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Nico chortled. “Don’t let your fiancée hear you say that.”

“She’s not my fiancée.” He chucked the balled-up t-shirt at Nico, who ducked to avoid it, spilling his water in the process.

Nico shook the water off his hand. “You probably should have reminded yourself of that before you told the whole world she was.”

Beckett clenched his jaw and turned his attention to finding clean clothes in his suitcase. Telling the press he was engaged to Kat might not have been his finest moment, but kissing her for the first time in forever, finally getting her back in his arms, that was worth whatever fallout came next.

“So what’s the plan? You just going to send a note to the editors at Superfan and say, ‘You know what? Never mind. Forget what I said about being engaged. And definitely forget about me making out with that hot chick in front of your photographers.’”

Something reckless and angry slammed against his rib cage, and Beckett spun around to face his bandmate. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t talk about her like that. Makes her sound… Just don’t.”

Nico grinned and leaned back in the chair, draping one arm lazily over the side. “Sure, Becks. Noted. Don’t call your fake fiancée hot.”

Heat rose in Beckett’s face and he knew his ears were probably turning red. Fucking fair skin didn’t hide anything. Nico was just busting his balls, but it didn’t matter. He didn’t like anyone talking about Kat as if she was anything less than the badass woman he knew her to be.

“I need you to keep this between us,” he said as he pulled a black t-shirt out of his suitcase.

Nico arched an eyebrow. “Kinda late for that. Pretty sure the whole internet is talking about your little public display of affection.”

“Not that part. The fake part.” Nico’s eyes widened. The guy might as well have been a goddamn cartoon character. “Jo wants us to go with it.”

“Meaning… keep pretending to be engaged to Kat?”

He gave a sharp nod. “Until the tour’s over.”

Nico blew out a breath. “No shit? Kat’s good with that?”

Beckett shrugged and stuffed the black shirt back into his bag, trading it for a blue V-neck. Kat always used to like him in blue. Before.

“And you’re good with that?” Nico prodded. “It won’t be hard to act like you’re a couple when…”

“When what?”

“When you’re obviously still in love with her.”

Beckett drove his hands into his suitcase, digging for matching socks. “Don’t know what you mean.”

“Yeah, alright,” Nico said with an incredulous laugh. “What are you going to tell the guys?”

“Nothing. Jo thinks it’s better if they don’t know what’s going on. Less of a chance one of them will slip up and give it away.”

“Even Jackson?”

“Especially Jackson.”

Nico nodded, considering. “He sucks at keeping secrets. Especially when he’s had a couple drinks.” He hesitated, tossing his water bottle back and forth between his hands like a football. “Seems he’s having more than a couple lately.”

Beckett paused in his hunt for clean clothing, a familiar defensiveness closing around his chest, the drawbridge being drawn in around the castle, archers readying on the battlements. He blinked away the mental image. “No more than usual.”

Nico seemed like he wanted to say something else, but he shook off the moment, setting the water bottle down on the side table with a thud. “I can’t see you lying to your brother about something like this, man.”

“I wouldn’t have to lie to him if he hadn’t gotten us into this in the first place,” Beckett snapped.

“Remind me again when Jackson told you to kiss Kat in front of the paparazzi?”