by Piper Rayne
Nick Klein: Relax Evan, this is all good news. I promised we’d get you out of there.
I’ve heard that same thing from Seth, but our route was much more complicated than Nick’s.
“Evan!” Seth yells.
I look up to see him waving at me from the bridge. He’s got two pretzels in his hands. I tuck my phone inside my jacket pocket, grab my bag, and head in his direction. This is our day and I’m not going to mess it up by talking about business.
He kisses me when I accept the pretzel from him. “Thanks.”
“Anything for my girl.”
My stomach flips with his declaration. I’m not sure when I’ll ever be able to end this fake relationship. It all feels so real.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Seth
The day of the engagement party, I’m sitting at Ink Envy while Dylan and Jax are working. There’s no Frankie since she had to drive Jolie to her grandma’s so that she could come tomorrow night.
“So… fake engagement party, huh?” Jax says. “I mean, you clearly like the girl. Are we still pretending you don’t?”
Dylan chuckles.
“Why do you think I like her?” I ask, although he’s right. I really, really like her. Last weekend when she asked about keeping this charade going, I wasn’t about to say no. I just don’t know if she asked because she doesn’t want it to end either, or because she’s concerned about what our parents think.
“The chick is at our place all the time. She should be paying rent.”
“You never even see her.” I fight the accusation because usually Evan comes when Jax is still “out” and she leaves while he’s sleeping.
“I hear her. You two must be the loudest fuckers ever. And I had to listen to Dylan and Rian.” Jax bends forward, telling his client that he speaks the truth.
His client turns and smiles my way.
“What can I say? Our sex life isn’t boring.”
“Is that a dig at me?” Dylan asks. “Because I had no idea the shit I was missing out on with relationship sex. I mean, the shit we’ve done…” He shakes his head.
Jax eyes me. “Are you doing weird shit like Dylan and Rian?” His voice sounds so polite, I’m thrown at first.
“More shit than I’ve ever done with a woman from a bar. Or any other relationship I’ve had.” I sit back and chew on my inner lip.
“Because you trust her. I’m telling you, it’s the trust thing. She trusts you, so she opens up sexually. It’s the best thing ever,” Dylan raves as if he’s acting in a commercial for monogamy.
“Maybe because you got a good one. Could you imagine if you fall in love with someone who sucks in bed? Imagine fifty years ago when you got married before you even slept together. It’s like fucking Russian roulette.” Jax shakes his head as if the concept is foreign to him.
“Newsflash, there’s still a large population of people who remain virgins until they marry,” I inform him.
“Shame. Dumb fucks,” he says.
“Now we’ve gotten off track…” Dylan cuts in. “I get that you guys agreed to add sex to your fake relationship, but you tagged her in your Instagram feed last weekend. You seem to be at her bagel place more than your parents’. Give it up, man, you’re in love with the girl.”
All my muscles seize, and pain stabs me in the chest. “No way, man. You’re crazy.”
Dylan raises his eyebrows. I wish I knew the reason I can’t face my feelings for Evan. The thought of not having her in my life makes me feel as if I’m suffocating, so what’s keeping me from just laying out my hand to her? I guess it’s because I don’t know how receptive she’ll be and I’m being a complete pussy about it.
“Just tell the girl,” Jax says. “You’re acting like a drooling dog following his master with a steak hanging out of his pocket. I guarantee she knows how you feel. If I do, she does.”
But if she does and hasn’t even broached the subject of making this fake relationship real, doesn’t that say something?
The door chimes and in walks Brock Floyd. You’ve got to be kidding me.
Jax stands. Dylan stands next.
“Relax, I’m not gonna do anything to your boy. I just wanted a word.” Brock raises his hands in the air.
“I’m not fucking talking to you.”
“It’s important.”
The seriousness on his face makes my gut churn and I wonder if it has something to do with my brother. So I walk outside, and Brock leans against the brick wall in the alley next door to Ink Envy.
“What do you want, Brock?”
“I heard you and Evan are moving pretty fast? Engagement party already?”
I nod. “None of your business though.”
“I could tell from the way she looked at you at that gala that she wanted you. Congratulations, you win.” He puts out his hand as though he came all the way down from his hill to say good job, you win. But that’s not Brock’s style.
“Why are you here?”
“Well, I just thought you should be warned.”
I arch an eyebrow.
“Nick Klein scored a deal for The Bagel Place.” He chuckles when he sees what must be confusion on my face. “So I was right, and she didn’t tell you.”
Sourness coats my throat. “Tell me what?”
“That Daniels Foods is buying their cream cheese recipe. They’re meeting today at two o’clock at Porterhouse to sign the contract.” He leans in close. “See, she’s not all that, right? She just used you to get what she wants. Same as she did with me to get closer to Nick. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
My hands fist at my sides and it feels as if the ground drops out from under me.
He steps back and looks hard at my face, then laughs into his palm. “Oh fuck, you actually care about her. At least to me, she was just a good lay. Can she give a blow job or what? You should thank me—when she started with me, she was pitiful. I taught her how to do it just how I like it.”
I don’t even think before my fist flies at his face. I can’t stop myself. All I see is a veil of red. He tries to fight back, landing a couple good blows to my ribs and my face, but I’m in control. The next thing I know, Dylan is pulling me off of Brock.
“Fuck you! I was just being nice and warning you.” Brock spits a glob of blood on the sidewalk. “If you don’t believe me, go see for yourself.”
“What the hell is he talking about?” Dylan asks.
I straighten my shirt and walk down the street to my car.
“Seth, do not listen to him,” Dylan calls behind me.
I wave and slide into my car to find out what I should’ve found out years ago.
My dad is about to put the closed sign on Andrews Bagel Company as I approach the front door. The shop is closing early since we’ll all be at the engagement party.
“Seth? Shit, what happened to your face?”
He disappears, so I take a seat in a booth until he returns with a bag of ice.
I place it on my now-black eye. “Dad, I gotta know.”
“Know what?” He slides into the booth across from me.
“Why did you and Mr. Erickson have the falling out? What was it about?”
All my life, all I heard was that they argued a lot and they each had “the product.” Sooner than later, it turned vicious.
“I don’t think today’s the day. It’s your engagement party,” he says and runs a hand through his matching brown hair.
“Please just tell me.”
He lets out a breath. “Are things okay with you and Evan?”
The high pitch of his voice says he still believes the entire thing is a farce. But I’m not telling him shit until I find out if Brock was telling me the truth.
“They’re fine. Just tell me.”
I wait as he collects his thoughts. “Well, it’s hard to explain the entire thing. It was twenty years ago. Even my memory is sketchy. But we went in as partners. This guy came in one day, couldn’t stop raving about our product. Of
course, we did the whole ‘I make the bagels and he makes the schmear’ thing. It was an ad line we kind of did that people enjoyed. The guy turned out to be from the city and he wanted to invest and franchise us. I was on the fence because I wanted us to do it ourselves. I felt like if that guy could do it, so could we. But Vic was set on the deal.”
“So that’s what it was about?”
“Yeah, I mean, I said no, Vic got mad, said I was taking money away from his family. The investment guy ended up walking because he wanted both, not just one of us. A huge rift happened. Which is why the whole show thing is a sensitive topic. I know you guys worked on your moms and it’s happening anyway, and I suppose it will be good, but I hope you understand after that show airs, it’s over. We’re back to being Andrews Bagel Company and The Bagel Place.”
I nod.
“Good, because I cannot do business with that man.”
“The way you hated one another, I thought it wasn’t just business and maybe you swapped partners or some Jerry Springer shit.”
My dad shakes his head. “You and your jokes.”
It wasn’t really a joke, but I’ll keep that to myself.
“All right.” I move to slide out, but he puts his hand on mine.
“Mind telling me about the shiner? It wasn’t Evan, was it?”
I shake my head. “Nah, just some prick.” He raises his eyebrows in question, but I’m not ready to tell him anything yet, especially since I don’t need a scene at our engagement party tonight. “I’ll tell you later. I gotta go.”
He allows me to leave, and I head to Porterhouse since it’s almost two, crossing my fingers I won’t find her there. She’d tell me something like this, wouldn’t she? I thought we were a team. Then again, people like to hide things from me. Trevor hid his drug problem. Mom hid the fact she was still in contact with Mrs. Erickson. Why would I be surprised if Evan is hiding something from me?
Because you trust her.
I push the thought from my mind as I push open the door of Porterhouse. It’s a fancy steakhouse, so I’m not surprised that she might be meeting a bigwig business guy here. Heading over to the bar, I can see through the opening to the restaurant, but they’ll never see me. And sure as shit, there’s Evan, her dad, Nick Klein smiling next to Evan, and an older man with one of those cowboy ties. Nick appears to run the conversation and keeps touching Evan’s arm.
My jaw clenches and my hands fist at my side.
The bartender blocks my view. “What can I get you?”
“Beer. Whatever you have on tap.”
“Oh, honey, let me get you some ice. Someone got a hold of your face.”
I touch my eye and flinch. With everything going on, I completely forgot about my black eye. She disappears, so I’m happy.
The guy with the cowboy tie pulls something out of his bag and passes it to Evan. She and Vic lower their gazes to read what I’m guessing is a contract. Nick hovers over them, pointing and explaining. He leans even closer and puts his arm on the back of Evan’s chair, pointing with his other finger now. She looks at him and smiles. Mr. Erickson never looks up and continues reading the contract.
They talk, and it’s clear Evan is asking questions because Nick is answering them. He laughs at almost everything she says. Anger fills my veins, singeing me from the inside out. Meanwhile, Mr. Erickson sits there, going page by page, reading the contract as if he’s a lawyer.
After a long pause, Mr. Erickson puts down the contract. They all toast with their glasses, Nick hugging Evan to his side.
I stand and tuck in my chair, having seen enough. She trusted the wrong guy. Or maybe I trusted the wrong girl.
Good luck with Nick Klein, Evan, because Seth Andrews just signed off.
Chapter Thirty
Evan
My dad and I leave Porterhouse, and Nick Klein and Cliff Daniels, behind.
“Let’s take a walk.” Dad motions with his head toward the lakefront.
“It’s a little cold, no?” I say, zipping up my coat and pulling out my mittens.
“Humor me. It’s good for my heart to walk.”
“Okay, but you know Mom will be upset if we’re late. She’s got hair and makeup coming for tonight.”
I should be filled with anxiety about having to pretend to be Seth’s fiancée tonight, but I’ve been counting down the minutes until I see him. After he agreed to continue this arrangement a little longer, the dread over the engagement party and the show filming finally lifted.
“Is this business with Daniels something we should do?”
“You’re asking my advice?” I look at my dad and his eyes soften.
“Yes. You’re an integral part of The Bagel Place and its future.”
I love that he trusts my opinion, but at the same time, I hate that he assumes I’m a part of the shop’s future.
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “I hate the idea of just handing over our recipe and not having anything to do with it. It’s nice to hear the praise from something we’ve made and see our customers’ faces light up on their first bite. As cocky as it sounds, it’s the one thing that’s kept me…” I stop because I would’ve finished that thought with Seth, but not with my dad. I’m not going to make him feel guilty.
“From going? Because The Bagel Place isn’t your dream.” He knocks his shoulder to mine.
I look at him, a lump forming in my throat. “Am I that transparent?”
He chuckles and puts his arm around me, pulling me closer to place a kiss on the top of my head. “I know your mom and I have put too much on you. And I apologize for that. I think we just started living day by day and you handled it all so well. Took the reins without much guidance or grief. But we should’ve noticed and done something about it. As sad as it is, it was Seth’s appearance in your life that made us look harder at everything.”
“Seth? But you hate him.”
He chuckles and motions toward a bench. “I don’t hate Seth. Hell, I don’t even hate Chris. Not anymore, at least.”
“But I thought you think the engagement—”
“Is fake. You guys concocted the whole thing. I’m not stupid, Evan.”
I don’t know what to say. I feel more put on the spot in this moment than I have the entire time we’ve been lying.
“Right?” He dips his head to meet my eyes.
I nod, looking at the lake. “I’m sorry. I can’t even tell you how it all happened. It sort of snowballed. But we really wanted the show and the show wouldn’t do it until we were partners and we thought—”
He places his hand on my shaking leg. “It should have never come to that. Your mother and I should’ve made it easier for you to come to us. To explain what a great business opportunity it was. We should’ve been able to see past the fact that we were doing it with the Andrews. I’m sorry we weren’t what you needed. But I will say I’m not mad that you’re with Seth rather than that Brock Floyd.”
I laugh and throw up my hands.
“The guy is a loser and he didn’t appreciate you. Now Seth…”
“It’s fake, Dad. It was all an act.” The guilt lifts as the words fall from my lips, but a deep sadness settles in at calling Seth’s and my relationship what it is.
“Fake.” He shrugs. “An act?” He shakes his head. “That boy loves you and I’m willing to bet our recipe that you love him too.”
I say nothing. I’m well aware of my feelings for Seth—I just don’t want to admit to them. Because if I put it out there, then I need to do something about them. And I have no idea how he really feels about me.
“Yeah, I liked calling your bluff, but I think by doing that, you two just clung closer and now I’m really in jeopardy of having the Andrews as in-laws. Damn Chris, it was his idea. He thought Seth would fold.” He chuckles.
“Do you think… I mean, if we did make this thing real, could you accept it?”
He nods. “I don’t think we’ll ever be best friends again, but your mother’s been keeping her friendship
with Deb for twenty years. They always were smarter than Chris and me.” He leans forward on the bench and fishes out the contract that’s sticking out of my bag. “But you need to know, this will change things.” He holds it out. “I’m betting money Seth knows nothing about this?”
I shake my head and he sighs.
“Not good, Evan. You guys were partners in this. I’m not the best example, I know, but you owed it to him to tell him.”
“I just wanted to hear what they said first. I have no idea if they’re offering Andrews Bagel something too.”
He raises his eyebrows. “I’m fairly sure that Nick Klein guy was only interested in you.”
“And our cream cheese,” I add.
He shrugs. “Both, but he seemed to put extra attention on you. Listen, you’re twenty-nine now. I think it’s time you do something for you. So…” He hands me the contract. “If you want us to do this, then I’m in. But I want you to think hard and make this decision, because this could change your relationship with Seth. Especially if he gets wind of this before you tell him.”
He pats my knee and stands. “I have a lot of regrets in my life. I’m not proud of some of my actions. It was a quick revelation when I had the heart attack that you don’t have all the time you think you do to make things right. You’re supposed to teach your children to learn from your mistakes. I don’t think I’ve done a good job of that. Until now. Make this decision for yourself. And hell, this isn’t the nineteen-fifties—if you love the boy, tell him. Don’t wait for him to tell you.” He touches my shoulder and walks down the path toward the car.
I stare at the contract in my hands. The buyout alone would put my entire family in a much better financial position. We wouldn’t have to worry about Eli’s medical bills and therapy sessions. Elsie could leave community college and go to a four-year school with room and board. And I’d be out of the bagel business. No more early mornings and hairnets or cramps in my hands.
But all that flashes in my mind is Seth. I know he’d understand if I did this.