Page 116 of Wicked Lord

Cordelia angled away, her purple locks falling across her face to cover her expression, but the sudden droop to her shoulders made it clear Slate’s remarks had affected her.

Would she admit to having feelings for me now that she wasn’t hammered?

Slate poured himself a shot and held one out for Cordelia. “I’ll need to borrow some money and dignity if Cordi keeps beating me.”

She sashayed over with a forced smile and took the glass from his outstretched hand. “Don’t be such a sore loser. And we both know you never had any dignity.”

He spit out some of the liquor as he laughed. “That’s true.”

Before Cordi could take her shot Gage reached over, snatched it from her hand, and downed it.

“What the hell, you Neanderthal?” Her hands propped onto her hips. “Why’d you do that?”

Gage shrugged, his expression unreadable. “You’ve had plenty of shots. I’m saving you from another near-death experience involving your drunk ass walking into traffic.”

Rage flashed in her green eyes as they narrowed. “Go to hell, Gage.” She stormed back to the pool table, leaned over, and slammed the eight ball in the corner pocket while glaring at the brooding guy. “I’m perfectly fine.”

“Damn it!” Slate raked his hand through his dark locks. “There goes another L on my scorecard.”

Gage didn’t seem affected by her death stare as he slowly stood and grabbed Slate’s arm. “Let’s get some food. You should sober up before our meeting later.” He nodded in my direction, obviously getting Slate out so I could speak to Cordelia alone.

Slate snatched his beer off the bar. “One for the road.”

Cordelia flipped Gage off as he vanished into the hall, but when she angled toward me, her scowl melted away. “Want to play a game?” She jerked her chin toward the table.

“Sure. Just take it easy on me.” I chuckled and grabbed a pool stick. “Practice kicked my ass this morning.”

She started racking the balls. “You sure it’s not all that wild, hot sex with Lorelei?” Her laugh sounded as fake as the ones I used to give when she talked about other guys.

“Does my relationship with Lorelei bother you?” I asked, rubbing chalk on the end of my stick.

Cordelia scoffed, gaze remaining fixed on the green felt table. “Of course not.” She cleared her throat. “You want to break?”

I shook my head. “Go for it.”

A crash echoed as Cordelia began the game, sinking several balls at one time. “I’ll be stripes.”

“You can tell me if it bothers you.” My fingers tightened around the stick. “I want you to be honest.”

She missed the next shot and stood back. “Why does it matter? You and Lorelei are together, and now I’m nothing to you.”

My head snapped back. “How could you think that? You’re my friend.”

“A friend you barely speak to.” She waved her hand in the air and gave another forced smile. “It’s fine. I get it. You two are totally in love, and she probably doesn’t want you hanging around your ex fuck buddy.”

My teeth ground, and my sweaty hand slipped down the stick. “You were always more to me than just a fuck buddy. Don’t try to deny it. That’s why you started to pull away. You didn’t want to be more.”

“Yeah, well, you’re with her now, so it doesn’t matter.” She shrugged one shoulder and tucked a lock of purple hair behind her ear. “It’s your turn.”

As she moved away from the table, I ambled around it for the best angle.

“Are you really going to pretend like you don’t remember what you said after I saved your ass from nearly getting hit by a car?” I sank the solid green ball.

“Would it change anything?” Her voice had suddenly softened, and when I looked up, unshed tears glistened in her eyes. “If I told you I wanted to be with you, would you break up with Lorelei for me?”

Deep gouges tore at my chest as her words hit the air. If Cordelia had wanted to be with me months ago, I never would have agreed to this fake relationship with Lorelei. I would have been with Cordi.

But now I couldn’t give Lorelei up.