Page 18 of Theirs for the Holidays

Sawyer can either tell that it’s fake or he’s just being nosy as fuck because he doesn’t let it go. “Doesn’t look like nothing. If we’re all going to be in on this lie together, then we should be honest with each other at least, don’t you think?”

I roll my eyes. As if Sawyer gives a shit about that. He’s just trying to poke for information.

“Really, Sawyer,” Violet says. “It’s nothing. Just something between me and Lennox. It doesn’t really have anything to do with us pretending to date or anything. It’s from… before all this.”

“I also knew you before all this,” Sawyer insists. “And I don’t see why you can’t talk to me about whatever this is.”

“Because it’s none of your business,” I snap.

“If it involves my girlfriend, then it’s my business,” he replies.

“Oh, fuck off. You can’t play that card right now.”

“Wouldn’t have to if you’d just come clean about whatever this is.”

Violet sighs. “It’s not a big deal. Lennox and I… hooked up. Just once, when I was right out of college. We were just talking about that. That’s all.”

Sawyer leans back in surprise, and he gives me a look. “Is that why you spoke up last night?” he asks, his voice hard.

Rhett walks up next because of course he fucking does, and he looks between all of us. “What’s going on?”

“Turns out Lennox and Violet have hooked up before,” Sawyer says, before either of us have a chance to speak.

“And that’s why you spoke up last night?” Rhett asks, basically echoing Sawyer.

“It is not why I fucking spoke up,” I bite out. “As if the two of you have any room to talk when you also spoke up.”

“Listen,” Violet says, cutting in. Her cheeks are colored with a furious blush, and I can only imagine how she feels listening to the three of us talk about this right in front of her. “It doesn’t matter. I’m sure that’s not why Lennox said anything. After all, it was one night and it was a long time ago. It didn’t even mean anything.”

Something in my gut tightens to hear her say that. I glare at Rhett and Sawyer and grab my jacket from the back of the office chair where I slung it last night. I grab it with my injured hand, curling my fingers into the fabric as tightly as I can to hold on to it. It hurts and makes my hand shake, but I bury it against the coat, hoping no one is looking that closely.

“I thought we had stuff to do,” I say, turning away from all of them. “Let’s go.”

Violet nods, looking down at the floor. “Right. Let me just… dry my hair really quick and we can go.” She disappears back down the hall to the bathroom, closing the door with a quiet click.

8

VIOLET

It’s not too much laterwhen I step outside the house with all three of the brothers. I lock the door, feeling so awkward. Of course they managed to have an argument about Lennox and I hooking up because it feels like they can argue about anything these days. Part of me wonders if I should have said something to Lennox, but an even bigger part of me is still embarrassed that his brothers know about what happened between us.

I can practically feel the tension between the three of them rolling off them in waves, and it almost feels like it’s even sharper and more intense than it was last night.

None of them will look at each other, and it’s like they have walls up, to keep the others out.

As much as I don’t want to be, I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed that Lennox didn’t contradict me when I said our hookup didn’t mean anything. I brushed it off to keep Sawyer and Rhett from harping on about it, but I kind of hoped that I was wrong and it did mean something.

Honestly, I probably should never have brought it up in the first place. But Lennox referencing it after not bringing it up for years took me by surprise. I really did think he’d forgotten it even happened. I sort of convinced myself that either he wasblack out drunk and didn’t remember it in the morning, or I’d just dreamed the whole thing out of some weird longing.

And considering how uncomfortable things are right now, maybe one of those options would have been for the best.

Get it together, I scold myself, giving myself a mental slap.It’s in the past and you have to move on.

Especially right now when I have three men waiting on me to get the day’s errands started.

I walk down the driveway to my car, and then turn back, surprised that all three of the men are walking along with me.

“Oh,” I say, blinking. “You’re coming with me.”