Page 71 of The Keeper

“What about you?” Scarlett asked, obviously trying to defuse the awkwardness. “Are you skipping the party again this year?”

Noah hadn’t attended any of the post-season revelries last year. I expected him to stay home this year too, which was why I nearly choked at his response.

“No.” His cool gaze touched my face before it slid away. “I’m bringing a date too.”

CHAPTER 28

NOAH

I could hear a pin drop at the table. Every single person stared at me with their mouths open, but no one was more stunned than myself.

I’m bringing a date too.

What the fuck possessed me to say that? I hadn’t planned on attending, and I certainly hadn’t planned on bringing anyone.

I hated playing games. I hated lying even more. But I knew the exact reason I’d gone against my better judgment and shoved my foot in my mouth. She was sitting in the booth, her eyes huge with surprise and a hint of something else.

“Oh.” Carina fiddled with her napkin. “I didn’t realize you—I mean, that’s great. But I didn’t realize you were talking to someone.”

I forced a calm mask over the turmoil in my chest. “It’s a new thing.”

Really new. As in, it hadn’t happened yet.

“Hey, that’s great!” Samson stood and clapped me on the back. He looked genuinely thrilled. “It’s about time you got back out there. It’s been, what, a century since your last date?”

I glared at him. I used to like Samson. He was a great player and fun enough to hang out with. There was nothing overtly offensive about him. But in that moment, I wanted nothing more than to punch the perfect smile off his face.

If it weren’t for his egregious flirting with Carina, I wouldn’t have ditched Adil at the bar. If I hadn’t left the bar, I wouldn’t have overheard the end of Samson and Carina’s conversation. If I hadn’t overheard their conversation, I wouldn’t have found out that she was going on a date with him, and if I hadn’t found out about the date, I wouldn’t have announced to the world that I was going on a date too.

So really, this was all his fault.

“What’s her name?” Brooklyn asked.

“Who?”

She gave me a strange look. “Your date.”

Fuck. I mumbled something under my breath.

“What?” She leaned forward, her brow creasing. “Sorry. I couldn’t hear you over the music.”

“You’ll meet her soon. I want to keep it low key until then.” I could practically taste the bite of dirt as I dug myself into a deeper hole.

“So you can’t even tell us her name?” Scarlett’s face was rife with suspicion. “Is she a celebrity?”

“She’s a private person. Doesn’t like me sharing her name with people she hasn’t met for…reasons.”

“Hey, leave the man alone. The name doesn’t matter.” Samson’s hand was still on my shoulder, and I still wanted to punch him in the face. He grinned at me, unaware of how close he was to losing several teeth. “I can’t wait to meet the woman who got Noah fucking Wilson to break his dry spell. She must be something else.”

Carina remained silent the entire time. She toyed with the straw in her drink—some tropical, sunset-colored concoction, even though I’d told her not to order those types of drinks here. Mac was shit at making fruity cocktails.

I smothered the urge to…I didn’t know. Talk to her. Touch her. Confess the truth behind my lies and whisk her away to a place where I wouldn’t need to pretend anymore.

Unfortunately, none of those desires were options.

“Yeah.” I shrugged Samson’s hand off me and gave the table a tight smile. “I just came over to say hi. I’ll see you all later.”

I didn’t give them a chance to respond. I walked away, my head spinning. Nausea stirred in my gut. Fuck, fuck, fuck. What had I gotten myself into? Most importantly, how was I going to get myself out of it?