Page 56 of Accidental Fiancé

I hoped I hadn’t lied.

Chapter 20

Julian

What the fuck is Chloe Foster doing here with Marcus?

It was hard not to ask the question aloud. But I had cocktails to order. “Two whiskey and cokes. Thanks.” The bartender hustled for our drinks and they were perfect. They were always perfect here. Mom had a thing about hiring good help, and when the family came over, she pulled out all the stops.

Yaya’s birthday was the biggest family occasion of the year. Bigger than Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. Mom believed people deserved to be celebrated more than traditions. Even though Yaya wanted her to be more traditional, she wasn’t about to turn down celebrating with family.

Ever since coming to the states, Yaya was adamant that she see the family as often as possible. Our Greek relatives weren’t able to visit often, so we stepped up to the plate whenever we could. When I was growing up, Sunday dinners were always a big deal. But as me and my cousins got older and created lives of our own, we weren’t as available. Eventually, things boiled down to a week to celebrate Yaya, and we were basically off the hook for the rest of the year.

Which begged the question: Why was Chloe here?

This event was for family. Not casual acquaintances, tenuous significant others, or buddies. The only people who brought friends were the kids, and that was rare. So anyone who made it into the house was important, and that could mean only one thing—Chloe Foster’s relationship with my cousin Marcus was serious.

I could not let that stand.

But more importantly, I couldn’t leave Maggie alone anywhere. Normally, Yaya’s birthday week included a variety of events, and that included a spa day for the ladies of the family. I had to figure out how to keep Maggie out of that.

Watching her as I crossed the room with the drinks, I could tell she was doing her level best to keep from staring at Chloe. Not that the bully noticed. She was too busy hamming it up, ensuring that she was the center of attention, laughing her fake laugh and overdramatically tossing her head back. It was like watching a comedic imitation of an overreaction to a joke, and it rang so false that I worried about Marcus.

Maybe all those high school football concussions caused permanent mental damage.

When I passed her cocktail to her, Maggie downed half of it in one go. “Are you drinking yours?”

“I had planned to, but…” I held mine out to her.

“You’re a saint.” She reached out for it then paused, her hand falling back to her side. “On second thought, I’m going to need my brain fully functioning to figure this out.”

As she bit down on her lower lip, I studied her. Maggie looked great, but no matter how much I reassured her this morning before we left, she still struggled to believe she looked good enough. She was a fantasy come to life, and yet, she stressed over every detail. The right gold bracelet, the best gold and pearl earrings. She asked if her lipstick was too dark, even though it was just a shade darker than her own pink, pouty lips.

The only way she could have been more beautiful was if she were naked.

“Jules?”

I blinked away from my thoughts. “Yes?”

Maggie subtly nodded her head toward my cousin, both wearing expectant smiles. “Can you introduce us?”

“Ah, yes. Sorry, lost in thought. Maggie Bryant, this is Apollo Black.”

He laughed, eyes wide. “This is Maggie? The high school crush?”

She giggled and heat filled the tips of my ears.

No one in the world could grind my gears like Apollo, largely because he had been like an older brother to me when I was a boy. I grew up seeking his approval. He was the cool cousin, the one who gave me my first hit on a joint. The one who drove the hot cars and dated models.

Apollo knew about my crush on Maggie from the moment I mentioned her. He encouraged me to make a move on her and gave me advice on how to get her to be my girlfriend. I tried it all and failed. None of it worked because Maggie had little in common with the type of girls he dated. It took hindsight and maturity to realize why his advice hadn’t worked.

I gave him a tight smile. “She was my friend, thank you very much.”

As he shook her hand, he threw his other arm around my shoulder, pulling me off-balance. “Julian’s a terrible guy. Undateable. Run while you still can. I’ll hold him for you.”

Maggie laughed as I shoved him back, Apollo laughing as well. She teased, “Nah. I think I’ll keep him out of the dating pool to protect the single women out there.”

I shook my head, defeated. “Fantastic. Now I get it from both sides?”

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