Page 16 of The Fake Out

“Does it kill the image of your brother to know he doesn’t do it?” I chuckled.

Christian could give two shits about decorating this place. If it was up to him, we’d have the ping-pong table and a couch and a TV.

Maybe it was because I’d been on my own so long, or maybe it was just the need to spend time in a place that felt like home since I was so far away from my family. Either way, I couldn’t live in a sterile, empty box.

Quietly, she scanned the open living area and sipped her beer. “You have good taste.”

I smirked. “And you have a lot of talent.”

The way her cheeks turned pink was as attractive as it was surprising. With a finger twirling a single curl, she looked away. Gianna always seemed sure of herself, so the uncertainty in her expression and posture were shocking.

Her brother and her dad sang her praises, so one would think she’d be used to the compliments. Unless, maybe, they were the only ones?

Christian had always bitched about her ex-boyfriend being shitty and unsupportive.

“Did your guy not tell you that all the damn time?”

She looked up at me and opened her mouth quickly, but instead of replying, she sighed. Her brown eyes swirled with so many emotions, but I didn’t know what any of them were. They were all new to me, because normally, all I got from her was pissed off.

I set my beer on the quartz countertop and waited, watching her. She dropped her attention from my face again, tracking the lines of the hardwood floor below her feet. Finally, she glanced at her drink and slowly lifted it.

“My friends told me he was jealous.” She took a sip of her beer, and a small crease appeared between her eyes, but she still wasn’t looking at me. “I made a lot of excuses for why he didn’t like to give compliments.” She paused again and took another sip of the beer. “But I realize now that he’s just an ass.”

I chuckled. Sounded like everything I’d heard about the guy. I moved to the bread drawer, deciding that since she was opening up some, I’d push my luck. “What made you decide that?”

“A few weeks ago, he took me to my favorite restaurant, and in the middle of dinner, he told me he got someone else pregnant and was moving in with her.” Her tone was matter-of-fact, but the words were like nails ripping through my ears.

I was halfway back to the counter when the bread slipped from my hand. Letting it fall to the floor, I spun back to her. My heart hammered oddly as an irrational anger gripped me deep in my chest. “The fuck did you just say?”

“I know.” She slammed her beer onto the counter and then bent to retrieve the bread. “Total ass, right?” She shook her head and passed it back to me.

“Uh…” That was the understatement of the century. But also, Christian was the most overprotective person I’d ever met, so… “How is it your brother didn’t eviscerate him?”

Her eyes widened for a second in surprise, but she quickly schooled her expression and hit me with the glare I was so familiar with. “I’m not telling him.” With her arms crossed over her body again, she jutted one hip in a way that screamed fuck off.

I swallowed, digesting her confession and wondering what the hell to do with it.

“Look,” she said, interrupting my thoughts, “it’s embarrassing, and I don’t want?—”

“Gianna,” I said, keeping my tone soft.

She didn’t glance up.

“Gianna,” I said more forcefully.

This time, her brown eyes lifted, tracking over my bare chest before finally meeting mine.

“His shittiness isn’t a reflection of you,” I said, fisting a hand on the countertop. “It’s on him.” With my other hand, I gently snagged hers and gave it a squeeze. “You are a talented, fierce, gorgeous woman, and you deserve a hell of a lot more than that.”

Her lips parted on a quick intake of breath. Besides our hands, no parts of us were touching. Even so, my entire body heated. The air around us buzzed. Her pupils dilated, making it obvious that she could feel the electricity coursing between us too. All I had to do was tug on her hand and let her fall into me. Then I’d claim her mouth. She’d welcome it. I’d welcome it.

But I wasn’t going there.

I released her hand and quickly stepped back.

She blinked several times, like she was returning to reality, then her mouth fell into a tight line. “Right.” She nodded. “Still, none of it is Chris’s business.”

Nodding, I turned to the stove.

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