Page 109 of Love to Hate You

“Where have you two been?” he bites out.

I’ve heard him take that tone with plenty of the guys on the team. But never with me.

Daisy grinds to a halt. Her muscles freeze as she spears me with a look as if to ask if I’m sure about going through with this. I almost shake my head in exasperation.

How can she doubt me after everything we’ve been through today?

I grab Daisy’s hand and thread my fingers through hers, locking us together in a show of solidarity.

Noah inhales a sharp breath. “What the hell—”

“Daisy and I have been seeing each other.” I brace myself for the fallout, aware that I’ve broken bro code.

The longer he remains silent, the more jacked up I get. My nerves have already been shot to hell from dealing with my parents. But Daisy is worth it. I straighten to my full height as my resolve strengthens.

Instead of losing his temper, Noah slaps his thigh and stabs a finger in my direction. “Holy shit! For a moment there, you almost had me.”

I give Daisy a bit of side eye.

She shrugs as if to say I don’t know what to make of this either.

“Dude, I’m serious.” I clear my throat. “Daisy and I have been seeing each other.”

That statement has him doubling over with laughter. He wipes the moisture from his eyes. “Nice try! You two can barely stand to be in the same room together.” He howls with laughter. “You hate each other!”

That was never true. It had more to do with self-preservation than anything else and I regret every damn minute of it.

When Noah doesn’t get himself under control, my patience snap. I was expecting anger from him, not flat out disbelief. For fuck’s sake, the idea of us being together isn’t that farfetched.

“Things have changed, bro,” I grit out. “This isn’t a joke. Daisy and I are together and wanted you to be the first to know.”

I’m not sure if it’s the look on my face or the seriousness of my voice, but all at once, Noah straightens. The laughter dies as he stares at me with wide eyes. “The fuck you say!”

Now this is more in line with what I was expecting.

He rises to his feet.

Noah’s a big guy. Tall and broad shouldered. He can easily bench his own body weight. I don’t want this conversation ending with a fight, but I’m prepared to deal with his anger if it does.

Ignoring Daisy, he demands, “You’re serious?”

I nod. “Yeah, I am.”

“Exactly how long has this been going on for?”

“A couple of weeks,” I admit. At least now everything is out in the open. If there’s any silver lining to the situation, that’s it.

“I don’t understand,” he mutters with a shake of his head. “Are you forgetting that this is the same girl who baked brownies filled with laxatives, so you’d shit your brains out?”

“No, I haven’t forgotten.” Noah doesn’t have a clue as to how I’ve always felt about Daisy. He doesn’t realize that I’ve spent years pushing her buttons so that she’d hate me and keep her distance.

“And now you two are what?” His face crumples in disgust and he flinches. “A couple?”

Ignoring the question, I say instead, “It was never our intention to lie to you.” I glance at Daisy, not wanting to put words in her mouth. “We needed time to figure out for ourselves what was happening between us.”

Noah shakes his head as if to clear it. “So, you two have been what? Sneaking around and screwing behind my back for weeks now?”

Daisy gasps as the color drains from her face.

“That’s none of your damn business,” I bark as my fingers tighten around hers.

“The hell it is,” Noah growls as his fists clench at his sides. He looks ready to lose it and part of me can’t blame him for that. But I’m not going to stand here and listen to Noah disrespect Daisy. I don’t give a shit if she’s his cousin or not.

“My relationship with Daisy is private and has nothing to do with you,” I tell him.

That announcement only serves to piss Noah off more. His jaw locks as he bites out, “We need to have a private conversation.”

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