Chapter 15
“Collins is pregnant.”
I choke on the bite of sandwich I was chewing. “Again?” I question as soon as I’ve swallowed.
Kit claps me on the back, then flips me off with the same hand. “I can’t help it if I’m virile.”
“I’m eating, dude. Don’t say shit like you’re virile.”
Kit lifts one eyebrow, waiting.
“Congratulations,” I add. “Will you survive two kids?”
His son is adorable, but he’s also a handful. Last time I saw Dylan, he threw a chunk of strawberry shortcake in his great-grandparents’ pool during their annual Red, White, and Blue party to celebrate the Fourth. Collins declared it was bedtime shortly thereafter.
“People say the second one is easier,” Kit says hopefully.
I’ve never heard that adage, but I don’t disagree even though it sounds like twice as much work to me.
“I loved being close in age to my siblings,” he continues. “So, we agreed this was the right time.”
“Oh, so this pregnancy was planned?”
“You’re such a dick,” Kit tells me, tearing open his bag of chips. “We haven’t even told our families yet. Thanks for making this tender moment special for me.”
I roll my eyes. “Please. You knew exactly what I’d say.”
Kit pops a chip in his mouth. “I had some idea,” he agrees after swallowing. “Being best friends with you was actually great prep for having kids. Same maturity level.”
I scoff. “And I’m the dick? Please.”
Kit grins. “What about you?”
“No, I’m not pregnant.”
He tosses a chip at me. It bounces off my shoulder and falls to the ground; three pigeons waddle over a few seconds later to fight over it.
“Are you seeing anyone?”
“Uh …”
Kit groans. “Fuck. Did you get back together with Molly?”
“No. No, I—definitely not.”
I haven’t spoken to Molly since we broke up the day after Rory’s graduation party.
No chance of reconciliation there. Our breakup was a traumatic experience.
I’m extra glad Rory ended up agreeing to this plan and I wasn’t desperate enough to approach a random woman to receive my inheritance.
That could have gotten very messy, even more constrictive than my prior relationships.
No chance of lines blurring with Rory, who doesn’t even think I earned my job.
Maybe I should “accidentally” leave one of my old blue books lying around the apartment.
I got a perfect score on my Secured Transactions final this past spring.
“So, who?”
I set down my sandwich and wipe my fingers on a napkin.
Rory is going to be pissed about this. But it’s not like I can mention another woman to Kit now, then drop a just kidding, I’m marrying your cousin whenever we decide to manufacture a proposal.
I meant to mention to her that I was having lunch with Kit today, but she got home late last night, and then there was that awkward moment where she inferred nepotism was the only reason I was employed.
By the time I returned from the gym, she’d gone to bed.
This will be good practice for telling everyone else. Kit is my best friend. He’s who I’d call if I needed help burying a body, and my dating his cousin isn’t illegal.
I sip some water. “Promise me you’ll keep an open mind. That you won’t … freak out.”
Kit’s eyebrows fly up his forehead. “Shit. She’s married?”
I glower at him. “Seriously?”
“What? You’ve never told me to keep an open mind about who you’re dating before. Also, I’ve seen plenty of wives hit on you.”
“She’s not married. She’s single. Well, she was single, until we started dating.” I’m rambling. And sweating. Not a great start.
I know Kit didn’t like Carson—deservedly. And I don’t think he has a high opinion of me as a boyfriend—also deservedly.
Kit pauses with a chip halfway to his mouth. “Dude, I’m totally open-minded. Just spit it out.”
“It’s Rory.”
He doesn’t unfreeze. He just continues staring at me like one of those street artists who wears silver paint and pretends to be a statue. I’m not even certain he’s blinking.
“Did you hear—”
“I heard you.”
He sets the chip down rather than eat it, eyes never leaving mine, which is unsettling. Kit always has something to say. We’ve been best friends since we were kids, and we’ve never once run out of topics to talk about.
“We hung out a lot this summer, studying for the bar. We’d both just gotten out of relationships. It just sort of … happened.”
My delivery is solid, I think. Believable. If Rory were here, listening, I think she’d agree. Once she got over her anger about me telling Kit, of course.
Kit glances away, at the woman pushing a stroller past our table in the park that is conveniently located halfway between our respective offices.
“Is it serious?” he asks quietly.
Fuck. Here we go.
“I’m serious about her,” I reply, which is honest.
This money—the foundation honoring Penn’s memory—is important to me. It’s a purpose, a future focus that’s driven me for years. Something worthwhile I can contribute. An outlet for the guilt I’ve carried around ever since campus police showed up to my dorm to inform me my roommate was dead.
I never would have proposed this arrangement to Rory if not for Julian’s ultimatum.
But now that I have, I’m committed to ensuring she gets something out of this too.
Whatever social capital I have, I’ll spend it to ensure there isn’t a single person who thinks that Carson Albright didn’t make the biggest mistake of his life.
I’ll make certain her damn list contains the most respectful, romantic bachelors this city has to offer.
“She’s been through a lot,” Kit states.
I nod. “I know. It’s the only reason she gave me a shot. She’s looking for something fun and uncomplicated, and I’m the guy who never gives a shit.”
Again, it’s an accurate version of the truth.
Rory agreed to this plan because it’s something she’d normally dismiss as ridiculous and immature.
Sure, she’s helping me, and it will ensure everyone stops gossiping about Carson’s idiocy, but what she really wants is the rush of doing something impulsive.
I expect Kit to laugh. Instead, he appears increasingly concerned. “You’re probably right about that.”
I pop a chip in my mouth. Crunch it before replying, “I’m right about most things.”
Still, Kit doesn’t smile. “You sure you’re okay with that?”
“Being right?”
“For fuck’s sake, Flynn. You know what I’m talking about.”
I debate how to respond; I can’t exactly say I’m unconcerned because I know Rory will say yes when I propose and that our inevitable split will be a carefully choreographed heartbreak.
I shrug. “I’ll do what I can to convince her to give us a real shot. Beyond that, it’s up to her.” I think of Clay asking, “Hey, is Rory single?” then Knox’s wandering gaze. My jaw flexes. “Not like she doesn’t have lots of other options.”
“Who knows about this?”
It takes me a beat to answer because I’m taken aback by Kit’s reaction. His lack of one, aside from a couple of reasonable questions, rather. I figured he’d threaten to dismember me at least once.
“You,” I state.
“That’s it?”
“Well, she and I are aware, obviously.”
Kit tilts his head. “Why is it a secret?”
“She just got out of a four-year relationship, and—”
“Carson fucking cheated. She’s worried about hurting his feelings?”
“I think she was more worried about what everyone else might say. And neither of us knew how long it would last.”
“You are now?”
“You asked me if I was seeing anyone. Just being honest.”
“Are you guys going to Lili’s wedding together?”
I shrug. “No idea. That’s not for months.”
“Yeah. Two.”
I guess October isn’t that far away. I haven’t thought that far ahead. I’m not even sure Rory has.
I doubt she’ll want to get engaged right before her cousin’s wedding or have ended an engagement, which pushes the timeline of this facade out even farther. If we don’t even get engaged before October, we won’t be “broken up” until next year, probably.
That’s a long time to stay celibate. Especially with a roommate who’s become very comfortable wearing shorts and no bra around our shared spaces. Hopefully, she’ll bundle up more when it starts to get colder out. Except I like seeing—
“Flynn.”
I blink rapidly, refocusing on Kit. “Sorry. Crazy morning at work. I’m a little out of it.”
I feel badly that I might have to work this weekend after telling Rory I’d accompany her to the Hamptons, so I reviewed an ungodly number of documents this morning. I see endless lines of text every time I blink.
“I asked how long it’s been going on.”
“With Rory? Uh, a little over a month, I guess? I kissed her first.”
Will Rory appreciate I remembered to clarify that detail? Probably not, but it makes me grin.
Kit scoffs. “Duh. I always knew you had a thing for her.”
I stare at him. “What?”
“Okay. I didn’t know, but I strongly suspected. Monty thought so too.” He pops a chip in his mouth.
I continue staring. Kit calls his girlfriend, Collins, Monty because they met at Montgomery Hall on Yale’s campus.
He was smitten with Collins from the second he saw her.
I remember when I first met Rory, but it was not a love-at-first-sight moment.
Proof I did not—do not—have a thing for my fake girlfriend.
Fantasizing about fucking someone is not an indication of secret feelings. Sex has rarely equaled dating for me.
“This is a very recent development,” I stress to Kit. “We’d barely spoken in years before this summer.”
“That must have been your twin sitting super close to Rory at her graduation party then.”
I forgot about that. The same moment Molly called cozy. After seeing the photo, I couldn’t even claim she was wrong.
“I was talking to Wren.”
Kit smirks. “Wren thinks there’s something between you guys too.”
That, I already knew. Wren has made several pointed comments about Rory’s apparent dislike of me.
I swallow another bite of sandwich before saying, “This stays between us, okay? I’m not sure when Rory wants to tell her family about us. I told my best friend, not her cousin.”
“I’m your best friend and her cousin, Flynn.”
My phone starts buzzing on the table. I flip it over, but not before Kit sees the caller.
“He checking on how you’re spending your trust?”
“Probably.” I sip some water, washing away the bitterness of the lie.
I haven’t told Kit my dad is still withholding the money he promised me. Kit would offer the funds. I don’t want his charity. And if I disclosed Julian’s new condition for me receiving my inheritance, he’d find me proposing to Rory exceptionally suspicious. I can’t tell him.
“How’s the foundation going?” Kit asks.
“Slow.” I exhale, not needing to fake my frustration. “Work has been super hectic. I’ve barely had time to look into anything.”
“I can—”
“I need to do it myself, Kit.”
“I get that. And I wasn’t going to offer my assistance—or money—although you know you just have to ask if you need either. I was going to say that your girlfriend’s dad has set up two foundations and could be a good resource to get started.”
“Oliver?”
“Yep. He stepped back from daily operations after becoming CEO at Kensington Consolidated, but I know he was part of establishing Earthroot and Better Tomorrow. They’ve both expanded to global outreach, so he obviously did something right.”
“I—maybe.”
If I were dating Rory for real, it would be a good way to get to know her dad better. But I already know Oliver Kensington well enough to respect him, and I’m anxious about the prospect of spending time with him while lying about such a crucial fact.
Kit balls up his bag of chips and tosses it into a nearby trash can. “Your dad’s going to be thrilled when he hears about you and Rory.”
I swallow hard. “I don’t care what he thinks.”
If only that were entirely true.