He’s in his basketball outfit. His swishy shorts fall above his knee. Show off his muscular thighs.
His strong shoulders are on display. The black and grey sleeve on his left arm. The broken heart on his chest.
I… Uh…
Thinking…
I’m thinking.
I’m here for a reason.
I’m doing something besides staring.
Really.
Something buzzes against the table.
My cell.
Oh.
“Are you going to explain?” Something is happening. And it’s something with Mackenzie. So it’s bad news.
“Sit down.” He motions to the couch. “You need something to drink?”
“Do I?”
“Water.” His tone shifts to a paternal one. The one he uses with his siblings. I know best. I’m taking care of you. Listen to my wisdom.
“Okay.” I sit on the middle cushion. Watch him fill two glasses, cross the room, hand one to me.
My fingers brush his.
God, his touch feels so good. It doesn’t usually make me this fluttery. I usually have a better handle on my crush.
Today—
I don’t know if it’s the mention of his ex or the basketball shorts or the broken heart tattoo.
God, it’s so fitting. A glass heart, shattered into a million pieces. Exactly what she did to him.
Exactly what I want to fix.
I want to glue him back together.
But that’s not how it works. And even if it was, Forest is—
Well, he’s not exactly happy being shattered. But he accepts it.
More or less.
“I said something stupid.” His throat quivers as he swallows.
“That doesn’t sound like you.”
He nods I know. Crouches on one knee. Sets his water on the coffee table behind him. “Mack is getting married.”
“Oh.” My eyes bore into his. He’s not crying or hitting something or screaming. Which makes sense. He keeps his feelings close.
He doesn’t share the things that hurt him. Not usually.
But he must be upset.
His ex is marrying another guy. The guy she screwed behind his back. The guy he caught her screwing.
I want to punch her and she—
She betrayed me, but it’s nothing compared to what she did to him.
“It’s about a month away.” He takes my hand between his.
“Okay.” I swallow another sip of water. “Are you okay?”
He nods yeah. “She started talking about—”
“That’s it?” I copy his nod. “Mackenzie is getting married and you nod?”
“I said I’d explain fast.”
Okay…
His thumb brushes the back of my hand. “Make me a promise.”
“What?”
“Give me twenty-four hours to figure this out.”
“To figure what out?”
He takes my water. Sets it on the coffee table. Returns to that perfect position, crouching in front of me.
Like he’s about to unpeel my blanket, slide my shorts off my ankles, pry my thighs apart.
He’s not.
But, God, it’s a beautiful mental image.
His nails on my thighs.
My hands in his hair.
His lips on my skin.
I bet he growls. I bet his voice gets low and deep. That tone that’s somehow needy and demanding at the same time.
“Do you trust me?” Vulnerability streaks his expression.
I take a deep breath. Think unsexy thoughts. Or at least semi-sexy thoughts. Sexy-romantic thoughts. About protecting him. “Yeah.”
“Then promise.”
“Okay.” Twenty-four hours isn’t a long time.
“She said she was worried about you. Being single for so long. And guys—” His eyes flit to my chest. “She had this tone, like you were a loser because you don’t want a relationship.”
That sounds like my cousin. “And?”
“I snapped.”
“You snapped?”
He nods yeah. “I told her we’re together. That you’re my girlfriend. That you’re the love of my life.”
“You told Mackenzie that we’re together?”
“Yeah.”
“That I’m the love of your life?”
“I did.”
“And she…” I pinch my wrist. I’m not dreaming. I’m still here. On the leather couch at the Ballard’s place. Covered in Ariel’s purple blanket. Sitting across from my best friend. “She took that—”
“What do you think?”
“She wasn’t even a little jealous?”
He chuckles yeah right. “It was stupid. A moment of pettiness.”
“Maybe.”
He raises a brow. “It was stupid.”
“Yeah, but—”
“I’ll walk it back. I just need to figure it out.”
“Or not.”
“Skye—”
“It hurt her, right?”
He looks up at me. “So?”
“So, if I don’t go to this wedding, I’ll hear about it for the rest of my life. And you—there are lots of people who want to see you melt down.”
“Holden?” He refers to his trouble-making little brother.
“Yeah, but people who actually mean it.”
“Skye—”
“It’s a good idea.” I stare into his eyes. “I protect you. You protect me. We both make her jealous.”
“I don’t know.”
“Did she say something about how I struggle because guys are superficial?”
His lip corners turn down.
He doesn’t have to say it. We both know. I’ve heard it from her so many times.
It’s too bad you’re still single, Skye. One day you’ll find a guy who can see past your size. You have such a great personality.
He’s right. This is stupid.
But it’s perfect too.
“I think it’s a good idea.” I make my voice as confident as I can. “I want to do it. I want to convince her we’re together. I want to pretend I’m yours.”
Chapter Four
Skye
He stares back at me, his eyes wide, his breath steady.