“But where’s Shane?” Jon asked, his brows knitting ever-closer together as I just confused him more.
“Shane is—God, I don’t know where he is, why would I?” A few minutes ago Jon had mimed breaking out in a cold sweat. Now I was doing it for real. “Shane is wherever Shane is. This is Damon. He’s from New York City and he’s a Dom and I asked him to be my date to your wedding so I didn’t have to own up to getting dumped. And,” I finished weakly, “he’s not vegan.”
“The bacon puff!” Tristan hissed, stabbing a finger at Damon. “I knew it!”
“Stop it,” I snapped, taking a step forward as though Tristan’s finger was a gun and I was the heroic idiot who takes the bullet.
I was an idiot, that was for sure.
Jon was frowning, eyes moving slowly from me to Damon and back again. “Was…this supposed to be a meta-commentary on how Cooper and I got together?”
Oh, no. I knew that tone in his voice. Jonny and I rarely argued, but when we did, they tended to be the huge, explosive kind of fights that resulted in cold shoulders and dead-to-me attitudes…for at least a day.
And we didn’t have a day. Today was The Day.
“Of course not,” I said desperately. “Look, the whole reason I was trying to keep my breakup quiet was because I didn’t want you to worry about it. I figured I had a plus-one, and hey, if the name happened to be different, who was going to care?”
“But then why didn’t you just give his real name?”
The hands on the hips. The hazel eyes glowing a dangerous green. The hair starting—I swear, before my eyes—to curl that little bit tighter. These were all signs of Jon starting to lose it.
“Guys?” Cooper Kincaid slipped back into the group, trying to judge the change in atmosphere. “What’s going on?”
No one said anything. Even Brandon was quiet for once. It was as though they all understood what a potential disaster was unfolding in front of them. Xander opened his mouth to say something, staring with a slightly hostile air at Damon, but Ben gave him a warning nudge.
“Uh, okay, well,” Cooper said, “Jon, Mom’s wondering where you are, so—”
“Alicia will have to wait,” Jon told him. “Right now we have an imposter to deal with.”
“Damon is not an imposter,” I insisted. “He was doing me a favor.”
Cooper frowned. “Wait—who’s Damon?”
The man in question put a warning hand on my shoulder. “Ty, leave it. Your friends are right—we shouldn’t have done it from the start.” He took a step away. “I think it’s best if I leave, let you guys sort this out. I’m sorry I fucked up your wedding.” He gave a nod to Jon and then Cooper, taking another step back. “It was my idea. My fault. Don’t blame Tyler—he never meant to hurt anyone.”
“I don’t understand,” Cooper said. “What’s going on?”
“Yes,” Jon agreed. “I think before you turn tail and run, you at least owe us an explanation, Damon—if that is your real name.”
“Oh, for—” I growled, but Damon's hand descended on my shoulder again.
“No, that’s fair,” he said easily. “Tyler was worried about making himself the center of attention at the wedding, that’s all. He’s been feeling a little low about things, and I suggested—just as a joke—that I could stand in for his ex, Shane.”
Jon’s eyes, when they found me, were a little less fire-spitting than they had been a second ago. “But…why?”
“I didn’t want to bug you with my problems,” I muttered. Damn if it didn’t sound like a weak excuse now. But the truth was—“Everyone else had such a great year,” I blurted out, gesturing wildly at all the men standing around and listening. “Everyone here had someone, and I thought I did too, but he dumped me. Didn’t even bother to call or meet up—just texted me that it wasn’t working out.”
“But we could have helped,” Jon says. “I know tons of hot Doms who—”
“That was the point,” I snapped. “I didn’t want to get set up with some random guy, especially not from LA. I don’t plan on moving back there any time soon, for one thing. And for another…” For another, I really liked Damon.
I really did.
“For another,” I say, trying to sound more dignified and less annoyed, “there isn’t anyone in the world I would prefer to have with me at your wedding, Jonny, than this guy right here.”
“Oh,” Damon said, and then he smiled. “Well…for what it’s worth, I’ve really enjoyed being here with you. With all of you,” he said, looking around the group. “You’re all great. I’m the one who sucks, and I’m sorry about that.”
“Okay,” Cooper said evenly. “I think maybe we should all just—”
