Page 8 of Silent Verity

“You don’t look half bad yourself,” I told him as we were ushered over to the tree line, where the photoshoot would be happening. We’d both been dressed in some designer’s clothes I didn’t recognize. Dalton was in a loose button-down that was only fastened to halfway up his torso, leaving his chest exposed. Light-colored, loose pants rested on his hips, and he was wearing a pair of sandals. I’d been dressed in dark jeans that clung to my thighs with a t-shirt with a foreign name stitched on the upper right quadrant. Unlaced combat boots covered my feet.

We couldn’t have been more opposite if we tried. And maybe that was the purpose. Dalton’s outfit embodied his light-hearted personality and the easier life he’d had, and mine reflected my dark mood and the shit childhood I’d had.

I doubted anyone who’d planned this had known any of that, but I found it ironic either way.

“Okay, I need you two to look like you’re in love. But Jesse, I need you to be moodier, and Dalton, I need you to look more open and friendly. We’re going for an opposites attract look,” the photographer told us.

I sighed. “How’d I fucking know?” I muttered as two of his assistants began to move us so I had one arm wrapped around Dalton’s waist. He gripped my shirt in his right hand, his left hand slipping into my back pocket. He was leaning back a bit, and my left knee was between his thighs. My left hand rested on his hip like I was trying to draw him closer.

“Perfect! Now look in love,” the photographer demanded before he began to snap pictures of us.

That wasn’t hard. And apparently, it wasn’t for Dalton either, which just fucking cut deep. Because he was looking at me like I was the only man—hell, the only person—who existed. Like his world revolved around me. I swallowed thickly, my fingers spasming on his hip. A slow smile tilted his lips, and my heart flipped in my chest.

“You’re too good at this,” I rasped, feeling a little panicky. My heart was jackhammering in my chest, and my throat was tightening up.

Dalton just hummed but kept his eyes locked on mine as if we really were a couple. As if this was normal. As if he just might really love me.

When the photoshoot was over and I was left alone to change back into my normal clothes, I promptly threw up into the trash can in the tiny bathroom, feeling shaky and unstable.

I couldn’t do this. I wasn’t as strong as Tor and Salem had been. Delia was going to have to figure out a different way to tease fans and keep them drooling over us because faking a relationship with Dalton was going to fucking kill me.

I wouldn’t be able to survive this.

7

Dalton

Whatever progress I’d made with Jesse the night before and this morning had gone down the drain. He was silent the entire ride home, and the couple of times I’d asked him if he was okay, I was pretty sure he hadn’t heard me because he didn’t respond. Hell, he gave no inkling he was aware I’d been speaking to him. He was deep in his head, which was a dangerous place for him to be. Nothing good ever came out of Jesse being deep in his head.

“Jesse,” I tried again when we walked into the house. He just either pointedly ignored me or once again didn’t hear what I said because he didn’t acknowledge me in the slightest. I was going with the latter because he walked right past all our band mates sitting in the living room like he was a ghost. As if he thought no one could see him.

My heart ached. What the fuck had happened? Everything had been so good just a few hours ago.

“What’s going on with him?” Tor asked, lifting his head from Salem’s shoulder. Salem didn’t even bother looking up from his phone, where he was more than likely playing some kind of game. Kalin stared worriedly after Jesse, and Spike just sighed.

“I don’t know,” I confessed. I dropped into the recliner I’d bought for myself because while I was only in my early twenties, my soul was that of an old man, and I needed old man comforts. “We had that photoshoot today for a new clothing line. He was okay, then they made us pretend to be a couple, and he just… changed.” I scrubbed my hands down my face before dropping them roughly down to my lap. “I don’t know what the fuck happened.”

“Well, you two haven’t been okay since we moved,” Spike spoke up.

I scowled at him. “You think I don’t fucking know that?” I heatedly snapped. “But last night, something finally changed. We were normal. And we were okay this morning, too. Jesse finally seemed like he was coming back to himself. Like he was letting me back in.” I closed my eyes and pressed my fingertips to them. “Fucking Delia,” I growled. “She fucks everything up.”

“Let me go talk to him,” Tor said, pushing off the couch.

“Babe, don’t go butting into someone else’s business,” Salem lightly scolded, still not looking up from his phone.

Tor spun to face his man and huffed at him. “I wish someone had butted into our shit a hell of a lot sooner than they did, Salem. Maybe half the heartache and bullshit we put each other through wouldn’t have happened.” With that, he headed out of the living room and toward the hall that my and Jessie’s rooms were down.

Salem frowned after him, his game now forgotten. Then, he looked at us, his brows furrowed. “What the hell did I do?”

I snorted. “I’m sure Tor will tell you later,” I told him. Since they’d been together, they always communicated their feelings. I rocked lightly. “In the meantime, what the fuck do I do? Jesse’s not the type to be pushed. It just makes him shut down more.”

Salem shrugged. “I used to think I didn’t like being pushed either, but when it comes to things that matter, like Tor, I need to be pushed. He and I wouldn’t have fixed everything broken between us if not for you guys finally butting in,” he confessed. “Are you sure Jesse doesn’t have feelings for you, Dalton?”

I frowned at him. “What?” I finally blurted when he just evenly met my gaze, one single brow arched.

“I mean, it’s not that far-fetched of an idea,” Kalin said, turning on the couch and propping his feet on Spike’s legs. Wordlessly, Spike lifted Kalin’s left foot and began massaging the sole. “You two have been close as fuck since you became friends. When Jesse needed a safe place to disconnect and dissociate, you were the person he turned to, even if it meant he popped up at your house at two or three in the morning.”

Kalin wasn’t wrong. But I thought that was just because we were best friends. I’d always been in love with Jesse, but I never got the idea that he returned those feelings.

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