Twins For My Bestie’s Brother (Billionaire Daddies)

7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Lily

“ Y ou’ve made your point, Lil.”

His touch burns my arm. I don’t like it anymore.

“But now, you should come back home,” Will says. His thumb tracks across my skin. “Okay?”

I narrow my eyes. “What point do you think I was trying to make?”

Will sighs, lips pinched together. He’s really trying to keep his anger contained, which is a far cry from how things used to be. Still, though, I know his meanness too well to believe anything has changed. “You wanted me to miss you. Realize I’ve taken you for granted. Right?”

Maybe that first week after I packed up my things and skipped town. But that’s one week out of six months’ worth of weeks. “The point I was trying to make is that we’re done, Will.”

His cheeks tighten.

“My home isn’t in Seattle. It’s here in Cider Bay. I’m not coming back.”

His head tips forward. “Lily, we’ve been together—”

“I know. A long time. Do you think it was easy for me to leave?” Far from it. I weighed my options for months. And all through those months, I slowly disentangled myself from the illusion that was my relationship with Will. By the time I walked away, I was over him. Over it .

“Seemed pretty easy the way you abandoned me.”

I damped down my rage in order to not cause a scene. Normally, I wouldn’t care, but tonight is already so tenuous. I don’t need to feed Tia’s flames, don’t need more rumors spreading about how I ‘ruined’ her reunion or some bullshit. “Will, you abandoned me first.”

He scoffs. “What?”

“The last two years of our relationship, I was the only one in it.”

His hand is starting to pinch. He has anger he doesn’t know how to control, and while he’s never used that anger against me physically, I’ve never been confident one day he wouldn’t. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You not understanding just makes it obvious you didn’t know what the fuck was happening in our own house. You were . . . you took me for granted.”

Will’s angered expression breaks, sadness under the facade. Or is sadness the facade? He releases me and shoves his hands in his pockets. “Okay. Yeah. I can see that. I’m sorry.”

How many times has he said, ‘I’m sorry’? How many times has he apologized only to do exactly the same things over and over again? “Sorry doesn’t mean much to me anymore,” I say and then move to go.

“I’m staying.”

I stop mid-step and turn back to face him. “What?”

“I’m here. In Cider Bay. For a month. Because I’m getting you back.”

My mouth grows hot. “I’m with Jackson.”

“Fuck Jackson.”

“Fuck you, Will.”

Will gestures into the gym. “You’ve been together a handful of months. We’ve had over a decade together. You can’t tell me you’re going to throw all that away for him.”

My stomach flips over and over with nerves. It was only supposed to be tonight . It was only supposed to make Tia mad; it wasn’t supposed to be this .

He steps up to me so we are toe to toe, and towers over me like he might kiss me. The thought of his lips on mine makes me want to retch. “I’m getting you back, Lily.”

I try to press the words out of my mouth, but I can’t. “No, you’re not.” Three words shouldn’t be so hard to say, and yet I’m mute because there’s something about his insistence that scares me. I’m not confident he might find a way to break me down, the way he did the last few years of our relationship, tear me down to the point that I don’t have anything left of myself to believe in.

“Lily!”

Jackson’s voice is like the song of an angel. And when I see him coming toward me, he looks like an angel too, haloed by light, smiling like nothing in the world is wrong.

I smile back.

He jerks his thumb over his shoulder into the gym. “Do you hear that?”

I frown.

Jackson’s smile turns into a grin. “It’s our song.”

Something blooms in my chest. Something scary.

Jackson continues. “I’m sorry, Will. I just had to come grab her for a dance.”

“No problem, man,” Will says coolly. Too calm.

Jackson grabs my hand and pulls me toward him, forcing a blessed distance between Will and me. “Thanks, man. You heading out?”

Will’s eyes widen. “Um, I wasn’t—”

“It was great to see you, man. Drive safe,” Jackson goes on.

Will has lost the bravado he had when he was assuring me he’d get me back. I can’t help but smile. “Bye, Will. Take care,” I say with finality.

Will meets my gaze. Ire sparks in his brown eyes. I’ve gotten too close to that flame before, so close I didn’t even realize I was on fire too. I don’t want it anymore. I know I don’t.

Before Will gets a chance to respond, Jackson whisks me back into the gymnasium, pulling me close. Neither of us says a word. When we get to the dance floor, Jackson swings me around into his embrace, pulling me in close for dancing. Not the kind of hold your best friend’s brother would share with you at an event. The kind of hold that’s intimate.

Like a boyfriend. Which I guess he is.

The music engulfs us. It’s a slow Paramore song which almost makes me laugh. All the music tonight has been from our high school years. It’s a major throwback. And funny to think that this might be ‘our song.’

I let myself get lost in Jackson’s embrace, leaning my head against his chest. There are still people to perform for, I suppose. But more than that, I need his closeness. It’s calming. Makes me feel safe despite the looming threat of my ex-boyfriend.

“Sorry,” Jackson mutters into my hair.

I lift my head to look up at him. “Why are you sorry?”

Jackson flattens his lips and glances at the crowd around us. “I just couldn’t stand the way he was talking to you.”

My heart catches in my throat. He was watching. Making sure I was safe. That’s always been Jackson’s way, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Being Kayla’s best friend meant that he looked out for me. Like a sister.

Not a girlfriend. I can’t believe I’m having to remind myself of that.

“I hope I didn’t interrupt a conversation you wanted to be having.”

“No,” I say in a hurry. “Not at all, it was . . . awful.”

Jackson’s hand tightens on my lower back, pressing me to him. We’re . . . so close. If we were horizontal, we would be doing a different kind of dance. “What’d he say?”

God, where to start . . .

“You don’t have to tell me,” he hurriedly says.

“No, it’s fine.” Jackson doesn’t know the story of our breakup. The why. And I don’t want to ruin this moment by getting into the minutiae of the hurt and the ache. Keep it simple. “He’s staying. For the month.”

Jackson is quiet, the corners of his blue eyes tightening.

“To try and get me back.”

“Jesus Christ,” Jackson mutters. “What’s wrong with him?”

“I don’t know.”

Jackson swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I mean, is that what you want?”

Again, my answer comes out quick and assured. “No. Not at all. I’m just . . . afraid he might trick me into wanting that again. That’s how I ended up staying so long.”

We keep dancing, questions hanging in the air. How do I ask him to continue this ruse for the month to fend Will off? How do I keep myself as safe as possible when all of this is fake?

“We’ll be together for the month, then,” Jackson says as if reading my mind.

“You don’t have to do that, Jackson.”

“I mean, if you don’t want me to—”

I grab his shoulder harder than I mean to. “No, I do. I just don’t want you to feel like you’re forced to do that because I can handle myself.”

“I know you can,” he says, clear and earnest.

I’m captivated by his stare. I’ve never spent this long looking into his eyes because . . . because I’ve always avoided looking for too long. I’ve always known if I did, I’d be trapped by feelings I didn’t want to have. He’s my best friend’s older brother. He’s out of my league. We’re too different.

But now I’m here.

And all those feelings I thought I’d have . . . they’re here too. The smart thing to do would be to call it off after tonight.

Feelings like this, though, don’t encourage people to be smart.

“But just because you can handle it yourself doesn’t mean you have to,” Jackson says softly.

“Jackson . . . ”

“I’m offering, Lily. It’s just a month. Anything I can do to make Will’s presence easier on you, I’m happy to do. Including this.”

My body fits so nicely against his. I hate that I’m having these kinds of thoughts, but they can’t be helped. I’ve tipped into the deep end. That’s the risk a situation like this runs. “Okay. Just the month.”

A smile slips onto Jackson’s lips. “If it makes you feel better, I do think people are buying it.”

“You think?”

“Oh, absolutely. Tia is totally pissed. She—well, let’s just say she had something to do with Will being here tonight.”

I huff. “She’s such a . . . I hate using the word, but—”

“I’m inclined to agree.”

I shake my head.

“We need to keep selling it, though. If we’re doing this for the month.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. We’re going to have to go on dates. And be seen together.”

Jackson laughs. “You say all that like it’s a bad thing.”

“Not a bad thing, no!” I say all too eagerly. “Just . . . this is all so silly, isn’t it.”

Jackson’s smile falls, and he shakes his head. “To help a friend is not silly to me. Not at all.”

Why does he have to be so tender? So gentle? It’s making my body do things I wish it wouldn’t.

Oh, who am I kidding? I haven’t had a crush in years. Not like this. I’m allowed to let myself crush on Jackson.

“Lily.”

“Hm?”

Jackson leans closer to me, as if he wants to tell me a secret. So, I lean closer too, desperate to hear it. “I’m going to kiss you now.”

I can’t help my jaw falling open.

“Is that okay?”

“Uh—um—yeah, it’s—”

“For the fake relationship, of course.”

“Of course,” I reiterate to my body, so it doesn’t betray me further.

Jackson and I stop swaying back and forth on the floor. He puts one hand under my chin, tipping it upward. And his eyes fall to my lips, sizing them up for a kiss.

Holy mother of God, he’s so sexy. So poised and restrained. Far from the way I would have kissed him. In a fake way, of course. I would have grabbed and pulled and kissed so hard—

All thoughts leave my brain when his lips land against mine. Measured. Just like everything else about him. Warm yet spicy. Like ginger. I move my hand down from his shoulder to his chest. I want to be close to him. Want to feel the kiss in every part of my body. Which isn’t hard, considering I’m finding myself tumbling down from any semblance of sanity.

Jackson’s fingers slide through my curls, the hand on my waist tightening. Pulling. Pressing.

“Get a room!” someone shouts.

Our lips break apart though our hands still cling to one another. I’m not sure who said it or the direction of the voice. But the music has changed, and it’s clearly no longer meant for a slow dance or a first kiss.

Jackson and I exchange sheepish smiles.

The rest of the night, I try to push away the thought that I’ve never been kissed like that. Not once in my whole life.