AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jared’s forehead scrunched. “So, you worked in veterinary sales before? Huh.”
“Not much of a difference, really,” Ben shrugged, growing more confident in his fake persona. “But I made a big sale at a Boston clinic and the Tylenol job opened up. I was a shoo-in. Easiest job I’ve ever had.”
“I bet.” Jared drained the last of his drink and eyed Ben’s now empty glass. “Ready for a second round?”
“Sure thing.”
The men walked back to the bar while Robin turned her attention on me.
“So, how long have you and Chase been together?”
I suppressed a grimace at Chase’s name, bracing myself to double down on Ben’s lies. “Feels like forever.”
“Same, girl. Jared and I have only been married for three years now, but some days I can’t even remember my life before him. So, is Chase your boyfriend or your—?”
“Fiancé,” Ben interjected, slipping the empty glass out of my hand and replacing it with something noticeably less pink. I twisted my head, glaring at him, but he pressed on, undeterred. “Aren’t I just the luckiest?”
“Oh, fiancé! Congratulations!” Her eyes lit up. “Let me see the ring!”
Reflexively, I balled my hand into a fist. Other than a ring on my right hand, my fingers were bare. Ben scooped up my hand with a frown.
“Did you forget to put it on again?” he sighed, shaking his head good-naturedly. “I told her to leave the ring on when she’s getting ready, but she keeps forgetting it by the sink.”
He dipped his head, burying his nose in my hair and kissing my forehead. His free hand returned to my waist.
“Oh, honey,” Robin said. “That’s how I lost my first engagement ring. Right down the garbage disposal.”
“I nearly called off the wedding,” Jared added with a grin.
A momentary pang of guilt over lying to the couple flooded over me. They seemed nice. Friendly and open, with an energy that matched Ben and I. Or Chase, rather
“But then you would have had to find some other woman and buy her a new ring.. Easier just to keep me.” She brushed a kiss over his cheek. “ How long have you two been engaged?”
“Christmas,” Ben answered coolly. His lie might have even fooled me.
“Aw, a Christmas engagement. That’s so cute!” Robin’s eyes went wide as she tugged at her husband’s lapel. “I wanted a Christmas engagement, but Jared claimed he couldn’t wait.”
“She never told me she wanted a Christmas proposal,” he said, dropping his voice conspiratorially.
Robin rolled her eyes.“I said it dozens of times. Hundreds.” She turned to Ben. “How did you two meet?”
Ben’s grip on my waist tightened. I bounced my hip into his side playfully, pursing my lips and making it perfectly clear I wouldn’t be bailing him out. He wanted to play Chase. He had to make up the story.
“We’ve actually known each other since birth. Thea was born twelve hours before me. Our moms were best friends.”
The truth. I tipped my head up, watching his face soften.
Robin tightened her grip on her husband’s lapel, threatening to choke him. “That’s so cute! Twelve hours!”
“He wasn’t due for another three weeks,” I said, unable to resist adding my favorite part of the story. “His mom claimed he couldn’t live without me.”
“More likely I realized from an early age that Thea shouldn’t be left unsupervised,” he joked. An old joke, a familiar one that I loved just as much as the story.
“And he’s been looking out for me ever since,” I said, a warmth blooming through my chest as I smiled up at him.
He had been watching out for me for years now. He’d been my cheerleader when I started my fashion line, stood by me when my dad left. Hell, he’d been the only person after my mom died to treat me the same. Not tiptoeing around me, afraid to talk, afraid to listen.
A familiar feeling of belonging hit me hard. I didn’t even care about Ben lying to our new friends at that instant. I looked up at him, tilting my lips up to kiss his cheek. At the last second, Ben looked down and our lips crashed against each other.
