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“What's the last challenge?”

I looked at my phone. Then at him. Then back at my phone.

“We have to find a couple willing to recreate their first kiss.”

Technically true. For singles. Which we weren't supposed to be.

Damon glanced around. The waterfront was crowded with tourists, locals, and several other scavenger-hunt teams. He scanned the people around us. Then looked back at me. “Can't we do it?”

My heart stopped. “Do what?”

“The kiss.”

Say no, Mikayla. Nothing good can come from this, my inner voice was practically screaming.

“We're a couple,” he added.

Right. A couple. A fake couple. Very important distinction.

“Um…”

Um? Brilliant. Truly. Harvard should've revoked my degree.

“Yeah,” I heard myself say. “I guess we could.”

Damon smiled, and suddenly I understood why women made terrible decisions around him. I was used to being in control. I was decisive. Confident. Never second-guessed myself.

But around Damon?

I couldn't even trust my own mouth.

“Okay,” I said, pulling out my phone. “Let me just…” I opened the camera and switched it to video. “Thirty seconds should be more than enough.”

Damon stepped closer.

Close enough that I caught the familiar scent of his cologne. Clean. Warm. Dangerous.

“Ready?” he asked softly.

I nodded.

Then his hand lifted. His fingers slid into my hair, cradling the back of my head. His other hand cupped my jaw, his thumb brushing lightly over my cheek.

My breath caught.

Everything around us seemed to fade. The laughter. The music drifting from the pier. The sound of waves crashing against the shore.

All of it disappeared. There was only Damon. And the way he was looking at me. Like I was the only woman in the world.

He lowered his head slowly. Giving me every opportunity to pull away. I didn't. I couldn't.

His lips brushed mine. Softly. Tentatively. A question. And my entire body answered. I leaned into him. His hand tightened gently in my hair. The kiss deepened. Slow and warm and devastatingly thorough.

There was nothing hurried about it. Nothing performative. No audience to impress. No rules to follow. Just his mouth moving against mine like he'd been waiting a very long time to do exactly that. My fingers curled into the front of his shirt.

I forgot about the scavenger hunt. Forgot about my family. Forgot about the agreement. Forgot every single reason this was a terrible idea. Because kissing Damon Lockhart felt like coming home to a place I'd never been.

And that scared me more than anything.