10. Felicity
FELICITY
“Oooh, your boyfriend beat us here,” Nina bumped her shoulder into mine as we walked into Frankie’s Tavern, the latest dive bar where Tyler was performing.
Meeting Cameron at the bar for Tyler’s gig was a perfect way to soft-launch our public couplehood after our accidental date at the coffee shop a few days prior.
The photos and videos the girls had posted had set the #RingingintheRomance tag on fire, and interest in us was gaining even more traction.
That said, I couldn’t imagine a rundown bar being a hang-out spot for romance fangirls.
I’d dressed with care just in case anyone noticed us—but I also had back-up plans for other places where we could be “caught” together if there ended up not being any content from tonight.
Nina and I wound our way through the crowd to the table, and I tried to ignore the butterflies in my chest as we got closer, because Cameron was bringing the smolder tonight.
He’d opted to skip his usual uniform of a suit and tie and was in a simple black t-shirt and jeans, although the way the shirt fit him was anything but “simple.” I was treated to biceps and forearms that made me wonder if he spent all his free time at the gym.
His eyes lit up when he spotted us, and he jumped to his feet. For a second, his excitement at seeing me almost felt real.
“Hey. Hi, uh, sweetheart,” he said in a strained voice, glancing around to see if anyone was watching.
I laughed softly. The man needed to learn how to lean into pretending to like me. Clearly, it was a stretch for him.
“Hey, babe,” I said, going up on my tiptoes to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.
It was the second time I’d been in close contact with Cameron, a no-big-deal peck that was the equivalent of what I’d give my grandfather, yet it still rocked me to my core.
He had this aura around him, a warmth almost, that made me want to nuzzle closer to him.
And the way he smelled? Incredible. I’d gotten hints of it when we were trapped in the elevator together, but going in for the kiss gave me a full hit of his spicy scent.
And unlike those guys who bathed in cologne, he wore just enough to make you want to lean in closer.
I wished I could park my nose against his neck and breathe him in for a couple of hours.
Purely for research, of course.
“You just missed Tyler,” he said as we sat down.
“Did he seem nervous?” Nina asked. “He texted me and said he was feeling a little shaky about tonight.”
The two had been texting nonstop since meeting, which made me equal parts happy and worried.
I wanted to trust Cameron that Tyler was a good guy, but “good friend” didn’t always equal “good boyfriend.” Frankly, it was hard for me to imagine how he could be a good boyfriend for Nina given his lifestyle.
How could a guy who plays gigs in the middle of the night be right for a bookworm who liked staying in?
Cameron shook his head. “No, he wasn’t nervous. He’s in a good headspace right now. He’s all wrapped up trying to perfect a new song, that’s why he’s not out here hanging with us.”
Nina perked up even more. “New song? Does it have to do with dragons?”
“Uh, he didn’t say,” Cameron laughed. “Maybe?”
Nina squeezed my arm and leaned closer to me. “He told me about the song! It’s about the book we’re reading together.”
Okay, that was totally sweet. A rock guy writing an ode to a dragon-filled fantasy novel? Maybe Tyler and Nina were a better match than I’d thought.
I glanced around the room to see if anyone had clocked me and Cameron and was disappointed to discover we were apparently the least interesting people in the room.
I wanted an excuse to pull my chair a little closer to Cameron’s, maybe hold his hand.
I might’ve felt resistant to it when we were outlining our fake relationship, but now that it was a go, I was ready to sell it.
Plus, I needed to model the right sort of social media behavior for him, since it didn’t seem like it was easy for him.
Loving glances, big smiles, stolen kisses…
the sort of stuff that would make people want to follow our story.
And maybe, just maybe, we’d both learn to enjoy it a little.
“Fuck,” Cameron muttered as he stared across the room. “My brother’s here.”
A splash of ice water hit me. We were doing family stuff already?
How much did his brother know? How was I supposed to act around him?
We hadn’t talked about involving loved ones during the contract negotiation at the coffee shop.
Obviously, I’d told Nina the truth—but I had no idea what kind of relationship Cameron had with his brother.
Was he someone we could trust with a secret?
“You don’t like your brother?” I asked in a quiet voice.
“I love my brother,” Cameron shot back with a glower I hoped wasn’t meant for me. “It’s his girlfriend I can do without. I didn’t invite her.”
Nina and I watched the good-looking, dark-haired guy stride toward us. I craned my neck to try to spot the awful girlfriend in question.
“He’s in a sling? What the hell did he do to himself?” Cameron muttered angrily.
The pair slid into the empty chairs at our table, and I got a good look at them.
His brother had the same strong jawline and piercing eyes as Cameron, but he seemed more easygoing and quick to smile.
His girlfriend was a gorgeous blonde who looked vaguely familiar to me, but then again, stunning women with perfect blowouts were fairly common in my social media world.
“Hey. What did you do to yourself now?” Cameron asked, nodding toward his brother’s arm.
“Oh, this?” he laughed and lifted it slightly.
“Megan wanted us to buy roller skates, and it turns out my balance is absolutely shitty. Fractured my wrist.” He glanced toward Nina and me since Cameron didn’t introduce us.
“Hi, I’m Aiden, and this is my girlfriend, Megan.
You must be Felicity. Cam’s told me absolutely nothing about you. ”
I laughed, not sure how to take it. “Hi. You’re right—I’m Felicity. This is my friend Nina.”
Everyone made pleasant small talk but Cameron, who seemed busier than usual on his phone.
“Aiden, we need to chat,” he said after a few minutes of silent treatment. “Let’s go.” He stood up and walked away before his brother could answer.
“The king hath summoned,” Aiden said wryly. “If you’ll excuse me, ladies.”
The moment we were alone, Megan put her hand to her chest and let out a weary sigh. “Wow, he hates me.”
Nina and I leaned closer to her, eager to get the scoop.
“Why? If you don’t mind my asking,” I said gently.
She glanced between us. “I can sum it up like this—I’m Megan Bartholomew.”
“Holy shit,” I said, before I could help myself. “Of the Barth & Co. Bartholomews?”
“Who?” Nina asked, confused.
“Megan’s family and Cameron’s family are basically the Montagues and the Capulets. Diamond rivals,” I told her. “Long-standing blood feud.”
Megan gave me a halfhearted smile. “I wouldn’t go that far.
Let’s just say things are touchy between our families and have been for years.
But I don’t even work for the company, and neither does Aiden, so it’s not like we have a direct stake in the game, you know?
Not that it matters to Cameron. He looks at me like I’m a mail order bride asking for money to help my ‘sick mother.’” She made air quotes.
“I bet he’s going to blame me for Aiden’s arm. ”
“I’m sorry,” Nina said, frowning sympathetically at Megan. “That really sucks.”
“It does, but I get it. There’s the family stuff, plus Cameron also has a crappy history in the romance department.”
“Oh?” I asked, trying not to look as desperate for intel about him as I was. “What happened?”
Megan glanced toward where the guys had disappeared.
“I don’t know all of the story, but Aiden told me things ended badly with his ex.
Like, catastrophically bad. Cameron got his heart destroyed, which is probably also part of the reason why he hates me.
I bet he thinks his brother is going to end up with a broken heart, just like his.
But Aiden and I are in love. Real love, like, forever love.
Cameron will see it, eventually.” She frowned and played with the glass of water in front of her. “At least I hope so.”
I chewed my lip as I considered this new insight into my bosshole fake boyfriend. A broken heart? It barely seemed like he had one, but now the way he had been acting toward me made a little more sense.
Cameron hated love. Awesome.
Nina craned her neck to look over our heads, then clapped her hands together. “There he is! Tyler’s just walked on stage. I’m so excited.”
“Looks like love is in the air tonight,” Megan mused as she watched Nina. She leaned toward me, probably to ask about me and Cameron, right as Tyler greeted the crowd. The accompanying mic screech made everyone grab their ears.
“Oof,” Nina said. “Not a great start to the set.”
Cameron stormed back to his seat with an angry Aiden trailing behind him, and I think we all felt lucky that we could focus on the music instead of the tension in the air while Tyler played his solo set.
Tyler was in his element alone on the stage with just his guitar.
He played songs everyone sang along to, as well as one that mentioned a “winged beast and a timeless love.” I glanced at Nina to find her mesmerized by him.
Watching him seduce the room left me even more worried for her.
As expected, Aiden and Megan said their goodbyes shortly after Tyler finished up. Cameron relaxed a little once they were gone, and even more so once Tyler joined us at the table.
“Well?” Tyler asked as we applauded him. “How was it?”
A waitress interrupted us before we could go into a full-fledged gush, and Tyler ordered celebratory tequila shots for the table, as well as a whiskey for himself.