“That’s not funny.” I tried to sound kind. “Let’s just stick to the lesson, okay?”
“It’s not supposed to be funny.” He leaned even closer, his gaze dropping to my lips. “You have to know I think you’re sexy.”
Could he actually be serious? Was Willis trying to flirt with me?
I jumped up from the table, backing away quickly. “I’m sorry if I’ve given you the wrong idea.”
“Nat, isn’t it obvious how I feel about you?” He stood up too, unfurling his tall, lean body. “You can’t tell me it’s a surprise.”
“It’s definitely a surprise.” I nodded vigorously. “Also a shock. A bombshell. And a bewildering event.” Not wanting to hurt his feelings, I softened my tone. “Did you think I was somehow leading you on? If so, I apologize. As far as I’m concerned, you’re just here to improve your grammar.”
“You’ve taught me enough that nobody at work mocks my emails anymore.” He moved toward me, forcing me to take another step back. “That’s not why I wanted more lessons.”
“So I’ve been wasting my time teaching you?” My surprise was turning into annoyance. I’d thought I’d been doing a good deed. As busy as I was with the café, I’d been willing to donate my time to help out someone who needed it, only to discover I’d actually been going on a series of weird pseudo-dates?
“If you’re such an expert at English grammar, why did you use ‘there’ instead of ‘they’re’?” I pointed an accusing finger at our last exercise, in which Willis had made a multitude of mistakes.
“I’ve been pretending not to know stuff so you’d keep giving me lessons.”
My mouth fell open. “You’ve been faking it?”
He smirked. “And I was pretty good at it, too. You couldn’t tell, could you?”
Heat flushed through me. I gripped my chest with one hand, feeling betrayed. Feeling dirty. “How long have you been faking with me?” I demanded. “How many times have you faked it?”
“That’s not what matters. I want to know why you’re turning me down. Is it because of that chef?” Willis’s lip curled. “Forget him. He’s going back to Hollywood, and what then? You’re not going to trail after him?” He shook his head. “That’s not you. You’re too good to play second fiddle to a Hollywood ego.”
“Kade doesn’t have a—”
“Nat, you and I would be good together.”
Before Kade had strolled back into my life, I might not have scoffed so hard at that. But almost every minute I’d spent with Kade was one I’d spent smiling. At least until sleeping together had ruined things.
Still, Kade made me feel smart and beautiful. When we talked, I was the only person in his world. No feeling I’d ever had around Willis had ever come close to that.
“Kade’s never faked it with me,” I stated bluntly. “Not once.”
Willis’s brow furrowed. “But you’re not teaching him anything?”
“He’s never faked anything with me. He’s honest and trustworthy, which is more than I can say for you.” I marched to the door. “And I’d like you to leave, please.”
Willis planted his feet. “You can’t say Kade’s honest. He lied about being engaged to you.”
“But he’d never lie to me.” I opened the door and motioned him to leave. “Goodbye, Willis. I’m ending our lessons.”
He stopped beside me in the open doorway, staring down at me with a slight smile.
“Are you sure you want me to leave? Because your mouth’s saying one thing, but your eyes are telling me to stay.”
“What?” I blinked several times, then narrowed my eyes so he couldn’t interpret my gaze as anything but annoyed. “My eyes can’t talk. And if they could, they’d agree with the rest of me.”
“I know how much you enjoyed being my teacher. That doesn’t need to stop.”
“Yes it does.” I frowned, impatient because he wasn’t leaving. “Here’s one last lesson for you, Willis. Next time you tell a woman you were faking it with her, have the decency to act sorry about it.”
“You’re cute when you’re angry.”
I huffed. “What—?”
Willis grabbed my face, bent his head and kissed me.
For a moment, I was frozen, shocked into perfect stillness as his mouth moved against mine. But when his tongue touched my lips, my mind cleared and I shoved him backward.
“What the hell are you doing?”
I heard the screech of car tires as a car drove away.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t want me to kiss you.” Willis recovered quickly from my shove. He leaned against the doorframe, his lips lifted in an annoying smirk. “You can stop pretending you’re not attracted to me. Nobody’s watching.”
But someone was.
A man was walking toward us, a large paparazzi-sized camera dangling from one hand. With his other hand, he held out a business card.
“Natalie Williamson? I’m from the Enquirer. Can you spare a minute to talk about your relationship with Kade?”
I shook my head quickly, Kade’s warning flashing through my mind. “No interviews.”
“We’re willing to pay you for your time.”
“No, thank you.”
“How much do you pay for an interview?” Willis asked the man, raising his eyebrows.
“That depends. Who are you?”
“He’s nobody,” I said quickly. “Willis, please leave.”
After scrambling back inside and slamming the door shut, I went to grab my phone. I had to call Kade to let him know there was a reporter hanging around. I just hoped the guy hadn’t snapped a picture of Willis kissing me. It’d be awful if anyone got the wrong idea.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Kade
I’d thought I’d be able to handle being friends with Nat, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
I’d just pulled up to her place when her door opened and Willis appeared, with Nat behind him. Instead of leaving, Willis had pulled her in for a kiss.
A cold, furious anger had filled me. Pulling away,
