From His Fake Wife to Billionaire Heiress (Riley and Lucas) novel Chapter 87

Chapter 87 An Accidental Kiss

The mood was unexpectedly easy and comfortable.

As the night grew late and Riley felt her eyes growing heavy, she set down the controller on her own.

“It’s getting late–I should head back.”

Sebastian quit the game as well. He held the controller in his hand, turned it over a few times, and finally offered his ver evening.

Solid controller. Thanks for the gift. I like it.”

Riley hadn’t expected suck

omehow, it made h

Glad you like

With the

opinion on such a small present.

inside.

hile, carefully placing the controller back on the console.

ed his jacket back on.

cking up his car keys.

state to Lydia’s apartment wasn’t exactly shor

had been packed with more than enough

mfortable passenger seat, her eyelids gro

realizing it, her head tilted gently to the

to a quiet stop in front of Lydia’s build

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the engine.

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is head and let his gaze rest

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Chapter 87 An Accidental Kiss

It gave him a kind of inner stillness he hadn’t known before.

Time slipped by.

When the dashboard clock neared midnight, Sebastian knew he couldn’t let her sleep in the car any longer.

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He gently unbuckled his seatbelt and leaned toward the passenger seat, reaching out to lightly tap her shoulder and wake

But maybe his movement upset some delicate balance. Riley shifted unconsciously in her sleep, her head–which had been against the seat–slipping sideways with nothing to support it.

As Sebastian leaned in, her soft lips barely grazed the edge of his cheek.

The touch was feather–light, impossibly gentle.

a second, time seemed to freeze.

tian went completely still, his body suspended in that half–leaned position.

ind went blank. All his composure and control shattered in that one unexpected, fleeting contact.

ore he could even process what had happened, Riley began to stir, roused from deep sleep by the unfamiliar sensation.

he frowned, eyes fluttering open, still dazed.

Her vision hadn’t even cleared when that flawlessly sculpted face appeared right in front of her, closer than she’d expected.

Only inches apart.

She could even see the surprise in his eyes–a look he hadn’t had time to mask.

Had she fallen asleep?

And then… had she just… kissed him?

Their eyes held, a silent collision hanging between them.

Riley’s first instinct was to immediately apologize.

But the word sorry climbed only as far as the tip of her tongue before she pulled it back

in a moment like this, what would apologizing even mean?

It would mean acknowledging the touch had happened, turning this already awkward accident into something openly discussed

That would only make everything more uncomfortable between them

They were engaged, yes, but they were also business partners

Any extra emotional complication was exactly the kind of trouble she was trying hard to avoid right now

In a split second decision, Riley chose to play it off

She raised a hand and rubbed her eyes naturally

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Chapter 87 An Accidental Kiss

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“Wow… did I sleep that long?”

As she spoke, she kept her tone casual and turned slightly to unbuckle her seatbelt.

Sebastian’s eyes lingered on her face for a brief moment.

He could tell, of course, how much of that sleepy act was real and how much was performance.

Without a word, he looked away. His leaned–in posture retreated swiftly, and he settled back into the driver’s seat, straighter

dnight,” he said, his voice returning to its usual steady, low timbre, giving nothing away.

?” Riley feigned surprise. “Sorry, I was just really tired… You should’ve woken me up sooner.”

as for dozing off and taking up his time–neatly sidestepping any mention of the accidental kiss altogether

, she didn’t linger. She pushed the car door open and stepped out, a little quicker than necessary.

w standing outside, with the door between her and the man inside the car, she felt the night air wrap around her.

The interior of the car was dim. Half of Sebastian’s face was shadowed, his eyes deep and unreadable in the interplay of light, dark.

So Riley added one last thing.

“Oh, right–tomorrow… Lucas is

Sebastian responded with a

He didn’t say anything m

back to the Ashfords“.”

he revealing nothing.

,“Good night.”