Page 62 of The Exception

“I don’t care about the reviews—not like Graham does.Did?” Sloan furrowed her brows. “I mean, do I wish they were raving reviews? Of course. But I value honesty.”

Lily relaxed, and Sloan turned to me, confusion marring her features. “I thought you didn’t know who was behind the blog.”

I was surprised Jackson hadn’t told Sloan about my discovering Liliana was behindGilded Lily. It only raised him in my esteem.

Realizing that Sloan was looking at me expectantly, I said, “I didn’t. At least not at first.” I hoped she’d leave it at that.

“So, she told you about it…after you were dating?” Sloan asked, unwilling to drop the matter.

Before I could formulate a response, Jasper chimed in. “They couldn’t have been dating. Not for long.” He frowned. “He referred to her as ‘annoying,’ the bane of his existence.”

Fuck.Had it been too much to hope he’d forget about that conversation? Sloan hadn’t been there—it had been a guys’ poker night. But Nate, Knox, Jasper, and Jackson had all witnessed my frustration toward Lily. This was exactly what I’d been worried about with our timeline.

Lily’s smile was tight.Shit.

“No. No.” Jasper wagged a finger. “They must have started seeing each other after he hacked her blog and discovered her identity.”Jesus, Jasper. Thanks.

I stilled, Liliana’s attention whipping to me.Oh shit.That was one secret I’d hoped to keep.

Yes, we’d promised each other no more secrets, but I’d tried to tell myself that didn’t apply retroactively. I was a fool. And thanks to my big-mouthed little brother, I was going to have to figure out how to spin this.

“Youhackedmy blog?” Lily ground out.

I didn’t want to have this conversation in front of my family. Especially not with the way their attention kept whipping between us like cats at a tennis match.

“I was just looking for information—trying to find out who was behind it,mon petit poisson.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. I silently begged her to drop it. Finally, she arched a brow, and I took that as her acquiescence. I knew this conversation wasn’t over, but I was grateful we’d tabled the issue until we no longer had an audience.

“His littlefish?” Jasper whispered to Sloan, who merely shrugged. Oh god, I was never going to hear the end of it.

“I’m grateful to your blog for bringing us together,” I said, silently begging Lily to play along.

“So you reconnected, and then what?” Sloan was like a lioness—focused, determined, going in for the kill.

I needed to get my family off the subject of our relationship timeline. I’d anticipated it would be an issue, but I hadn’t expected them to interrogate us like this.

“Since I was traveling and living abroad, we started emailing and talking. Getting to know each other again,” Liliana said.

“Graham?Talking?” Jasper chortled, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Right?” Liliana joined in, though it sounded forced. I didn’t think my family would notice, but I did. “I think having a long-distance relationship gave us time to really get to know each other on a deeper level. Though I guess I should’ve said thatIdid most of the talking. But Graham’s an incredible listener.” She slid her hand down my arm, sending sparks skittering in its wake.

Sloan’s expression softened. “He is.”

“It’s one of the things I love about Graham,” Lily said. “He’s observant and insightful and patient.”

Did she truly feel that way? Or was she saying it all for the sake of my family? I wanted to believe it was the truth, but… I pushed away the thought. This was an act. She was playing the part.

Everyone seemed to relax a little, and I hoped that maybe, just maybe, they were beginning to buy it.

“And Graham, what is it that you love about Lily?” Jasper asked, grabbing the champagne bottle and refilling his glass before offering Lily some, then Sloan. Sloan refused, and my mind snagged on that.

Nate elbowed him and muttered, “Don’t put him on the spot like that.”

I turned to Lily, trying to focus on her and block out my family. I stared into her eyes, thinking about all the things I appreciated about her. Her loyalty. Her resilience. Her determination.

I lifted my hand to cup her cheek, pleased when she leaned into my touch. “I’m not sure I could name just one.”

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