Page 39 of Give My Everything
Both our heads turn at the female voice, and my heart sinks when I catch sight of the woman in front of us.
Hannah. Lucas’ sister.
“Hey, Hannah,” Ben says, stepping forward to kiss her cheek, a smile on his face. “You here with Wyatt?”
She nods, her eyes tracking from Ben to me and then back to Ben. I can see on her face that she’s a little confused; she’s very bad at hiding it, having not been raised with the expectation that she constantly monitor her facial expressions.
I know what that feels like, when your every emotion is broadcasted on your face.
It sucks. So I pretend not to notice.
“Yeah. It’s so fancy, though. You think I’m dressed okay?”
Something inside me softens at Hannah’s hushed question to Ben.
I don’t know her whole story, even though I know the gossip machine was churning like mad when she showed up earlier this summer. It had to have been if I heard about it all the way up in Santa Barbara.
What I do remember is that she’s a girl with a dark past, too. Maybe I shouldn’t be so wary of her.
Ben reaches out and gives her hand a squeeze. “You look great.”
“Promise?”
He nods just as we hear another person say his name, this one male and a whole lot more familiar to me than Hannah.
“Never in my life would I have expected to see you here,” Wyatt says, grinning at his brother and giving him one of those manly hug, back-tap, handshake things.
Then his eyes hit me and his expression shifts, almost like he’s actively choosing to keep his face neutral.
“Remmy. I wouldn’t expect to see you here, either.”
He might be keeping his face free of any kind of displeasure, but the tone of his voice is filled with it.
“Wyatt. Good to see you, too.”
His eyes return to Ben, a question in them that I’m unsure if Ben will answer honestly.
“Are you two on a date?” he asks, almost like he’s just now realizing we’re here together.
Ben steps to the side and slips his fingers in between mine, lacing them together. I’m not sure if it’s meant as a sign of solidarity to me or a message to his brother, but I’m taking all the strength from it that I can regardless.
“Just because I don’t share my private life with you doesn’t mean it’s nonexistent,” Ben replies, his face turning to mine, his expression morphing into something that has warmth pooling in my belly. “Things with Remmy are pretty serious, though, so it’s good you’ve bumped into us.”
I could get lost in his eyes, but he looks back to Wyatt when there’s a beat of silence that goes on a little too long.
When I look, I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. The look on Wyatt’s face is…one of a kind.
“Calloway, party of two.”
The hostess’ voice brings us back to the fact that we’re standing in the middle of the entry for The Royal, surrounded by a handful of others milling about and waiting to be seated.
“Looks like our table’s ready,” Ben says, squeezing my hand.
“Or our table,” Wyatt murmurs.
At that, Hannah laughs. When nobody else follows suit, she pauses. “Does nobody else feel like this is funny? This is like a sitcom. I bet they don’t have two reservations. They probably thought you were the same person and only booked you for one table.”
Ben and Wyatt look at each other for only a minute before they both walk off to talk to the hostess, leaving Hannah and me behind.
