He stared me down for a long while, and whatever he saw there had his eyes softening, a flash of hurt mixing with hope that made my own heart twist in response.
It was a rare thing to see my best friend in love.
It was actually kind of sweet.
“Will you trust me?” I asked.
He nodded slowly. “Yeah. Okay. I trust you.”
I grinned and wrapped an arm around his shoulders in another bro hug. “Good, man. Then welcome to the show.”
Six
Lila
It was official. I was in hell.
“I don’t understand,” I said.
Brandon was walking next to me and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Smile, Princess.”
I elbowed him in the ribs. “You know I hate that nickname.”
It was what my dad called me when I was in his good graces, so, you know… it had been a while since he’d used the term of endearment. At least, not without an edge of mocking sarcasm that left me cold.
And then, Jack had called me that when he was annoyed with me or teasing me, which, come to think of it, had made up the majority of our non-existent relationship.
But even so, the use of that nickname now only made me more tense, because… “He’s still here?” I was hissing now because Brandon’s arm around my shoulders and the nickname were his not-so-subtle reminder that we had roles to play, and as we were currently striding through the halls of Beverly Hills Academy, we were officially ‘on.’
Brandon lowered his voice and spoke without moving his lips. “Ex-boyfriend alert, two o’clock.”
I froze, enough that I stumbled over my steps, and Brandon and I lost our easy stride.
My gaze shot ahead and to the right and… Marcus.
I let out a loud exhale.
He was talking about my ex, Marcus. Not Jack. I elbowed Brandon in the ribs. “Don’t do that to me.”
“What, did you think I meant…” He glanced over at me and winced. “Sorry.”
I took a deep breath and struggled for cool and calm. “We were just talking about Jack,” I said. “Of course I thought you were talking about Jack.”
The silence that followed was fraught with all the unspoken crap we hadn’t talked about since leaving Pinedale.
Like how I’d left Jack behind.
How Brandon had left Jack in silence.
How both of us had done our damnedest to pretend the brooding, hottie cowboy didn’t exist for the past month. Until he’d shown up on set yesterday, all sexy as sin and still just as judgmental as ever. I took a deep breath to ease the sick feeling at the mere memory of those eyes. That look. The clear disgust when he’d sized me up and found me wanting. “I just…” I huffed loudly and pointedly ignored Marcus’s gaze as we walked past.
I’d dumped his butt before I’d even left for Pinedale, and he’d had the nerve to rewrite the story while I was gone. Fair enough, I supposed. No one wanted to look like a loser. But that didn’t mean I had to make nice when I’d returned.
The only reason he wanted me back now was because he wanted to show the school that he was hotter, cooler, and had more game than Brandon.
Please.
Once Marcus was out of sight and out of mind, I continued, “I just don’t understand why you’d ask him to stay.”
Brandon shot me the side-eye. “Because he’s my best friend?”
“Yeah, but…” I huffed again as I tugged on his arm, dragging him into a deserted classroom where we couldn’t be overheard. “But… this,” I said, pointing between the two of us. “It’s hard enough to fool strangers and to keep up this act, but if Jack’s around—”
“I’m gonna tell him the truth, Lila.”
I blinked up at this guy who’d become so important to me so quickly. My best friend, I supposed. Maybe my only friend.
God, that was depressing.
“You are?” I said. “Are you… I mean, are you sure?”
His smile was slow and sweet. “Yeah. I mean, I’m not sure if I’m ready to announce it to the world yet—”
“Daddy wouldn’t let you even if you wanted to,” I reminded him.
He gave a short laugh. “Right. So it all works out. I’m still getting used to being in the public eye, I don’t really want to go there yet, but with Jack…” He shrugged. “He’s my best friend.”
I nodded. I got it. I mean, I sort of got it. I’d never had to make a decision like that, but I also knew that after this month, Brandon was ready to take this step. He’d be ready to shout it from the rooftops in no time, and I just felt bad that my dad’s deal would make that an impossibility… for a while, at least.
But not forever.
I looked toward the doorway as if people might be hovering outside with their ears pressed to the door. Of course, they weren’t. If anyone saw us disappear, they’d likely think we’d gone off to have a quickie in a deserted classroom.
I had a reputation like that.
Not that I’d ever done that, but I had no problem with people believing whatever they wanted about me. Especially if it helped sell our ruse.
“Good for you,” I said. Sure, it came out grudging, but I meant it. I was happy for him, just… not for myself. “I still don’t get why you needed him to stick around, though.”
I rubbed my bare arms as Brandon studied me. My short-sleeve button-down was appropriate for the weather outside, but for the air-conditioned classrooms of this academy? Not so much.
“I asked him to stay for you as much as for me,” Brandon said.
I met his gaze and let out a long, weary sigh.
“You have feelings for him, Lila,” Brandon said. His tone was so gentle it made my throat get all choked up.
We hadn’t talked about this. Ever. And for a good reason.
Mainly because I hated crying. Especially in front of other people. It was basically just as bad as hurling in public.
So gross.
Brandon’s gaze was warm and filled with understanding. “Look, I appreciate everything you gave up for me.” He reached out and squeezed my hands. “More than you’ll ever know. You saved me back in Pinedale, and for the first time in my life, I feel like I can breathe.”
I was having a hard time meeting his gaze—I hated when people got all gushy on me. “Yeah, well. You’re not gonna thank me when Richard wants to go public and you have to have an illicit affair.”
He gave a little snort of amusement. “I’ll deal with that when the time comes.” He arched his brows meaningfully. “I’ll deal with your father when the time comes too.”
I winced just thinking about it. “You don’t know my dad, Brandon. He doesn’t renegotiate.” But even as I said it, I wondered. What if the day came when Brandon could come out of the closet and our fake relationship would be over and I would be free to date whomever I wanted?
Jack’s face instantly filled my mind.
Yeah, I definitely wondered what would happen when that day came.
Or maybe… I hoped.
Whatever it was, this feeling was a weird one, and I didn’t know what to make of it. So, I crammed it right back into whatever dark hole it had come out of. After all, ever since dinner last week, Tess had been nothing but cryptic. It wasn’t like she’d given me much to hope for. She’d revealed almost nothing except that she’d enlisted Vivien to help get some leverage on Daddy, and that she needed my help to get some more necessary information.