Page 97 of These Pucking Boys: Part Two

“I suppose.” Wendy gives me another scathing glance, then walks away with Fiona.

I smile at Maya. “Thanks for that.”

Maya moves closer, and all the friendliness is gone from her expression. “Don’t thank me. I saw you disappear with Lachy. It makes perfect sense why you lied and said he was seeing someone.”

Shit. Shit. Shit. She’s figured me out.

“Maya, I?—”

“If you want to screw Jake’s best friend behind his back, that’s your problem. I’m not going to say anything. But stay the hell away from my husband.”

My jaw drops, and words fail me. Not that I think anything I could tell Maya now would matter. She believes I’m someone who would not only cheat but would also go after other people’s husbands. I doubt that if I told her the truth, it would change her image of me. It’d probably just make it worse.

Suddenly, I feel like the walls are closing in. I can’t stay at this party for another second. I veer for the front door, and before I walk out of the house, I feel tears rolling down my cheeks. I don’t stop walking until I’m in the car.

Only then do I look at my phone, not knowing what to tell the boys. To say Maya thinks I’m a whore who will come after her husband sounds dramatic. And that would probably cause friction between them and Banksy.

ME: I’m not feeling well. Can we go home?

LACHY: What’s wrong?

ME: Just a headache.

I hate lying, but I don’t want to tell them what happened over text.

JAKE: We’re coming for you.

ME: I’m in the car already.

RYAN: You’re worrying us, Peaches.

I bite my lower lip. Hell, that’s not what I intended. My guilt doubles. If we weren’t hiding our relationship, the whole convo with Maya wouldn’t have happened. She probably would still tell me to stay away from her husband, but at least she wouldn’t be thinking Lachy is a backstabbing asshole. The idea that anyone would think Lachy or Ryan would betray Jake like that is a million times worse than people judging my choices. I love them too much to allow that to happen.

I can’t avoid the inevitable any longer. I’ve reached the end of the line.

CHAPTER 40

JAKE

When we got June’s text, there was no hesitation. We left our teammates right away. Malcolm gave Lachy and Ryan shit for leaving with me—I was dumb enough to mention June—but neither acknowledged him.

June insists on driving home, making me regret all the booze I drank earlier. She doesn’t look well, but she shoots down Ryan’s idea to call an Uber.

“Are you sure, Peaches? It’s not a big deal if we have to come get the car tomorrow,” Ryan insists.

She puts the car in drive and pulls out of the parking spot. “It’s not a big deal. I… I lied about having a headache.”

“Why?” I study her profile and don’t feel better about what I see. Her problem might not be a headache, but something upset her.

“Because of what happened after I left Malcolm’s office.”

“Was someone rude to you?” I ask through clenched teeth. If they mistreated her, there’d be hell to pay.

“I bumped into Wendy, Fiona, and Maya, and… shit. They noticed my dress wasn’t buttoned properly.”

I rub my face. Fuck. I can’t believe I didn’t notice that.

“What did Wendy do?” Lachy asks.

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