Breaking Down

Chapter 13

13

Tyler

I handed the remote control to Garrett. “That was fun,” I admitted. I hadn’t played video games in so long, I had forgotten how much fun it could be. And, from what I gathered from our conversations so far, the guys here—Garrett, Leo, Pedro, and Ricardo—seemed to be into horses, obviously, video games, monster truck racing, and working out. So far, so good.

“Wait until you reach level twenty,” Garrett said. “It gets crazy. Good crazy.”

“Don’t worry,” Ricardo said. “Soon you’ll be mastering all these games too.”

Pedro snorted. “As if you’ve mastered them all.”

Ricardo sat up straighter. “Is that a challenge?”

Pedro, who had been sulking most of the time, stood up and puffed his chest. “It is!”

Garrett jerked his chin to the two brothers bickering. “They do that a lot,” he said with a chuckle.

I just stared, amused.

As Pedro and Ricardo assumed the control of the video game for their challenge, I scanned the place, taking in everything and everyone. The apartment was large—the living room alone was probably the size of my entire shitty two-bedroom apartment—and the furniture and the decorations on the shelves and walls looked expensive. The sofas were large and comfortable, the dining table was heavy and long with big, high chairs, and even the kitchen looked like it cost at least twice more than my former college's annual tuition.

Hilary stood beside Guilherme behind the tall counter-s***h-island that separated the kitchen from the living room. She seemed serene while Guilherme emitted harsh vibes, especially when he glared at me every ten seconds.

Then, I saw as Bia entered the apartment from the balcony, her face as harsh as Guilherme’s. And Gabi was alone on the balcony.

I took my beer bottle from the side table and went out to her. Even with her back to me, I saw Gabi wipe at her eyes and straighten, as if getting ready for another fight.

I leaned my lower back on the rail beside her. “Hey.”

She glanced at me, and I thought I saw something like relief flashing in her eyes. “Hey.” She glanced over her shoulder to the inside of the apartment, then returned her gaze to the starry sky. “How was it going in there?”

I watched her family inside the apartment through the glass doors. “It’s fine … Garrett is my friend from vet school, so we always got along fine, and the rest of your family … well, they are a little wary, but most of them are nice and are trying to make me feel welcome.” I felt myself starting to smile. It had been kind of fun in there. “All except for Bia and your brother.” The tentative smile was gone and I frowned. “I expected that from your brother, but not from Bia. I mean, I was never as close to her as I am to Garrett, but she knows me. We always got along fine too.”

She sighed. “She’s mad at me for not telling her about us sooner.”

“Oh, I see.” I knew she would face a lot of that from her family, and I suddenly felt bad for her. “She’ll come around.”

“She will, but she’ll make me suffer first.”

I turned to her. “They are watching us.”

She stiffened. “Who?”

“Everyone. Not straight out, but they keep stealing glances this way.”

She blushed. “They are probably expecting us to be a couple like, you know …”

“Hold hands, hug, and kiss?”

The blush in her cheeks increased. “Yes.”

Before I could stop myself, I reached over and took one of her hands into mine and weaved our fingers together. “Is this okay?”

Her eyes went wide. “Sim. Yeah. Sure. We should do more of that. Holding hands is safe, easy.”

I lowered my gaze to our hands. Her skin was so smooth, so pale compared to mine, but her hand fit so well into mine. “It is,” I said, my voice hoarse.

She looked up the stars again, and I couldn’t help it but stare at her pretty face. Her small nose, her high cheekbones, her round jaw, and her naturally pouted lips. And her eyes. Her bright blue eyes were the most amazing shade. Her dark, wavy hair was pulled back into a thick ponytail, and even though I had seen her hair before and liked it down, I also liked it this way. I especially liked the way it showed off her long neck and slender, bare shoulders.

An urge to lean into her and brush my lips on her soft shoulder and neck hit me hard, taking me by surprise. I wasn’t stupid. I thought she was beautiful from the first moment I laid eyes on her, and every second spent with her only made me think she was even more beautiful. But I knew this was a fake marriage. There would be nothing between us.

Debt free. This deal meant being debt free. That was all.

Right?

I shook those thoughts from my head. “You were right.”

“I’m right most of the time,” she teased. “But what are you talking about specifically?”

“About your family. They seem freaked out that we’re engaged. I can’t imagine how they'd react if we had told them the truth.”

She snorted. “They would kill me. Or you. Probably you. And then they would make me suffer.”

I groaned. When she said things like that, I almost regretted this damn deal. “That’s not very comforting.”

“Sorry … but they are good people. Once we tell them we’re not in a rush and will take things slow with the engagement, they will relax and Gui will be more like his normal self, and you’ll see they are great. All of them.” She turned her pretty eyes to me and tugged at my hand. “We better go inside and socialize. After all, one of the reasons I want to live here is to spend more time with them.” She jerked her head toward her family.

I confess, curiosity about what other reasons she had for wanting to live here poked at my gut, but to be honest, it wasn't my business. So, I pushed those thoughts aside and focused on pretending some more.

Still holding hands, we walked back into the apartment.