Page 29 of Faking It with the Firefighter

I relaxed slightly. “Thanks, Donny.”

“Right.” Blair pushed a cherry tomato around on her plate with the tip of her fork. “You must work a lot of evenings and weekends. That must make it difficult to care for your man.”

Care for my man? What was she getting at? I set down my slice and leaned on my elbows, glaring at her. “And what’s that supposed to mean, exactly?”

“Nothing. I’m just more traditional. Men are such good providers, I think it’s important we support them and the rest of the family.”

“Is that why you run your own business?” I asked, jaw clenched. Where did sheget off?

She rolled her eyes. “Hardly. I just post about our life. The fact that I get paid for it is just a bonus. But I’m entirely focused on Donny and his football career.”

There wasn’t much of a football career. His injuries had benched him, and now he was pushing thirty. But rubbing that in her face could be a slight against Donny, who I had nothing against—except the fact that he brought this obnoxious woman into my house.

“Well, aren’t you just the perfect girlfriend,” I mumbled.

She grinned and giggled. “Fiancée, but yeah, I am.”

I wanted to smack my pizza across her stupid face.

Beside me, Rex shifted. “I love that Abigail works,” he offered. “And if I ever want to take the bus, I get to sit on her face, for a change.”

I choked on a ball of half-eaten pizza.

Rex thumped me on the back and laughed. Then he added, “But for real, Abigail’s the best real estate agent in town. She works hard, and it shows. Couldn’t be prouder.”

I sat back, meeting his dark brown eyes. I knew this was fake, and he had to be lying, but he looked so sincere. And when was the last time someone actually recognized how good I was at my job?

Gabe sure didn’t. To him, I was a screwup who somehow managed to pay my bills. To my parents, I was little troublemaking Abigail who’d misbehaved since she could babble.

But Rex almost seemed like he believed what he was saying. That hewasproud of me for working so hard.

“My daddy always said that real estate agents are the scourge of society,” Blair offered, spearing a piece of chicken andtwirling her fork.

The sudden vulnerability that had assailed me with Rex’s comment suffered a direct hit. I jumped, turning to Blair, wanting to eviscerate her. Guest in my house or not, she’d just crossed a line.

“Didn’t your daddy commit fraud and almost get sent to prison?” Rex cut in, his voice casual, but his eyes hard. His arm was back on my chair, his thumb making soothing strokes against my neck. I sat back into his touch, head spinning.

Blair had the audacity to look offended.

Suddenly, it was too much. I was in this position because I was too afraid to own up to my mistakes, and now I had to deal with the worst houseguests in history. Not only that, but Rex Montgomery, of all people, was flying to my defense and making me feel things I had no business feeling.

I could deal with a pesky little attraction to him. Sexy Rexy was hot. That was okay. But I couldn’t deal with him believing in me.Thathit just a little bit too close to the heart of me.

I got through life running on pure defiance. Everyone expected me to fail and mess up? That was fine—it’s what drove me to close deals on previously unsellable properties. But when someone actually said they were proud of me, and sounded like they meant it?

Well…that was so rare that I wasn’t quite sure how to handle it. I wasn’t sure how to handle any of this.

I stood up. “If you’ll excuse me, I need some fresh air.” I stomped out the front door and slammed my butt against the porch swing so hard it rocked up, sweeping my feet off the ground. I grunted in frustration. Was this how it was going to be all week? I was going to have my feet cut out from under me at every turn?

The only thing that made me feel better when I was in this mood was work. The one thing I was truly good at. I pulled out my phone and flicked through my emails—but even the sight of two new messages from sellers wanting me to list their properties for sale couldn’t lift my spirits.

The front door creaked open. “Hey,” Rex said, and I only shot him a look. I didn’t want to be close to him—or anyone else—right now. He leaned against the porch column, watched me, and said, “That was harsh.”

I reared back, pushing off the ground to swing more aggressively. “Iwas harsh? What about her? I open my home to her and she eggs me on like that?”

“That’s what I meant. Blair was kind of being a bitch.”

Oh. So it wasn’t just me who saw what she was doing. My tense shoulders softened as he pushed himself off the column, then timed it perfectly so he could take a seat next to me. The swing squeaked slightly in the warm night.

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