Page 45 of Filthy Twisted Devil

“There was one I was thinking about,” he admits, pulling out his phone. “It’s vintage.”

He shows me a photo of an ornately carved antique-looking ring. The diamond is flanked by small pearl clusters. I might not know much about jewelry, but it’s Brinley to a T—romantic, unique, luxurious without being flashy.

“Buy it,” I declare. “Now, before someone else does, and before I change my mind and revoke my blessing.”

“Hey! You can’t just revoke a blessing.”

“Sure I can. I have the right to change my mind whenever I want.”

He groans. “You’re going to hold this over my head until we actually say ‘I do,’ aren’t you?”

“Yup, so you better act right. I expect a lot of free food, and if I were you, I’d let me win at poker. So, do you have a plan for this proposal?”

“I was thinking I'd propose at the Christmas party, actually. I think it would mean a lot to Brinley to have her friends there. She hated keeping our relationship secret for that long, so for the proposal to be public…”

He trails off, and my stomach twists a little. The major reason they kept their relationship secret for so long was that Beau was afraid of how I'd react. Granted, he should have known that I’d rather know than be lied to, but his heart was in the right place.

“I think it's perfect,” I say gently. “Order that ring. I know she’ll say yes.”

“Thanks man. By the way, I talked to Brinley about you,” Beau says. “I can’t believe you told her about the fake relationship and not me.”

The casual way he drops the news makes me jump, and I cough violently as my whiskey goes down the wrong pipe. Beau slaps me hard on the back until I’m breathing.

“She told you?” I croak when I finally catch my breath.

Beau snorts. “She didn't have to. I figured it out by myself.”

“You did?”

“Don't look so shocked. I do have a brain under all these muscles,” he quips. “It makes sense. You get a relationship to help clean up your reputation after the Peppermint PR nightmare, and Eden gets her insane brother off her back. Really smart—must have been her idea.”

I ignore the snide comment. “How did you figure it out? Did I do something wrong?”

“It was so obvious. Don't get me wrong, you're both surprisingly good actors, but I know you, Luke. You don’t do girlfriends. There's no way that you just turned around and changed your mind for some girl you've known for a decade. If you were really interested in Eden, you would've made a move forever ago.”

I groan. “Does that mean everyone knows?”

“I don't think so. That's all thanks to Eden, though. She’s pretty, ambitious, smart—it’s easy to see why you’d fall for her.” Beau leans forward and raises his brows. “So easy that I started thinking that’s exactly what happened.”

My mouth goes dry. “What do you mean?”

“Come on, man. I've seen how you look at her. There's nothing fake about that. Maybe it was fake when it started, but are you really gonna tell me that nothing's changed?”

I looked down at my whiskey to avoid his gaze. Beau knows me way too fucking well. I can't confirm or deny, because either way, he'll call me on the truth.

“Fine,” Beau groans. “I've got to go back to Terrace and review the specials for next month, so I'll just leave you with this. I know a little something about secret relationships. When I was doing it, I thought I was getting away with it. I wasn't.”

I don't look up while he puts down his glass and shrugs on his coat. I just keep staring at my glass for a long, long time.

18

EDEN

“Keep up!” Pippa yells as she leads Brinley, Cat, and I through the crowded Christmas market. The rest of us hurry to keep up with her, weaving between the dense crowd of shoppers carrying stuffed shopping bags.

“Slow down,” Brinley complains. “My foot is starting to cramp.”

“No way. The bespoke hot chocolate mix stand closes soon, and there’s no way I’m missing it. Hustle, people!”