Page 47 of Forking the Billionaire

That caused me to pause. Jasper wasGabe’sfriend, not mine. And Gabe had requested an update on my behavior.

“You’re telling me you wouldn’t run to tell my brother all of the corruptingdangersI subject myself to, like friendships with the menfolk and the consumption of trans fats?”

“Of course not.” He shot me a lopsided grin, with a nose wrinkle and a flash of confusion in his eyes. “Anything you say to me is held in confidence.”

Huh. That was interesting, if true. Sure, when I looked at his open demeanor and his friendly expression, it really seemed like he meant it. But I’d been fooled before.

“Cross your heart, scout’s honor?” I teased.

He grinned at me. “Absofuckinglutely.”

I chuckled despite myself. “All right then.”

I felt my guard slipping ever so slightly, but then again, it wasn’t like I did anything worth reporting back to Gabe anyway.

“How are you feeling?” Jasper asked.

“Better.”

“What’s the story there?” he asked.

Was he calling me out on my lie? I narrowed my gaze at him. “What story?”

“The truth about your stomach issues.”

I felt my fingers tighten involuntarily into fists and forced them to flex back out. “Food intolerance, like I already said.”

“All right.” He shrugged, making it clear that he knew I was lying.

I waited for the follow-up question, the one that called me out directly, but it didn’t come. Eventually, I realized he was just going to let it drop, and I was grateful for that.

“Is Jules doing all right? I noticed she didn’t come for dinner.” I licked my lips and focused on avoiding pebbles on the dark road ahead of us. “She seems like the most trusting girlfriend ever.”

“Jules is not my girlfriend,” Jasper said with a finality that confused me.

“Trouble in paradise?”

“She was never my girlfriend.”

“So, she’s your….” I waited for him to fill in the blanks.

“Nothing. We had some fun, but like these things go, it wasn’t built to last.”

“You brought a fuck buddy to your best friend’s wedding? A destination wedding, where you share a room for an extended period of time?”

“I didn’t want to,” he said, as if that made any sense.

“She bullied you into it?”

“Gabriel invited her.”

I felt my jaw drop, my lips forming a little O, as I tried to figure out what to make of this new information. He didn’t want her to come and Gabe invited her, so he brought her? All he had to do was say no.

“She seemed excited. I went along with it.”

“So you’re a coward.”

“Maybe. I figured we’d have some fun for a few days, say goodbye when it was over. Usually I don’t go for more than two nights, but Jules isn’t clingy.”

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