Page 28 of Faking It with the Firefighter

She gave me one of those phony smiles like everything was okay when she was really seething behind it. I could relate.

“Abigail ordered salad too,” Rex offered, gesturing to the bowl of iceberg lettuce coated with Italian dressing. “Chicken and veg!”

She tucked her fallen hair behind her ear and took a seat. “That sounds wonderful. Thank you, T.”

“T?” I asked, taking another big bite. The pepperoni rounds were acting like little cups to catch all the pizza grease. It was divine.

Blair waved a hand and giggled. “You know, like T-Rex. An old nickname.”

I grimaced and chewed on my food while Rex got the chicken out of the fridge and prepped a bowl of salad for Blair. My eyes narrowed. Was it inappropriate for my fake boyfriend to be fixing a special meal for his real ex-girlfriend-slash-future-sister-in-law? Itfeltinappropriate. But then again, I was angry, and Blair was the worst.

“So Abigail, how long have you and Rex been a thing?” Blair asked, smiling at Rex as he put her bowl of salad down in front of her.

Rex and I shared a side-eye glance. “Uh…” I started.

“You know, we’ve been together for a bit,” Rex answered. He took a seat next to me and leaned his arm across the back of my chair. I scooted closer to him, and his hand dropped onto my shoulder, thumb stroking the bare skin above the neckline of my shirt. A hot rush went through me at his touch, and I cleared my throat to cover it up.

Blair followed our movements with sharp, beady eyes, then dropped her gaze to her bowl. “A minute. So I guess it’snot serious yet, then,” she said, keeping her eyes on her carb-free meal that I paid for, which she was eating in the house that I also paid for.

“I wouldn’t say that,” Rex said.

She shot him that snotty smile. “I get it, Rex. I’m a hard act to follow.”

I nearly choked on my pizza.

“Blair,” Donny corrected her, looking wounded.

“What? He knows I’m joking. Right, Rex?”

Rex let out a half-chuckle. “Yeah, funny.”

“You always had a great sense of humor,” she said, then looked at me. “Isn’t he hilarious? He must make you laugh like all the time.”

Rex, funny? That wasn’t a side I’d seen of him. Not since his fart jokes in high school. But I couldn’t say that to Blair; who knew how she’d fire it back at me? I couldn’t say anything because Donny snapped, “Hey, I’m hilarious too.”

Blair brushed his bearded cheek. “Of course you are, babe. It runs in the family.”

It was more like she ran in the family, and she wanted me to know it.

This wasn’t even a real relationship, but I was getting real mad. I’d finished my piece of pizza, so I grabbed another and ignored the raised eyebrow Blair sent my way. My waistline could accommodate a couple more slices. Even more if I popped my top button.

“So, Abigail, your job must be so taxing that you don’t have time to make dinner. What is it that you do?” Blair asked, tilting her head and painting another false smile on her lips.

I looked at Rex. “I think I need to call my brother.”

His eyes narrowed. “No.”

“It’s important.”

“It can wait, Abigail,” he warned, his voice dropping low. When he spoke like that, it made me forget that he was supposed to be the good guy. It made my mind fast forward to tonight, when he’d be in my room until the sun came up again. Where we’d be, alone. Together.

“It really can’t wait, Rex,” I told him. “I’ve made a terrible mistake.”

“Well, I guess you’re just going to have to see that one through, won’t you?” Rex said, still using that low, commanding voice.

Donny cleared his throat, and I realized with a start that we weren’t alone. I straightened and painted a false smile of my own on my face, then finally answered Blair’s question. “I’m a real estate agent. A good one.”

“I saw the advertisements of you on the bus stop benches on the drive through town,” Donny said, smiling. “Awesome.”

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