Page 39 of Let Me Say It Again

I gazed up to see who was talking and spotted a scowl cross Nate’s face, his eyes throwing daggers at one of my oldest friends as he turned and walked out.

“EJ,” I said by way of greeting. We’d been buddies since Mrs. Macallister’s homeroom in the sixth grade. Nate had never liked him, thought he was a cocky SOB. Go figure.

I could concede EJ was ruthless and cunning when he needed to be—typically in business—but he was as loyal as a basset hound and treated women with kid gloves. Nate didn’t know his ass from his elbow.

I gestured for him to come in, not that I had to because he was already rolling up the sleeves of his black button-down shirt and getting comfortable. I got up and greeted him, giving him a slap on the back. “What brings you to New York?” I asked, crossing my arms and walking back to my chair.

I didn’t expect him, didn’t know he was even visiting the Big Apple. See, EJ lived in Las Vegas, where he owned one of the most popular cocktail bars. Vegas was his place in every sense of the word. His late father had run a strip club in Vegas after his parents had gotten divorced. EJ had stayed with his mother during the school year, attending school with me (obviously, since that was where we met), and spending time in between with his father in the city best known for gambling, booze, and women.

Shaking his head, he cleared his throat. “I heard the news and came here to bust your balls for not telling me yourself.”

“The news?” I cocked a brow and cracked my knuckles as I waited for him to elaborate on his otherwise elusive answer.

He nodded curtly and sat down across from me, his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward. “Come on,” he probed. “Don’t treat me like a fool. I’m not one of the jackasses you do business with.”

I stifled a laugh, shaking my head as I scrubbed a hand down my face. “I’ve missed you, man.”

“That’s exactly what my one-night stand said when she called asking for another roll in the hay.” He growled, clearly remembering the woman he’d slept with. “It was good the first time, but great the second.”

“Must I hear about this?”

“No. We should talk about how you’re engaged.”

So that was the news he was referring to. “There’s not much to tell.” Other than it being all a great big fat lie. Not that I could tell him that. Well, maybe I could. If there was anyone I could tell the truth to, it was EJ.

He brushed me off, fixing the watch on his wrist. “What’d I say about treating me like a fool, Red? Our mothers play tennis together.”

I didn’t need him to remind me. I leaned back, pushed my chair out, and walked to the wet bar in the corner of my office. “This conversation calls for scotch.”

“The hard stuff, huh?” He angled his head before gripping his ankle crossed over his knee.

He had no idea. I didn’t even know where to start. But we were like brothers in every way that counted, so I just went for it. “It’s not real.” I passed him a glass.

“Ohhh, is this one of those things where you’re going to wax poetic about how it’s too good to be true?”

What? No. I shook my head, sitting down and leaning my elbow on the arm of my leather chair. “Do you really think I’d say something like that?”

“Don’t know. Assholes fall in love all the time and start singing as they walk their dog. It’s fucking bizarre.”

Not a clue what he was talking about. Hey, I said we were like brothers, not that I could read his mind. And I was grateful for that because I didn’t want to. I imagined entering his mind would be like going into a haunted house—scary and would unearth shit that should stay buried for good. “You make having a conversation immensely difficult, anyone ever tell you that?” I took a swig of my scotch.

“I’m a great conversationalist. Just ask any woman I’m with,” he said, waggling his brows and grinning like an idiot.

There was no reason to mince words, and obviously I had to be direct with EJ. “Jade and I aren’t in love. She’s doing this as a favor for me. It’s fake.”

He blinked rapidly, then downed all two fingers of his scotch in one gulp. “Say what?”

I raked a hand through my hair. “You came all this way for nothing. Sorry.”

Whistling, he nodded. “Why do you need to be engaged?”

I got up and pointed to the door. “This conversation calls for a setting that isn’t my office.”

EJ stood. “Let’s get the hell out of here then.”

Chapter Fifteen

Jade

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