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We’re a dozen feet away when Tyler stops me.
“You sure you want to do this?” he says as he glances down at me.
I offer him what I hope is a reassuring smile. “Positive.” I give his hand a gentle squeeze. “Let’s do this, boyfriend.”
He grins, which makes my heart flutter in my chest.
“What the…”
The sound of his brother Gage’s voice pulls our attention away from each other and back to the dining table.
I take in the expressions on his family’s faces. Tyler’s mom is smiling as she gazes at us. She elbows Gage’s dad, who’s standing next to her. They exchange a knowing smile before looking back over at us. I observe the wide-eyed expression on Becca’s and Maya’s faces. Theo’s frowning like he’s confused.
That crackle of nerves inside of me intensifies. It feels like butterflies are swarming my tummy.
Tyler leads me to the table.
“I think our entrance has broken them,” I whisper to Tyler.
I take in the easy expression on his handsome face. He shrugs his broad shoulders. “They’ll survive.”
When we make it over to them, Tyler starts to say congratulations to the newly engaged couples, but his brother and sister stop him.
“Hang on…” Maya says.
“You two are together?” Gage says at the same time.
The entire restaurant is quiet as they wait for us to answer.
I grin at everyone. “Yup. We’re a couple,” I say brightly despite the nerves rattling me from within.
Will they buy this? The two of us together?
Gage shakes his head and looks off to the side, like he’s disappointed. Maya and Becca slow-blink at us. Theo still looks confused.
Gage turns his hard frown on his brother. “Seriously?”
Tyler flashes a cocky grin at his younger brother. “Dead serious.”
“No freaking way,” Becca says, her tone sweetly innocent. I almost laugh.
“When did this happen?” Maya asks.
“Last night,” I say brightly.
“Really?” Gage says, arms crossed over his broad chest. His hard frown hasn’t budged from Tyler.
Ever since Becca and Gage have been together, I’ve become friends with Gage. He’s almost like a brother to me now, always looking out for me. He warned me about getting involved with Tyler, saying that he’s sure to break my heart and that I don’t deserve to be put through that.
“My brother is a horny dumbass. When it comes to dating, Tyler doesn’t know how to do anything other than hook up and ghost women,” I remember Gage saying to me. “You’re a sweetheart, Tori. I’d hate to see him do that to you. Save yourself the heartbreak and never date him.”
Maya’s mouth falls open. “Wait, did you two…hook up?” Her gaze bounces between the two of us.
“Um, well…” I stammer, wondering just how much I should say. We definitely didn’t hook up, we just kissed, but I don’t know if Tyler wants us to say that we hooked up so that our relationship is even more believable, and I didn’t think to ask him…
“Yeah. We did,” Tyler says, cutting off my thoughts.
He’s still sporting that self-assured, satisfied smile.
