“Wait. Who? What vacation?”
Nick’s tone instantly shifts from that jovial, teasing voice he’s used ever since I walked in the bar to something lower and more serious.
“Yes, he was my best friend in high school. And now he has the mumps.”
Nick looks at me through slightly narrowed eyes. “And we care about this guy because?”
For some reason, this makes Remy chuckle. Smirking, he says, “We care about this because he was supposed to go with Cassie on her trip to Belize next week.”
“Excuse me? He was going to go with you to Belize?”
Remy laughs. “Don’t worry, he’s gay.”
I shoot Remi a confused look. “What does that have to do with anything?”
Remy smirks and makes an expansive gesture with his hand. “Just trying to share the information. Wanna make sure we have a complete picture of the scenario here.” He shifts to look at Nick. “Cassie had this vacation she has to take for work. Trevor was going to go with her, to save her from the humiliation of being the only single person there.”
“It’s not a vacation I have to take,” I try to explain. “The vacation is a reward for winning that big intellectual property lawsuit we were working on for the last year. The company wanted to celebrate, and it’s sending everyone who worked on the case to this resort in Belize.”
“Why didn’t I hear about this?” Nick leans forward, propping his elbows on the table and cupping both hands around his beer.
He didn’t hear about it, because I was trying to save myself from the humiliation of having to admit that I was having to beg people to go with me.
Yes, Nick is a nice guy, and, yes, he’s a good friend. In that goofball younger brother way.
Not that he is younger than me.
Shit. And given how serious he’s looking right now, maybe he’s not much of a goofball either. Maybe his happy-go-lucky side is something he only brings out an email and DM.
I like to think of myself as a fairly independent woman unfazed by such things as the dastardly deeds of assholes. But this entire situation with Tripp has thrown me for a loop, and I’ve been scrambling to catch up ever since.
Can you blame me for not wanting Nick to know about this newest insult to injury?
“It just didn’t come up,” I say blithely.
“So, everyone who worked on the case is going to be there?”
“Yes.”
“Including Sir Reginald Douche Canoe and Little Miss Put a Ring On It?”
“Don’t call him that.”
Nick holds his bottle out, and this time it’s Remy’s turn to clink the bottles and toast his insults.
Nick continues as if I said nothing. “You don’t want to watch her flaunt her baby bump all over Belize, so you asked this gay friend of yours to go with you. Is this the fake boyfriend situation?”
“No. As Remy pointed out, Trevor is gay. He’s not my boyfriend. Not my fake boyfriend. And I don’t need a fake boyfriend to maintain my dignity. He was just going as a friend. Until he got the mumps.” I finally cave and take a sip of wine. If only to keep me from throwing the glass across the room in a fit of petulant rage. “Seriously? Who gets the mumps at thirty?”
Remy clears his throat. “Actually, I think it’s pretty serious. Maybe you should be more sympathetic?”
“His mother is a physician. I’m sure she’s taking excellent care of him.”
“So, what are you gonna do?” Nick asks with a grin as he takes another drink from his beer.
I slide to look at Remy. “I don’t suppose you’d be interested in going?“
“Aren’t the tickets in Trevor’s name?”
