Page 19 of Fake It Till We Fall
“Like a date?”
“Exactly like a date. If we’re going to sell this, we’ll sell it right. Dinner at Creekside. Conversation. Maybe another kiss.”
I knew I was pushing it, but what the hell? I had nothing to lose.
Harper’s sharp inhale told me she hadn’t thought about that aspect of the arrangement she’d proposed. Hell, neither had I until right at that moment. But it was out there now, and judging by the pink in her cheeks, she wasn’t about to argue.
For the first time in a long time, I felt like I stood on the edge of something dangerous, but for the life of me, there was no way I could make myself step back.
Chapter Six
Grayson
Peaks & Brews was busier than I’d expected, although I hadn’t been counting on Ethan’s fiancée, Delaney, hosting her monthly book club in the brewery. Delaney owned the bookstore next door to my brother’s brewery, and although their love story had started a bit rocky with the two of them clashing over the construction Ethan was doing, it didn’t take long for the two of them to realize they were perfect for each other.
Along with Ethan’s daughter, my super awesome niece, Quinn, they were now a very happy—and very cute—little family. A family that would be expanding in a few months.
Stories like theirs—and Reid and Avery’s, too—should have given me hope that I, too, would one day meet the love of my life.
The problem was, I’d fallen for the love of my life when I was fourteen. And I’d pushed her away four years later.
“Hey, brother.” Brody smacked my back and pulled me from my thoughts.
I craned my neck to see my eldest brother, gave him a nod and turned back to my untouched beer.
Along with Preston, Brody slid into the seats across from me moments before Ethan and Reid arrived. Ethan put a fresh jug of beer in the middle of the table along with a stack of glasses. “You guys need to test this new IPA. Just tapped the keg this afternoon.”
“Don’t mind if I do.” Preston reached for the jug and poured out three glasses.
I shook my head. “I’m sure it’s great,” I said. “Just this one for me.”
“Somewhere to be, Gray?” Reid lifted an eyebrow. My twin knew me too well. It was both a benefit and a drawback of having an identical twin. When I didn’t answer him right away, he prodded, “What do you need to tell us?”
“What makes you think I need to tell you anything?”
Ethan almost choked on his beer, and Brody smacked the table between us. “Maybe the fact that you called all of us in here with only an hour’s notice.”
I looked to Reid, but he simply shrugged. “What’s going on, brother?”
“Okay,” I started. “This is kind of strange, and I’m going to need you to be really open-minded, okay?”
“Ohh, is this going to be what I think it is?”
I shot Preston a look. “Almost for sure, it isnotwhat you think it is.”
Brody smacked his shoulder, and he stifled his chuckle.
“It’s about Harper.”
That’s all it took for my twin’s jaw to lock tight. “What about her?”
I drew in a breath. “This needs to stay between us, okay?”
I waited until all four of them nodded in agreement before I blurted out the situation. It took a minute to explain what Harper and I had agreed on earlier in the day. Despite the factthat I’d had a few hours to think it through and let it percolate, it still seemed insane and like it could be a very bad idea.
No. It was definitely a very bad idea. For all kinds of reasons.
Judging by the way my brothers all stared at me with mixed expressions of incredulousness, they all thought so, too.
