“I’m sure we did,” I muttered before facing him. “We’ll be at whatever’s planned next.”
Rook pinched my leg, and I winced. It wasn’t like I was excited either, but we only had a few days left before the wedding and then we could go back home and complain when the temperatures dropped into the fifties. I pinched back, and Rook cursed, making me fight back a laugh.
Trevor slid onto the stool on my other side and grinned. “Kendra’s going to be happy. She’s been looking forward to the sleigh rides the most.”
Mid-swallow of his beer, Rook choked. “Sleigh ride?”
My brother rolled his eyes. “I know it sounds cheesy, but it’s actually kind of cool.”
I agreed with Rook’s obvious doubt. “I’ll have to take your word for it.”
“I think it could be fun,” Brad added, even though no one asked him or gave two shits what he thought.
Though I didn’t want to acknowledge him, I didn’t want my brother growing suspicious. I’d never ignored Brad when he’d been around the house. “Maybe.”
“Speaking of a good time.” Andy flashed me a razor-edged grin meant to cut and flicked his gaze to Brad with lowered lids. “Can we head upstairs yet?”
Was he seriously trying to make me jealous? Laughter crawled up my throat, and I held my breath to stop it from escaping.
“Sure,” Brad agreed, but his eyes were on me. “I’ll catch up with you guys later?”
Fat fucking chance. I could almost feel Rook’s blood pressure rising as, under my palm, his thigh bunched in preparation to stand. He was seconds away from blowing our cover to confront Brad, so I did the only thing I could think of. I leaned forward and kissed his tensed jaw, before whispering, “Don’t let him get to you.”
Thankfully, Andy grabbed Brad’s arm and led him away.
Rook deflated and lowered his voice so Trevor wouldn’t overhear him. “I’m sorry. He just pisses me off.”
“I know, but seriously, don’t waste your time on him. He’s not worth it.”
Rook considered me before nodding and leaned back. “I’m going to need another beer.”
“Make that two.” Trevor laughed. “I had no idea getting married was this complicated. But between me and you guys, I consider myself extremely lucky.” His gaze swung to where Andy was disappearing around the corner with Brad in tow. “I don’t know how Andy has put up with him this long. They’ve been off and on for over a year. Completely toxic relationship.”
A year? What the fuck? I guessed that explained why Brad had kept me a secret. The long work hours made more sense. I was the other man. Not Andy. I took a minute to let that sink in and mentally went back over the texts Andy had sent me. He never mentioned a word that had led me to believe anything other than Brad was cheating.
Rook cursed under his breath, but neither of us could address the new development with my brother sitting right next to me. I didn’t even want to because I hadn’t done anything wrong except blindly trust the guy. However, another beer did sound appropriate for the situation.
Sliding my hand away from Rook’s leg, something I hadn’t even realized I was still doing, I pushed off the stool. “I’m going to grab the beers. Anyone need anything else?”
“Thanks, just the beer,” my brother answered.
Rook shook his head. “I’m good, babe.”
I glared at him from behind Trevor, and a lazy grin finally broke through his irritation.
“So, how’s basketball going? Still looking at going pro?” my brother asked Rook as I walked away.
The truth was I needed a breather. Not because of Brad and Andy. Seeing them was just another reminder that despite how much I wanted this relationship with Rook to be real, it wasn’t and never would be.
But the way Rook was always so protective of me, even though I wasn’t much smaller than him… How he treated me like I was the only person in the world that mattered…
It was too easy to start believing what we had was more than friendship.
I groaned as I bypassed the bar and turned down the hall that led to the bathrooms. Pacing the corridor, I let out a deep breath and rolled my neck.
I’d known it was a bad idea. That pretending to be Rook’s boyfriend would screw with my head. And now I couldn’t decide whether I’d actually agreed to the plan to keep my mom off my back or if I wanted to know for just one week what it would feel like for him to be mine. I was pathetic.
Tugging at my hair, I leaned against the wall and tipped my head back, closing my eyes. This had been such a bad plan.
“Noah.” The clipped word was sharp, and I recognized the voice instantly.
I sighed, not bothering to look at Brad. “What do you want?”
"So, you and Rook, huh?” He took up the spot next to me, leaning against the wall. “I thought you said there wasn’t anything between you two. That he wasn’t even gay."
Brad had always had issues with Rook. That wasn’t a secret. For Brad to insinuate he’d been wronged however, was laughable. “And I thought you were supposed to be upstairs.”
“You didn't waste any time, did you?" he ground out. Had he really just asked me that? I chuckled as I finally opened my eyes, and his narrowed to slits. “What’s funny?”
“You are. Did you really have a boyfriend when we were together?” I shook my head. Why was I even entertaining this? “Never mind. Honestly, I just don’t care.”
Brad’s jaw clenched. “Is that what it’s about? Payback?"
“Payback?” I really did need that beer. “No, it’s not.”
At least it wasn’t for me. Rook’s reasons however, felt a lot like payback, so maybe Brad was onto something, and that stung.
“So, things are already serious between you and Rook?” He cocked a brow as though he didn’t believe me.
Pushing off the wall, I crossed my arms over my chest. “Why are you here? What is it you really want? Because I don’t think you running into me while we’re alone was an accident.”
He nodded. "You’re right. It wasn’t. I think I made a mistake."
I barked a laugh, and stepped around him. "Please excuse me."
Brad grabbed my arm at the last second and leaned toward me. "I'm serious."
"Any reason your fucking hands are on my boyfriend?" Rook's hard voice rasped from behind us, and I’d never been more relieved to hear it.
When I jerked my arm away from Brad, Rook stepped close, pressing his chest against my back and dropped a kiss to the back of my neck. "Everything all right here?"
“It is now.” With Rook’s scent surrounding me and his warmth seeping through my clothes, I relaxed against him. His hold on me tightened, and his lips lingered behind my ear.
"Fucking peachy." The bitter words sliced through the air, reminding me that Rook and I weren’t alone.
Of course, we weren’t. He was playing a part. My stupid heart sank.
Rook waited for Brad to stomp off and disappear around the corner before he loosened his hold, took me by the shoulders, and turned me around to face him. “When I didn’t see you at the bar, I fucking knew something was up. Are you okay? What did that asshole want?”