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Chapter Twenty-Two

K nox

If I’ve checked my phone once, I’ve checked it a thousand times.

Sloane is supposed to be calling me, and the plan is for me to put her on speakerphone so that the guys can hear how sick she is.

My leg bounces under the table as Baker deals the cards.

It’s a bye week, and since I’m leaving tomorrow on our scheduled poker night, we’re doing it a day early.

It was supposed to be at my place, but I played it off like I didn’t want to leave a mess the night before needing to go out of town, so Landry took one for the team and had us all over to his place.

Not that he minds. Landry Reynolds is all about entertaining.

I think it has something to do with all the leftovers he gets to keep at his place, but what do I know?

Anyway, we needed Corie to be here for this to work, whch is why she’s on her way here from Sloane’s place.

At least she’s supposed to be. So far, the plan is working, but we’re not through this yet.

Sloane was supposed to call ten minutes ago.

I know she’s at her place, and I also know that my girl was with her.

So, that makes me worry even more. Did something happen?

Are they okay? Is Corie okay? My phone vibrates on the table before the panic can set in too deep.

Turning the phone over, I see Sloane and instantly relax.

“It’s Sloane. I better get this,” I tell the guys. They all know what’s going on, that she’s supposed to be leaving with me tomorrow. It was their idea, and Sloane just ran with it. “Hey,” I answer, putting the phone on speaker so the guys can hear the conversation.

“Knox,” she croaks.

I play along. “Sloane? What’s wrong?”

“I’m sick. Strep throat.” She coughs, and I wince. She’s very convincing. “S-Sorry,” she says in her frog voice. “Can’t go,” she says, her words broken.

My shoulders fall, and I hope the look on my face says I’m disappointed that the plan she and the guys created didn’t work. “That’s okay. You get better. Take care of yourself,” I tell her.

“Yeah,” she mumbles, and the call ends.

“Well, there’s that,” I say, placing my phone face down on the table.

“Shit,” Baker mumbles. “That sucks.”

“Are you sure your girl can’t get out of whatever it is she’s doing?” Reid asks.

“Is she even real?” Landry asks. “You’re hiding her from us.”

“She’s real,” I assure him.

“And she’s not going to go off in a jealous rage?” Baker asks.

I shrug. “She knows she can trust me. She’s the only one I want. It is what it is. I hope that when I show up alone, I can convince my sister not to invite Sara, even at the last minute.”

“It’s not worth the risk, man,” Foster tells me. “Call Corie, see if she can help you.”

“Yes!” Reid agrees. “Baby Reynolds can save the day.”

“I can’t ask her on such short notice.” I shake my head as if the mere idea of asking her is off the table and out of bounds.

“Dude, that Sara girl is going to take all kinds of pictures and post them on social media,” Baker tells me.

“She’s grown up now,” I defend, even though I don’t want to.

“I’m sure she’s matured.” It’s doubtful, and my sister knows damn well I wouldn’t want to be anywhere near Sara.

She’s forcing my hand. My guess is that she picked up on my feelings for Corie at dinner or that Mom let it slip.

Either way, I’m sure Everly has no idea the hoops I’m having to jump through to bring Corie with me.

Sloane, once again, is coming in clutch. I really do need to buy her a nice gift or something.

“I don’t know. She was once desperate enough to sneak into your house and climb into your bed naked. I wouldn’t bet on it,” Foster says.

“Reynolds, call your sister. Work your brotherly magic and see if she can help our boy,” Baker says.

Landry studies me for several seconds, but it feels like hours. I don’t know what he’s looking for, but he must find it because he pulls out his phone and taps the screen. It rings twice before she answers.

“Hello?”

“Watcha up to, little sis?” he asks.

“I just pulled into the driveway. I was supposed to hang out with Sloane, but she’s sick. I went out and grabbed some supplies for her and dropped them off. I’m walking inside.” She laughs, and I love the sound of it. Fuck.

“We’re down in the basement. Come say hello,” Landry tells her before hanging up. “I’ll ask her when she gets down here.” He turns to me. “You ready to beg, QB?”

For Corie? Every fucking day of the week.

“Nah, I don’t want her to do anything she feels uncomfortable with.” I hope I’m pulling off the I don’t care either way persona when the reality is that I care a whole hell of a lot.

“Well, that attitude isn’t going to help,” Foster tells me. “Let us handle this, QB. We’ve got your back.”

I pretend to count my chips instead of staring at the bottom of the steps, waiting for Corie to appear. I don’t see or hear her when she enters the room, but I can feel she’s close.

“There she is,” Baker says.

“Baby Reynolds,” Reid chants.

“Hey, Corie,” Foster greets her.

“My little sister,” Landry coos.

They’re all making this obvious as hell; it takes everything I have inside me not to show my amusement. My girl will say yes, but we have to play our parts, including me not laughing at my friends as they try to butter her up. Even her brother, who I’m relieved is in on this.

Baker elbows me, and I turn to glare at him. “Greet her,” he says under his breath, nodding toward Corie.

Finally, I lift my gaze, and it collides with hers.

“Hey, Corie.” I smile. She smiles back, and everything is right in my world.

Regardless of whether this works out or not, she’s still mine—even if I can’t tell them that.

Not that it won’t work out. The guys suggesting her was the hardest part, and that’s done.

Corie will resist, but she’s going to say yes.

I get a whole weekend with her without lying about where we are or what we’re doing. I’m ready to toss her over my shoulder and hit the road tonight.

“So,” Landry says, clearing his throat.

I shake out of my trance, pulling my eyes from hers to look at my best friend. His brows are furrowed as he turns to look at his sister standing next to him. “Sloane being sick leaves our boy Knox in a pickle,” Landry starts.

“And we thought, who better to help him than baby Reynolds?” Reid chimes in.

“He needs you, Corie,” Baker adds.

“Our boy is desperate. Just look at that face,” Foster tells her. “His girl has plans and won’t budge, and Sloane is an outbreak monkey, and no one wants to get what she’s got.”

I can’t help but chuckle, because if she wasn’t already in, I’m not sure that those lame comments would be enough to convince her.

“I’m not desperate,” I tell my friends. “It’s fine if you can’t go.

I’ll figure it out,” I tell Corie. The words taste sour coming out of my mouth.

Of course, I want her to go. I know this is all a part of the game we’re playing to pull this off so no one suspects, but even saying it bothers me.

“I have to work tomorrow.”

“Surely, you can take the day off,” Baker says before turning to me. “Don’t you have an in with HR? Put on your Beckett charm and get Corie the day off.”

“No,” Corie rushes to answer. “I don’t want any special privileges. What time are you leaving tomorrow?”

“It’s a two-hour drive, so I was thinking ten or so in the morning. We can adjust that to whatever works for your schedule, if you think you can do this,” I tell her.

“I have vacation time because it accrues with each paycheck. Let me….” She pulls her phone out of her back pocket and bites down on her bottom lip as she places her phone to her ear. “Hey, Sally,” she says, walking toward the corner of the room.

She’s already cleared for the day off. So I don’t know who she’s calling; maybe she’s not talking to anyone, but she’s believable.

“Great, thank you so much,” she says loudly, ending the call and returning to the table. “Sally said it was fine. I explained that I had a friend who needed help. She was okay with it.”

“Knox, tell your girl there’s a change of plans, but hell yeah!” Baker cheers.

“All right!” Reid cheers. “Take that, Sara,” he says.

“Sara doesn’t even know about this,” I remind him.

“Yeah, and thanks to baby Reynolds, she never will,” Reid reminds me.

“Are you sure, Corie?” I ask her. “I know this is a lot to ask.”

She shrugs. “I’ll run by Sloane’s and get the dress she bought to wear. We’re close to the same size, and it’ll be fine. That’s what friends are for, right?” she asks, her eyes holding mine.

“Thank you, Corie girl.” My voice is reverent, and I clear my throat. Much more of that and the guys will see right through me. “I’ll be here at ten to pick you up. Everything is low-key casual all weekend.”

“Okay.” She leans over and hugs her brother. “Night.”

“Night, Core,” he says, and then she’s gone.

“Perfect, now that we have that crisis handled, let’s get back to the game,” Foster says.

That’s exactly what we do. It’s difficult not to let my excitement show, and I might just be paranoid, but I feel like I have more of Landry’s attention than usual. I ignore it and play the game until it’s late enough that I can make my excuses to leave.

An entire weekend with my girl, I can’t fucking wait.

“This is where I grew up,” I tell Corie as I park my truck in my parents’ driveway.

“I love it.”

“My dad built it.”

“That’s awesome.” She smiles, taking in the view from the passenger seat. “So.” She turns to face me. “How are we doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“This. Am I your plus one to keep the other ladies away, or am I…?” Her voice trails off.

“You’re mine,” I tell her. “I want them to know that.”

“You want to tell your family about us?” I can hear the shock in her voice.

“I do. We can trust them. This is a very small wedding. We don’t have to worry about the media or anything else, for that matter.”

“But we didn’t tell them that night in the suite.”