Page 99 of Filthy Rich Brother's Best Friends

We’ve been through it all—college, breakups, startups, rehab, and more. He was there when I had nothing but a broken collarbone and a bottle of pills. He’s the reason I went to rehab. I would have died without his support.

I can’t give him the answer he’s looking for. Telling him the truth means giving up something I’m not ready to lose.

So I hold his stare and continue to wait him out.

Wes exhales slowly, but the tension doesn’t decrease. If anything, it gets worse. My silence is saying it all, and we both know it.

I shift forward. “She needed someone. That’s it.”

His mouth pulls into a thin line. “You’re sure that’s all it is?”

“I don’t know what you want me to say here, Wes.”

“She’s mysister, Reid.”

“She’s your sister. But she’s not a kid. She gets to choose who she leans on.”

“And you’re one of those people now?”

I don’t flinch. “Looks like it.”

“Reid—”

“It’s nothing, Wes.”

Eventually, he nods. We bullshit for a little while longer but it feels stilted.

He finally leaves and as soon as he does I’m reaching for my phone. I open the thread Jude started and named “Lola’s Harem.”

Reid: Wes is asking questions.

If we want this to continue, we need to find a way to tell him the truth. I just hope we can do it without blowing everything to hell.

Chapter 31

Lola

Today has felt so much longer than twenty-four hours. By the time I walk through the front door, I’m running on fumes.

My feet hurt from being on them all day. My stomach is still empty because I skipped lunch. I had to take on a few private sessions in the gap I normally save for my midday break to make sure I could pay rent this month.But, damn, I have to remember to start eating more.

All I want is ten uninterrupted minutes to eat something that doesn’t come in bar form.

Instead, I round the corner into the kitchen and stop short.

There's a ring light on the counter. I can see the top of the tripod and the phone balanced on top. It’s all trained on Gigi. She’s doing that breathy, fake-relatable thing again as she spews more bullshit to her followers.

And she’s wearing one of Reid’s shirts.

It’s the gray button-down he wore when he stayed over the other night. I found it tangled in my sheets the next morning. He left it here, which makes it mine. I’ve been wearing it every night because it smells like him and that’s the only thing keeping me sane in this house lately.

I’ve taken a lot of shit that I’ve let slide with these two. But I’m not holding my tongue any longer.

“Take it off.”

She doesn’t even bother to look at me as she responds. “It’s not yours.”

“It was in my room.”