Page 68 of Strictly Pretend

The sensation sends a pulse of warmth through my nerve endings. As though he can feel the effect he has on me, heslides one hand down, his fingertips leaving a trail of fire down my spine, before pressing his palm into the dip of my back and pulling me against him.

When we part, my eyes are misty. Dear God, this man knows how to kiss.

“Keep your phone on,” he tells me, his voice thick. “I can’t go without messaging you all day.”

I nod as he steps back. The men are already boarding the buses. Will is climbing the steps to the front one, and Brooks deliberately walks to the coach at the back.

I feel a strange twinge. Like I’m missing him before he’s even left. Maybe I’m a better actress than I thought.

“Come on, girls,” Cassie says turning around to smile at us. “The first cocktails are being poured right now. It’s time to party!”

CHAPTER

EIGHTEEN

BROOKS

“One more glass and then we’ll be done,” the groom says, his eyes a little blurred as he lifts the final taster of red wine to his lips. He’s made the rookie mistake of not spitting out the wine after he’s tasted it. I lost count about four glasses ago, mostly because I’m distracted by Will glaring at me from across the table.

“We won’t be done, man,” his best man tells him. “I’ve already ordered our first round at the casino.”

“I promised Cassie I wouldn’t be hungover in the morning.” Derek frowns. “I’m getting married. I’m gonna be a married man. Shit.” There’s a distinct tinge around his lips as he looks over at Grant. “Tell me that married life is good.”

Grant shrugs. “It has its positive sides.”

“Name them,” the best man says.

Grant blinks and runs his thumb over his jaw. “You get to wake up next to your best friend every morning.”

The best man makes a retching sound. Grant turns to glare at him. “You’ll be next.”

“No I won’t. Brooks is next up.”

Everyone sitting close enough to hear turns to look at me. Including Will. He looks almost mutinous. I’m thinking that news of our ‘engagement’ leaking out was a good idea.

If it was Emma’s aim to make him jealous then she’d be delighted if she could see his face right now. If it wasn’t too obvious, I’d take a picture and send it to her.

“Have you talked about when you’re doing it?” Grant asks.

I inadvertently swallow down my mouthful of wine.Shit. “Soon,” I say, mostly because I want to rile Will up. “We both agree it’s pointless to wait.”

“She’s not pregnant, is she?” Derek’s eyes turn stupidly wide.

Will’s head whips around to glare at me. “Of course she’s not,” he says. “She was drinking wine last night.”

He was scrutinizing her. That makes me mad.

“A short engagement sounds delightful,” Grant says. “We were engaged for three years. It was goddamned purgatory. We were expected to act as husband and wife everywhere we went, except for when we stayed with her family. They insisted on separate bedrooms even though we already lived together.”

Will’s gaze is still burning into my face. “Weren’t you engaged before?” he asks.

Derek’s eyes widen. “Christ, I’d forgotten about that. What was her name again?”

“Lianne Parker,” the best man says. “Wasn’t she one of the Long Island Parkers? Loaded and pretty. A fatal combination.”

There’s a twitch in Will’s jaw. I wonder what it would be like to punch it. It’s a pleasant diversion, much more pleasant than thinking about my previously failed engagement.

The ending was a fucking mess. And the reason I can’t give Emma the kind of relationship she deserves.

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