Page 15 of The Fake Husband Deal

I knew my behavior had much to do with how I dealt with the hurt I was still carrying in my heart.

The way to get over someone is to get under a lot of someones.

That had been my MO for years. Tonight was no different, but it had felt different.

When I got to my building, I debated knocking on Jax’s door, but it was late and he was jet-lagged, so he was probably asleep already.

I needed to apologize for ditching him for dick. I also needed a distraction but tonight he wasn’t going to be it.

My apartment felt cold and empty. I walked to the window I could see the hotel from and stared out.

I found his window straight away, thanks to the balcony in the room. The hotel was one of those old buildings with a marble front and a distinct old-world look. There was a single balcony that I now knew belonged to the suite I’d just been fucked in.

Fuck, his cum was still inside me.

My dick stirred, which was an indication I needed to push the stranger aside, grab a shower, and go to bed.

Tonight would have to be enough to keep me going for a while. My brothers needed me.

Lex was on the verge of a breakdown or severe depression, and Adam, while he put on a brave face for Lex, felt a lot of what Lex felt.

Now, he was engaged, and while I didn’t necessarily agree with it or think he’d done it for the right reasons, I wanted to be supportive.

My phone dinged with a message as I came out of the shower.

Lex

Are you awake?

Noah

I am. Wanna talk?

The phone rang with a video call. I answered as I pulled a pair of sweatpants from a drawer.

“Hey, Lexy-Loo,” I said, calling him by the stupid nickname I picked for him as a kid.

“Hey. I just wanted to talk about…you know, earlier. I’m fine. I know I don’t always look like I’m fine, but?—”

“Yeah, you’re fine.” I sighed. “Lex, I love you, bro. Just know that I’m here for you anytime, okay?” Because it took a bullshitter to know a bullshitter, and Lex was bullshitting, though he’d never admit it.

In that respect, it was something all the Spencer brothers had in common. We were fucking stubborn. We got it from our mom’s Portuguese blood.

“Thanks, Noah. I just wanted to say that.”

“I hear you. See you in the office tomorrow?”

“As always.”

I didn’t like dwelling on the past because it brought too much pain. I wished I could help Lex get through his, but he wasn’t like me. He was better. He loved with his whole heart, like I did once upon a time, but I knew better now.

Lior

Silence followed me as I walked into the conference room at the main offices of Van Stern Enterprises.

Thirteen faces stared at me. Twelve business partners, plus my mother.

“I’d love to say good morning, but that remains to be ascertained.”