Play Hard (The Devil's Share Book 5) (8 page)

Chapter Thirteen

Harlow

“Thanks for getting all my stuff.” When Luke walked in, I got out of bed. For the second time that morning. These hotel beds were the bomb. There was just something enticing about a bed you didn’t ever have to make.

“Thanks for rescuing me.” He sat everything down out of the way and then hung my clothes up next to his. I followed his movements, chuckling to myself when I saw that our clothes blended together. You couldn’t tell where his stopped and mine started. Both of us had an affinity for black, white, and plaid. “You are an angel.”

I sighed. “No. I am an enabler.” I grabbed my bathroom bag and went to tame my hair into something less obnoxious. “But there is nothing sadder than a hot guy who loses his swagger.”

He frowned. “I didn’t lose my swagger.”

I made an are-you-kidding-me face. “All swag drained from your body the second you opened that door. It was pathetic. And I meant what I said, if I see it happen again, deal’s off.” It was much easier to tell him, and myself, that was why I’d done what I did. I refused to look any closer, dig any deeper into my actions. I’d known the dude for a matter of hours, there was no way I was falling for him. Love like that didn’t exist. Now, lust on the other hand…that was a different story.

His face paled.

“I will stand by you, I’ll hang out. I’ll flirt. But I will not watch you lose who you are every time Lexi walks into a room. It’s annoying and I have better things to do. Am I clear?” I was being harsh; I knew I was. But fuck that noise. I refused to spend the next week watching the guy I was (maybe) accidentally lusting on (it’s like crushing on but less lame) act like a sad puppy dog.

He hung his head. “I’ll try. I promise. For you I’ll try.”

I popped him on the ass with the brush in my hand. “Don’t do it for me, Luke. Do it for you.” I was going to whip some sense into this man whether he liked it or not.

***

Luke and I were walking hand in hand in the direction of the restaurant Lexi had texted him. It was only a few blocks from the hotel and Luke and I needed some time to get our backstory straight. The key to a good tall tale was preparation. Unless of course you were me, because I was a natural. You’d think I would be nervous about meeting the most important people in his life, but this being a fake arrangement really took the edge off.

“Okay, so you’re on drums and Dash is the singer. Tell me about the other ‘members.’” Now I was doing the air quotes because it was cracking me up.

He squeezed my hand when I wouldn’t stop giggling at my own joke. “Smith is bass, his girlfriend’s name is Dylan. Dylan is a physician’s assistant and that’s how we met her. She went on tour to keep an eye on Lexi and the baby.”

I stopped and bent down to pick up a pretty yellow flower growing through a crack in the sidewalk. “Smith loves Dylan and Dylan is the smartest person in your group. Got it.” I reached up and put the flower behind his ear.

“Jacks is lead guitar, he has a nine-year-old daughter he just found out about over the summer. Her name is Landry and he is raising her with his girlfriend, Bryan. Bryan just graduated from college and is one of Dylan’s younger sisters.”

When I noticed the two young girls we were about to walk past checking Luke out, I lifted his gray t-shirt to show off his washboard abs. He swatted my hands away. “Okay, Jacks loves Bryan and they love Landry.” We passed the girls and I grabbed his blue-jean-clad ass because I knew they were still looking. “Dash is with Lexi, they have Halen. You have an older sister named Amy. And I’m a beautiful fairy.”

He let go of my hand and threw his arm around my neck. “I can’t thank you enough for saving me like you did.” He brought me closer and kissed my temple. “That’s the place we’re meeting them, quick tell me some rapid-fire facts about you.”

“Well, aside from all the lovely things you pointed out last night…I live in Miami, that’s where we moved after my mom and dad split. I was fourteen at the time. My mom’s house is ten minutes from mine and she is way too involved in my life. I’m an only child. I love classic rock. And I’m obsessed with chocolate chip cookies.”

We came to a stop in front of a giant red door. He took the flower out of his hair, turned toward me, and put it in mine. “You ready?”

“Kiss me.” I could see the question mixed with the sudden lust in his eyes. I did my best to talk without moving my lips. Just in case one of them had a hidden lip-reading talent. “Your friends are all watching us through the window.” This wasn’t fake girlfriend behavior. It was a friend helping another sexy-as-sin friend.

He gave me that cocky smirk and pulled me against his body by my hips, kissing me deeply. “I think kissing you is my favorite thing to do in Nashville, Pix.”

It was my favorite thing to do too.

Chapter Fourteen

Lexi

I watched Luke and Harlow through the window, a smile tugging on my lips. Dash leaned over, his cheek next to mine, trying to get a better look. “Doesn’t seem fake to me.”

I turned to face him, placing a peck on his lips. “That is because you are a good and kind and wonderful man. With not one deceptive bone in your body.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You forgot sexy and virile.”

I placed my hand really close to his dick. “You are the sexiest man in this room, in any room.” I put my mouth right next to his ear. “And as soon as this little girl goes down for a nap, I’ll let you prove the virile point. Over and over and over and—”

“Enough, Kitten.” He grinned. “You’re going to make me come in my jeans. Again.”

I laughed. “Hey, the airplane was all on you, babe.” I took Halen from B when she handed her over. “You worked yourself up.” I loved the man sitting next to me. I loved him with everything inside me. I’d do anything to make him happy. Anything. As proven by the fact that I had yet to get on birth control. But even as I played and flirted with him, my eyes were still drifting to the window on their own accord. I watched Luke and Harlow. I recorded their every move. They were into each other, that much was clear. You couldn’t fake the emotion in that kiss. Pure lust.

Dylan followed my gaze. “Seems brand-new to me. He’s basically trying to crawl inside her mouth. He hasn’t banged her yet.”

I turned to my friend, a chick who had morphed into my sister over the last year. Tears sprang to my eyes. “Dilly, I couldn’t be more proud of you right now if you had won a Nobel Peace Prize.” I wiped at my eyes. “And on top of all that, you said banged.”

Dylan let out a sad sigh. “I really need to widen my circle of friends.”

I grinned, quoting one of our favorite movies. “You know I love you more than my luggage.”

Chapter Fifteen

Luke

I grasped Lo’s hand tightly, letting her anchor me to my sanity as I walked into a restaurant filled with my closest friends. My closest friends who I hadn’t laid eyes on in over three months. Everyone got up. There were lots of hugs and kisses and introductions all around. When all the
we-missed-yous
and
nice-to-meet-yous
were handed out, we all sat down to order. Landry was on my right, Lo was on my left, and Lexi was directly across from me. Currently, all the most important females in my life.

Lexi handed Halen over to Dylan who handed her to Smith. He smiled at her like she was the sun, moon, and stars. Looked like Smith was ready for a kid. Never thought I’d see the day. Once the baby was happily settled in Smith’s lap, Lexi turned her attention to us. “So, Harlow, how did you and Luke meet? He never tells us anything. Well, he never tells us anything lately because he’s been hiding in Costa Rica for the last three months and didn’t bother to call.”

I put my hand on her thigh under the table, two seconds away from another panic attack. Why didn’t we think to cover this on the walk over here? We hadn’t discussed a meet cute. Why the fuck did I know what a meet cute was? I silently cursed my sister. Would Lo go along with it? Or would this veer too far into “fake girlfriend” material?

Lo looked over at Lexi, glowing smile in place. “It’s partly my fault he hasn’t called, I’m sure. I’ve kept him…occupied since we met.” Then she looked over at me. “Surfing. We met surfing. I’d been watching him surf earlier in the day and I knew I was much better than he was.” She reached up and put her hand on the back of my neck for effect. “There was this monster wave brewing and I knew it’d be wasted on him. So I cut in line and stole his wave.”

No one said anything, they were all just staring at us. Did they not buy it? Did Lo surf? Was she laying it on too thick? That was piss-poor preparation on my part. But I did love the fact that she’d stuck up for me with Lexi, sending her hiding comment back.

Finally Bryan leaned forward. “And then what?”

Lo let out a little laugh. “He followed me back to this bar on the beach everyone hung out in and accused me of stealing his wave—”

“Which you did.”

She grinned when I joined in on the story. “I calmly told him that he wasn’t the best surfer and that wave would have destroyed him—”

“And then I asked her for private lessons and the rest is history.”

Jacks leaned across the table, looking past B with his fist out. “Private lessons. Nice.”

I rolled my eyes, but bumped him anyway.

Landry piped in. “I want to learn to surf.”

I chuckled then reached over and tapped her nose. “You want to learn to do everything.” She giggled and rested her head against my arm.

“Landry, your Uncle Luke talked about you all the time.” I gave Lo’s thigh another squeeze and kissed her temple. It was obvious to her how close Landry and I were, and the fact that Lo was making her feel included in a lie she never wanted to tell, well, it made her even more of a badass.

Landry smiled. “Did you go with him on that hike in the jungle? The one where he saw those cool frogs and that spotted-looking cat?”

Lexi passed a baby bottle to Smith, then looked over at us. “Did y’all do a lot of backpacking while you were there?”

I looked across the table; I was somewhat shocked that Lexi had known I’d been exchanging emails and postcards with Landry. I’d thought since she hadn’t called and texted me incessantly that she figured I had cut off all non-work-related communication with everyone. “You saw the pictures I sent Landry?” I thought I’d been completely absent from Lexi’s life for three months. I thought it had been my choice. But I was wrong.

She smiled at me, a rank and pointed smile. “Of course I did. I know everything, Lukey.” I stifled an eye roll. I knew what that comment meant.

Landry looked up at me. “Next time you go to the jungle, will you take me with you?”

I winked at her. “Couldn’t stop me if you tried.”

Her little smile turned into a frown. “I didn’t think you were ever coming home.”

“I’m home now, love. I’m not leaving, ever again.” Landry had more abandonment issues than we’d known what to do with in the beginning. She was working through them and she was resilient. But I was an asshole. My chest suddenly felt like it was caving in. I hated myself for being another person she loved who had left her. I reminded myself that I’d had to go, that I was drowning in that house. I reached over and held my hand out to her. “Skins?”

“Skins.” She slid her palm over mine.

Jacks shook his head. “I’m still getting trouble for that movie, man.”

I scoffed, “Still? Damn, B, let it go.” We’d let Landry watch
Stand By Me
over three months ago and the chicks were still not happy about it. Hindsight? Not the most kid-friendly movie, even though it was a movie about kids.

Smith started laughing. “Don’t blame B. Landry called her new swim instructor a ‘cheap dime-store hood’ the other day.”

Harlow whispered to Landry and me out the side of her mouth, “I love
Stand by Me
. It’s one of my favorite movies.”

Could Lo get any more amazing? Dylan cleared her throat and sent me a glare. I sighed and turned to Landry. “You’re going to keep getting us all in trouble. Be cool, yeah?” She giggled.

Bryan focused her attention on my fake gf. “Harlow, do you live in Costa Rica? Or were you just there on vacation?”

“Vacation. I live in Miami.” She looked over and gave me a thick dreamy smile, only I noticed the narrowed malice in her eyes. She was having to lie for a backstory, yet again. “I was only supposed to be there for a week, but when I met Luke I decided to extend my trip.”

“How long have you guys known each other now?” Lexi frowned when Dylan shoved a bowl of yogurt in front of her. She discreetly moved it closer to Dash, who rolled his eyes and took three huge bites, making a big dent in it and then sliding it back.

“About two months.” Lo reached over with her fork and stole a piece of watermelon from my plate. All coupley.

Lexi nodded. “If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?”

“Eighteen.” The table was silent. Everyone’s jaw dropped four inches. I used my whole hand to tickle her leg until she started to laugh. “I’m kidding. I’m twenty-four.” I shook my head and looked across the table to see Dash smiling at her. He seemed to approve. Probably just happy to see I’d moved on from his fiancée.

Halen started to fuss and Lexi got up to grab her, but then stopped and turned to me. “Luke hasn’t seen her in forever, let’s see if he still has that baby-whisperer magic.”

I got up and took Halen from Smith. “Hey, sweet girl, I sure missed you.” I put her up on my shoulder and covered the back of her tiny head with my hand. I started the bounce she used to love, and then I began to hum the song I used to sing her at night. The conversation around the table kept going. But Lexi got up and came to stand beside me, resting her hand on her daughter’s back.

“She missed you, Luke. We all missed you.”

I met her gaze and couldn’t mistake the tears in her eyes. Lexi may have broken my heart, she may have picked another man; she may be trying to sniff out my current non-fake girlfriend lies. But she was still my best friend. We had history. And I’d always love her. “I know, Lex. I, uh, I needed a break.”

She wiped at her tears. “When I woke up and you were gone…”