying in bed with Sebastian on Saturday night had awoken several things inside me—things I’d really thought I’d left behind years ago. Those deep feelings that only come from knowing someone.
They existed because despite how we’d changed, he was still the teenage boy I fell in love with all those years ago. He was still the same guy I laughed and joked with, who threatened to break the noses of the guys who hurt me, who really did help me with all the math homework I could never figure out.
And I really, really had to get to the bottom of how I felt so I could clear it out of my system.
I didn’t know how he felt. The only reason he was going along with this whole fake relationship thing was because I really didn’t think he wanted to tell his grandpa the truth.
At least, I thought that was the only reason.
The truth was that I didn’t know. I hadn’t asked, and I wasn’t going to ask.
I didn’t want to know the answer.
Which was probably why I hadn’t told Amos the truth either.
It was easier to just… let it go on. Until there was a real reason to stop.
“Are you all right?”
I jerked out of my own head and back into the moment. Seb’s blue eyes were boring into mine, and I blinked. “I’m fine. Sorry. I was in my own little world. I’m a bit tired.”
“Do you want me to take you home?”
I looked at the bottle in his hand. “Can you drive?”
He paused. “Shit. Probably not. I can call a cab, or I can walk you home?”
I turned and looked out of the large windows that overlooked the main road. It was dark, but the lights at the front of the bar illuminated the outside enough that I could tell it was no longer snowing.
There was about four inches on the ground, but at least it had stopped for now.
“My apartment isn’t far. I can walk there.”
“Holley, I’m not going to let you walk home alone. It’s dark and cold and you’ve had at least three glasses of wine.”
At least? I’d only had three, thank you very much.
“Okay, fine. Walk me home and you can call a cab from my building.”
“Sounds good. Shall we tell them we’re going?”
I looked over at our friends in front of the karaoke book. Ivy and Kai had left a little before nine to pick up Tegan, and it was almost eleven now. Since I had to open the store tomorrow, I was seriously regretting this life choice.
“No. I’ll text Josh. He’s the most sober of the lot.”
“Really? Bohemian Rhapsody was him sober?”
“Sadly, yes.” I gave him a pointed look and got up, grabbing my coat. I was extra thankful I’d brought fifty layers with me today, so I wrapped up and told Seb to wait for a moment so I could say goodbye to my parents.
I walked up to the bar where they were both working and waited until Mom was done pouring two glasses of wine.
She glanced over. “Are you leaving, honey?”
“Yeah, I have to open the store tomorrow. Sorry to leave you with, well, my friends.”
She laughed as she rung up the order. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not like we’re not used to this every single week. Is Sebastian staying?”
I shook my head. “He’s walking me home then getting a cab from my place.”
“Oh, really?” There was a hint of something in her voice.
“No, Mother.” I pointed at her with my gloved finger. “Get that idea out of your head right now. We’re friends.”
“Friends who are pretending to be more,” she replied. “Your sister might have fooled me, but you can’t.”
“Thank God for that.”
“Hey, Holls?” Dad called over. “Any chance of season tickets yet?”