Page 124 of The Temporary Fiancée
“Sorry for the delay,” Cole sighs, sinking down into one of the chairs. “Today was a little hectic. Archie got into a little bit of a fight at school, and Riley and I weren’t sure we were going to come out tonight. We decided to wait until after Archie was asleep to call the sitter.”
Declan frowns. “A fight? What’s that about?”
Cole’s nephew is usually a well-behaved, sweet kid, so it’s strange for him to be getting into this kind of trouble. Cole shrugs, though, as if he’s not too worried.
“They’re just getting to that age where they’ve figured out how to be mean to each other,” he says with a small laugh. “Another kid called him a crybaby and they got into a fight. The teachers didn’t seem too worried. No one was hurt, and apparently they made up right afterwards, so no harm, no foul.”
“Is Archie okay?” I ask.
“Yeah, he’s fine. He was just sad, and he’s never been in trouble with a teacher before, so he needed a little extra attention tonight.”
“Makes sense.”
“That’s a milestone,” Noah adds, lighting his cigar. “First ever argument.”
We all chuckle at that.
“So other than that whole situation, how’s the little man?” I take a sip of my whiskey, savoring it on my tongue. Declan always chooses the best ones.
“He’s doing great.” Cole smiles proudly. “He’s learning to read. Can you believe that?”
Declan shakes his head, breathing out slowly. “Sometimes I think my shareholders can’t even read.”
After another round of laughter, Cole turns to me. “Okay, enough about the kiddo. I gotta hear an update from you.”
Even though I know exactly what he’s talking about, I feign ignorance, swirling the ice in my glass. “Update about what? Things are pretty chill on my end.”
“Uh, bullshit,” Declan scoffs.
“Come on,” Cole says cajolingly. “You knew this was gonna come up eventually.”
“Hey, Shane’s here, too,” Declan adds. “If you won’t tell us what’s going on with your whole engagement situation, then we can just ask him.”
Shane lets out a small, almost inaudible sigh.
“I don’t even know what you’re asking me,” I say.
“Like hell you don’t.” Cole rolls his eyes. “Just so you know, I actually went over to the grocery store and bought a copy of the fuckingInquirerjust for the two-page spread about your engagement. It’s on my coffee table right now. I’m considering getting it framed.”
“Oh, you’d better not,” I mutter, shooting him a glare. Of course, that’s tantamount to encouragement. Now he’sdefinitelyhanging it on his wall.
“Are you nervous about getting married?” Declan teases, a glint in his eye.
“Nah.” I lean back in the chair, folding my hands behind my head. If the guys are gonna give me a hard time—which I figured they would—the best thing to do is take it in stride.
“Why not? You’re settling down,” Cole says, his voice dripping with irony. “She’s making an honest man out of you. That’s a big change from the Reed we’ve always known and tolerated.”
Even Shane, who’s been almost silent since I arrived, can’t help but smirk at that.
“Never thought we’d see the day,” he says quietly. “Reed Eastwood, finally ending his playboy ways. Next thing you know,you’re gonna ditch that penthouse for something more down-to-earth.”
“Not on your life,” I say, flashing him a tight grin.
Cole chuckles. “But seriously,” he says. “Areyou nervous?”
I think about it for a few seconds. I’ve never really considered the question. It occurs to me that, no, I’m not nervous. Not even a little bit.
“Nah.” I shrug. “Of course not.”
