Page 97 of Best Served Cold

“Let me do that,” he says, watching me in the mirror.

My heart skips a beat. “You want to brush my hair?”

“Yeah,” he says, scratching his head. He looks a little sheepish, almost embarrassed. I hadn’t thought Rob Price could be embarrassed. He’s always seemed so untouched by other people’s opinions. My chest feels gooey now, but also raw.

I rub my fingers over the cage holding my heart. “Okay.”

He takes the brush from me while I grab my makeup bag to put on lipstick. Then he watches me in the mirror as he glides the brush carefully through my thick hair, working in segments. Somethingstrangeis happening to me. I almost feel like crying. And at the same time, I want to jump into the air and throw my hands to the sky. I want to kiss him too. Softly. Lovingly.

The lipstick’s the only thing that stops me.

When he finishes, he leans in to kiss my neck before setting the brush down. “There’s nothing vanilla about you, Sophie Ginnis,” he says, his eyes twinkling. “I’ve got plans for the red condom. And for the boutonniere. I’m wearing it to my show today.”

“You’re not,” I say with a smile. “It’s awful.”

“Don’t tell me what to do. I’m going to pin it to my T-shirt. You know, you promised to wear yours too.”

“I will,” I say with a small laugh. “But I’m going to feel stupid.”

“Don’t. Every time someone asks you about it, you can think about what happened at the kitchen table.”

He grins at me in the mirror, so painfully handsome with those golden eyes and his dark hair a beautiful mess around his face. And then he leaves, giving me thirty seconds of privacy so I can try to make myself look like I didn’t just have mind-blowing sex in a chair at the kitchen table.

A few of his last words echo through my head as I change into comfortable shoes.

There’s nothing vanilla about you.

That’s a good thing, obviously, a compliment, but what he said…it connects this morning, and last night, back to Jonah.

It’s foolish to feel bad about that, because Rob wouldn’t have been here with me if not for Jonah, but I don’t want Jonah to have anything to do with this. With this rebound or whatever it is we’re doing.

And yet…Jonah is Rob’s brother. Rob hates him and would probably do anything to get back at him.

Am I theanythingin this equation?

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

SOPHIE

Hannah texts me in our group chat an hour into my shift:

HOLY CRAP. YOUR FAKE-LATIONSHIP IS FACEBOOK OFFICIAL. HAS MAMA PRICE PUBLICLY SHAMED YOU AND STRICKEN YOU FROM HER FEED YET?

Patricia Price doesn’t need to, because I already unfriended her. Actually, I’d also unfriended Jonah, so it’s very possible neither of them will see that I’ve changed my relationship status to “in a relationship” and posted the photo with Rob.

I say as much, and Briar responds:

Yes, but Rob is probably still connected to them.

That makes the guilt return.

Then again, it’s always there, an ocean with waves rolling in and out.

Playing idly with the corsage on my wrist, I take down the photo and the relationship status. No one asks about the corsage, although plenty of people take notice of it.

I don’t check my phone again until after I’d poured maybe a dozen beers. And I find a message waiting from Rob.

Is this your way of dumping your fake boyfriend, Soph? I expected at least a Post-it note. Or my good-luck pick bounced off my face into a cup of NA beer.

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