Page 36 of Faking It with the Firefighter

“Why did you agree to this?”

I shrugged. “I’m trying this new thing where I’m nice to people.”

“So just to be clear,” Gabe said, “you’re not actually dating.”

“Definitely not,” Rex said emphatically, and I shifted toward the door to hide my wince. “She just owed me afavor.”

“A favor?” Gabe’s eyes narrowed, and I was almost sure Rex was about to spill the beans. “Must’ve been a pretty big favor.”

Rex cleared his throat. “Yeah, you know…real estate.” He nodded. “I introduced her to a big client.”

I shot Rex a look. That wasn’t a terrible lie, but it irritated me. My work was mine, and I didn’t need Gabe thinking I couldn’t handlethat, either.

Gabe blew out a breath. He turned to me. “You sure you’re up for this, Abigail?”

I frowned and faced him again. “What, being someone’s wedding date?”

Gabe shrugged, grinning good-naturedly. “I just don’t want you to find yourself in any trouble, that’s all.”

I knew I was a troublemaker, but ouch. I gritted out my best smile and said, “I think I can manage hanging on Rex’s arm for a couple of days.”

“I’m just saying,” Gabe said, and looked at Rex for a laugh. Rex, to his credit, smiled but didn’t join in the fun of tearing me down.

Gabe thought so little of me that he didn’t even think I could manage being someone’s date. And sure, I didn’t own a basin wrench (whatever that was), and my sink had been clogged for a while, but come on! I was a successful realtor. I owned my own home. I’d bounced back from my divorce and was totally kicking life’s ass. Most of the time. Sort of.

Gabe didn’t see that. He leaned back against the toilet tank and said, “You guys scared me for a minute. I thought you were going to tell me you were actually dating.”

“Nah,” Rex said. “You wanna help me clean out this U-bend and we can put this thing back together?”

“Sure. You still coming to Sullivan’s to watch the game?”

Rex grunted in agreement, and I slipped out the door. I ducked into my bedroom, and a little ball of black-and-white fur followed me inside. Winston slinked around, inspecting this new area of his domain, and hissed at Rex’s bag.

“I know, right?” I said, wiping at the moisture in my eyes. I was being ridiculous. I knew it, and I was annoyed with myself because of it. But the cat batted at Rex’s duffel, and it made me feel a little better.

Not wanting to face my brother or Rex when I was feeling tender and off-balance, I put on some running gear and ducked out of my house to go for a jog, leaving Winston to explore my room at his leisure.

TWELVE

REX

Abigail was goneby the time I finished up with the sink, and then there was a lot of jostling and movement to get Blair, Donny, and me showered and ready for the day. Gabe took off for Sullivan’s, a bar in town he managed and bartended, and I promised to see him there in an hour to watch the game.

As I slipped my shoes on, Blair was setting up in the living room to film something for her social media channel. Abigail still wasn’t back. Donny, the last to shower, walked down the stairs and nodded at me.

“You want to come watch the game at Sullivan’s?” I asked, half expecting Donny to refuse. He always seemed to have a reason not to speak to me these days, and it sucked that this is what our relationship had come to.

He surprised me by glancing into the living room at his soon-to-be wife, then hurrying across toward me. “Why not?” he said with a small smile, then called out, “Blair-bear, I’ll be back in a couple of hours! Going out with my brother.”

“Fine. But I need you back here for some photos of the venue during the golden hour tonight.”

“Yep,” Donny said, then gave me an impish grin like he was doing something naughty and followed me out the door.

Sullivan’s was a ten-minute drive away, so we hopped in my truck.

“You’re still driving this thing, huh?” Donny said, grinning, while I turned the key in the ignition. “I’m surprised it’s still running.”

“Don’t listen to him,” I said to the truck, patting the dash. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

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