No Love Allowed(11)

“Tracy?” All it took was for Caleb to shoot daggers at him for Nathan to say, “Oh right, the pregnancy rumors. What a mess that was. Anastasia?”

“Didn’t her mother send her to a spa?” He sandwiched the last word in air quotes.

“Then you’re screwed. There’s no one left our age that you haven’t dated and left heartbroken. Many of them are still licking their wounds. The older ones will eat you alive, and the younger ones . . .”

“Let’s not go there.” He rubbed his face, sudden fatigue eating him from the inside out. “I wish Tash were here. Your sister always knows what to do.”

Nathan’s lips quirked. “She’d love this. I’m pretty sure she’d tease you into the next century for being a playboy.”

“I think her exact word was manwhore.” He chuckled.

“We could call her,” his cousin suggested, taking out his phone.

“And ruin her ‘retreat’?”

“You’re right.” Nathan sighed. “Plus, the last thing we need is to prove to her that we turn into complete idiots when she’s gone.”

Despite the humor relieving some of his stress, Caleb couldn’t help saying, “Why does JJ have to act all fatherly now? He left me alone for so many years.”

“Has it occurred to you that this has nothing to do with being a father?” the usually restrained Preston asked bitterly, shocking the cousins into staring at him in surprise.

“What do you mean?” Nathan pressed.

Preston shrugged. “Ever since your mother died, JJ has buried himself in work.” He paused, settling those serious green eyes on Caleb. “Amber’s father is one of JJ’s most important clients. Doesn’t he pay your father an absurd retainer?”

“Yeah,” he said. “What about it?”

Nathan clapped once, getting Preston’s meaning. “You breaking up with Amber threatened JJ’s work. That’s a deal breaker for him.”

Realization dawned on Caleb like a punch in the gut, causing him to stagger onto the opposite bench. “Messing with his work messes with him.” He groaned into his hands. “Shit.” His gaze darted over the floor of the gazebo as he figured things out. “I bet he knew that by making me attend those events without a girlfriend I would have to fend off unwanted attention. Christ, he’s crueler than I thought.”

“I hate to say this—”

“Then don’t,” he interrupted Nathan.

But it was useless because his cousin said it anyway. “You are so screwed.”

“Hire someone?” Preston mumbled. He had a faraway look on his face.

“Excuse me?” he asked.

“If you want to avoid a repeat of what happened with Amber and the biddies setting you up with their granddaughters, hire someone to be your girlfriend for the summer.”

Nathan threw his head back and howled. He laughed so hard that he hugged himself as if he needed to keep himself from bursting.

Shaking his head, dismay clear in his expression, Preston grabbed Nathan’s arm to keep the other guy from falling off the bench.

Caleb rubbed his chin. “A fake girlfriend.” He liked the idea.

“And . . .” Nathan sucked in a deep breath, stray chuckles still escaping. “Since you’ve already cultivated your manwhore image, no one will think twice about you bringing someone new to the parties.”

“Gee, thanks.” Caleb scowled.

“Happy to help.”

“The question is, who?” Preston asked, bringing them back to what they had already discussed earlier.

“I can’t think of anyone else.” Caleb’s hope deflated like a balloon with a small hole. “Maybe Tash knows someone?”

Nathan pursed his lips. “You’ve already dated all her friends.”

“And her friends’ friends,” Preston added.

“I think I liked it better when you were quiet.” Caleb combed his fingers through his hair. He had done that so much today he was afraid he would grow bald if they didn’t find a solution soon.

Ignoring the jab, Preston asked no one in particular, “Who do we know that’s outside our usual crowd?”

“You want Caleb to contract this out?”

The best friends were arguing the merits of fishing out of their pond, when the image of the girl with startling brown eyes came to mind. Caleb leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees and clasping his hands together. It was a stretch. Aside from knowing her name, she was a complete stranger to him. Would she do it? Who would say yes to attending stuffy parties all summer pretending to be his girlfriend? But she was the only one he knew on the outside. . . .

“I know that look,” Nathan said.

“I think I know someone.” He bit down on the tips of his thumbs. She had jumped off Coward’s Cliff. Maybe she was impulsive enough to agree. But his father had said that he needed to stay on his best behavior. If she was the reckless type, it could become a problem, especially considering the social circles he moved in. “I’m not sure.”

“Come on.” The whine in his cousin’s tone made him look up. “We can’t help you if you don’t share what you’re thinking.”

Ah, screw it! If he was to survive, he had to do something. “How well do you know the manager at the club?”