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This will go great with the pie.
We were in a tavern in London that made great savory pies. This was one of Luke’s favorite spots to eat in London, and that Brandon was on a mission to cheer him up.
It’s time to change tack. “How did you two become friends?”
A slow smile spread across Brandon’s face. “Well, we went to the same boarding school. We were in the same year and both of us had an affinity for Pokémon cards. We used to play all the time.”
I snorted into my cider and even Luke smiled apologetically. “That’s so weird. I did the same thing with my best friend, Natalie. We didn’t have the cards though. We played on our Gameboys.”
“There was alsoDungeons and Dragons.”
This time, I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. “Oh my God. That’s so nerdy.” I gave Luke a playful swat on his leg. “This is the juicy gossip I would expect on a tabloid. It’s a lot more shocking than reading about you punching out someone. Dungeons and Dragons!”
He gave me a thin smile and zeroed in on me. “How did you both meet?”
My insides froze as I tried not to glance at Luke. Well, shit. We had never come up with a rehearsed plan and my brain worked, trying to think of a quick, believable lie. Fuck!
“It was a support group,” I blurted.
A stunned silence followed my words and my face radiated heat.
Oh, God. Why did I say that?
I clutched Luke’s hand under the table and winced at the force of his fingers wrapped around my palm. I hoped that my utter fear would be seen as humiliation from admitting something so private. Luke will kill me.
Brandon was a gentleman to his core. If he felt any stunned disbelief, he kept it to himself. Nothing showed on his face except polite interest. “That’s really, well—”
“Yeah,” I said too quickly. “We talked, and we realized that we had so much in common.” I gave Luke a quick glance. He wore an expression appropriate to being clubbed over the head. “I’m sorry, baby. I know you like to keep these things private, but I figured that since Brandon was an old friend, it would be fine.”
“It's okay,” he said in a voice that implied otherwise.
I grimaced at Brandon, who almost looked sorry for me. “I don’t know what to tell people when they ask, you know? I’m a normal person from the Bay Area. Lots of people look at me and him and they don’t really get it.”
Luke stood up and my hand slipped from his grasp. He gave me one look of extreme disapproval before announcing that he was going to the loo.
“Oh, shit,” I whispered as Luke stormed from the table and I hid myself in my hands. “He'llbe so mad at me.”
Brandon patted me on the back, but when I looked up his face was full of sympathy for me. The pain twisting my guts loosened.
“Luke’s a private person, but I’m glad he’s going to this support group with you. He needs it. Don’t tell him I said that,” he added.
“No, of course not.” Guilt squirmed inside me. Even his friends could see how his father was tormenting him.
“He’s always been my best mate, but he’s never been very happy. It’s hard when you have a dad like his.”
I wasn’t sure if I should be talking to Brandon like this, but I couldn’t resist. “Maybe it runs in the family,” I said, thinking of his mother’s suicide.
He shrugged. “I’m just glad he has someone who has gone through the same thing. By the way,I’m sorry if I came off standoffish when we first met. The girls he usually dates are only with him for the money, but you’re not like any of the ones he’s been with.”
The guilty feeling in my stomach doubled and I half-heartedly returned his beaming smile.
I am with him for the money—sort of.
I didn’t like lying to him, and I battled an overwhelming urge to confess and tell him the whole truth. My fingers moved around the glass mug. Luke would be upset. I stamped down on my impulseand looked down. For the first time, I felt guilty about this whole arrangement. How many people would I have to lie to? I hoped that they weren’t as nice as Brandon.
“What’s his father like?”
“I’ve only seen him a few times. He seemed polite. Maybe cold. That’s normal, though. I know everything about him through what Luke has told me, and he has told me some terrible things. It’s not just him. It’s the cousins and his uncle. They all want a piece of Luke’s inheritance and they’ll do anything to get it.”
