Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 97466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
His eyes sought mine, and he squeezed my upper arm. “You know he’s an idiot for letting you go, right?”
“Sure he is.” I didn’t bother pointing out that this logic made Oscar an idiot too. “We should get on the road,” I told him instead.
It wasn’t until we were out of the city and halfway to Bloomfield that Oscar turned to me with an expression of conviction on his face. “I’m your boyfriend, and I’m madly in love with you.”
I blinked at the side of his face as he turned back to watch the road. “Uh… ’Scuse me?”
“For tonight, I mean. We’ll pretend, like we talked about when I was in Macau. You have to admit it’s the best way.”
I scratched behind my ear. “Is it? Because my sister knows the truth about us. Which means Dex knows the truth. And Jared’s his brother…”
Oscar reached over and took my hand in his, threading our fingers together. “No. They know the old truth. The new truth is that we decided to give this thing a try. And so far, it’s going amazing.”
Oscar squeezed my hand and held it. I imagined what it would be like to pretend to be Oscar’s boyfriend. For him to pretend to be mine.
“So I’m your boyfriend, huh?” I teased, trying to cover my nervous excitement. “How are you going to explain to everyone that you’re dating again after swearing off relationships?”
He kept his eyes on the road. “I won’t have to. No one at this party knows me except your sister. And eventually—maybe even tomorrow—you’ll tell her things didn’t work out. It wasn’t you, it was me. I was far too demanding. Possessive. Wanted to spend all my time with you, and it drove you crazy.”
I stared at him. “She’ll never believe that,” I said softly. I certainly couldn’t. No amount of time I could spend with Oscar that would ever feel like too much. It was being without him, trying to keep my distance, that was the problem.
“No?” He darted a glance at me and cleared his throat. “Well, you’ll come up with something,” he assured me.
I rubbed at the back of my neck. “I’d rather not lie at all if I don’t have to.”
We arrived at the bar, and while Oscar focused on finding us a place to park, I shot Abby a quick text.
Hugh
Oscar and I…
I deleted and tried again. I didn’t want to lie, but I wasn’t sure how else I could prepare her to see us acting like boyfriends when she knew we weren’t.
Hugh
I’m bringing Oscar as my date.
Abby
Yeah, you told me already?
Hugh
I’m… I think it might be…
I deleted it and made a grumble sound under my breath.
“Problem?” Oscar asked with a laugh. “Is that phone giving you attitude?”
I shoved the phone in my pocket. “No. I just… I guess I’m nervous.”
He turned the car off and came around to meet me as I stepped out of the low-slung sports car. When we began walking toward the bar entrance, he put his hand on my lower back to steer me toward the inside of the sidewalk. He was close enough for me to catch a whiff of expensive cologne.
“Don’t be nervous,” he murmured. “I got your back.”
I leaned a little closer to him and sighed. “I don’t care about Jared. It’s the rest of them. His entire family… they were almost my family. I was close to them, and I miss that. I don’t miss him…”
Oscar wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close, turning his head to press a kiss to my cheek. “But you’re mourning the loss of the family you wanted. It’s probably hard to see Abby getting everything you wanted. And before you interrupt me,” he added with a knowing grin, “I understand you’re happy for your sister. You can feel both things at once.”
I nodded, happy to be so understood. “Thank you,” I murmured. “And thanks again for coming with me.”
He stopped and turned to face me before taking my chin in his hand. His eyes bored into mine, and his lips were curved into a killer smile. “I’m a very dedicated boyfriend, Hugh.” His voice was low and went straight through my chest to my balls.
Then he leaned forward and kissed me full on the lips, slow and certain.
All of the worries ping-ponging through my head became muffled and unimportant. Nothing was as vital in that moment as accepting his kiss. Giving myself over to the power of it, the reassurance of it, and the genuine affection clear in the gesture itself.
When he finally pulled away and met my eyes, I tried to look better, more solid and less fearful.
“Thanks,” I croaked stupidly. “And… thanks.”
Oscar took my hand in his and led me through the doors and into the bar. The noise of chatter and cheer greeted us, and I immediately recognized Jared’s thick, dark hair across the crowd. He was taller than Dex, taller than most people, and my eyes went straight to him as if the previous two years hadn’t happened.