Page 48 of His Secret Betrayal
Now that the hurt and anger have subsided, I love seeing how happy they are. They were only together, officially, for a few months before Jax decided to put a ring on it. Still, it can be weird as fuck to see my brother making swoony eyes at my ex.
As we prepare the boat to launch for our annual fishing day, we pass the next few minutes in comfortable silence. As always, my mind drifts to simpler times, back when my dad, George Parker, was still alive. Because I was eleven when he passed, many of my memories of him are fuzzy now. But I do remember hours spent on this boat with him and Jax, Dad patiently teaching me how to hook a worm. Jax, being ten years older, has more memories of him than I do.
“I actually have something I wanted to talk to you about,” Jax says suddenly, breaking our silence. He shifts in his seat, being uncharacteristically fidgety.
“Well, don’t keep me in suspense.” I shoot him a teasing grin as I peer over at him, my feet casually propped against the side of the boat where I’m munching on a beef jerky stick.
“I was wondering if…” He clears his throat, his cheeks turning pink. “I washopingyou would agree to be my best man at the wedding.”
I go still. “You want me to be your best man?”
His head snaps up, his eyebrows furrowing as he studies me. “Unless it’s too weird for you. I don’t want to put you on the spot or anything—”
“Fuck yes, I’ll be your best man!” I make a whooping sound, and Jax visibly relaxes. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how involved they would want me to be with the wedding given my history with Maddie. We haven’t really spoken about it, and even though I knew they would never exclude me, some tiny part of me had been afraid they didn’t truly want me there.
Jax smiles. “Thanks. I appreciate it, man.”
I straighten, practically bouncing in my seat as I start spewing questions. “So, have you guys picked a date? Will there be a bachelor party?” I waggle my eyebrows. “Can Ihosta bachelor party?”
His lips just barely twitch. “July 20, exactly five months from now, and there will be no strippers.”
I frown. “What’s a bachelor party without strippers?”
“Do you know what Maddie would do to me if she found out I was in the same room with a half-naked woman?” He shudders.
“She can have a bachelorette party with her own strippers then, and you guys can call it even. Easy solution!”
“If anyone’s going to shake their junk in her face, it’ll be me,” he growls.
I laugh. “Seriously? The cave-man act?”
A dark look passes over his face. “Remind me to never tell you about the time I found out Maddie was going on a date with another man,” he mutters.
I shudder, deciding I probably don’t want to know when it comes to them. “You two take being possessive over each other to a whole new level.”
His face immediately breaks out into one of those dopey, dreamy smiles that’s reserved solely for Maddie. “Yeah, I know where my lane is, and I’m sticking to it.”
“You two make me gag,” I mutter.
“Are you going to bring a date?” he asks.
I immediately picture Alek in a tux, and my stomach gets a swoopy, fluttering sensation. But then I think about having to come out to Jax, to admit that I think I’m bisexual—or something—and my mouth goes dry. I know he would support and love me no matter my sexuality, so why does the thought still make me nervous? Maybe because of all the people in my life, he’s the only person I’ve ever admired.
“I’m actually seeing somebody now,” I hedge.
His eyes light up and, for a moment, I think I’m going to tell him. It makes my heart hammer and my palms sweat, but it’s on the tip of my tongue.
“That’s great! Who is she?” he asks.
It’s theshethat makes my chest constrict, some dark part of my mind wondering if the truth would disappoint him. I turn my face away so he can’t see the way my smile slips. “I’ll introduce you two later. It’s still pretty new.”
The guilt of keeping yet another secret from my brother is like a rock sinking to the bottom of my stomach. It makes me go tense all over, that familiar weight returning to my shoulders that’s been absent all week since Alek brought me to his home. My phone chooses that moment to begin ringing, and the familiar ringtone that only belongs to Evelyn makes my skin clammy. Silently cursing myself, I scramble to grab the phone, nearly dropping it in the process as I hit the ignore button and stuff it into my pocket.
Based on the way Jax’s forehead furrows, he saw the name “Eve” displayed along the top. “Your girlfriend’s name is Eve? Is that short for Evelyn?”
Fuck.
I hate Evelyn for putting me in this situation and constantly having to come up with more lies to cover my tracks.
