Page 180 of How to Lose at Love
“And…teams had been calling to begin their digging, but there wasn’t much about me and they wanted more, I guess. I had just met Ryann—”
“Diego Lorenz’s ex-girlfriend,” my brother interjects.
“If I may?” Ryann clears her throat. “We were only seeing each other briefly, and the relationship wasn’t…it wasn’t…physical.”
Her hands are gesturing wildly because she’s nervous, feels the need to justify herself to my asshole older brother.
Duke’s brows go up. “Oh?”
“What she’s trying to say is she was probably Diego’s beard. The dude isn’t interested in women, and there was nothing to them dating. They hung out a few times, period, end of story.”
There, I said it. Tore the Band-Aid off and blurted out what I should have told her weeks ago.
“His beard,” Duke repeats in a monotone voice, his brows up in his hairline at the revelation. “That’s a new one.”
“Is it, though?” Plenty of guys on the team don’t want to come out of the closet for various reasons, a big one being not wanting their sexual orientation to take away from their talent by becoming the top story, the main focus.
“Guess it’s not.” Duke concedes, then circles back to the original topic, never one to let things die. “You were sayin’?”
“I met Ryann at a time when Eli wanted me to be seen out with someone who most people consider wholesome, for lack of a better term.”
“And are you?” His gaze shifts pointedly to Ryann, who blinks.
Points to her chest. “Me?”
“Yes, you. Are you wholesome?”
“Jesus, Duke, could you not?” I growl. “Can I keep talking or are you going to keep interrupting with stupid questions?”
“They’re not stupid questions—they’re relevant.”
They’re not, though.
“Whatever. Let me finish my story.”
His arms cross and he leans back into the cushioned chair. “Fine.”
As if I need his permission—although he does own this house. We just live here by his good grace, and so he can write it off on his taxes.
“So I met Ryann, and for whatever reason, we just…clicked.”
When Ryann snorts, we both look at her.
“Sorry, but we didn’t click. I couldn’t stand you, remember?”
I grin. “Oh, yeah, I forgot about that.” I look at my brother. “She couldn’t stand me, which basically meant she was perfect. So I asked her to help me out and do me a favor, and she agreed.”
Duke is quiet when I finish my spiel. “Why would you agree if you couldn’t stand him? What was in it for you?”
I squeeze her hand.
“Nothing was in it for me, but at the time, I thought he was such an asshole and needed to be taught a lesson. It didn’t take long for me to realize none of that was true. So…” She shrugs. “I helped him because he was my friend.”
“Your friend,” Duke deadpans.
“Right. Then just as things were getting serious between us, the first story blew up and almost ruined everything.”
“So there was nothing between you and the blonde from the pictures?”
