Chapter 18
BECKETT
“THIS,” ROME ANNOUNCED, stepping into the center of the resort’s private rec room like he was about to host a live broadcast, “is not just a game.”
I leaned back against the arm of the couch, drink in hand, already bracing myself as Sawyer dropped down beside me and bumped his knee against mine.
“This,” Rome continued, grabbing a stack of cards and fanning them dramatically, “is an epic couples showdown to see which of you belong together forever…and which of you could stand to pay more attention to your partner before they leave you…for good.”
“This sounds like a trap,” Sawyer said under his breath.
“Thank you, Rome. I wouldn’t go quite that far, but it is the first game for tonight,” Catherine Montgomery said from where she sat beside Lily, wine glass in hand. “And you’re all participating.”
“I’ve been waiting for this all day,” Lily added, grinning broadly as she tucked her legs beneath her on the couch.
Around the room were several other couples, including Hudson and Drew across from us, on the edge of their seats, game faces clearly on. Peter lounged nearby beside Alec, and I chanced a look at Sawyer to see if he was bothered.
He’d angled his body away from them, and while there wasn’t clear distress written on his face, I couldn’t imagine he was all that comfortable with the situation.
“Welcome,” Rome said, spreading his hands, “to Match, Reveal…or Regret.”
“I regret it already,” Sawyer said.
“You’ll love it,” Rome shot back. “Rules are simple. Answer the question, match your partner, and you’re safe. Don’t match”—he paused for dramatic effect—“and you suffer the consequences.”
“Define consequences,” Drew said.
A mischievous smile curled Rome’s mouth. “Let’s hope you don’t have to find out. Or do. That’s up to you.”
I leaned in toward Sawyer, keeping my voice low so only he could hear me. “How in depth do you think these’ll get?”
“Let’s just say we might be in trouble.” His tone was light, but his fingers lingered against mine a second longer than necessary, like he was testing whether I’d pull away.
I didn’t.
It was wild the way just that small contact made me all too aware of him. No one else here knew what had happened last night, which meant I—we—still had a part to play. It was far too easy to do that with Sawyer, to throw my arm over the back of the couch behind him and act like a real couple.
Had his question last night been a slap in the face? It had. But not because of anything he’d done. Hell, he should be asking those questions of somebody he thought he’d hired.
I was the one lying. I always prided myself on knowing how to handle whatever came my way, but this situation wasn’t one I knew how to fix.
I couldn’t tell Sawyer yet, but I hated how open he was with me when I was still holding back.
I made the decision then. I’d be as open and honest about everything in my life, about who I was—that way, when I finally came clean, he’d know the real me…minus the not-an-escort part.
It was a shit plan, but what else could I do?
Sawyer leaned back against the couch, resting against my arm, and then he looked up at me. “You like a challenge, right?”
Was he reading my mind now? Because yeah, this thing between us would be a challenge, but not because we weren’t compatible. It was so natural with Sawyer, but I couldn’t think about that right now. We had a game to win.
“Yeah,” I said. “Yeah, I do.”
“All right, lovers, pick up your whiteboards,” Rome said, prowling the room, his gaze sliding over each of us. “Let’s start with something simple. Nothing that’ll ruin your relationships. Yet.”
“That’s not ominous at all,” Drew said, reaching for the mini whiteboard that sat on the low table in front of him.
I grabbed one too, along with a marker, and immediately flipped mine around when Sawyer scooted closer to me.
“You know cheating is frowned upon,” I said.
“I wasn’t looking.”
I smirked. “You were maybe thinking about looking.”
“Thinking isn’t the same as doing. But…do I get points for restraint?”
“Pretty sure we only get points if we match.”
Rome clapped his hands once, drawing everyone’s attention back to him. I still couldn’t get used to the idea that the guy I’d seen in movies for years was standing in front of me acting like a game show host. Or the fact that he was Sawyer’s brother.
Crazy.
“Question one will be for all green markers to answer for blue markers,” he said.
“If your partner could only consume one thing for the rest of their life, what would it be? And no, ‘your partner’ is not an appropriate answer in the presence of ladies.” He gestured to his moms, and Lily shook her head.
“No need to be PG on our accounts,” she called out.
“Overruled,” Rome said. “You have thirty seconds.”
Across from us, Hudson leaned over his board and started writing like this was a final exam, while Drew chewed on the cap of his green marker.
“If you get this wrong,” Hudson said without looking up, “I’m reconsidering our relationship.”
“Nah, I got it, I got it.”
I had no idea what Sawyer was going to write, but based on what I’d seen of him so far, there was only one answer that stuck out to me.
“All right, boards up, you gorgeous blues,” Rome called out.
Sawyer flipped his first. Coffee.
“And now you sexy greens.”
I turned mine. Coffee.
Sawyer’s mouth fell open. “No way.”
“You’re surprised?” I said.
“I mean, no, but also yes, because that could’ve been a trick question. I do love a grilled cheese.”
“You love coffee more.”
“This is true. Coffee is basically my blood type.”
“See, that was my reasoning.”
He looked more than a little pleased with that, settling back against my arm as Rome went around the room.
Drew and Hudson both got sushi right, though Hudson added that it was “expensive” sushi, to which Drew told him that was implied.
Catherine and Lily both wrote pasta, which made Lily grin like she’d just won a Tony, and after a few other couples I wasn’t familiar with answered, Rome walked toward Sawyer’s ex.
“Peter. Alec.” Rome’s voice was smooth and sugary sweet. “Let’s see if the honeymoon phase has translated into food-based compatibility.”
Peter flipped his board to answer for Alec’s favorite. Oysters.
Alec flipped his. Steak.
A chorus of “oohs” rang out as Sawyer made a snorting sound beside me, covering it with a cough.
Peter turned his body toward Alec. “You ordered them twice this week.”
“For the table,” Alec said, smile tight.
Rome’s grin spread, slow and wicked, and I had a feeling he’d been waiting for the first mismatch and was more than happy it was Peter.
“Well, well, well,” he said, strolling toward a glass fishbowl on the bar cart that I hadn’t noticed before. “Our first victims of the evening.”
Alec frowned. “Victims?”
“I told you there would be repercussions,” Rome said, dipping his hand into the bowl and pulling out a slip of paper. “Regret penalty number one: one partner must feed the other a mystery snack from the Bowl of Bad Decisions.”
Catherine leaned toward her wife. “You helped him with this, didn’t you?”
Lily grinned. “You know he gets his theatrical side from me.”
Speaking of which, Rome crossed to another tray, lifted a silver cloche with a flourish, and revealed a row of tiny paper cups filled with what looked like harmless snack combinations, which meant they weren’t harmless at all.
Alec frowned at them. “What are those?”
“Could be chocolate-covered espresso beans,” Rome said. “Could be wasabi grasshoppers. Could be kimchi-flavored marshmallows. Love is about trust.”
Sawyer made a choking sound beside me, covering his mouth with his fist, and I had to bite back my own laugh when he sank lower against my side.
Both victims looked like they’d rather set the room on fire than participate, but to his credit, Alec reached for one of the cups and plucked out something small and green.
“Open up,” he said.
Peter reared back. “Wait, no. You eat it.”
“You missed the answer. You get to do the honors.”
“Come on.” He looked to Rome like he was going to help him get out of it, but Rome only tsked.
“I’m afraid Alec is correct. Open wide.”
Peter’s jaw tightened, but with the entire room watching, he leaned forward and opened his mouth just enough for Alec to pop the snack inside.
The second he bit down, his expression changed into downright disgust.
“Ohmygod,” he said before snatching the empty cup out of Alec’s hand to spit the snack into.
With the entire room laughing, Sawyer finally stopped holding back and joined them.
“What is it?” Drew asked.
Peter swallowed with visible effort. “I don’t know.”
Rome checked the envelope under where the cup had sat and wrinkled his nose. “Ooh. An ‘old-socks jellybean rolled in pickle juice and organic kale powder.’ I bet you enjoyed that.”
Peter went white and grabbed his drink, taking a long swallow while the room howled in laughter, and even Catherine was grinning behind her wine glass.
Maybe I was a terrible person, because watching him try to maintain his dignity while clearly regretting every life choice that led him here was the most satisfying thing I’d seen in a long time.
Sawyer leaned in by my ear. “I know I should be the bigger person here, but he totally deserved that.”
“Oh, you can say it. Being the bigger person is overrated.”
“I knew I liked you.”
He said it offhand, probably not even realizing I’d take it a different way.
Thing was, I knew Sawyer liked me. He wore his emotions on his sleeve.
It was his question last night that had sealed it for me, though, because if he didn’t care, he wouldn’t have wanted to know if what was happening between us was real or something he had to pay for.
“All right, blues answer for green this time,” Rome said, moving back to the center of the room. “Who is more likely to start an argument?”
Sawyer’s board was up and he was scribbling away before Rome finished speaking.
I let out a low whistle. “That fast?”
“I know myself.”
“You’re answering for me.”