Page 112 of Endgame

She laughed at my protest like it was the funniest thing I’d ever said.

It wasn’t.

Mom needed to remember we weren’t friends. She was the parent in this relationship and I didn’t need to know about her sex life.

“How is Rourke treating you?” she asked then, thankfully changing the subject. “Is he being nicer to you?”

Dammit, not this subject!

“Um…yeah,” I squeezed out, feeling the burn in my cheeks spread all the way down to my toes. “Rourke and I are actually sort of…cool now.” It was a lie. A big, fat lie that caused my face to burn and palms to sweat, but I couldn’t exactly tell my mother that her stepson was being nice to me because he wanted to get into my pants. I had a feeling that wouldn’t go down well.

“Cool?” Mom squealed excitedly. “Are you two friends now?”

I think I love him.I stopped myself from blurting that little tidbit; telling my mother that particular fear would be too traumatic. It would make it too real. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with him, dammit. “Um… I guess you could say that?”

“Oh, honey, you have no idea how happy you’ve just made me.”

I frowned in confusion. “I have?”

“Yes,” Mom confirmed, sounding genuinely delighted. “Gabe will be so relieved,” she added. “Rourke has struggled to accept anyone in their lives since his mother died. You two being friends?” She sighed happily. “Is a big step for him.”

“I guess,” I muttered, feeling like a fake. Rourke didn’t want to be myfriend. He wanted to sleep with me. I, in turn, was harboring some pretty intense feelings for him.

I didn’t believe in love. I was a realist – I always had been.

I’d spent my life watching my mother fall in love over and over again. I knew that I wanted no part of something that was so easily bent and broken.

But Rourke?

What I felt for him scared the hell out of me.

I wasn’t stupid, and knew the chances of Rourke actually meaning what he had said were slim, but dammit, those words were imprinted on my brain. I couldn’t stop thinking about it… abouthim.

Did agreeing to this weird ‘friends with benefits’thing make me a slut?

Probably.

Did it make me pathetic?

I was certain it did.

Did I care?

Not enough to change my mind.

A blonde head of curls entered my peripheral vision then, causing me to lose my train of thought.

“Uh, Mom, I have to go,” I muttered, watching Britt and her minions stalk towards me. “I’ll call you later, okay?”

Mentally preparing for an ass kicking, I tipped my chin up and stared straight back at the blonde bitch giving me the evil eye.

“Can I help you?” I’d managed to avoid Brittany Beckitt all week and I had been hoping to continue that. Unfortunately for me, Britt looked as though she had other ideas.

“Help me?” Her finely pointed brows rose in surprise. “No, sweetie, there’s nothing on the face of this earth you could possibly help me with.” Stopping less than a foot from me, she placed her hands on her slender hips and narrowed her gaze down at me. “But let me give you some advice;stay awayfrom Rourke or we’re going to have a problem.”

“News flash,” I shot back, forcing down the urge to roll my eyes at the sheer stupidity of this girl. “I live with Rourke.”

She scowled down at me. “You know what I mean.”

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