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“It means I’m going to stop whatever trashy deal my dad made with the Furmans, even if it’s the last thing I do.”
Blake’s statement is a relief. Never again will I have to watch Theo trying to be charming to Brit.
Until I’m reminded that Brit no longer needs me. She’s got what she wanted from our deal. And me too, with dozens of blog posts swimming around and calling me a reformed playboy.
We are, for all intents and purposes, done.
And that bothers me a lot more than it should.
“Alex?”
I snap back to attention. “Yeah,” I say. “You should probably do that.”
“I just hate the fact she didn’t tell me our father’s plan right away.” There’s a hint of hurt in his voice. “Almost like she didn’t trust me to handle it.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t about that,” I assure him. “From what I gathered, she was certain she could take care of it before it blew up and became a thing.” She was determined to maintain her goody-girl image until she skipped town and disappeared from all of our lives.
“Maybe.” Blake doesn’t sound convinced. “Still, you know what is good about this whole affair?”
“What?”
“That she had the fake relationship with you and not anyone else. That she kissed you, and not some jerk who would have taken advantage of her.”
I close my eyes to the memory of ripping Brit’s dress off her after she admitted she’d been playing a game with me.
“Taking advantage,” I murmur. “Yeah.”
“And I know there’s no love lost between you two,” Blake adds with an almost wary chuckle. “So, I don’t have to worry about you guys snapping back to your old ways when this all blows over.”
My chest throbs. “Sure.”
There’s a knock on my apartment door, but I remain seated on my couch, too exhausted to move.
“This whole thing made me think of Brit in a different way.”
“How so?” I wonder if he’d gotten to know Britney as much as I did. It’s unlikely she would let her brother into all the nooks and crannies of her true character in a few short hours.
“I always thought of her as my little sis. Which she is, of course, but I never thought of her as anything other than that. But she’s an adult. She’s going to fall in love and get married soon. And I guess I’ll be fine with that, except if the groom is Theodore. She’s going to move away eventually, and . . .”
The knock comes again, louder this time. I shoot to my feet and cross over to the door. Anything to tune out Blake’s rambling about his sister falling in love.
Again, another thing bothering me when nothing should.
“But I guess I just called to say thank you,” Blake continues. “You know, for watching out for her. I’m sorry I thought the worst of you when—”
I open the door. My eyes widen at the sight of Britney. She’s dressed in a pair of sweatpants, and her hair is tied back in a bun.
“I’m going to call you back,” I tell Blake, cutting the call while he’s in mid-sentence.
I’m an asshole, I admit to myself as I slip my phone into my pocket. Only an absolutely heinous human would hang up on his best friend, who was in the middle of thanking him.
I should take Britney inside, sit her down on the couch, and tell her all the reasons why this is a bad idea.
But instead, all I can do is stare at her, newly appreciating how beautiful she is.
“Was that Blake?” she mutters, glancing at my bulging pocket. Her red-rimmed eyes don’t escape me.
“Yeah,” I say, fighting the urge to gather her in my arms. All that’s going to lead to is us talking about our feelings. Again. And our emotional affair makes me feel even more guilty than the sex. “Called to tell me he knows about the Furmans.”
