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head. “Well, what am I supposed to do now?”
    Winking, he laid on his thickest grin—one that would hopefully make her laugh, or make her call him some foul name—anything to remove the oh-shit look from her face. “We act like we are together.”
    Her face contorted, her brows angling toward her nose, her lips tightening into a firm line.
    “Oh, come on”—his hand gently slapped her knee and he grasped it, giving it a squeeze—“it won’t be that bad.”
    “Easy for you to say, you’re a walking erection.”
    So she thought he was a joke, not a complete surprise, but it didn’t sit well with him. “Look, you want to tell Luke the truth, I’ll back you up. You want to continue with this little lie, I’ll back you up. The ball’s in your court, Red.”
    Her eyes shifted to him, and he saw a vulnerable side that was unlike anything he had ever seen in her before. She was always so sure of herself, so confident, and strong. Seeing her feel almost helpless tugged at him.
    She collected a puff of air in her cheeks, held it in, then blew it out in an aggravated sigh. “Fuuck,” she said, dragging the word out in a long deflated breath. “You sure you are up for this?” She angled her body toward him, pulling her foot out of the water and sliding her ankle under her thigh.
    Trevor laughed once. She had no idea what she was asking. Was he okay pretending that this little spitfire was his? Was he okay getting the opportunity to touch her in ways he had been itching to touch her since she first told him to fuck off? Hell yes he was up for this. He was always up for a good challenge—and she’d just thrown out the mother lode.
    “I’m happy to help,” he said, bushing it off like it was no big deal.
    “Okay, we need some ground rules.”
    “All right,” he replied, amused.
    “Keep the physical affection PG. No ass groping or wandering hands. Hand holding, hugging and other small embraces are okay. Kisses are okay, just no tongue.”
    Trevor arched his brows at her. How did she expect him to kiss that mouth of hers without slipping in for a taste? This might be fucking harder than he thought.
    “I mean it, Trev,” she admonished.
    Throwing his hands up in surrender and smiling he said, “Fine, fine. But I hope you know you are taking all the fun out of this for me.”
    She rolled her eyes and he couldn’t help laughing. “Ugh, I can’t believe we are doing this,” she said.
    “Is the idea of being with me really that repulsive?” he asked, although he knew the answer. She shot him down every chance she could, and was the only woman who had ever done so so adamantly.
    “It’s not that you’re repulsive, you’re just Trevor. You’re a slut. You’re cocky and arrogant and quite possibly the—”
    “Sexiest man you’ve ever seen?” he interrupted, throwing his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into him. She relaxed against his side and nestled her head on his chest.
    “See, I rest my case,” she sighed, defeated.
    ***
    They walked back from the dock hand in hand, which was extremely awkward for Eva but if they were going to play the part, they might as well start now. She would have to explain everything to Meagan because there was no way in hell she would ever believe for a second that she and Trevor were together. Not after four years of tormenting the shit out of him every chance she got about his playboy ways.
    “You know, if we’re going to pull this off, you need to relax a little, Red,” he whispered, leaning in close to her ear and squeezing her hand.
    “Kiss my ass, Trev.”
    “Bend over, baby.”
    “Oh God, it’s starting already,” she said, withholding the laugh that was forming in her throat. She would not give Trevor the satisfaction.
    As soon as they stepped onto the thick grass and started toward the drink table, Meagan’s big, round eyes instantly found hers. Eva gave her another don’t-fucking-ask look and Meagan just raised her brows and shook her