Page 84 of Ten Rules for Faking It
Noah leaned his head toward them, right between the two of their faces. “Just to be sure, I’m not supposed to interject here and make a comment about acatbeing in your purse?”
Chris’s eyes closed and opened slowly. He stepped away from Everly and glared at his brother. “I’m going to smother you in your sleep.”
Noah chuckled and winked at Everly. “He can’t stay up later than I can, so I’m not worried. When we were younger, Wes—that’s our other brother—Ari, our sister, and I used to dip his hand in warm water when he passed out at 9:00 p.m. on the weekends.”
Everly didn’t even try to suppress the giggle. She locked eyes with Chris, attempting a pitying look. He shook his head and sighed.
“How many?” a hostess asked in an uber-cheery voice.
“Three,” Chris said loudly, making Everly choke back a laugh.
“Oh, wait. Four. I invited Stacey. I hope that’s okay,” she said. Her pulse scrambled. She shouldn’t even be here. She should have said no, and she definitely shouldn’t have invited a fourth. What if Chris thought she expected him to pay? Was this awkward for him with his brother visiting? Had she totally crashed their reunion?They invited you.
He reached out and squeezed her shoulder, his hand there and gone in the space of a breath. Normally, she tensed when people touched her without warning, but his touch had the opposite effect.
“It’s fine. Always.” Chris turned back to the hostess. “Four, please.”
She gave him a megawatt smile back, glancing at him and Noah with more than a little interest. “You’ve got it. Right this way.”
Should she wait for Stacey? Everly looked back over her shoulder, but all she saw was Noah. He must have read her mind, or maybe she had a flashing sign over her head.
“I’m sure your friend will find us,” he said, nudging her forward.
They settled at the back of the restaurant at a table in the corner by the patio doors. Laughter and music filled the room. Servers dressed in palm tree–covered shirts passed each other with full and empty trays, grinning and singing along to the songs. Up two steps and across the room, a small group of servers sang a very fast and complicated version of “Happy Birthday.” Everly shuddered. If there weremorethan nine circles of hell, being sung to,loudly,by strangers, in a public place would have a spot on her list.
“Your server will be right with you,” the hostess said, setting four menus down.
Everly worked to keep her fingers still, her eyes darting around the restaurant. Noah picked up a menu and opened it.
She felt Chris’s stare and knew she should pick up her menu, but she just needed a minute. Or five.Just breathe. You’ve been here several times, Stacey is on her way, you like being with Chris. It’ll be fun to hear some more stories about him. Right, because you need to get attached to a guy who isn’t in your final two bracket? Though Daniel is definitely not getting through to the next round, unless the final date is unbearable. Next week is the last week. It’s almost done. Owen looks better and better every minute. Safer.
When Chris’s fingers nudged hers, she jolted.
Noah glanced at them. “Be back in a minute.” He got up and left the table, heading in the direction of the restrooms.
Chris leaned closer, in her space but not so far in she couldn’t breathe. “Hey. Are you okay?”
She opened her eyes wider because that totally added believability. “Yup.”
“You know you’re the worst liar ever, right?”
She added a smile. “Uh-huh.”
The look in his eyes softened, smoothing out the rough seas raging inside of her. He nudged his hand a little closer and just his pinkie finger touched her own. Sparks shot along her arm—apparently that was a real thing and not just in books—like static electricity but sharper, distracting her from breathing too fast. His pinkie covered hers like it was offering her much tinier one a hug.A two-pinkie dog pile. God, you’re a dork.Her insides went all warm and squishy, and for some ridiculous reason she could not think about, she felt like crying.
A flurry of blond hurried toward them. “Hey. Fancy meeting you two here,” Stacey said, pulling her purse off from across her chest.
Chris moved his hand and stood up, pulling the chair out for Stacey. “Glad you could join us,” he said evenly.
Clearly, his heart wasn’t blocking his throat like Everly’s. Noah came back to the table and looked down at Stacey. Her technicolor blouse looked gorgeous on her, and Everly waspositive she’d interrupted a date in progress. Guilt tugged at her, but the relief of having her friend there was too palpable to pay it much attention.
Noah’s lips quirked up on one side, reminding Everly of Chris when he didn’t have his guard up. Like the other night when they’d watched television together.
“If you’re our waitress, you’re not very good at your job. But since you’re lovely and appear so happy, I’ll let it go this time,” Noah said.
Stacey tilted her head back, and the sexy smile Everly had seen more times than she could count took over her friend’s face. “Are you the brother?”
Noah put his hands in his pockets and nodded, a grave look on his face. “That’s the word on the street. If it helps, I’m the better-looking and more charming of the three.”
