Chapter 13 – Honeymoon Games
Suddenly someone in the crowd shouted, “You’ve got to give us more than that!”
The crowd suddenly agreed with him as they started chanting, “More! More!! More!!!”
I stared at Silas for help again.
Silas leaned closer and whispered under his breath, “Say something. Don’t let them suspect anything.”
I forced a smile. “It was… memorable.”
The room erupted in laughter and cheers.
The host raised a brow. “Memorable, huh? Care to share any details?”
My palms were sweaty. I wanted to melt into the floor. Silas quickly stepped in.
“That’s private,” he said smoothly, wrapping an arm around my waist. “What we shared isn’t for public consumption.”
Everyone “oohed” and laughed again, satisfied. The host moved on to another couple, and I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
“Thanks,” I muttered to Silas.
He smirked. “You owe me for that one.”
I rolled my eyes but didn’t say anything.
The next few rounds went by quickly. Silly dares, awkward questions, harmless fun–for everyone else, at least, I was too tense to enjoy any of it.
Every time someone looked our way, I felt like they could see right through me. Like they knew this marriage was fake.
Then the host stood again and clapped his hands. “Now for the couple’s challenge!”
“Oh no,” I whispered.
“Damn it,” Silas muttered darkly.
The host continued, “We have a private room ready. Each couple will go in and pick a card from the box. The card will have a task–romantic or spicy–and you must do it. Cameras will be watching–only for fun, of course! And to prove no one cheats.”
I felt the blood drain from my face.
Silas looked like he was ready to strangle someone. “This is Mom’s doing. I know it.”
“Of course it is,” I hissed. “She said she wanted us to bond.”
“I’d rather bond with a rattlesnake.”
Before I could laugh, someone called our names. “Mr. and Mrs.
Larkin! You’re up!”
We walked up hand in hand, pretending to be excited.
Once inside the room, Silas shut the door and leaned his head against it.
“This is hell.”
5:17 pm
“No, this is marriage,” I replied, sarcasm thick in my voice.
There was a small table in the middle with a box on it. A camera blinked in the corner of the ceiling. No way out.
“Pick one,” Silas said, motioning to the box.
I glared at him. “You pick. I picked last time and ended up lying about our non–existent firs night.”
He sighed and reached into the box. His fingers fished out a card.
He read it silently, then turned it around for me to see
“Recreate your wedding kiss… but this time, with feeling.”
I blinked. “With feeling? What does that even mean?”
“It means we have to kiss,” Silas said flatly. “For real. And make it look like we’re in love.”
My stomach flipped.
“Just do it and get it over with,” I mumbled, trying to keep my voice steady.
ir
Silas stepped closer. I could feel the heat from his body. I looked up and saw the seriousness in his eyes. He wasn’t teasing this time.
His hand cupped my jaw gently. “You sure?”
I nodded once.
Then his lips were on mine.
Soft at first, hesitant. But then something shifted. His hand slid to the back of my neck, pulling
me closer.
The kiss deepened. It wasn’t rough like before–it was slower, more intense.
And the crazy part? I didn’t want it to stop.
When he finally pulled away, my chest was heaving. So was his.
We stared at each other for a beat too long.
Silas blinked. “Okay. That should convince them.”
“Yeah,” I whispered, feeling like my legs were jelly.
He cleared his throat and looked away. “Let’s get out of here.”
As we left the room, the host gave us a thumbs–up. “Now that’s what I call a kiss!”
People clapped again as we returned to our seats. One particular woman stood at the back, grinning like a Cheshire cat. I could swear she gave me a wink.
“I think your mom wants grandkids by next month,” I muttered.
Silas groaned. “I think she wants to lock us in a room and throw away the key.”
I almost laughed–but I couldn’t shake the weird feeling in my chest. That kiss… it didn’t feel fake.
And I had a sinking suspicion that Silas felt it too.
We stayed a little longer, played a few more games. Eventually, Rose called to say a car was waiting outside for us.
