“I assume all men care if their fiancées wear their engagement rings.”
“Yeah, but this isn’t exactly a normal engagement.”
He made a growly noise in the back of his throat. “Normalis a highly overused word that has no real meaning. It’s completely arbitrary based on who uses it. I don’t give a fuck if this is temporary, you are mine for the next nine months.”
Hayden and I didn’t talk much after that. I spent the rest of the drive looking down at the rock on my finger and debating what to tell my friends.
When Caleb pulled to a stop outside Kylie’s apartment building, I practically bolted out of the car. I didn’t even bother making plans for how I was getting home. I’d figure it out later when I wasn’t stuck in a confined space with Hayden.
Everyone else was already sitting around the coffee table in Kylie’s living room when I walked in through the back door.
“Nice of you to join us,” Miles said, grinning up at me from his spot cross-legged on the floor.
“Sorry, I’m late. I had… a complication.”
“So what you’re really saying is that you should have taken me up on that ride I offered you.”
“Shut up.”
He placed a hand over his heart and dramatically fell back like he’d been shot.
I rolled my eyes as I sat down beside him. “You’re such a drama queen.”
“You love me anyway.”
“What kind of complication?” Piper asked, a note of worry in both her tone and her aura.
“Just a ride mix-up.”
Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t push for more details.
For a while book club was the same as normal. We talked about our favorite scenes, which characters we liked and which ones we would have liked to strangle. And I slowly relaxed, the tension from the car ride dissipating into nothing.
Until I got too comfortable and reached for my wineglass with my left hand.
“What the fuck is that?” Miles asked, grabbing my wrist so he could examine the diamond on my finger.
Dammit.
“Miles…”
“Who the hell are you engaged to, Dani?” Most of the time Miles was fun-loving and easygoing, but we’d been best friends for nearly two years—I knew he had a serious side that could be nearly as growly and cold as his brother’s.
I swallowed, glancing at the girls in a hopeless bid for help, but they all looked at me with the same expectant expressions.
“It’s not a big deal. The marriage is going to be temporaryand on paper only.” At least that’s what I had to keep reminding myself.
“With who?” Miles gritted out at the same time Sierra asked, “Does Hayden know?”
I looked between the two of them and then sighed. There was no point in trying to hide the truth from them. “Yes, Hayden knows. I’m marrying him.”
“Back up,” Kylie said. “You’re marrying the asshole who broke your heart less than a year ago? No offense, Miles.”
“He didn’t break my heart.”
“Dani, you can lie to yourself all you want, but you can’t lie to us.”
“She’s right,” Miles said softly. “He hurt you.”
