I didn't want to drag the matter out any further, so I let out a heavy huff while leaning over the table to the point where I heard his heart beating with a speed that made me doubt my own actions for a second.
"James... I... I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend," I blurted out, and I felt the mate bond in my chest release a throb of pure agony.
James went completely silent. In a second, the happy smile on his face vanished, replaced by an expression of pure confusion. The surprise on his face was so evident that I felt like a criminal.
The silence stretched between us, broken only by the murmur of the other tables and the steam from the coffee machine.
His eyes scanned my face, looking for any trace of a joke. "Your... boyfriend?" he repeated, as if the word were a foreign concept
