Page 23 of Marrying My Brother's Best Friend

Dang it, Billy! He’s the only one I told about mine and Gracie’s arrangement to change my reputation in the media. How could he do this to me?

Chapter 13

Gracie

There’s a crowd perched outside Trevor’s house, and his phone has been buzzing non-stop while he paces around the living room.

“This is crazy,” Trevor says to someone on the other end. “Can’t you get them out of here, man? And where the heck is Billy? What did he say?”

I try to focus on the media pages I’ve been scouting through. There are a million articles about me posted already, and my brother Jace hasn’t been spared in all of this.

Sources tell us that the basketballer’s best friend was also a key player in this ploy. The fake marriage was orchestrated to get the star player into signing a deal that will benefit Gracie and her family.

“They take the truth and they twist it,” I mutter under my voice, and Trevor pauses in his pacing to look at me. Our eyes meet briefly, and the flicker of confusion in his makes me sigh.

I avert my eyes from his and nibble on my lower lip. After overhearing his conversation with his friends the other night, I keep rethinking why I’m here trying to help him.

Now that I know Trevor’s past, I understand why he is never going to want love or a relationship. It’s all the more reason for me to back out of this now. The longer I stay, the more my heart wavers. And what if I can never change his perception about love?

Jace was right about me getting hurt by all of this, and the one way to avoid heartbreak was to stop this before it got out of hand.

“Gracie,” Trevor calls, and I glance up to look at him. His eyes are solemn on mine, and my breath hitches in my throat for a moment. I can’t control the rush of heat that slices through me and makes it so that I can’t tear my eyes away from his.

“I’m so sorry about all of this, Gracie. I’ll make it right. I promise you I’ll make it right and shut down all these rumors.”

“They’re not entirely rumors though, are they? And I’m more worried about how this affects you and your reputation with management. You just got back on the team and if they believe this news, then they might kick you off for good this time because we did lie and deceive them. This was a terrible idea from the start and I …”

“This wasn’t your fault,” he interrupts and closes the distance between us before I can suck in another breath. Trevor sits on the couch beside me and places one hand over mine. His warmth seeps into me and makes me shiver inside. I want to pull away from him, but my nerve endings tingle and the zap of electricity that spirals through me paralyzes me to that spot.

“I …”

“I trusted the wrong person,” he continues, holding onto my gaze. “I should have kept my mouth shut and focused on protecting our secret, but I trusted the wrong person, so this is entirely my fault and I would make it right.”

I can’t speak right then because of the tightness in my throat. Trevor doesn’t seem to notice how his nearness affects me, and I don’t think I affect him at all.

He moves his hand away from mine, and I stare at my twitching fingers for a moment as heat rushes to the back of my neck. My mind races with different thoughts, and I finally come up with something.

“I think we should maintain our act for now. If anything, we should make it seem more real now more than ever, and get the media to stop raving about this in days. Think about it, Trevor. There’s no proof that you lied, and if we keep on acting like we’re in love, then we might be able to sell it to the media and get them to discard whatever rumors are circulating.”

Trevor seems thoughtful for a moment, and I get on my feet and close the distance between us. “I said I would help you. Trevor and I still have the chance to do that. It’s not all over yet.”

“Why?” he asks a moment later in a shaky voice that shocks me. “Why do you want to help me, Gracie? I can’t …I don’t get it.”

“I don’t get it either,” I whisper as my heart melts. Without thinking, I touch his arm, and he glances down to stare at my fingers wrapped around his biceps. “But somehow basketball seems to have your heart in a way nothing else ever has. You love basketball and I’m going to help make sure that you keep playing for your dream team.”

Our gazes merge into one and for a second while he stares at me, it feels like he would say something, but instead, he moves, wraps his arms around me, and brings me close to his chest for a hug.

I stiffen at first, unable to move as I’m pressed against his chest. Trevor smooths a hand down my back, then over my hair, and presses me close to him for a long time. He shocks me when he presses a kiss to my forehead, and his lips linger for longer than a moment.

The insanely tender gesture leaves me with a flutter of hope in my heart. A part of me wants to believe that all of this means he has feelings for me. Eight years ago, I believed he did, but I was wrong.

Being in his arms now makes me hope that it’s different this time, and I cling to that tiny shred of hope even though there is a great chance that Trevor will never care for me in the same way.

***

A week later, we’re at another interview with the popular sports media team, and Trevor is the life of the show. The audience applauds him when he demonstrates his famous crossover dribble.

We spent the past week doing everything publicly possible to thwart the rumors about our fake marriage, and this is the third interview Trevor is agreeing to this week.

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