18. Chapter 17
Leo
“You should come and join me and my friends,” the blonde who keeps trailing her finger up and down my forearm says, biting the corner of her gloss-covered lips.
Smiling politely at her, I sigh, cupping the back of my neck.
“I’m here with my boys.” It doesn’t sit well with me that I’m being hit on while my wife—fake or not—sits a hundred yards away.
I’ve glanced over a few times while she’s been talking to Jade, and each time, Ria’s hands are tugging furiously on her glossy waves.
She is obviously regretting everything about this trip and the mess I’ve put her in.
“They can come too.” She winks at Kai. “The more the merrier.”
“Umm…” He looks at me to gauge my reaction. “I think…” He clears his throat. “Oh, look, Deacon needs me. Coming, mate.” He scurries off and I mentally count all the ways I’m going to get him back.
“Look, I’m flattered but I’m going to stay with the boys.” I throw my thumb over my shoulder like the dork I am.
“Looks like they’ve all abandoned you.” She gives me a self-satisfied smile, and I spin around frantically, seeing that they have in fact abandoned me.
Fuckers.
“So what do you say?” She reaches up on tiptoes and whispers in my ear, her hot breath tickling my skin.
I don’t fucking want this.
“I best go find them.” I back away and stumble over a chair.
“Fuck. Umm, see you.” Dear God, I’m a mess.
I’m not a guy that fumbles and doesn’t know how to speak with women.
Especially women who look like her. She’s beautiful and is literally offering herself and her friends up on a plate for me, but all I can think is I’m cheating on Ria just by talking to her.
I practically run out of the bar, my heart pounding out of my chest, jabbing my finger furiously on the elevator button.
“Come on,” I mutter, watching the numbers rise too fucking slowly on the screen as I bounce on the balls of my feet.
Barreling into the elevator, I almost knock over a woman.
“Sorry,” I rush out and reach out to steady her, and she grabs hold of my forearm, gazing up at me and biting her lip seductively.
“It’s okay.” A bead of sweat trickles down my face as she trails the tips of her fingers over my exposed skin. “I’m glad you caught me.”
“Yep,” I almost shout as I hold my hands up and she stumbles backwards out of the elevator, giving me a confused look as I hit the button for the ground floor continuously, waving with my other hand like a dork as the doors close on her bemused face.
Pacing the small space, I pull on the ends of my hair, groaning as the energy pulsing through me makes my chest physically ache.
The elevator stops and the doors are barely open when I squeeze out and break out into a run.
Trying to flee, to escape the sense of drowning and the feeling of everything closing in on me.
I don’t stop as I make it out onto the Strip.
I just keep going. Running and running until my lungs feel like they are about to burst. Bending at the waist, I suck in deep breaths, trying to calm my heart and my brain.
It’s times like this when I feel out of control that I do something stupid and Hunter pulls me back, but he’s not here right now.
That thought alone has me pulling at my shirt collar; everything feels so restrictive and itchy.
Pacing the street, I try to find something, anything that I can focus on to stop the rampant beats of my heart.
But there’s nothing. Just people laughing, not a care in the world, rushing through the streets.
The colors blur together and sweat drips down my back, starting to soak through the fabric of my T-shirt.
“Leo?”
Someone is calling me, but I’m so lost in my spiral that I block them out.
“Leo! Will you stop?” My head is swimming, the person's voice distant and muffled as my head swings as I look for something to concentrate on.
Pulling at my sweat-soaked hair, I stare up at the sky. My staggering breaths get caught in my throat at the bright unfiltered blue of the cloudless sky.
It’s the perfect shade.
“Leo!” Kai’s hand lands on my shoulder. “You okay, man?” His voice is filled with concern as I continue to stare at the flawless ice-blue view, my breaths steadying. “Leo, talk to me.”
Tearing my gaze away, my eyes refocus on Kai as he tucks his hands in his pockets. “I can see your brain working like you’re about to do something you’ll regret.”
“I…I…” Stuttering, my fists tighten at my side as I compose myself. “I’ve fucked up, Kai.”
“Why? What have you done?”
“I married Ria,” I shout, staring at him in disbelief.
“I know. I thought you’d done something else.” He shrugs, a cocky smile plastered on his face.
“This isn’t funny. I…I… fuck!” Rubbing my hand down my face, I groan.
“It’s only temporary, and you get on with her, so it could be worse.”
“How could this possibly be worse?”
“You could be completely in love with Ria and in total denial about it. Now you’ve married her, and you’re freaking out because deep down it’s what you’ve always wanted but have been too chickenshit to do anything about it.
” His lips curve up in a cocky grin, and my racing heart actually stops dead at his words.
“That’s…”
“Remarkably accurate?” He quirks his eyebrow at me, folding his arms across his chest.
“No, it’s so far off base.” Gripping the back of my neck, I stare back up at the sky, releasing a deep breath. “You’ve read this all wrong.”
“Then why are you freaking out?”
“Because I married my best friend's sister in Vegas drunk off my ass, and now I’ve got to pretend to be married to her so she can win this deal that she deserves.” My shoulders drop as I shake and hang my head.
“And if I fuck it up she will potentially be embarrassed and her reputation could be in tatters because I will inevitably fuck this up for her.”
“Mate, you don’t give yourself enough credit. How could you fuck this up?”
“Did you not see that girl coming on to me?”
“Yes, and I heard you tell her countless times that you didn’t want to go with her.”
“Yes, but what if something like that happens again and it gets back to Cole? Then he thinks I’m cheating on Ria and disrespecting her. He will see right through the lie we’re weaving.”
“Okay, take a breath. You’re spiraling again.
” He looks over my shoulder. “Look, let’s grab a quick bite over there.
This spiral is fun to watch, but I fear if it continues I’m going to have to slap you, and I’m a lover not a fighter.
So move your spiraling butt over to that diner and let’s have this out.
” He hooks his arm around my shoulder. “Let’s have a Harris Heart to Heart. ”
“I worry about you.”
“What? I thought it was pretty clever.”
“It could do with some work.” I huff out a laugh as we cross the road, his antics halting my internal turmoil.
“I’m open to suggestions.” He pushes open the diner door, and we slide into a booth.
“You can rely on Kai?” I say, browsing the drinks menu.
“Oh, I like that one.”
“Or Kai likes to pry.”
“Too far, man.” He pouts across at me as he takes his menu. “But if you don’t want my foolproof advice then that’s your choice.”
“What makes you an expert?”
“Have you not seen how ridiculously in love Lily and Marcus are? I did that.” His smile is fucking huge as he jabs his thumb into his chest.
“Not sure I’m following?”
“It’s a whole story that I don’t need to get into right now. It was a whole operation. But what I do need to get into is your little predicament.”
“I need to speak with Ria and not you about this.” I grin at him. “But thank you for calming me down.”
“You’re welcome. But unless you’re going to tell Ria that you’re in love with her and this little dilemma you’ve got yourselves in is actually you living out your fantasy, then you need my help.”
“I’m not sure where you—”
“Nope.” He holds up his hand, halting me.
“You do not get to deflect. I know what I’ve witnessed.
You, my friend, are in love with the delectable Miss Stone.
It’s written all over your face, but only some people are clever enough to read the words.
” He raises his eyebrow at me, begging me to argue again with him.
“Shit.” Falling back against the booth, I stare across at his goofy expression. “How long have you known?”
“Officially, five seconds.” He places his menu down.
“Unofficially? The first time I saw you two together. Whenever she wasn’t looking at you, you were looking at her, and you have this little glint in your eye when you watch her or when someone talks about her.
It’s like you light up from within.” I frown at his turn of phrase and he full on belly laughs.
“I know that sounds like it should be in one of those books that Grace reads. But you do.” He leans on his elbows as he stares me straight in the eyes.
No humor, just understanding. “Mate, what’s stopping you? ”
I’m taken off guard by his observation. I thought I was doing a good job at hiding my feelings.
Hunter has never mentioned anything to me, and I would have thought he would have been the first to call me out.
I assumed wrongly, it seems, that no one knows how I feel about Ria.
How I think about her the moment I wake and then how throughout the day, she is constantly on my mind.
Working with her has made it almost impossible to ignore the nearly obsessive thoughts I have about her.
Even the color blue reminds me of her sharp, bright eyes.
And I have plants in my apartment because she told me I needed them there to help keep me calm.
She is wrapped around my every movement, and I can’t untangle myself.
The more I try, the tighter the knots form.
Kai’s question about what is stopping me is one that I battle with constantly.
“I’m not good enough for someone like her,” I whisper, not daring to look him in the eye.
“You did not just say that to me.”
“I’ve told you before. I’m too chaotic and can’t sit still.
She would hate that. I’m no one’s calm, and that is what she needs.
And I’ve proven what an absolute mess I am when left to my own devices.
Look what hole I’ve got her in now.” I sigh.
“Plus I owe Hunter so much. He’s the brother I never had, and if I acted on these feelings it would end in disaster, and I’d lose her and him.
That’s not something I’m willing to do.”
“Let’s think about this. Hunter knows who you are and what type of man you are. You love hard, Leo, and that’s evident in everything you do. Has he ever said to stay away from his sister?”
“No.”
“And has he ever told you that you wouldn’t be good enough for her?”
“Well, no, we’ve never actually spoken about it.”
“So how do you know he wouldn’t be happy with you being with his sister?”
“I…I suppose I don’t.”
“So it’s all in your head and how you see yourself.”
“Yeah, but even if Hunter wasn’t bothered and was all right with it, she doesn’t feel the same.”
“You sure about that?”
“Of course I’m sure.” I scoff.
“But if she did?”
“I’d show her exactly how she should be loved.”
“Mate, you’ve got the perfect opportunity to show her. You have to show the world you’re madly in love, so use this time to show not only the world but Ria too.”
“You think this could work?” Hope blooms in my chest at the possibility that I could have everything I’ve always wanted.
“With me in your corner? Of course.”
“So what do we do?”
“We initiate Seduction Stone.”
Dear God. I thought I was the clown.