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A familiar smug voice sounds from behind me, making me wish I hadn’t just finished off my drink. If this asshole’s here, I’m going to need a lot more alcohol.
“I’m surprised they let you in here,” Wyatt says casually, but I know better. He’s on alert and faking indifference.
I turn to find the jerk smirking at me. My hand clenches, longing to repay him for the blow he dealt me at the gala. The only thing that stops me is where we are, and the fact his sister is at his side.
The pretty redhead narrows her green eyes at Wyatt, who clenches his jaw and looks everywhere but her.
What the fuck is that about?
“Nothing to say, Declan?” Todd takes a drink of his beer, clearly trying to provoke me.
“Nothing to say, Todd. She’s just running late. She’ll be here.”
She’d better be.
“Are you sure she didn’t dump your ass? She’s too good for you, anyway.”
“Now what would you know about that?” Dakota’s sweet voice rings out beside me, her hand squeezing my shoulder.
Relief washes through me, having her by my side. I know the sweetness she’s exuding right now is just for show, but I’ll take what I can get right now.
“Ah, there she is. We were thinking that maybe you weren’t going to show up,” Todd says.
Abby, Todd’s sister, is being surprisingly quiet, following the discussion with her eyes like a tennis match. I look to Wyatt, who’s still acting uninterested, but I know he’s paying close attention to everything, and everyone, in our little group.
“And miss the kick off dinner? Absolutely not.” Dakota’s smile is a little too wide, her voice a little too high pitched. “I was caught up at work, that’s all.” She flicks me a little look confirming that’s what I’d been telling everyone.
I take her hand from my shoulder and rest it in the crook of my arm, giving it a reassuring squeeze to let her know she guessed right.
“Well, then it’s a good thing you’re here. We wouldn’t want the talk of the town to be true about you two.”
“And what talk would that be?” Here we go again with the sickly-sweet voice. I inwardly cringe at the sound.
For the first time since all of this started, I feel bad for dragging her into this. I now see how much I’m asking of her, how much she’s potentially at risk of losing for being labelled just another one of my ‘buckle bunnies.’
“Oh, you know. That what you two have isn’t real, or that it’s over already. We all know that Declan here can’t keep a woman around to save his life, so the fact you’ve lasted this long is nothing short of a miracle.”
Abby’s eyes go wide, but she doesn’t say anything. Instead, her gaze darts to Wyatt, who continues to act as if the wall across the room is the most interesting thing in the world while threatening to break his teeth with how hard he’s clenching.
“Well, that’s just silly; I’m obviously still here,” Dakota jokes, tightening her hand on my arm. “Isn’t that right, darling?”
“Yup,” I grind out. Her nails digging into my arm tells me I should add more, so I give a tight smile and add, “Sweetheart.”
“You know, I’m surprised to see you here, Todd, after what happened at the gala,” Dakota croons in that fake voice of hers. “You know, Chance here is more forgiving than I would have been seeing as how you assaulted him on his own property and he certainly had a right to sue after you ruined what was a very successful fundraising event, but he’s just too kind hearted, isn’t that right, babe?” She gives me a look that tells me I need to play along, even though I don’t know what the hell she is talking about, but she continues anyway. “It took the rest of the night after getting him cleaned up to calm me down and convince me not to get the authorities involved. Isn’t that right?”
“Uh, yeah.” I answer shakily, sneaking a glance at Todd to make sure he is buying it. “All me.”
“Then he had enough forgiveness to let you in here and you still think that he’s such a horrible person that he would fake us being in love?”
Wait, love? What?
“Well, you know, I’m just saying what the other sponsors are thinking,” Todd stammers, thankfully buying what Dakota is saying.
Anyone who really knows me wouldn’t buy this shit, but thankfully Todd’s either too stupid or too much of a coward to challenge her.
“Well, then I suggest you leave the gossip alone then, hmm?” She slips her arm further around mine, coiling her hand around my bicep like a snake, holding tight. “Now, why don’t we leave this alone for tonight and enjoy the dinner? I think we should find our tables before the food comes.”
Without another word, she leads me off away from them with her head held high.
