Page 29 of Fake Married to the Grumps

I doze off after fussing over Joe Storms and what he wants. I can’t brush off the unsettling feeling his call sparks in me. Joe Storms has a reputation for using whatever means necessary, even if it means breaking some laws, to get what he wants.

Years ago, after discovering Julia’s lies and realizing she had been seeing Joe the entire time she was dating me, I realized Joe was never my friend.

I recall our heated conversation a day after I caught them at that restaurant.

You think you’re better than everyone else,Joe sneered at me.How does it feel to lose something you love? Sucks right? Theworld doesn’t revolve around you, Everhart. You can’t have it all.

His eyes raged with the smoldering embers of jealousy, and I realized then that I had been blind all along. Joe’s betrayal stung.

But it’s all in the past now.

Whatever Joe’s up to shouldn’t be my concern, but I have a feeling it can’t be good.

Chapter 11

Nelly

That Saturday afternoon, we attend my friend Josie’s brother’s wedding and Ethan’s my date. He excuses himself and goes off to talk to a blonde woman after we greet the bride and groom at the after-party.

He looks glamorous in his black tux and bow tie. His hair’s swept back in a perfect turf on his head and seeing him engage in a light laugh and conversation with a blonde woman makes my insides tighten.

“I still can’t believe you snagged that man,” Josie comments in a hushed tone and giggles beside me. Her blue eyes gleam as she continues. “He’s every woman’s dream, and the pictures in the blogs don’t do him justice. How did you do it?”

I chuckle, then shrug. “You know what they say about love … It happens when you least expect it.” We both laugh before I spot Ethan approaching us.

Josie and I have only been friends for a few years, but I enjoy her company because she’s always full of life.

After my parent’s death, she barely left my side, and always found a humorous way to make me relax even under the weight of the pressure that I felt back then.

She’s a good friend,I conclude, but it is a bit annoying how she fawns over Ethan.

“Ladies,” Ethan greets, takes Josie’s extended hand and presses a kiss to the back of her hand. His eyes sweep over my face even as he kisses her.

Josie blushes furiously as she withdraws her hand, then she turns to me. “I’ll let you two lovebirds talk while I go get something to drink.”

We watch her sashay away from us before Ethan comments with a light chuckle. “She seems like she’s fun to hang with.”

“Yeah, we’ve known each other a while,” I answer dryly, sucking in a deep breath as a familiar pressure appears in my lungs and threatens to overcome every other feeling.

My gaze wanders across the room to the blonde Ethan was with a few moments ago, and the suffocating cloak of jealousy blankets me again.

“Who’s the blonde?” There are a lot of watchful eyes here today waiting to snag on the tiniest bit of juicy info to spark a rumor, and the blonde looks perfect.

She isjust like the kind of woman Ethan loves to hang out with.

She has long, wavy blonde hair that tumbles all the way to her lower back, long toned legs exposed by the high slit of her red dress, and the sweet view of her cleavage is accentuated by the simple dainty jewelry sitting on her neckline.

Ethan’s laugh shocks me. The riotous sound bounces between us two, and his eyes dance with mirth when they pin on mine again.

“You’re jealous? Of Mandy?” Another chuckle leaves his lips before he moves towards me and strokes my cheek tenderly with a hand.

“I’m not jealous,” I huff, feeling my face start to warm up. “I don’t care who you hang out with. We don’t meddle with each other’s lives, remember?”

“Liar,” he interrupts, making me gasp from his audacity.

“What?”

“If you weren’t jealous, Nelly, you wouldn’t ask about Mandy. I’ve known you for a long time, love. You’re flushed right now because you know I’m right.”

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