If only.
ChapterTwenty-Three
SIMON
“Thanks for coming with me, mate.” Pierce claps me on the shoulder as I open the door to the bar where Blake’s stag party is being held.
It’s still early, so it’s not as crowded as it could be. Christmas lights hang from the ceiling. Country music is playing loudly over the speakers. Seats made from old saddles line the front of the wooden bar.
It’s everything you’d expect a place like this to be.
“You were worried about security?” I eye him. Walking up to the bar, I order us two pints.
Not that it would matter. I sent a few guys here earlier just to make sure. We don’t make our presence known, so no one would be alerted to Pierce being here. It makes my job easier.
Without any threats or rabid paparazzi, I can breathe a little better at night.
Pierce scoffs next to me. “Here? No. I used that as an excuse so you wouldn’t sit in your room all night.”
“Why would you assume I’d sit in my room all night?”
“Because Layla is out with the girls tonight.”
“So you assumed I’d just stay in?”
I sip on the beer that’s set in front of me and pass over a twenty.
“Mate,”—Pierce claps me on the shoulder—“the only time I’ve seen you lately is with Layla. You know, your fiancée.”
I don’t like the way he says that.Your fiancée.
Almost like he needs to remind me of who Layla is to me. Not that I could forget. She’s all I’ve been thinking about lately.
I want to soak up every ounce of time with her I can get. Because next week, I’ll be back in London.
Alone.
I hate the pang that hits every time I think about it.
“Sorry if I enjoy spending time with her.”
“You’re getting married”—there’s that tone again—“it’s not like you’re not going to be seeing her again soon. Right?” He quirks a brow in my direction.
Except I won’t be. Not unless I bump into her if she’s visiting her family in London. Once this wedding is over, there goes my fake fiancée.
A sinking weight drops in my stomach. I don’t know if I’m ready to deal with that—not seeing Layla every day.
The way her smile lights up her entire face.
The way her eyes always seem to find mine in a crowd.
Her fierce drive.
I’m not ready to face life without Layla yet.
“Simon! Pierce! Over here,” Mason calls from across the bar.
His words pull me out of my spiraling thoughts. I glance at Pierce and see that his eyes still on me in a studious way.
