Page 21 of Charming Deception

Cole’s shirtless too, but who cares.

Men who aren’t related to me shouldn’t be that naked in front of me unless I’m allowed to stare.

Cole will definitely disapprove if I stare.

I can’t help it, though. The arrow of groin muscle leading down into the front of his best friend’s low-slung pants keeps magnetizing my attention.

At least when they come back, they bring a fresh round for all three of us. Cole sets the tray of drinks on the table between us and hands one to me.

“So, Cole tells me you’re new in Vancouver.” Jameson stiffly starts the conversation, like Cole told him to be nice to me or something.

“Yeah. New.” I wonder what Cole really told him about me. Not Troy, I hope. “I hope he told you I was coming.”

A small smile twitches on Jameson’s mouth before he buries it. “He didn’t.”

“Man. I did,” Cole protests. “I texted you while you were in Vegas.”

Jameson raises an eyebrow. “You did?”

“You never got back to me.”

“Well, hey,” I interject, “if you know Cole like I do, he’s always full of surprises.”

“That’s true.”

“He, um, definitely never told me that his best friend is a billionaire.”

Cole scratches his neck, which I take to be his idea of an apology.

I’ve put it together myself by now—that my brother’s best friend is none other than that Jameson.

Jameson Vance.

The Vances are the wealthiest family in Vancouver and one of the wealthiest in Canada, but I only know this because they own the Vancouver Northmen hockey team, and my brother has been playing for the Northmen for three seasons. That’s why he settled in Vancouver.

I can’t believe I didn’t make the connection when I first saw him in the street. Maybe if I hadn’t been so self-conscious about my broken suitcase and my intimates pouring out, I would have.

I know I’ve definitely seen that gorgeous face somewhere before, like in a newspaper photo. The sports section.

And maybe the front page.

“Yeah, maybe I should’ve warned you,” Cole says. Why? Do I look that stricken? “I know meeting a billionaire can be… intimidating.” Especially for a girl from Crooks Creek, the sparkle in his eyes seems to say. “But I told you about Jamie, that we’ve gotten tight. Didn’t I?”

“You didn’t.” Honestly, Cole never has been all that reliable with staying in touch and keeping me updated about his life.

Although… I haven’t been all that good about sharing the details of my life with him either. He had no idea how bad things were between Troy and me, and that was entirely my doing.

“How did you guys become so close?” I inquire. I’m still trying to adjust my initial assumption that Cole’s new best friend is a fanboy, because members of the Vance family are not wannabes. They’re the ones the wannabes aspire to brush shoulders with. And surely they can hang out with any hockey player anytime they want to.

“Well, I’ve known Jamie casually for years. But we crossed paths at some parties when I landed in Vancouver, started hanging out a lot. He was going through some shit personally, and so was I, and we were there for each other. One of those things. We just clicked.”

I take that in. Jameson says nothing, just sips his drink.

“That’s nice, then.”

Cole leans in. “You can relax, Megan, I promise. You’re so on guard.”

I take a breath, and glance around the beautiful yard, trying to process this whole strange situation. It’s not the one I expected to find when I got here. I thought I’d be staying with Cole in his renovation-zone of a new house, maybe dealing with the awkwardness of having breakfast with his latest fuck buddy on the odd morning. But not this. “You really bought a place in this neighborhood?”

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