And yeah, of course he was concerned. Mere minutes ago, she’d announced to him that part of her wanted to have sex with him. Let’s not let a head injury get in the way of the alluring promise of a can’t-wait-to-get-home, jump-him-before-the-door-to-his-apartment-closed banging. Which part of her—a really unfortunate, idiotic part—still wanted, too.
“No,” Casey told him, briefly closing her eyes because looking at him was just... too... God, she wasn’t sure what this was that she was feeling, but it wasn’t good. She was so angry and hurt she was shaking. “I need you to back the hell off.”
He did. Immediately. “We should get you to a hospital anyway."
Casey opened her eyes to find him about four feet from her. Far enough to be back as per her demand, but close enough to catch her if she fell over—which she sure as shit wasn’t going to do. “We’re not going anywhere, and I’m not going to the hospital, thanks, because I didn’t hit my head. I’m just taking a minute to process this. I thought I’d just kissed my best friend’s boyfriend, but it turns out that... what? It’s okay that I did something I thought was inexcusably terrible, because everyone was lying to me about everything. Not just you, but Dave, too. I can’t believe he did that, what an asshole!”
Not-Luc bristled at that, and he shot back, “We were lying to Jon,” right as she said, “I mean, I know this is about Jon and the wedding, but, what the hell! How long were you going to keep playing this game? I mean, was it funny? You must’ve thought it was funny, since you kept it going even when Jon wasn’t around. Did you have a good laugh when you were freaking sleeping in my bed?”
He flinched at that. “No! Shit! No! Casey, I swear, I wanted to tell you, but I promised Dave that I wouldn’t until I cleared it with him. Why do you think I’ve been so fucking eager to talk to him? Because I wanted to tell you the truth!”
“Oh, that’s convenient,” she said. “Your telling me that now. I’m just supposed to trust you, right? You know, I’m not stupid, although wow, maybe I am. I mean, two cousins, both named Luc... Is Luc even real?”
“Yeah. Yes. He’s very real. He and Dave dated, but then he got that job and he took it because he was scared and... Look. If Luc was around, Dave would’ve taken him as his plus-one to the wedding not just because he didn’t want to go alone. But Luc was in London, and... we look alike, so it made sense for me to go in his place, especially after you, you know, tracked me to Ralph’s and thought I was Luc...?”
“So... what are you saying? That this is my fault?”
“No, that’s not... Look, if it’s anyone’s fault—and you know, it really doesn’t have to be—it’s Jon’s for being such a raging toxic dickhead that Dave didn’t feel safe going to that wedding alone. He knew that Jon—and let’s face it, that you, too—wouldn’t have given him the space he needed.”
“That’s not even remotely true. I would never, ever—”
“I’m sorry, wasn’t that you who tried to bribe Dave’s new boyfriend into leaving him, or was that your identical cousin in the Ralph’s parking lot? You can be mad at me for not telling you the truth, I deserve that. I should’ve been honest with you when I saw that we were connecting the way we were, but you cannot never-ever about that.”
He was right, and she hated that. Casey wanted to be angry, to hold onto this self-righteous outrage. She’d been lied to, and that was not okay. Lied to by her best friend and by this man that she’d thought of as her shiny new friend, a man she’d let herself trust so completely. God, that had felt so good—to just let down her guard and be herself.
But he was just another lying liar. To whom she’d just stupidly revealed her painful attraction. And thinking about that—what she’d admitted to him just moments before in the restaurant—got her anger flowing again. But it was anger aimed more at herself than at him. Still she embraced it.
“It’s kind of obvious why you chose right now to completely throw away your promise to Dave and just kiss the shit out of me,” she accused him. “And look at you, standing there, thinking you’ve still got a shot at getting laid.”
He made a sound that was half-laugh, half indignation. “What? I don’t think that... You think I kissed you because... No! Jesus! I kissed you because I... had to.”
She knew exactly what he meant, because she’d kissed him back for the same reason.
She’d had to.
His whispered words were so damn honest—or they would’ve been if he was really Luc and not this horrible Non-Luc person. She still couldn’t think of him as Rio. Who was Rio? She didn’t have a clue. The Luc she’d connected with so quickly and completely was as gone as if he were dead.
A rush of tears welled in her eyes, but no way was she going to break down in front of him.
“I have to go home,” Casey said, just abruptly turning and walking back toward Luc’s apartment. Toward Jon’s car that not-Luc had parked on the street before handing her Jon’s keys. She fumbled for them now, even as he followed her.
“Okay,” he was saying as he ran a little to catch up. “All right. I’ll drive you.”
“I really don’t need you to do anything else for me,” Casey said, taking out her phone and opening her GPS. And while she was at it, she scrolled to her contacts and hit block. “This was enough of a beating, thanks.”
He flinched at that. “Yeah, I’m... sorry, but... I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but I don’t think that was an accident. Whoever was driving that car was gunning for you.”
Casey didn’t believe him.
“That’s ridiculous,” she said.
“It was a message for your brother,” Rio tried to explain. And yeah, it sounded a little ridiculous when he said it aloud, but he just couldn’t shake the feeling in his gut that said he was right.
“They gave him seventy-two hours,” she pointed out as she just shook her head and beeped open the driver’s side door of Jon’s car. “And it’s not up yet. I’m wearing black, the driver didn’t see me.”
Oh, shit, she was just going to drive away. He’d thought he’d had at least a little time to argue his case while they went up to his apartment to collect her rolling suitcase. Except, damnit, she’d taken it out with them when they’d left for dinner, locking it back in the trunk of her brother’s little car. She’d wanted to be ready to go if and when Jon finally called.
“Let me at least give you some water for the road. I have a bunch of extra sports bottles. Stainless steel,” Rio said, desperately searching for a reason she should go back to his apartment with him, buying him that little extra time to convince her that she was in danger. “Or... or... an apple. You should take an apple. I have some in my fridge.”
