“What the fuck, Rob!” We’re in Andrea’s kitchen, thankfully out of sight from the rest of the partygoers.
“What?” Rob asks. “I had to honor my sister.”
“You made that about you. Like a completedick.”
“Well, it’s exactly what you deserve.”
“Watch it,” a third voice says, and I immediately know it’s Nate. “Now that I know how you’ve talked to her, it’s not happening again.”
I turn to him, eyebrows raised at his dark tone. With me, he’s always so gentle. But this side of him, the part of him that would protect me from anything, sends a thrill down my spine.
He’s staring Rob down like he’s preparing to take him out. Forme.
I shouldn’t love that as much as I do.
“Oh, come on.” Rob spits it out. “You two are supposed to be fighting.”
“Unlike you,” Nate starts, “we’re capable of being subtle.”
“Yeah, right. Everyone knows something is going on.”
“Is that why you did that?” I ask. “You justhadto call attention to it?”
“Maybe if you’d acted right yesterday?—”
“Don’t even try to blame this on her. You ambushed her in the airport, took her where she didn’t want to go, and?—”
“She gave me a chance anyway.” He smirks. “That pissed you off, didn’t it?”
“A chance to be a decent person,” I snap. “Which it’s obvious you can’t be.”
Rob laughs humorlessly. “I’m perfectly decent.”
“When you get what you want, and that’s not happening this time.”
“Is it not? You two are barely talking. I seem to have won.”
“Fuckoff,” Nate snaps, about to stalk over to Rob, but I hold up my hand to stop him.
Rob is a petty man. He played the long game to separate Nate and me, and now that he doesn’t have me, he’s acting out. I’m tired of it.
It’s time to play dirty.
“You know ...” I say it as softly as I can. “I actually owe you a thank you, Rob.”
Nate’s gaze cuts to me, but I keep staring at Rob, who only blinks. “You do?”
“I definitely do.” Tilting my head, I smile, and he starts to return it. “It’s because of you that Nate and I are in love.”
The smile immediately falls off of Rob’s face. Behind me, Nate laughs as he realizes what I’m doing.
“You’re together?”
“Yes. And you helpedso much. So, thank you. I owe the fact that I’ll probably marry this man to you.” I lean on Nate, who presses a kiss to my forehead.
“You’re being mean,” he murmurs. “I love it.”
“No. No way.” Rob shakes his head. “You were just fighting.”
