Chapter 3 #3
My eyes flickered up to meet his. “Hopefully only on paper. I’ve missed you.”
His long arms wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me into his body.
Despite the heat, I let myself sink into his hold, inhaling a deep breath of cedar and something summery, like citrus.
“I missed you more.” His voice was sad and small.
It gave me a small amount of hope that he really was just tangled up and busy. Hope that we were okay.
My eyes shut as I took another breath of his familiar cologne, ignoring the questions that niggled at the back of my mind. If he missed me more... Why was he distancing himself in the first place?
But he cleared his throat, pulling me from my thoughts. “You good?” He asked, stepping away, but keeping his hands on my shoulders.
I swiped at the sweat beading along my hairline. “I should be asking you that. You looked like shit this morning. How’s the hangover?”
He shrugged. “Any discomfort I feel right now is probably deserved.”
Well, I won’t argue with that.
“Let’s get this shit hashed out. I gotta go soon.” I jerked my chin towards the door, waiting for Rhys to release me from his hold so we could walk back to Cam’s office.
“You sure you’re okay?” he asked gently.
“I’m okay if you’re okay.”
I watched his expression, waiting for something to give away that he wasn’t, in fact, okay with it. Something.
A twitch of his mouth, a tick in his jaw. But his face remained unreadable.
Or maybe the fog was too heavy, and I really was losing my touch.
He smiled, his face softening with it. “I’m okay.”
“Okay,” I responded, pushing past Rhys to swipe my keycard against the black reader on the door.
When I stepped inside, the chill of the air conditioning slapped me instantly, as did the reality of what we were about to do.
I was going to date Rhys. Fake date, Rhys. But still!
My fucking best friend.
People Magazine’s ‘Sexiest Man in Sports’ in 2024.
The two of us had been photographed together for years. But almost everyone knew me as the bitchy best friend. Or the ‘boring friend with resting bitch face’ as TMZ so lovingly put it last year.
We’d been shutting down dating rumors for years. How was everyone going to react?
Fuck.
My parents. Rhys’s parents.
Both of our families would have to sign NDAs because we had to tell them. They had to know. We could fake it for the world, but there was no way in hell I could fake it with them. I just couldn’t.
His picture was plastered on the front of every Boston magazine by now, so they would know about... the incident. Meaning they would probably be fine with the agreement we’d come to without questioning it too much, right?
I walked with Rhys through the lobby, muscle memory leading me to the elevator as my brain ran through every single legal precaution we’d have to take.
The doors closed as we stepped in, Rhys reaching across me to press the floor for Camille’s office while my thoughts wandered elsewhere.
I could feel his eyes on me, but I was too distracted to entertain any sort of conversation.
His index finger tapped against my forehead three times, pulling my attention away from the storm of legal jargon brewing in my head.
“I can see the lawyer brain turning. What are you thinking?”
I exhaled a breath through pursed lips and turned to look at Rhys, my hands landing on my hips. “Okay, well. For starters, we’ll both have to sign NDAs. Our families, too. I can have Andre draft up a contract for—”
Rhys palmed the back of his neck nervously before cutting me off. “We shouldn’t tell them.”
My eyes widened comically. “Rhys, we have to tell them.”
My parents would know for sure if I was lying to them. They have to know the truth.
He shrugged as the elevator dinged, and the doors split open. “I don’t think we do.”
The two of us stood in silence, Rhys sticking his hand out to stop the door from closing again.
I couldn’t lie to my parents. I couldn’t lie to my sisters. How?
How could I look Lisa in the face and lie about dating her son?
“Earth to Sloane?” Camille’s fingers snapped in front of my face. “I get that you’re in some kind of walking coma, but I need you to focus. If we’re gonna do this, we need to hash out the legal shit. You have court in thirty.”
My eyes somehow grew even wider. “Fuck. Thirty minutes?” I checked my smart watch, and sure enough, it was nearing nine.
How long had I sat outside panicking with Rhys?
“I’m a lawyer, Cam. I’m perfectly capable of drafting the paperwork at home or shooting over the logistics to Andre so he can take care of it. I have to go.” I pushed past her and Rhys, walking towards her office to grab my things.
I grabbed my phone and dialed Gavin’s number to let him know I was on the way, then turned to Cami and Rhys. “Actually... my apartment. Tonight. Eight? Bring food, I have wine.” I turned, solely speaking to Cami. “Dom can come if you think he can keep a secret.”
Gavin’s deep voice filtered through the phone as I was heading out of the office, so I waved a quick goodbye as I entered the elevator.