“He deserved it. You should see this guy in a tux. Prick should’ve known better than to leave Heath unchaperoned.”
There was more cooing and sighing, and the flush darkened on Lennox’s cheeks. Evan squeezed his hand and gave him a wink, hoping he’d get the hint to relax and maybe enjoy the attention alittle. Having now seen him in nothing more than swim trunks, he knew the guy was a sleeper agent. He was in damn good shape. Fitted into something bespoke, he’d turn a lot of heads, and that wasn’t a compliment he gave to fake husbands lightly.
“How did it happen? Did you guys sneak off somewhere and?—”
“Penelope!”
Ah, there it was.
“He was standing by the exit holding a glass of wine he wasn’t drinking, so I walked up and asked if he wanted to get some air.”
“Oh, sneaky! The sunsets from that hotel are gorgeous.”
“They have the most secluded balconies, too.”
Another of the ladies fanned herself vigorously. “This is just like one of my Regency novels.”
“And the rest is history,” Lennox snapped, pulling his hand free. His face burned scarlet.
The women applauded, and someone—he suspected Penelope—wolf-whistled. Then the ringing began, and he felt his soul leave his body. He looked back at Lennox, who stared at him like cornered prey. This was a detail neither of them had thought of.
Clanging silverware against crystal drinkware as motivation to make the happy couple kiss was a wedding tradition that most modern celebrations skipped. Olivia and Nate’s anniversary party chose to ignore the memo, and now he and Heath were also on the hook.
“Ladies,” he held up his hands and chuckled. “We are not your dinner entertainment!”
Olivia nudged him with her shoulder as Nate appeared, summoned by the bells. “You’re not getting out of it. They’ve been doing this to us since we got here.”
“I paid them off,” Nate grinned, pulling Olivia to her feet and wrapping her in a warm, but chaste kiss.
Okay. No problem. He could do this.
He leaned closer to Lennox, who promptly leaned away.
“We… you… this isn’t necessary. I…”
Evan backed off and a wave of disappointed noises rumbled through the group. “He’s shy. Didn’t want to kiss in front of the justice, either.”
Disquieted, he excused himself from the table, the laughter following him on a short stroll to one of several spots along the balcony that tucked down to a private alcove with an amazing view. After a beat, Isabella joined him.
“Hey, you okay?”
He shrugged off the weirdness trying to settle itself across his shoulders. “Yeah, of course. Just wanted to duck out before Penelope started trying to stick bills in my belt.”
“They’d be big bills.”
“I’ll keep that in mind if law doesn’t work out.”
She chuckled and squeezed his shoulder as she turned to rejoin the group. He chewed his lip and lingered.
He’d momentarily forgotten Lennox hated him. It had also apparently slipped his mind that kissing guys wasn’t his thing. The rebuke stung when it shouldn’t have, and if he didn’t know better, he’d swear the feeling in his gut was disappointment.
thirteen
. . .
“So you can’t swim, is that it?”
Heath met Isabella’s shining eyes over the top of the novel he wasn’t actually reading. It was impossible to focus on words when an incredibly gorgeous man was flaunting himself on the beach a few yards away.
