Once the woman gave us her back, Mom tossed her napkin on the table and lowered her voice. “Fine. But don’t think you two are getting out of this. You know I love you, Rook. I just wished you both had told me instead of having to hear it from your brother.”
Trevor coughed next to me. “Sorry, I didn’t realize she didn’t know.”
“It’s fine. We were going to tell her anyway,” I replied, which, for once, was the truth.
Mom appeared somewhat satisfied. “You’re still not getting out of explaining.”
I groaned and ran my fingers through my hair. “What’s there to explain, Mom?”
“We’re just two dudes in love,” Rook cut in with laughter in his voice, and my cheeks flamed with heat.
That son of a… I reached down and grabbed his leg, squeezing hard through the thick denim. He took the opportunity to lace his roughened fingers through mine and brought our clasped hands down hard on the table, silencing everyone around us as they stared at Rook and me. I thought my cheeks had warmed before, but now they were fucking on fire. He was going to pay for that.
My mom’s eyes widened, but a smile teased her cupid bow lips. “I didn’t realize it was that serious.”
“Oh, it’s definitely serious. I love him.” Rook’s grip softened, but he kept my hand in his.
He was a good actor. I had to give him that. Knowing it was only for show didn’t stop the words from piercing my stupid heart.
A dreamy look glazed over my mother’s eyes as they grew wet with unshed happy tears.
For fuck’s sake. I was such an asshole. The waitress showed up, setting a couple of tall glasses in front of Rook and me. Perfect timing, I thought as I immediately grabbed mine and took more than a healthy swallow, relishing the burn and distraction.
“I should have seen this coming,” my mom whispered over the rattle of dishes and chatter. When I glanced at her, she was nodding to herself. “It makes perfect sense.”
“It does?” I asked sharply with brows furrowed.
Rook gave my hand a warning squeeze. “Of course it does, babe.”
My mom’s eyes flicked to something over my shoulder, and she sucked in a sharp breath. “Crap, I wish you’d have told me. I’d never have tried to set you up. But I sort of didn’t believe you so…incoming?”
“Incoming?” I cocked my head in confusion.
Petite hands gripped my shoulders, giving them a little shake. “Noah, I have someone I wanted to introduce you to.”
Rook tensed beside me, and I glanced at him, frowning. I hadn’t noticed Kendra leave the table, but as she moved to stand beside me, I lifted my gaze to hers. Blond hair cascading around her shoulders and green eyes crinkled at the corners, she flashed a broad smile of perfectly straight white teeth.
Next to her stood a man with a collared shirt beneath a blue sweater vest and groomed hair slicked back. Edward. I didn’t have to ask to know if my guess was accurate. He was exactly the type my mom had been pushing me toward ever since she’d made it her mission to find me a boyfriend. I shot my mother a sour look.
She offered a shrug and mouthed sorry before addressing the guy. “Edward, this is my son, Noah, and his boyfriend, Rook.”
I chanced a look at Kendra just as her gaze landed on mine and Rook’s hands. She frowned. “Oh.”
Edward, to his credit, was better at hiding his confusion, other than a slight dip of his brow. He recovered quickly and grinned. “It’s nice to meet you both. I’ve heard a lot about you, Noah.”
I was sure he had. “Nice to meet you too.”
Rook didn’t reply at all as he still sat tense next to me. It was my turn to squeeze his hand. He forced a smile. “Hello.”
I stifled a snort, but the obvious tension in his shoulders gave me pause.
Awkward silence fell over the group until Kendra cleared her throat. “I was just going to show Edward the new sauna we recently put in. I…just wanted to introduce you guys.”
With a handful of stilted goodbyes, they walked away, whispering to each other. I shifted my gaze back to my mom and cocked a brow.
She winced, and a sheepish grin tipped her lips. “I’m sorry. I forgot about him until I saw them walking toward us. I tried to warn you, but it was too late.”
“A warning wouldn’t have been necessary if you’d just listened to me.” Fuck, I hated lying to my mom, but what choice did I have? I didn’t actually have a boyfriend, and I didn’t want her to go running back to Kendra if I told her the truth.
“I said I was sorry.” She looked at Rook. “I owe you an apology too.”
Rook’s hand tightened on mine. For all the ease he exuded, I could tell the guilt wasn’t one-sided.
“It’s fine. I’m sure this came as a surprise. We discussed telling you earlier, but I haven’t even told my parents yet. He was just respecting that.” He offered me a warm smile before giving his attention back to her. “But you’re family too.”
“Well, I should have known. You two have been two peas in a pod since middle school.” She shook her head with a light laugh. “So, tell me how basketball is going. Last Noah told me was that your team is doing well.”
“March Madness will be here before we know it.” He picked up his fork and steak knife, sawing off a chunk of the medium rare meat. “You should come to a game sometime.”
The tension evaporated as we all went back to eating and easy conversation, minus my stepdad, James, who didn’t utter a word. Typical of the stoic man.
It was too easy to believe the relationship was real. I needed to remind myself that it wasn’t, or I’d leave this wedding with a broken heart and ruined friendship.
Stomachs full, Rook and I returned to our room with instructions from my mom to rest because we had a busy day tomorrow. Something neither of us was looking forward to because those plans involved glass and metal cages dangling from a cable hundreds of feet above the ground. I considered faking a stomach ache. Why not? Everything else was an enormous lie.
“What’s wrong with you?” Rook asked, breaking me from my thoughts as we lay in bed, on top of the ridiculously soft blanket, watching a movie.
I rolled my head to the side, facing him and lifted one shoulder. “I guess I just feel guilty as shit.”
Again, I considered telling my mom—hell, everyone—the truth, but we’d already dug our graves. Might as well lie in them. I’d come clean after the wedding.
“You can always just go tell everyone the truth if it’s eating at you that much.” Rook echoed my thoughts. “You can even pin it on me. It was my idea, so I’ll take the heat for it.”
“And spend the week with my mom mad at us?” I shook my head. Even if I’d decided to end the charade, I’d never let him shoulder the blame alone. We were in this together.
Rook’s lips kicked up on one side. “I mean, it’s not my first choice. I’d rather she be mad after the wedding, but you look about two seconds away from passing the fuck out. And that’s not high on my list of things I want to deal with either.”
I punched him in the arm, and he chuckled. “It would only upset her, and god knows, I’ll probably never get married. I don’t want to ruin this week for her.”