Excerpt #1:
“Can I ask you something?” he said.

“Okay…”

“Why are you dressed like that?”

I lifted a brow.  “Like a blueberry?”

Sam gave a shrug.  “I was going to say a cross between Elsa and Cinderella.”

“Well, well,” I said, “the Sam Bishop knows his princesses.  Who would’ve guessed?”

“Thanks to my sister,” he said.  “And I still don’t get why you keep saying the before my name.  Makes no sense.”

It made sense to me.

He’d always been the Sam Bishop in my head.  As in the one and only, the original, the Sam Bishop who stole my heart at age ten and refused to give it back.  I couldn’t say any of that to him, though, so I just shrugged.

“I was hired to play a wedding,” I said.

“And they asked you to dress like a princess?”

I shook my head.  “The bride wanted a very specific shade of blue.  Not baby blue, aqua or cornflower.  Royal blue is what they asked for.  This is what I had, so…”

Sam nodded.  “Looks good on you.”

“Yeah, right,” I said with a scoff.

“I’m serious.”

Feeling my cheeks heat, I crossed my arms.

“Gotta be honest, though, I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to fit all that in the car.  That’s a lot of material.”

His words startled a laugh out of me, and I gave a mental curse.  I would not be charmed by him.  The guy couldn’t even remember my name for goodness sakes.

“Is part of it still hanging out the door or…?” he said innocently.

“Ha ha,” I said, “very funny, Bishop.”

“Got a laugh out of you, Kent.”

Well.

At least he remembered my last name, I thought.

“And I’m assuming if I hadn’t been able to fit inside your inadequately-sized sports car”—he scoffed—”you would’ve just left me on the side the road?”

Sam shook his head.  “Nah, I would’ve just had you take the dress off.”

 

Excerpt #2:
“Oh look, here’s your boyfriend now.”

“Hey, Kent,” a voice said behind me.

My “just friends” backed away, but they didn’t go far.  Alexandria and Grayson weren’t the only people watching either.  I could see several students and a few teachers had paused to watch the interaction between Sam and me.

This was it.

Phase one of the plan.

When I turned, I was ready, in the zone, the fake romance zone that is.

But then I got a look at Sam.  He was smiling extra wide, and his eyes were round too, like a cartoon.  My own expression nearly faltered, but I shook it off and stayed in character, as I rushed to close the gap between us.  Keeping my smile, I lowered my voice so only he could hear.

“What’s wrong with your face?” I whispered.

“What do you mean?” Sam said, still smiling way too big.

“You look crazy.  Stop that.”

“Do I?”

“Your teeth are blinding everyone in a mile radius,” I gritted out.  “For goodness sake, Bishop, tone it down a notch.”

“But I’m really happy to see you,” he said.

With a sigh, I shook my head.  “Too much, far too many teeth.”

Sam’s face went back to normal in the next breath.  “This better?”

“Yes, much,” I said.

“Hey, it was your idea to bust out the heart eyes,” he said.

I lifted a brow.  “I believe I said to look happy.”

“Really happy.”

“Okay, but the goal is to convince people we’re in love,” I said, “not scare small children.”

Sam laughed, but movement behind him caught my attention.  Brisa was walking arm-and-arm with Cooper down the hall.  They were coming this way.  My eyes widened, and I looked back at Sam with urgency.

“Pick me up and spin me around,” I said.

“Huh?” Sam said.

I put my hands on his shoulders and tried not to shiver as his hands went around my waist in response.

Confession: The attempt failed.

“Brisa and Cooper at 12 o’clock,” I whispered as pleasurable shivers raced up and down my spine.  “Pick me up and spin me.  Like we’re reuniting after a long time apart.”

“You think that’s realistic?”

“I think it’s romantic.”

Sam looked unconvinced.

“Come on, Bishop,” I said quickly.  “Spin me.  They’re almost here.  You’re supposed to be my boyfriend.  Right?”

He met my eyes and gave me a soft, genuine smile so unlike the one he’d been wearing before.  “Anything for my girlfriend,” he said.

Then I was flying.

Or at least it felt that way.

I gasped as Sam lifted and turned with me in his arms.  This wasn’t on my list, but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why.  It was wonderful.  Sam’s hands were warm on my waist, and butterflies danced in my stomach as I clung to his neck.

“Oh yeah,” he said into my ear, “this is much more believable.”

“Whatever, Bishop,” I said unable to hold back a breathless laugh.

Round and round, we went, and when he finally set me down, I felt unsteady.

“I think you should leave the romantic gestures to me,” he said.

“Not a chance,” I replied.  Looking around, I didn’t see Brisa anywhere.  The crowd of onlookers began to disperse, and there weren’t as many people left in the hall.  But she had to have walked by us.  “Did Brisa see?”

“Don’t know,” he said.  “Your hair was in my face.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be.  It was nice.” 

Brow furrowed, I gave him a look.

Sam just shrugged.  “You have nice hair.”

“You still say the most random things,” I said, thinking back to when we were younger.

“You’re random,” he replied.

“And come up with the lamest insults.”

“You’re the lamest.”

“Thank you for proving my point.”

 

Excerpt #3:
I never knew changing a tire could be romantic.

Or so hot.

Watching Sam work with tools was something else.  I couldn’t take my eyes off him as he gripped the wrench, demonstrating how to loosen a lug nut.  Or when he lifted his hand to wipe the sweat from his brow.  Or when he looked at me expectantly.

“Now, you try,” he said.

I nodded.  “Okay.”

As he passed me the wrench, our fingertips brushed.

It was the lightest of touches.  Completely unintentional.  A few seconds, and it was over.

But that didn’t matter.

I felt the sweep of his fingers long after we separated.  Shaking it off, I tried to focus.  Sam had started on one lug nut, and I placed the wrench over the next.  But when I went to turn it, the thing wouldn’t budge.  I gritted my teeth and moved forward to get more leverage.  It didn’t matter.

The sucker just would not move.

“Problem?” Sam asked.

“No,” I muttered, “it’s just stuck.  I’ve got it.”

“You sure, Kent?  Your face is turning red.”

“That’s because it’s hot in here.”

And because he’d suddenly moved closer, leaving only a few inches between us.

“I’m good,” I repeated.

As Sam looked over my shoulder, I could feel his breath hitting my neck.  “The tires on these older models can be tough.  If it’s rusted, you might be too small to get it.”

I scoffed.  “Have you seen my thighs?”

“Yeah,” he said, voice sounding rougher for some reason.  “I’ve seen them.”

“Then you know I’m not small, Bishop.”

He laughed quietly.

Getting frustrated with the dumb nut that wouldn’t turn, I gave up and whipped around to face him.  Unfortunately, this put us in even closer proximity.  His blue eyes blazed with amusement.  “What are you laughing at?” I asked.

“You,” he said.

“Why?  Because I can’t do something you made look so easy?”

“No.”  Sam held my gaze.  “I’m laughing because you’re too stubborn to ask for help.”

He leaned forward even as I stuttered a protest.

“And because you’re right.  Your thighs aren’t small.  They’re perfect.”

“I…what did you just say?”

Sam sighed and wrapped his arms around me from behind, placing his hands over mine on the wrench.  “You heard me, Kent.  Now, work with me, and let’s change this tire.  Like you said, it’s hot.”

Yeah, because you keep breathing on my neck, and you’re wrapped around me like a freaking blanket.

Sam barked a laugh, and I realized I’d said it out loud.

Oh well, I blamed the heat.