Page 86 of Faking It with the Firefighter

I looked up at him with tears puddling in my eyes and anger swirling in my chest, but I couldn’t say the words. My throat was too tight. My heart was too broken.

I was too fucking humiliated to have fallen for this again.

And I didn’t have to say a word, because Tammy spilled the whole story with her recording device aimed and ready. “I’ll tell you what happened. Rex and Blair kissed.”

“Tammy!” Blair yelled, but the bridesmaid didn’t skip a beat.

“Now Abigail’s heartbroken, and I caught the whole thing on video,” Tammy finished, all smug and proud.

“What?” My brother’s eyes went dark as he glared at Rex over my shoulder.

“I didn’t?—”

“I told you not to get involved with my sister.”

“Stay out of this, Gabe.”

“Stay out of it? This might have been fake for you, but Abigail actually had feelings for you, Rex. And now you turn around and dothis?”

Oh, my God. I wanted to die. Gabe knew I had feelings for Rex. Tammy was still filming. Blair looked like she wanted to crow in victory. Rex was saying something, but all I could hear was the rushing of blood in my ears.

“So let’s see the video!” Gabe screamed, then shot his arm out to block Rex from stepping toward me. “And stay away from my sister.”

“She doesn’t need you to speak for her,” Rex snapped.

In another life, I might’ve appreciated that, but right now, I did need Gabe to speak for me. I had no words. They’d been stolen by the pain radiating from my chest to my extremities,by the pounding between my ears, by the gasping breaths I struggled to take.

“I played along with this stupid charade for long enough,” Gabe said.

Blair let out a triumphant laugh. “Charade? Wait, what? Was this fake, T?”

“Stay out of this, Blair! Abigail, I didn’t kiss her.Shekissedme.”

I scoffed. “Oh, right.”

“I didn’t—” Rex started, and my brother shoved him back as hard as he could. I watched Rex find his footing. “It’s just a misunderstanding,” he growled back at Gabe, then his gaze grew desperate as he looked at me. “Abigail, please!”

“Don’t talk to her,” Gabe said, stepping between us again. “Don’t fuckinglookat her!”

Part of me wanted to watch Rex get pummeled by my big brother—one of the few times I appreciated his overbearing nature. But there was another part that knew no punch in the face could make this right. As messy as the whole thing was, it was my mess. My heartbreak.

Besides, I was sick of these men acting like they knew what was best for me. I was sick of not being good enough. Of being incidental to their big lives.

Imattered. And my heartbreak fizzled into something that felt a lot more familiar.

White-hot rage.

“Both of you, stop it!” I screamed, marching between them.

Unfortunately, that’s when Gabe decided to throw a punch. I ducked out of the way, and my brother clipped Rex’s jaw. Rex let out a grunt and stumbled back, hands scrabbling toward me.

“Hey! Back off!” Donny flew into the scene out of nowhere and side-tackled Gabe like a linebacker in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. They both went down to the ground. I stepped back with a gasp.

“You should be after Rex too. He kissed Blair!” Gabe roared and shoved off New Elwood’s golden boy football star.

“He what?” Donny turned his fury back at his brother.

Rex’s hands were in tight fists. His brows furrowed. “No, I didn’t. I wouldn’t?—”

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