Page 23 of Let Me Say It Again

For me, it was just. Too. Much.

“Why don’t we step outside and get some fresh air, my love?” Red asked, putting one hand on the small of my back and passing me a glass of champagne with the other.

My love?It seemed a little too mushy for me, but then again, I wasn’t supposed to be me, was I? I was supposed to be the soon-to-be rich wife to Reddington Lyons. I wished someone had told me I was going to be an actress because then I could have at least made a career out of it and gotten paid for the gigs.

With one eyebrow raised, I eyed him but took the glass he offered regardless. “Sure. Thanks. I think I just saw my sisters step outside, so I’m going to take you up on that.” Anything to get out of here for a while. Forever was my preference, but I’d take what I could get.

I didn’t get to make it one foot, though, when Nate obnoxiously—very in keeping with his personality—clinked a spoon against his glass as if he was about to make a toast. I had no idea when he’d even shown up. Thankfully.

I really didn’t need any bull from him. Especially not tonight.

Whispering into Red’s ear, I asked, “He knows?” I wasn’t one hundred percent sure whether I hoped he did or was in the dark.

Red shook his head, his expression serious as his eyes darted from me to his brother and back again. “He may be my brother, but that doesn’t mean I trust him.”

Wait! Was I talking to Maria, and I didn’t know it? What was with people and their trust issues? With siblings no less? Didn’t that run contrary to the whole family thing? Not that I was one to know, having grown up as an only child only to recently discover I had four half sisters. Okay, I was getting off track here, but Red’s comment was definitely something to unpack at a later time. Preferably when I was wearing jeans. Or sweats. Darn, how I wished I was in sweats right now.

Remind me again how I got roped into this?

I guess I didn’t respond fast enough for Red’s liking because he unnecessarily added, “He only knows what everyone else knows.”Yeah, got that.

“Oh, shit.” And I meant it. Watching the cocky grin that passed across Nate’s face, I had a feeling he wasn’t going to play nice.

“He’ll be cool.”Doubt that, but fine.“He dumped you, remember?”

I sucked in a breath of air. Wow, it was a real shocker how a man like Red wasn’t engaged for real by now. Maybe it was his way with words, but that was merely a guess. “Gee, thanks. Would you like to pour some acid on that wound?”

“Do you care?” he asked, a deep V forming between his brows.

I shook my head. I’d been honest with Red when I’d all but told him I didn’t care, and I didn’t, not even a little. I was about to tell him that, too, but didn’t get to because Nate finally succeeded in getting the room’s attention and started talking. He always did like to run that mouth of his, not that he ever used it for anything good, like eating me out. “Red and Jade. Engaged. It’s almost unbelievable,” Nate started. I could tell he was a little drunk with the way he stumbled over his words. “I mean, Jade is a good appetizer, but main course? I never thought so. And I’d know because I dated her first. Did you all know that? My brother always had an affinity for my leftovers, though. Remember Veronica in high school?” He winked at Red, who only cringed in response.

“Someone take his drink. He’s obviously had too much already,” Red shouted in a light, easy tone, but eyed their mother just the same. Too bad it looked like she had no idea how to respond and only turned her attention to her second husband—Mack McGee.

As if he was well-versed in dealing with drunken baboons, Mack cleared his throat and called, “Why don’t you tell us all how you two got engaged, Red?” Then he walked over next to Nate and ushered him aside.

Maybe Mack was a bodyguard in a past life. Regardless, I was glad he was here to defuse the situation, instead of their father, Robert Lyons, who had a tendency to favor Nate and his idiocy.

Meanwhile, Red looked at me and squeezed my side where his hand was firmly planted like a doting, loving fiancé. “I think Jade tells the story best. Why don’t you tell everyone, honeybun?”

My brows furrowed not for the first time tonight as I shot him a look that I only hoped conveyed just how pissed I was with him. Was he for real? We didn’t have a solid story concocted yet for that one—we should’ve but didn’t. Way to throw me under the bus. Also,honeybun? What was with the pet name? I wasn’t one to retch in public, but if he kept this going, I just might. Pet names and terms of endearment didn’t work coming out of Red’s mouth. We’d have to discuss that.

With a room full of eyes firmly planted on me, I smiled (even if it felt more like a grimace, I was going for a smile) and took a sip of bubbles before clearing my throat. “Of course, it’s a great story.” One I’d be making up on the fly, thank you very much. I could barely stand to wait to hear it myself. I walked out of Red’s hold, not able to think clearly with him clinging to me, and started with the first thing that came to my mind. “But you can really only appreciate it if you know how we got together, so I’ll start there.”Good, Jade, go back in time to create an even bigger lie.“It was late one night, and I needed something to do. So I called my friend, who just so happened to be at”—I looked around the room and searched my brain for a place—“the sex toy store.”

My eyes connected with Red, who looked like he was going to shit himself. Served him right. With a devious smile pulling at my lips, I went on. “And who else was there in the whips and chains aisle but Red. Remember it,honeybun?”

Fifty shades of red, he only smiled back at me. It was a forced smile, but I didn’t think anyone else could tell. No, only the two people who knew the crock this all was knew the kind of smile he was wearing. “Mmhmm.”

“We got to talking, and he mentioned how he was looking for an assistant. Since I’m always the first to help a friend out, I offered my time. You know, we can’t have a big, important man like Red Lyons going without, can we?” I blew him a kiss as I took a step further away from him, if for no other reason than out of fear that he was going to lose his shit on me. Probably later, though. You know, when we were alone. After all, this was Red we were talking about. He was raised to never air his dirty laundry in public.

Catching on, Red smiled and stepped toward me, his arms out. To those in the room, it looked like he was going to embrace me, but I think we both knew what he really wanted to do was choke me.

At my side, Red spoke directly to me. “They want to hear the proposal, not the whole story, right?”

A woman, who I’d sworn was an aunt on his dad’s side, called, “Tell us it’s romantic.” Then she gushed and held her hands together in anticipation.

Romantic? I could make it romantic, I supposed. Was the story of how we met not romantic? Sex toys were romantic, weren’t they? Unless—

Before I could drag him through the mud anymore, Red took over, his fingers brushing mine. “Maybe I should tell the story,” he said and laughed, looking around the room full of his family and their friends and business colleagues. “It was romantic actually.” He squeezed my ass, which earned him a head tilt that I only hoped conveyed the messagefuck you.

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