Page 25 of Golden Rule

Fuck it.

I’m gonna speak my mind.

“You’re sure about this, right? I mean, she’s really the one?”

Sterling’s brow quirks when his gaze locks with mine, but I need to look into his eyes when he answers. We can lie to the rest of the world, but we’ve never been able to lie to one another.

“What the hell?” He laughs, but I get the feeling it’s meant to mask that I’ve gotten under his skin. “Did you give Dane the third-degree like this about Joss?”

Is he fucking kidding me right now?

“Didn’t have to,” I shoot back, taking a sip of water, being intentionally casual to keep things from getting too intense. “Dane’s loved Joss since they were twelve. She’s been with us all our lives, Sterling. It’salwaysbeen Joss.”

Sterling eyes me again, but it’s a harsher look this time. The faint smile he wore half a second ago begins to fade, too. And as sure as I’m standing here, this motherfucker proceeds to do exactly what I expect him to do.

He lies right through his damn teeth.

“Yeah, West, I’m fucking sure.”

His stare stays trained on mine, and my heart’s beating a mile a minute. With that confident look on his face, it’s clear he’s trying his damnedest to convince usboththat he’s just told the truth. It’s eating me alive not calling him out on that shit, but Blue’s taught me the art of restraint. And part of that practice means I don’t say the first thing that pops into my head. So, instead of calling him out, I smile and play along.

“Good. As long as you’re sure.”

Shaking his head, Sterling tips the bottle to his lips again. More than ever, I wish I had a drink right now, because… fucking hell. I’m pretty sure my brother’s about to ruin his life.

“Mind if I ask another question?”

Sterling shoots me a warning with his eyes. “What is it now?”

I’m well aware of the fact that I should probably leave him alone, but the part of me that willalwayswant what’s best for him won’t let me.

“When were you planning to tell everyone about the engagement? It’s not like us to keep big news like this from each other.”

I hold in the rest of what I want to say. The part about how keeping it a secret only makes it seem that much sketchier.

He pauses with his lips to the bottle, then lowers it. The heavy sigh and tension in his jaw serve as signs that I’m tapdancing on his patience.

“Considering Jaxon is in the picture, and that I like to keep my life as peaceful as possible, it seemed smart to make sure Rodriguez…” Sterling pauses, and it’s like the sound gets sucked out of the room.

He hasn’t referred to Lexi that way—by her last name—in years. Back in the day, it was somewhat of a term of endearment between the two. So, once things went bad between them, all the friendly shit went out the window.

“The plan was to fill Lexi in first,” he says, correcting himself. “Then, once she had time to process, Tiffany suggested that we take everyone out to dinner and share our news. It was supposed to be a memorable moment, but… it didn’t quite play out like that.”

Understatement.

“Damn.” Ricky shakes his head when that one word leaves his mouth, likely thinking of how badly it all got screwed up.

“Now, Lexi hasn’t said two words to me since everything went down,” Sterling shares, and I note that his mood has taken another nosedive. “When I call, she doesn’t even say hello. She just puts Jaxon right on. And when I pick him up, I’m not even allowed at her house. I have to get him from her mom and Benny. Shit’s ridiculous. We’re supposed to be fucking adults.”

The vein in the side of his neck throbs as he breathes deep. He’s pissed.

At Pandora.

At Lexi.

At himself.

“Alright, well, since we’re asking the hard questions, there’s one that’s been rolling around in my head, too,” Dane cuts in.

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