He fakes pain and just finds it funny. I blow out a breath, trying to refrain from committing murder. He could have given us a fucking clue of his thoughts long ago.
Our tense air is interrupted by the tattooed bartender personally delivering a new tray of drinks. Esme and Keats happily take another.
“We’ll be needing these. This is fun.” Keats is having the time of his life.
Hailey grabs a glass and chugs down the wine until it’s half empty then sets it back on the tray, and asshole bartender gives her that look again.
“Seriously, can you stop looking at my wife like that!” I nearly shout.
Then it happens.
The entire party grows quiet, to the point someone dropping a fork is the only sound. All eyes are now on Hailey, Liam, and me. Hailey appears to wince, and I feel the weight of attention on us.
“Excuse me. Did I hear that right?” Liam’s happy demeanor vanishes into thin air.
Silence stretches, and my jaw flexes side to side as I gather composure. “We’re married,” I mumble.
“You’re what?” He blinks repeatedly.
“Whoa, I did not have this on my bingo card for the year,” Keats mentions, one-toned, to himself but loud enough for us to hear.
My brother joins the circle as the whole party watches. “Uh-oh. Cat is out of the bag.” He grins and seems to take satisfaction in this.
Liam ignores them all.
“We’re married,” I repeat, this time with more firmness.
He laughs to himself. “Funny. This is a joke, right?” He bends his head in different ways to examine Hailey’s and my fingers. “I mean, no rings on your fingers. Nice try.”
Hailey pops her lips and tucks her fingers into her dress to pull out her necklace. “I mean… technically it’s on my neck,so…” She drags it out.
Esme gasps theatrically. “It’s not your grandmother’s ring? Not cool. You lied to me.” Esme shakes her head, but her voice isn’t angry.
Liam’s anger returns, and he steps forward. “What the fuck!”
“You just said you don’t mind us being together,” I reiterate.
“Married is a whole different level. So what fucking game did you drag my sister into?”
“It’s not a game.” Hailey grabs his arm, but he shakes her off.
He looks at both of us as if we are insane, and we probably are.
Hailey is receiving the brunt of his brazen face. “Not a game? You’ve been together for a hot second and you’re already married?” His voice rises an octave. Hailey grows quiet, and he directs his attention back to me with his nostrils flaring. “You,” he seethes.
Liam’s palms shove into my chest, causing me to stumble back a step, and instantly I retaliate. Hailey and our friends make a commotion, and Keats intervenes with his arms separating Liam and me. “Come on, no need for this.”
“He crossed a line,” Liam booms his statement.
“We’re adults,” I point out.
He pinches the bridge of his nose as if he is dealing with a headache, and truthfully, we all are having one right now.
Carter intervenes and presses his hand against Liam to keep him at bay. “Allow me to handle this.” My brother steps to the side and turns his focus to me. “Secret’s out, so allow me to voice what we should all be thinking. This is some twisted shit. Who even suggested this marriage? Because the thing is, marriage plays with emotions. You shouldn’t just jump into marriage with no expectations for the consequences. You’re supposed to go in with the view of forever.”
Liam’s face screws up, and I attempt to listen patiently because I sense a bit of underlying anger in my brother, and I’m not entirely sure if it has to do with me or his own life. Which is probably why our friends watch on, doing their best to hide their apparent shared sentiment that my brother is ranting about his own emotions.
My mother appears out of thin air with a bright smile. “What’s going on, boys? I return from the ladies’ room and everyone is in a circle. Did we already do toasts?”
