I roll my eyes in his direction. “Don’t be an ass.”
“I’m not! You’re thinking the same thing, Elle. Don’t lie.”
“And what am I thinking? That Finn’s a good, loyal boyfriend? Because in that case, yes, I am thinking that.”
Beck pulls his lips back to expose his touching teeth, sucking through them. “I clearly hit a nerve.”
“Pass the champagne,” I grumble, shoving my hand out in front of Finn.
“I second that. Who knows how much fun we’ll have once Rome gets here.”
The loud, remixed song player throughout the bus suddenly quiets as I whip my head over to Kellan. He’s staring past me, but that doesn’t stop me from taking a fistful of his shirt and tugging hard enough to get his attention, champagne abandoned. Once he’s blinking down at me, I speak without thinking.
“What did you say?”
He lightly removes my hand from his shirt before smoothing the wrinkles I created. “Roman’s coming. Finn couldn’t seem to stop himself from inviting him.”
“Okay, don’t put all the blame on me!” Finn starts. “He was just sitting alone in the hotel bar, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to have him tag along. It’s not like he ever does.”
“For good reason. I don’t want a chaperone tonight,” Beck complains.
Aubrey scoffs quietly enough I almost miss it. “Yeah, I bet you don’t.”
“I doubt he’ll even hang around us. Plus, it wouldn’t be a bad thing to have someone close by who’ll keep an eye out for the cameras that always seem to find you, Beck,” Finn adds.
Listening to the back and forth does little to influence the helpless excitement that’s been sparking inside of me since the first mention of his name. I was fully convinced that Roman wouldn’t be coming with us and planned my entire night accordingly. But now?
This just got a whole lot more dangerous.
I smooth my hands down my thighs and find a rogue thread at the hem of my dress. Carefully, I rip it off before opening my clutch and grabbing my lipstick and bow-shaped compact mirror. Once I’ve opened the mirror and begun touching up my lipstick, there’s a clearing of a throat in front of me.
Flicking my eyes over to the person responsible, I still.
Wes’ gaze is a bit too suspicious for my liking. He’s suddenly paying attention to my interest in the current conversation and the lipstick I’m pinching. So, I do the only thing I can think of and cross the aisle to sit beside him.
There’s not a chance in hell that I’m going to risk him learning about my interest in Roman tonight. Not with the tension already too thick around us. So, I guess that leaves me no choice but to deal with our issues before it’s too late.
He turns toward me, cutting his involvement with the discussion happening around us. “Are you ready to talk now?”
“Are you going to apologize and mean it?”
“That’s what I’ve already been trying to do, Brielle.”
I twist my mouth and finally tuck away my mirror and lipstick. “And I wasn’t ready to listen yet. You really hurt my feelings.”
“That wasn’t my intention. I’ve got a big fucking mouth when I’m drinking. And I know that’s not a good enough excuse,” he explains. There’s an obvious pain that works across his face, almost like he’s unable to hide it anymore. “I’m sorry, Elle. I shouldn’t have brought you up at all that night, let alone your dating history.”
Warmth crawls through me as I nod. “I forgive you.”
“You should know that I’ve never blamed you for those guys. If I could get away with it, I’d find them all and knock their teeth out for you.”
“I know you would. I’m not sure that would stop the same thing from happening in the future, though.”
He frowns deeply enough that stress lines pull at his face. “I’m sorry about that, too. It’s not fair.”
“It comes with the territory, right?” I ask flippantly.
“That doesn’t make it right or piss me off any less.” Wes curls an arm around me and pulls me in for a tight hug. I immediately lean into him, letting my eyes close. “You’re my sister, and I love you.”
