Page 583 of Manhattan Bossholes

Purely for research, of course.

“You just missed Tyler,” he said as we sat down.

“Did he seem nervous?” Nina asked. “He texted me and said he was feeling a little shaky about tonight.”

The two had been texting nonstop since meeting, which made me equal parts happy and worried. I wanted to trust Cameron that Tyler was a good guy, but “good friend” didn’t always equal “good boyfriend.” Frankly, it was hard for me to imagine how he could be a good boyfriend for Nina given his lifestyle. How could a guy who plays gigs in the middle of the night be right for a bookworm who liked staying in?

Cameron shook his head. “No, he wasn’t nervous. He’s in a good headspace right now. He’s all wrapped up trying to perfect a new song, that’s why he’s not out here hanging with us.”

Nina perked up even more. “New song? Does it have to do with dragons?”

“Uh, he didn’t say,” Cameron laughed. “Maybe?”

Nina squeezed my arm and leaned closer to me. “He told me about the song! It’s about the book we’re reading together.”

Okay, that was totally sweet. A rock guy writing an ode to a dragon-filled fantasy novel? Maybe Tyler and Nina were a better match than I’d thought.

I glanced around the room to see if anyone had clocked me and Cameron and was disappointed to discover we were apparently the least interesting people in the room. I wanted an excuse to pull my chair a little closer to Cameron’s, maybe hold his hand. I might’ve felt resistant to it when we were outlining our fake relationship, but now that it was a go, I was ready to sell it. Plus, I needed to model the right sort of social media behavior for him, since it didn’t seem like it was easy for him. Loving glances, big smiles, stolen kisses…the sort of stuff that would make people want to follow our story.

And maybe, just maybe, we’d both learn to enjoy it a little.

“Fuck,” Cameron muttered as he stared across the room. “My brother’s here.”

A splash of ice water hit me. We were doing family stuff already? How much did his brother know? How was I supposed to act around him? We hadn’t talked about involving loved ones during the contract negotiation at the coffee shop. Obviously, I’d told Nina the truth—but I had no idea what kind of relationship Cameron had with his brother. Was he someone we could trust with a secret?

“You don’t like your brother?” I asked in a quiet voice.

“I love my brother,” Cameron shot back with a glower I hoped wasn’t meant for me. “It’s his girlfriend I can do without. I didn’t invite her.”

Nina and I watched the good-looking, dark-haired guy stride toward us. I craned my neck to try to spot the awful girlfriend in question.

“He’s in a sling? What the hell did he do to himself?” Cameron muttered angrily.

The pair slid into the empty chairs at our table, and I got a good look at them. His brother had the same strong jawline and piercing eyes as Cameron, but he seemed more easygoing and quick to smile. His girlfriend was a gorgeous blonde who looked vaguely familiar to me, but then again, stunning women with perfect blowouts were fairly common in my social media world.

“Hey. What did you do to yourself now?” Cameron asked, nodding toward his brother’s arm.

“Oh, this?” he laughed and lifted it slightly. “Megan wanted us to buy roller skates, and it turns out my balance is absolutely shitty. Fractured my wrist.” He glanced toward Nina and me since Cameron didn’t introduce us. “Hi, I’m Aiden, and this is my girlfriend, Megan. You must be Felicity. Cam’s told me absolutely nothing about you.”

I laughed, not sure how to take it. “Hi. You’re right—I’m Felicity. This is my friend Nina.”

Everyone made pleasant small talk but Cameron, who seemed busier than usual on his phone.

“Aiden, we need to chat,” he said after a few minutes of silent treatment. “Let’s go.” He stood up and walked away before his brother could answer.

“The king hath summoned,” Aiden said wryly. “If you’ll excuse me, ladies.”

The moment we were alone, Megan put her hand to her chest and let out a weary sigh. “Wow, he hates me.”

Nina and I leaned closer to her, eager to get the scoop.

“Why? If you don’t mind my asking,” I said gently.

She glanced between us. “I can sum it up like this—I’m Megan Bartholomew.”

“Holy shit,” I said, before I could help myself. “Of the Barth & Co. Bartholomews?”

“Who?” Nina asked, confused.