Page 30 of Accidentally Checked By My Brother's Best Friend

“You were singing loud enough for the neighbors to hear you!” He chuckles, leaning against the kitchen door frame. “I thought you were ignoring me. I asked you a question and called you three times.”

“Why would I be ignoring you?” I tilt my head and narrow my eyes at him as I take a swig of water.

“Because I was asking you about Duncan.” It’s his turn to narrow his eyes at me, and the smirk he’s wearing has my face heating.

“What about Duncan?” Trying to play it cool, I walk past him and head into the living room.

Putting my water on the coffee table, I sit on the couch and pour all my attention into untying my sneakers. The care I’m taking with them would have you thinking they were Gucci. Getting up, I put them by the front door and come back to grab my water. I look up to find David watching me.

“Are you going to his game tonight?” He asks casually, but he has that look in his eye—the one where he wants to ask me something but doesn’t know how to go about it.

“Yes, I’m going to his game tonight. What about you and Scarlett?” I ask, walking back to the kitchen. When I get there, I pull the rubber band out and let my hair fall. I take a deep breath and try to slow my heart rate.

David is my best friend and has been since high school. Back then, I would tell him and Fiona everything. It was great having my two favorite people available for advice. But this situation is different.

It’s Duncan. And I’m not sure how to talk to him about Duncan.

Or, should I say, pretending to date his younger brother and all that entails? Which is weird because now that I think about it, he had no problem talking to me when he realized he had feelings for Fiona.

But this situation isn’t about me having feelings, though. So maybe that’s it? This is more like me acting in a new movie with a new co-star. I would talk to Fi about that, but not David.

That’s why this situation is awkward. I never talk to David about my co-stars, except Nathan. But we had started dating by then. Duncan and I aren’t dating; we’re pretending, which is why all of this is uncomfortable.

Yeah, that’s it.

“No,” David yells from the living room. “It’s a school night, so we’ll watch from home.”

Walking toward the kitchen door frame, I stop and lean against it to see David scrolling through his phone.

“That makes sense. How is she when she can’t go to Duncan’s games?” I take another swig of water.

“She’s usually fine. The two of them have a secret code he does at the end of the first period for her.”

Warmth spreads throughout my chest at the thought of Duncan and Scarlett with a secret code. I can’t deny Duncan is pretty adorable when he’s not being a curmudgeon. “Do you know what it is?”

David looks at me with his eyes twinkling. “If I knew, it wouldn’t be secret.”

“Ha. Ha.” I chuck my water bottle at him, making him laugh before he catches it with ease.

“Thank you,” he says, opening the bottle and sipping. “I was thirsty.”

Shaking my head and laughing, he lifts the water bottle and I put my hands out to catch it as he tosses it back.

“A?” David calls out to me just as I’m turning down the hallway to my bedroom. “You’ll want to see this.”

Walking back to David, I see him holding out his phone. His eyebrows are pulled together, and his mouth is in a straight line. When I get close enough to him, I take the phone out of his hand.

The headline staring at me makes my stomach drop.

Nathan Vaughn Speaks Out About His Breakup with Ava Norris.

Without reading anything else, I hand the phone back to David.

“He must be so excited to have the top story atTMZ.”Lifting a trembling hand to my mouth, I take another sip of water.“Let the mud-slinging begin.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” David asks, and I shake my head.

“There’s nothing to talk about.” I shrug and turn away from him, heading back toward the hallway. My stomach is swirling, and my mouth is dry.“It’s only the beginning. I hope I don’t cause any problems for Duncan by dragging him into this.”

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