Page 109 of Feels Like Love
Liam turned his gaze on me. “What the fuck, man? You were supposed to be running interference.”
“Youwhat?”Wren frowned. “What are you talking about?”
Now they were both looking at me, demanding answers. Liam looked ready to break every bone in my body.
“I, um…” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I think we should focus on the reason we’re all here today—for Tristan and his family. And we should remember the importance of friendship.”
“Friendship?” Liam spat. “I’m not sure you know the meaning of the word.”
“Liam,” Wren chided. “Please, calm down.”
“Calm down?” he asked, his voice rising with every word. “Calm down? No. I willnotcalm down, Wren. Becausehe—” he pointed at me, not even looking me in the eye “—promised to look out for you, protect you.Like a brother. And instead—” he glanced toward the sky as if praying for guidance “—he betrayed my trust. He took advantage of the situation.”
She barked out a laugh. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but if anyone took advantage of the situation, it was me.”
He shook his head. “No, Wren. Bennett is older than you. He should know better.”
“Stop treating me like a child!” she yelled.
I jerked back, wincing at the intensity of her declaration while silently cheering her on. She was livid, wiping away tears furiously as she stood her ground. Everyone was silent. All eyes on us.
“Were you even really dating Arlo?” he asked, just as Asher and Tristan joined us.
“What’s going on?” Tristan asked, but Asher stayed silent, one look saying everything.
“Yes,” she said, glancing at the two of them briefly before returning her attention to Liam.
“Is that how this started?” Liam asked. “Did you connect with Bennett through LoveBirds?”
She shook her head. “No. I had no idea he was even on there.” She turned to me. “You still haven’t answered my question. Why are you on there?”
Liam scoffed. “Yeah, Bennett. Why are you on LoveBirds? Do you want to tell Wren, or should I?”
I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing I’d wake up from this terrible nightmare. I’d already lost a dear friend in Tessa. Whisper was gone. Now this? Fuck. I didn’t know how much more I could handle. All I knew was that I couldn’t lose Wren.
When I didn’t say anything, Liam said, “Bennett set up a profile on LoveBirds to keep an eye on you.”
Wren frowned. “Why would you do that?”
“He told me it was to keep an eye on all the guys you dated,” Liam said. “But now I see that wasn’t entirely the truth.”
“Wait.” Wren’s head whipped between us. “What?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. This was spiraling out of control. “Yes. At first, I did it to check out the guys you were dating.”
“And then…?”
I sighed. “Then you were getting frustrated that I wasn’t talking to you. And I was afraid you’d see it as another rejection.”
Wren blinked a few times. “Ohmygod. You’re Ben?”
I nodded. “But…”
She scoffed. “Well, I guess that explains why ‘Ben’ never wanted to meet.” Her eyes flashed to mine. “Until you knew that I was going away with Arlo.” Her cheeks darkened, and I imagined steam erupting from her ears at any moment. “You… I can’t believe you.”
Liam crossed his arms. “You’rethe reason she broke up with Arlo?” When I nodded, he shook his head. “Wow. And you thought what I did with Lucas was wrong. You took it to a whole ’nother level.”
Wren spun on him. “Whatdid you do to Lucas?”
