Page 66 of Burn It Down

Dylan, being a good sport, shakes Martin’s hand, but he only offers my father a cold stare as a parting gift.

One I’m confident will bite us in the ass at some point, but right now feels fucking amazing.

Chapter 18

Dylan

“Will you two stop?” I laugh, batting my sister’s hand away from my tie. “Honestly, there’s no need for all this fuss. I already went to the prom.”

“Bleh, with Eric Discher. How could we forget that creep?” Cassie asks, sharing a look with my dad.

Okay, so my taste in guys has never been great.

“We’re just excited for you, son,” my dad chimes in, fixing a piece of my hair.

“Guys, seriously.” I move out of their reach. “Jake and I are going as friends because hisgirlfriendis throwing the event.”

I might have had a lapse in judgment a couple weeks ago at dinner and sort of forced him to his knees, but it won’t happen again.

“Yeah, hisgirlfriendwho’s a cover for the fact that he wants to doyou,” Cassie says right in front of our father.

“Oookay, Cass. I don’t talk about youdoingyour boyfriends in front of Dad, do I?”

“No, but that’s because I don’t have any.”

“Neither do I,” I grumble, knowing it’s useless.

“This is a big opportunity, Dylan,” my dad says. “Your boyfriend aside—”

“He’snotmyboyfriend,” I grumble. But my dad presses on like I didn’t say a word. “You’ll be rubbing elbows with a lot of people who could pour into our business.”

I nod, but stay quiet. I don’t really want to talk shop tonight.

“And Jake’s coming to pick you up, that’s so cute!” Cassie says, shaking her fists in excitement. “Let me have this.”

“Oh my God, can we move on, please?” I beg.

“Come on, Cass, let’s give the man some breathing room,” my dad finally says, dragging my twin away by her arm.

“But we haven’t covered safe sex yet!” Cassie wails as I kick my door shut before turning to my reflection in the mirror. I went with an all-black suit. I’d rather blend in than stand out tonight. My black hair is mostly behaving itself. I left my five o’clock shadow in place, hoping to use it as a shield if necessary and I also feel like it makes me look older. My suit is a little tighter since the last time I wore it, but as long as I don’t have to fight anyone tonight, it should be fine. The only pop of color I have is my tie: light blue to match my eyes — Cassie’s suggestion.

For all my insistence that Jake and I are going as friends, and as hard as I’m going to try to stay on the correct side of the moral code tonight, I still want to look my best. And if I’m brutally honest, I want to make Jake a little hot under the collar because I’ve already seen himin a suit several times and I have no doubt that I’ll be hoteverywhere.

He shows up right on time and rings my doorbell.

It feels so juvenile…until I open the door.

Standing with his hands in his pockets looking like a younger and hotter version of James Bond than I’ve ever seen, Jake rakes his eyes over me and whistles. “Well. This is going to be hard as fuck.”

My lips twitch at the compliment and the lust in his eyes. “At least we’ll suffer together.”

Cassie appears in the doorway. “Jake,wow. You look stunning.” I’m terrified my sister’s about to ask if she can take our picture, but thankfully, she keeps her mouth shut as Jake takes her hand and kisses her knuckles. Not that I don’t want a picture, but I don’t exactly want Jake to know my sister knows his biggest secret. Asking for the picture might give it away.

“Thank you, Cassie.”

Breathless she asks, “How are your eyelashes so long? Honestly, that should be a crime.”

Jake cocks a grin that stirs low in my stomach. “Good genes. Do me a favor?” he asks my sister.

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