Page 98 of Never Your Girl

“You sure about that?” he asks, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Just curious why you’re hanging around, looking for your fake girlfriend like a lovesick puppy.” He glances at the cup. “Don’t tell me that’s for her.”

“Yeah, it is.” I pull it out of his reach when he makes a grab for it. “And, no, you can’t have it.”

His brows shoot up. “Why do I get the feeling this relationship is no longer fake?”

I roll my eyes as heat floods my cheeks. “It’s coffee,” I grumble. “Don’t make a bigger deal out of it than it is.”

He leans against the bench beside me, his concern fading into something more thoughtful. “You actually believe her?”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to lie.

At the last moment, I decide against it. “Yeah, I do. And if I hadn’t been such a chickenshit two years ago, we wouldn’t be in this place now. I wouldn’t have spent all this time wondering if we could have been something more.” My shoulders loosen. “I don’t want to continue wondering.”

I brace for an argument.

For my cousin to lose his shit and make a last-ditch effort to talk some sense into me.

But that’s not what happens.

He presses his lips together and is silent for a long stretch of moments. “Okay.”

I blink. “Okay?”

He shrugs. “Yeah. If you truly believe she’s not the one behind the messages, then I’ll support you. Hell, dude, I’ll even root for you two crazy kids. If that’s what you want.”

I snort out a laugh as my muscles lose their rigidity. “I appreciate it.”

“That’s what cousins are for, right? I’ll always be on your side and want what’s best for you. If anyone deserves it, it’s you. Seriously.”

His words hit me hard. Steele has always been more like a brother to me, and I have no idea what I’d do without him.

Thank fuck, I’ll never have to find out.

“One last question.”

I almost groan. I should have realized that he capitulated way too easily. “Shoot.”

“Do you trust her?” There’s a pause. “I mean really trust her?”

I don’t even have to think about it. “Yeah, I do.”

“Okay,” he drawls, his tone loaded. “Then explain why she’s deep in conversation with Garret Akeman.”

My head whips around so fast that the coffee cup nearly slips from my hand.

There’s no damn way.

The moment my gaze lands on them, it’s like the air gets knocked from my lungs.

Sure enough, they’re standing off to the side of the walkway. My jaw locks at the way Garret sidles closer to her. Holland’s expression is unreadable.

But here’s the thing, she hasn’t moved away from him.

“What the hell?” I mutter.

“She knows you two have an issue, right?”

“Yeah.”

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