Page 52 of Counterfeit Boyfriend
Now I wanted to kick my own ass. Forget the broody routine. From this moment on, I’d keep my promise to be the guy she needed for the wedding. “Oh, there are going to be more of those. I messed around and got addicted, so…”
A dimple popped in her cheek. “Did you just quote Juicy J?”
“I thought it was Katy Perry,” I said.
“That’s the Juicy J part, though.”
“Whatever.” I shook my head. “I hope you’re happy now. Clearly, your playlists have ruined me.”
She clapped. “I plan to ruin you even more on the ride home.”
My mind made sure to turn that nice and dirty, and I wanted to do some ruining of my own. I was starting to suspect she’d already ruined me. I’d never be able to settle for anyone else now.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of the people who’d been making their way toward us. Their dropped-jaw expressions made it clear they’d seen the show, but the female half of the couple recovered with a forced smile.
“Gwen! There you are!” A blonde in a dark-blue dress came over, a guy in a tux trailing behind her like he was being guided to the guillotine.
“Hey, Paige,” Gwen said, then she gave a little nod. “Kyle.”
Dumbass Ex’s gaze raked down her, and I wrapped a possessive arm around her waist, tucking her next to me. Screw him for hurting her and taking her for granted, and screw my brother, too. This girl was mine.
“This is Evan,” she said, placing her hand on my chest.
I covered it with mine. “Her boyfriend.” I knew I should probably add “nice to meet you” but I’d done enough lying this trip.
“I’m so glad you ended up coming,” Paige said. She cast a nervous glance at Kyle, then nudged him.
“Yeah, it’s good to see you.” His eyes lingered a few seconds too long, doing a sweep that made me clench my fist. “You look good.”
Asshole.As hard as Paige was trying, she’d flinched as he’d said it, too. I tightened my grip on Gwen. “Well, we better take our seats.”
“Yeah, we’ve got to go line up,” Paige said. “Talk later?”
“Sure,” Gwen said. As soon as they’d turned to head the opposite direction, she blew out a shaky exhale.
“You okay?” Admittedly, a hint of jealousy mingled in with my concern. I hoped she wasn’t sighing because of the tool. But this was about reassuring her, not me.
Gwen nodded. “It was like this weird déjà vu, but everything felt wrong.”
My gut clenched.
“But also right.” Gwen laced her fingers with mine. “If that make sense.”
Nothing made sense to me anymore. Not why anyone would dump this girl, not that I’d somehow fallen for her in a matter of days. Not why we couldn’t be together.
