Crazy for Your Love (The Boys of Jackson Harbor #5)(28)

The maternal gesture is at odds with the relationship we’ve had lately, and it catches me off guard.

I cradle my head in my hands, close my eyes, and try to collect and steady myself. Because suddenly my world feels like its shifting beneath my feet.





Teagan


Shay Jackson opens the door to her apartment after my first knock. Her eyes light up when she sees me. “Speak of the devil,” she says. “I just got off the phone with Ava, who talked to Jake, who said you and Carter were looking mighty friendly at the bar last night. You two are making a habit of that.”

Of course she already knows. Secrets are a rare commodity in the Jackson family. There’s no way he and I are going to pull this off without being the subject of their ongoing game of telephone—even if they do know the truth. “That’s why I’m here. I wanted to talk to you.”

Shay beams and pulls the door wider. “Good. Because I want to know all the details.” Cringing, she shakes her head. “Scratch that. No sex details. You’re my friend, but he’s my brother, and . . . yuck.”

I toss my purse on the counter and go straight to her fridge for a beer. One of the best perks of being friends with the Jackson family is that they always have good beer in the fridge, and after the last few days, I feel like I deserve the empty calories. I grab a second and wave it at Shay.

She shrugs. “Sure. Are you going to explain why my brother was feeling you up last night?”

“My mom saw the picture of us online, and I didn’t tell her it was fake.”

Shay’s eyebrows shoot up. “Oh.”

“My sister’s wedding is this weekend, and I asked Carter to go with me—to pretend to be my boyfriend until it’s all over.”

“But your sister’s wedding is here. In Jackson Harbor. This isn’t like taking a guy home and pretending you’re a thing when you’re not.”

“I know. I do. But Shay . . .” I put down my beer then take her hand and squeeze it in both of mine. “The guy my parents want me to marry is coming, and if I’m single, they’ll be relentless in their efforts to set me up.”

“Why not pretend you have a boyfriend who lives in California or something?”

I squeeze her fingers again. “Because my mom has already seen the news about me and Carter. If I’m going to lie, doesn’t it make sense to go with what’s already established?”

She frowns. “I guess. But I wish you didn’t have to lie at all.”

“You and me both,” I mutter. Truth be told, I can’t think about it too much. Every time I do, there’s an ache in my chest, like I’m a child who’s gotten away with breaking a rule. “I feel like a total shit for doing this to my family.”

“Then why do it? Why not tell them the truth and explain that you don’t want this guy there? Surely they value you enough to listen.”

I shake my head. It’s hard to explain Rich and how well he’s entrenched himself in my family’s life. Hard to explain the fear and shame that keeps me from telling anyone the whole truth—whether it’s my family or Shay. Or maybe I don’t want to explain that I’m too much of a coward to ask my sister or mother not to let Rich come—too afraid they’ll ask questions I don’t want to answer. Or worse, that it will piss off Rich and he’ll tell them my secrets. “It’s not that simple.”

“But this is?”

“Pretending to be with Carter beats any alternative I can come up with.” Even if it makes me a liar and a coward. God, I wish I weren’t so damn afraid.

She folds her arms and arches a brow. “And that’s it? Just pretend? No ulterior motives in choosing Carter?”

“He was convenient.”

Shay grunts. “I’m sure that’s all there was to it.”

I shrug. We won’t discuss how good it felt to have him pressed against me or the flurry of butterflies that swarmed in my belly when he touched me at the bar. It would’ve been so easy to stay in his arms all night, to thank him for this favor by taking him home with me. But after running through the details of our weekend together, I left. I didn’t trust myself to stay. Not with the peppy cheerleader lady looking at Carter like he’d broken her heart.

“Do you know anything about Carter and Myla?” I ask. “She was blowing up Carter’s phone last night.” Never mind the fact that she whispered something to him and smacked his ass.

Shay snorts. “Her and most single, age-appropriate women in Jackson Harbor. He’s become such a flirt.”

“It seemed like more than flirtation. Have they been dating?”

“Myla Quincy, right?” She frowns and grabs her phone. “I don’t think so.”

“Who are you calling?”

She grins. “Ava. She used to work with Myla. She might know something.”

I snatch the phone from her hand before she can connect the call. “Don’t. Please?”

“If you and Carter are involved, don’t you want to know?”

I wave a hand. “I have no claim on him. I was just curious.” And jealous. More jealous than I want to admit. I find the bottle opener, open my beer, and drain half of it in one go.

Shay laughs. “I guess you don’t want a glass?”