Page 22 of Filthy Twisted Devil

Brinley closes her eyes for a beat. When she opens them, she looks very tired. “Eden.”

I bite my lip and wait for her to say whatever she's going to say.

“You could've come to me. When you ran out of money, you should've come to me and I would've helped you. I would've given you the whole apartment, or sold something, or asked Beau for help. Anything. Selling your virginity to a stranger was insane and completely unnecessary. Please tell me that you know that.”

“I know,” I admit. “I just didn’t want to be rescued. I wanted to fix it myself, without anyone swooping in to be my hero. The entire point of doing it on a platform with strangers was that it would never touch anyone I loved.”

“And then it touched my brother,” Brinley says dryly, and I bite my lip to keep from laughing. “Seriously, Eden. Are you okay?”

My shoulders slump, and for the first time all weekend, I’m honest. “I don’t know.”

My adrenaline has spiked so many times over the past few days—when my brothers found out about my cam work, when I saw Luke at the hotel, when I confronted everyone in the lobby. I haven't had time to sit with what could have happened. If it hadn’t been Luke waiting for me in that lobby. If I really had sold my virginity to a stranger. Would it be regret or relief that I’d be feeling right now? I’m not sure, but right now, I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve dodged a bullet.

“Well?” Brinley says after a long silent moment. “What’s next?”

“That's what Luke and I were just working out. We're going to keep fake dating for a while. It'll keep my brothers back in Sundre, and it’ll help with Luke’s whole image problem.” I look down at my wine. “You know, after the Peppermint article.”

“Ah,” Brinley says. That single syllable drips with guilt and regret. I quickly keep talking.

“So Luke and I both get something out of this. I know it’s a lot to ask, Brin, but I hope you’re okay with playing along.”

She lets out a long exhale. “Yeah. I am. I mean, the whole thing is a little insane, but I owe you both. Luke’s reputation tanked because of my articles, and yesterday, when I shared your location with your brothers—I didn’t realize what you were going to do. I was worried about you, too, but I shouldn’t have told them where you were. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” I insist. “I know my brothers. They would have found me, even if you hadn’t cooperated. They would have found some sketchy guy to hack into your phone or something.”

“Still. I should have made it harder for them. It’s friend code.”

“You let me stay in your apartment for free for months.” I laugh. “I think you’ve earned one friend code violation. Seriously, Brin, I was too mad at my brothers to save any for you, and I’m not interested in starting a fight now.”

“Good,” she says. “I’ll apologize to Luke, too, at some point. It’s my fault your brothers caught him with you.”

“You had no idea he’d be there. He should be apologizing to you, actually.”

She laughs, then leans over the counter, looking me dead in the eye. “Just promise me one thing, Eden. That it stays fake. I know my brother can be very charming when he wants to be. You can do better than him, Eden. I don't want you actually losing it to a guy like Luke.”

I lift my glass. That’s one promise I’ll have no issues keeping. “It stays fake.”

We clink our glasses, and as I down the rest of my drink, it occurs to me that I’ve agreed to two sets of rules tonight—Brinley’s and Luke's.

I just hope to hell I won’t break any of them.

9

LUKE

I've officially been in a fake relationship for three weeks now.

I try not to think about how that's the longest relationship I've had since high school.

Like we planned, Eden and I had our first fake dates where our friends couldn’t see them. She was on my arm for two business dinners with distributors, and I came as her plus one for a mixer at the Whitmer. All three events went smoother than I could've hoped for. Granted, Eden and I were never alone together for longer than a minute or two, but it was surprisingly easy to act like I knew her intimately.

Eden’s good at being my date. Better than good, even. She’s charming and energetic, and she makes everyone at the table feel like the most interesting person in the room while resting her hand on my thigh.

Okay, so that part is turning into a bit of a problem. With my post-Peppermint induced celibacy, it’s been a long time since a woman touched me so intimately, especially one as pretty as her. My body just…reacts. Let’s just say it’s a good thing my lower half was largely hidden by furniture.

I shake my head. Our relationship is about to face its toughest test yet, and the last thing I need is to be distracted.

Today, we’re finally doing an in-person launch of our relationship in front of our friends.