18. Knox #2
Chey glances back to meet my gaze as Britt loops an arm through hers, steering her away. The emerald silk sways with every step she takes, and more than one guy turns to watch them go. The possessiveness rising within me isn’t in any way normal.
Dad follows my line of sight before looking back at me. “We had no idea Cheyenne would be here with you.” With a tilt of his head, he assesses me carefully. “Nice shiner, by the way. Did that happen on the ice?”
Mom frowns. “Hockey is such a brutal sport.”
“No,” I mutter, hoping there won’t be more questions. “It didn’t.”
Colby’s mouth twitches. “Can’t say I haven’t wanted to do the same.”
“Pretty sure you have,” I say. “Several times, if memory serves.”
“Is that so?” Mom asks, raising a brow as she glances at my brother.
Dad’s arm tightens around her. “Should I separate them just like when they were kids?”
Her lips bow. “Only if it becomes necessary.”
Colby slings an arm around my shoulders. “Please. That’s all behind us. We’re the best of friends now.”
I side-eye him. “You sure about that, bro?”
“Yup, pretty sure. You know we enjoy ganging up on Brooks.”
“Well, that’s true enough,” I admit.
Mom shakes her head. “You two are terrible.”
Dad cuts right through the nonsense. “So… back to Cheyenne.”
Damn it.
His gaze settles on me. “Is she here with you?”
There’s no way to dodge the question.
“Yeah.” I glance toward the crowd where Britt and Cheyenne disappeared. “But it’s not what you think. Her ex has been harassing her, so I’m just helping out by pretending to be her boyfriend. That’s it. No big deal.”
The explanation comes out a little too quickly and maybe a little too practiced. From the way my parents exchange a look, they realize it too.
Dad’s eyes narrow. “Does you pretending to be her boyfriend have anything to do with your black eye?”
Nothing gets past Gray McNichols. Even when he was on the road playing pro, he always knew when one of us was full of shit.
I shrug. “It might.”
“Fake dating, huh?” Mom glances at Dad with a knowing look. “That sounds awfully familiar.”
One corner of his mouth slides upward. “Good times.”
The story of my parents’ fake dating is legendary in our family. Mom supposedly couldn’t stand him at first. When their parents started seeing each other, neither wanted the possibility of becoming stepsiblings, and somehow fake dating turned into a thirty-year marriage with four kids.
When Dad’s phone chimes, he slips it from his pocket and glances at the screen.
One brow arches. “Does part of this fake dating scheme involve kissing Cheyenne on the red carpet?”
He angles the phone just enough for me to catch a glimpse of the photo. My arm is wrapped around her waist, her body turned into mine, and our lips are locked together.
All I can say is there’s nothing about that kiss that looks calculated for publicity. What it looks more like is that I couldn’t help myself.
“How else are we supposed to sell the relationship?” I ask, attempting to keep my tone light even though every muscle is filled with tension.
Colby leans in to look at the screen before giving a low whistle. “Didn’t realize you were such a good actor, bro.”
I grunt. “What can I say? Everyone thinks I like you, don’t they?”
He punches my arm. “You’re hilarious.” Then his expression shifts just enough to show me he means the next part. “But seriously. You mess with my wife’s sister, and there’s going to be major problems. I’ll make that shiner look like nothing.”
“Like I said, I’m just helping out a friend. That’s it.”
Mom tips her head. “Since when are the two of you friends?”
And there it is. The hole in my story. I open my mouth and realize I don’t have an answer.
Cheyenne has always been on the periphery of my life because of Britt.
Familiar but not mine. Someone I noticed and then told myself not to think about too much.
Somewhere along the line, she stopped being Britt’s younger sister and became Cheyenne.
A woman I can’t stop watching.
A woman I kissed once and then again in front of the world.
A woman who no longer fits neatly under the category of friend. But then again, did she ever?
Colby nods before pointing at our mother. “Excellent question.”
Mom studies me carefully. “Are you sure feelings aren’t involved?”
My hesitation stretches a beat too long as the kiss on the red-carpet flashes through my mind along with how good her body felt against mine under a storm of camera flashes. The way I wanted her to stay pinned to my side for safe keeping.
With a forced shrug, I shove the thoughts deep down where they belong.
“Nope,” I lie. “Feelings aren’t involved at all.”
Mom doesn’t look convinced.
Across the ballroom, the sisters reappear. My attention zeroes in on Cheyenne as she throws her head back, laughing at something Britt says. The sound doesn’t reach me over the music and conversation, but I don’t need to hear it to feel it.
Everything in me settles at the sight of her.
The smile is wiped from my face when one of my teammates steps up to her, looking like he’s going to strike up a conversation. When he grins, she smiles back politely. My entire body goes taut as a wave of jealousy crashes over me with so much force, it nearly knocks the air from my lungs.
I might have tried to convince my family this relationship is fake. But the way my jaw tightens as I watch another man edge a little too close to her?
That, unfortunately, is all too real.