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“What took you so long?” Cooper asks as I approach them.
“I was just talking to Alex. Come on, let’s go.”
A knowing look creeps onto Cooper’s face before he turns to leave the building.
Noah and I follow behind him as he climbs into the SUV that’s parked out front. An easy chatter fills the car as we cruise through the streets of New York to the hotel that overlooks Central Park, which we’ve rented a room in.
“How long have you and Savannah been together?” I ask, looking for a distraction.
Noah chokes on the water he’s just taken a sip of and I look at him with concern, patting him on the back.
“No, man, she’s my best friend's little sister. Completely off limits. And anyway, I’ve just broken up with my long-term girlfriend.”
I never would have guessed that, given how he looks at Savannah. The way his eyes tracked her in my apartment, much like mine did with Alex.
“She lives with you. Are you saying you haven’t done anything?” Cooper asks.
“Not a thing.”
“But you want to, right?” I ask, my gaze is assessing. “You’re among friends here. We won’t tell anyone, and the likelihood of us meeting her brother is slim to none.”
“Fuck,” he breathes, and with that single word, I have my answer.
Cooper and I glance at each other. Neither of us can stop the conspiratorial smiles that mirror on our faces.
“Whatever those looks are for, wipe them off your faces now. Nothing is going to happen. I promised her brother I wouldn’t ever go near her.”
“Rules are meant to be broken, my friend. Trust me. I broke the rules I made with Meghan—well, not all of them but most—and Sebastian here.” Cooper slaps me on the shoulder before continuing, “Is well on his way to breaking the one he made with Alex.”
I shove his hand off my shoulder, annoyed that he would say something like that, because I’mnotfalling in love with her.
“No, mate, I’m not.”
Cooper just chuckles as he says, “Whatever you need to tell yourself.”
Not wanting to dwell on the matter—because I’m not about to speak to the guys about how conflicted I am with my feelings—I change the subject. “How’s Lizzie doing?”
A sure fire way to distract Cooper is to talk about his daughter.
“Oh, man, she’s growing so big. She can’t wait to be a big sister and keeps walking around with her belly pushed out, telling Meghan she’s going to be a big sister soon too.” He chuckles.
Cooper happily talks about Lizzie the rest of the drive to the hotel while Noah and I sit in silence, both lost in our own thoughts. Him, I'm sure, about Savannah and his feelings toward her, and me, about Cooper’s accusation that I’m falling for Alex.
I should just ignore his comment, but when it’s reflective of my own thoughts this past week, it’s hard to.
TWENTY-NINE
Alex
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Meghan asks as she hands me a bouquet of pink peonies we picked up on the way to the courthouse.
“It’s only some photos. It’s not like I'm really marrying the guy. And, I gave my word.”
She doesn’t know that he’s paid off my student loans in exchange for me going along with his plan. None of my friends know. And I plan on keeping it that way. Only Bastian and I know what we agreed he’d do in exchange for my help. Truthfully, I don’t care about our deal. I just want Bastian to be happy and get what he wants.
“Personally, I think you're crazy for even—Ouch,” Savannah cries as Meghan slaps her on the shoulder. If looks could kill, Savannah would be on the ground with the look Meghan gives her.
“Personally,” Ben emphasizes while giving Savannah a side-eye. “I think you’re pretty damn smart. I mean, all you’ve got to do is take some pictures and you get to wear a gorgeous diamond. It helps that he’s hella hot and makes you orgasm. It’s a no brainer really.”
