Page 61 of Let’s Be Real

She nodded. “I’m so sorry…she doesn’t want to be alone, and when she found out I was coming, she sort of followed me.”

“Who?”

She stepped closer. “Kelly. She’s inside and really excited to see you—my boyfriend.”

“Ah.” Understanding dawned, though I didn’t see what Samantha was so worked up about. Playing the part of her boyfriend wasn’t a hardship. “That’s fine. I’ll send a text to my brothers to play along. No doubt they’ll get a kick out of being part of the story.”

“Really?” Her eyes darted between mine in a frantic ping-pong. “You don’t mind? I’ve asked so much of you, but I don’t think I have the heart to tell her we broke up—or that it was fake all along.”

“You haven’t asked too much.” I shifted the wine bottle beneath my opposite arm so I could pull her against me. “We should kiss now.”

Her breath stuttered. “Nate, I—”

“Kelly’s peeking out the window.”

“Oh.” She let herself lean against my chest. “I should have guessed. Turns out my sister’s incredibly nosy.”

Her lips were level with mine. And it would seem weird if I didn’t take advantage of that. “I’d better kiss you now. If I don’t, Kelly might wonder.”

“Right.” A crinkle appeared between her brows. “We wouldn’t want that.”

I only had to move a couple inches before my mouth was on hers. She was as soft as I remembered, her lips slotting with mine like perfectly aligned puzzle pieces. A kiss for the sake of our witness, I took full advantage, letting myself enjoy it. The way Samantha tasted and felt against me, it would have been a struggle not to.

“Was that believable?” she asked against my lips.

“Almost fooled me.”

She laughed as she slipped the wine from beneath my elbow. “Then my work here is done. Text your brothers so they don’t blow our cover. I’ll let Mazzy and Shira know to play along.”

I tugged the end of one of her waves. “It’ll be fine. I’ve got you.”

She sighed like she was letting go of something heavy. “Thanks, Nate. I kind of knew you would.” Taking a step back, she smiled. “You’re really the best, you know?”

“Don’t let Adrian hear you say that.”

Laughing, she shook her head. “Oh, I would never.”

The party was good, with my niece, Katty, and nephew, Jonah, taking up the center of attention, as it had been since they’d joined the family. They ran and giggled. Katty chattered, and Jonah followed her like a little duckling. Any time the conversation lulled between adults, we’d watch the two of them do their thing.

I was glad Ben and Roman had families. Roman had always taken care of us, and becoming a father had been so natural for him.

Ben had also taken to fatherhood like a fish to water. He was a big kid himself, and Katty thought he hung the moon.

Adrian and I weren’t like them. We enjoyed our nieces and nephew, and I thought I could speak for him as well in saying we’d choose to be around our family over anyone else—but fatherhood wasn’t something I saw in our cards.

Adrian would be good at it. He loved being an uncle, though he’d probably never admit it—but I wasn’t sure he’d allow himself to be vulnerable enough to settle down with someone, let alone have his own children.

And I…well, I was almost thirty-seven. If I had ever been going to settle down, it would have been with Rosalie, and we’d been over for years. The closest I’d come to anything serious since was my fake relationship with Samantha.

I also wasn’t sure passing my faulty genes to a child would be responsible.

Being an uncle…I could be content with that. I had a front-row seat to my brothers’ kids growing up, and that was more than enough for me.

More than I thought I’d ever have.

Samantha walked onto the patio, a beer in each hand. The corners of her eyes crinkled when she smiled at me. She settled my beer on my knee then sat beside me on the love seat, crossing her legs so our feet tangled.

“The energy these kids have,” she said, bringing her beer to her lips.