Page 14 of Faking it With the Player Next Door

“Taylor, you don’t need to say another word,” Van whispered.

The look on his face was priceless, and it let me know he was scared that I’d give up his lie to my brother. I smirked, and I saw Van’s face become pale.

“No, no, Van,” I smiled and laid a hand on his forearm. “We need to be honest. It’s not right to start a relationship on a lie.”

“Taylor…” Van mumbled, warning me to not give his lie up.

“It’s fine,” I continued grinning. “Hunter, I’ve had a crush on Van for as long as I can remember, and I just never told him.”

“You have?” Both Hunter and Van replied.

“Hmm,” I murmured. “I have.”

“I had no idea,” Van replied.

“I had my suspicions,” Hunter laughed.

“Well, guys,” I glanced between my brother, and the man I’d vowed to marry when I was a little girl, and walked back to the screen door. “I have some things to do.”

Disappearing into Gram’s kitchen, I released the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.

What did I just do? Not only did I cooperate with Van and his lie to Hunter, but I admitted to both of them that I’d been in love with Van since we were all kids.

“Oh, no, Taylor Miller, you’re so stupid,” I grumbled and ran up the stairs back to my bedroom.

Chapter Six

Van

“Hey,” I smiled when Taylor opened the front door.

“Van? Now what?” She leaned against the door, rolling her eyes, and I took in her appearance.

Her blonde hair was piled up and messy on the top of her head, and her green eyes seemed to sparkle against her glowing skin. Dressed in a pair of running shorts that hugged her hips, and every muscle on her upper thighs, I almost groaned.

She was wearing a white camisole shirt, and I had a feeling nothing beneath it. This added to the discomfort I was feeling in my groin.

“Van?” Taylor’s voice broke me from my thoughts.

“Uhm, oh,” I stammered. “I was going for a walk along the back trails, and thought I’d ask you to go with me.”

“Why?’ She narrowed her eyes.

“I think we need to discuss some things. A lot of things,” I sighed.

“Yeah, we do,” she replied.

“Well,” I held out a hand, inviting her outside.

“Sure, why not,” she shrugged and held up a finger. “Let me grab my shoes and sunglasses.”

I nodded, crossed my arms over my chest, and leaned on the exterior wall of the house. I heard Taylor inside as she retrieved her shoes and glasses. I knew we needed to talk about what happened the other day with Hunter, and how I lied about our relationship status because I knew how conservative Hunter was. I could kick myself for not coming over here yesterday to sort all this out.

I wasn’t too sure how Taylor would respond to me showing up, and how the chat would go, so I put it off. But as I sat in the living room last night, sipping a second beer, I knew I had to talk to her today.

“So here I am,” I mumbled as I heard Taylor traipsing down the stairs just inside the house.

“Okay, ready,” she slipped her sunglasses on and a baseball cap.

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