Page 34 of Faking It with the Firefighter

“Abigail.” Rex crossed his arms and gave me a look that was indulgent and amused. I hated that I liked the look of it. “I’m not hiding in your closet.”

“Under the bed, then.”

He stood up, swaggery and un-Rex-like, and took a step toward me. His chest really was a work of art. I knew firefighters were fit, but I guess I hadn’t realized all Rex was hiding under his casual tees and good-guy smile.

But my brother was downstairs, and I’d almost kissed Rex, and my heart wasn’t pumping exactly right. I put a hand up, and Rex collided with it. “Stay here.”

He threw his palms up, relenting.

I hurried through my bedroom door, pausing at the threshold. “Don’t make a sound, Rex.”

My brother’s best friend said nothing, and I shut the door on his handsome face. Then I took the stairs two at a time and rushed to the front door. Gabe was just turning the knob to let himself in, his sandy-haired head appearing through the opening.

“Did I wake you up?”

“Um,” I said. “No. What are you doing here?”

He opened the door wider and lifted a tool bag. “Figured I’d have a look at your sink. Didn’t think you’d’ve managed to call a plumber by now.”

I didn’t know whether to be thankful or annoyed. He was right, obviously, but it was also rude of him to assume I couldn’t handle the maintenance on my own home. But then again, it was nice of him to stop by and offer to fix the sink. But it was rude of him to barge in here. But hewasright that calling a plumber hadn’t been on my radar.

Basically, I didn’t know how to feel. And that was Rex’s fault. Wasn’t it?

A hinge creaked down the hall, and the guestroom door opened. Donny poked a disheveled head out. “Oh, hey man.”

Gabe paused just inside my door. “Donny? What are you doing here?”

“Hoping to take a shower,” Donny said, flicking a look at me. “Is it upstairs?”

I grimaced. “Yeah. I only have one full bathroom, but the sink is clogged.” I waved at my brother’s tools in explanation. “If you want to use the powder room downstairs for teeth, we can work on the sink and then let you use the shower.”

A snort sounded from behind Donny. “Of course there’s only one bathroom,” Blair said, loud enough for meto hear, which I assumed was on purpose. “Remind me why we couldn’t get a hotel, Donny?”

“Blair-bear, I told you, it’s better this way. It makes us seem more relatable to our followers.”

I could feel Gabe’s gaze on the side of my head like a couple of red-hot laser beams. Painting a smile on my face, I turned to face him, sweeping my hand toward the staircase. “Shall we?”

Halfway up the stairs, Gabe said in a low voice, “What is Donny Montgomery doing with his fiancée in your guest room?”

“Having disgustingly loud sex all night long,” I answered blithely, waving a hand.

Gabe made a noise, and I assumed more questions were coming, so I scrambled to come up with an appropriate lie. Or maybe I should go with the truth? Donny had forgotten to book a hotel, and I lived right by the botanical gardens; that was explanation enough, wasn’t it? Except if Gabe probed the slightest bit deeper, I’d have to tell him about?—

“Rex?”

I froze just in time to see a large shape crouched in my bathroom. Rex glanced over his shoulder, then swore, a spray of water drenching him from under the vanity. He dove under the sink again and the water stopped, then he sat back on my bath mat and met my brother’s gaze. “Hey, man.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Is the sink fixed yet, or what?” Blair’s voice called from downstairs. “I need to get my hair and makeup done now; I’m going live in less than an hour. My followers are begging me for a tour of the venue.”

I peeked over the stair rail. Blair stood at the bottom, herfoot tapping on my floorboards. “Can’t you use the downstairs bathroom for that?”

Blair rolled her eyes, then glanced at my brother, who’d looked over the railing beside me. She smiled. “Hi, Gabe. You look like you’ve been working out!”

I gagged a little, which made Gabe shove my shoulder, which made me stick my tongue out at him, which made him reach toward me like he wanted to put me in a headlock so he could give me a noogie. Why not? He already treated me like a child. But I dodged out of the way (I had years of practice) and flew toward the bathroom—then crashed to a stop against the doorjamb.

“Um,” I said.

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