Page 40 of Finding Hayes
“She’s right. It was always there,” Saylor said.
“Good for you. I’ll try not to make my party too over thetop because that would be no fun to have to follow one of my shindigs.” She snorted.
“Don’t hold back at all. I’m guessing we can both throw a good party.”
“Well, you haven’t seen the parties that Lenny and I throw. Everyone in town talks about how fabulous they are.” She quirked her brow.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Thankfully, she walked away, and I turned to find Saylor gaping at me.
“So, what exactly is going on with you and my brother?”
I couldn’t lie to her face, but I also couldn’t tell her the truth.
“It’s complicated.” I shrugged.
“Nothing would surprise me with you two.” She picked up her grilled cheese and took a bite.
I wasn’t so sure about that. A fake marriage might surprise her.
Because it surprised the hell out of me.
eleven
. . .
Hayes
“Tellme why you insisted that we come to this horrible event?” I asked for the third time since we’d arrived at Lenny and Kimber’s house.
“I need to scope out the competition, Woody. I’ve got to throw the event of the century and put these two in their place.I want to make my man proud.” She waggled her brows playfully as we huddled in the corner. It had been like this for the last week. We’d been seen everywhere together, per River’s encouragement.
And I was sick and tired of socializing.
But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t look forward to spending my days with Savannah. When I wasn’t at the firehouse, I was with her at the farmhouse. I feigned irritation and acted like it was a big inconvenience, but nothing about it bothered me.
She leaned closer to me as if she were sharing some CIA high-level secret. “Kimber thinks hiring a few servers and passing out champagne flutes makes her a top-notch hostess? Look around. Everyone is bored out of their minds. Our party is going to be the talk of the town. This is a total snoozefest.”
I barked out a laugh. “Can we be done with the parties after tonight?”
“You never did like people-ing, did you?” she asked, and my eyes scanned down her cream-colored dress that hugged her curves perfectly. Ever since I’d walked in on her naked in my bathroom, I’d thought of nothing else.
I’d fucked my fist too many times to count.
This whole fake relationship was messing with my head. I probably needed to go out and get laid, and that sure as hell wasn’t going to happen now. It would be a while until this façade was over.
“No. Enough is enough. How long do we have to stay?” I asked.
Savannah paused when a man in a white coat walked our way and offered us an appetizer. This party was a joke. They’d hired staff and put on this fancy event, and they could have just used the money they’d spent on throwing this party to buy the things they wanted for the firehouse. This was all to impress Cap.
Lenny was playing the game, and I hated to admit that he was damn good at it.
“Thank you,” Savannah said, as she reached for one of the little snacks on the tray, and I grabbed a few, popping one into my mouth. She took a bite and then quirked a brow. “I love me some pigs in a blanket, but we can do better than this. Also, River said that everyone is talking about us. Apparently, we’re the most adorable couple ever. But I think I need to give you a different nickname. Woody is juvenile. We need to amp things up.”
“Amp things up? We’ve been out every single night that I haven’t been at the firehouse. How much more amping do we need to do? Don’t some couples just stay home and relax together?” I whispered against her ear.
“Awww… that’s sweet, you big baby. Once we’re married, we can play up our home life. But right now, it’s game time. You need to suck it up, and I need a catchy nickname for the man who managed to steal my heart.”
