Pretty in Ink (Voretti Family Book 3) (11 page)

“Exactly,” Joslyn said. “You’re such integral parts of each other’s lives that
you
were the only one who knew.”

“It’s not like that. I ran into her and CJ… It’s a long story. But trust me. There’s absolutely nothing going on between Liv and me.”

Nothing except your fake relationship.

Joslyn sighed. “All right. I do really like you. And I think we’re looking for the same things. So if you say there’s nothing romantic between you and Liv, I’ll take your word for it. Let’s give this another chance.”

Guilt clamped a cold, clammy hand on his shoulder.
Not so fast.
“There is one little thing.”

Joslyn folded her arms across her chest. “Oh?”

“It’s actually kind of funny.” Except that the idea of losing his chance with Joslyn killed any chance of laughter. “I promised Liv I would do her a favor. Keep in mind that this was before our date.” His throat closed before he could get any more words out.

“Say it, Caleb.”

“She needs a fake boyfriend. For Ella’s wedding.” He spoke faster, telling Joslyn everything, but he couldn’t explain the frown off her face. “I know it’s weird. But the whole thing will be over in three weeks. And, like I said, I agreed to this before our date. I would never agree to it now.”

She sighed again. “I don’t know.”

“I need one more chance. Please. I know we don’t know each other well, but I can already tell that we share the same values. You’re the only woman I’ve ever been able to see myself with long-term.”

She sighed again. “Maybe it makes me a sucker, but I actually believe you.”

Relief washed over him, cleaning out the vestiges of guilt. “Thank you.”

“So here’s what we’re going to do. You take care of your commitment to Olivia. Once you’re free, if you still want to explore this relationship with me, we’ll talk. I can’t promise to be here waiting, but if I am, I’m open to trying again.”

He started to protest. There was no reason to put their relationship on hold. He needed her—especially with this craziness with Liv coming up. But that wasn’t fair. Joslyn had been more than understanding.

He tried for a smile. “I’ll see you in three weeks, then.”

“Hmm.” She eyed him speculatively. “We’ll see.”

“Y
OU
’
RE
ALIVE
!” K
ERI
gasped in mock surprise as Liv strolled under the twinkle lights that marked the entrance to Rosie’s. The small wine bar was equidistant from Keri’s apartment and Liv’s parents’ house, so it was the ideal site for the bi-weekly Girl’s Night they’d instituted soon after meeting at Annabelle’s wedding four months ago.

“Ha ha ha.” Liv collapsed into the ladder back chair across from Keri—who was such a good friend she’d already ordered a bottle of Cabernet and poured two glasses. “I’m not the one who’s always studying for Anatomy exams or boning my fiancé.”

“No. You’re too busy fooling around in Ella’s bedroom. Was this some crazy bet you lost, or did you finally give into your hormones?”

Liv’s heart rate kicked up, the reflex of a lifetime of finding trouble. Then she remembered that, this time, she wanted everyone talking about her antics.
 

“How did
you
hear about the bedroom incident?” she asked, as casually as she could. “You didn’t even put in a token appearance at the party.” And then, because she couldn’t help it, “Anatomy exam my ass.”

“It’s in two weeks. You can check my schedule if you don’t believe me.” Keri shoved her phone, open to the calendar app, in Liv’s face, but the screen wasn’t nearly big enough to hide her blush. “Plus I had to write a paper about methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
. Do you have any idea how many hospital patients contract MRSA every year? Because—”
 

“Okay,” Liv said, taking pity on her friend. “You were busy.”

“
Thank
you.” Keri slipped the phone back in her bag. “Now, to answer your question, Rafe told Ty about your interlude with Captain Hottie, Ty told Sean, and Sean, of course, tells me everything.”

Even though Liv wanted the story spread, she couldn’t help a reflexive pang of annoyance at the family gossip network, which was—as usual—working overtime to pronounce judgment on her life choices. “Aren’t Ty and Annabelle supposed to be hiking in the Andes?”

“Apparently they have cell phone coverage in Patagonia. Which makes it even more ridiculous that you didn’t find a way to call me and share. I figured you must be dead, because that was the only possible reason you wouldn’t have personally told me you were hooking up with Captain Hottie, but here you are, looking perfectly healthy.” Though she was trying to disguise it with a playful smile, Keri looked hurt.

The sip of wine Liv had taken burned her stomach. She’d meant to tell Keri what was going on. She’d picked up the phone to do it dozens of times in the past six days. But, every time, she’d gotten an inspiration for a new dress she needed to sketch or a craving for a pastrami sandwich she needed to eat or an email she desperately needed to respond to. “It’s not what you think.”

“So you’re
not
finally screwing the guy you’ve wanted since high school?”

“I haven’t wanted him since high school!” No, that wasn’t right. “I mean, I never wanted him. Not even in high school.”

“That’s not what you said at my birthday party. Remember? After Caleb lost that bet with Rafe and had to take off his shirt and do fifty pushups?”

“I was drunk. That doesn’t count.” Liv drained half her glass of wine. “Anyway, this has nothing to do with that stupid high school crush—which I’m totally over. This is a business arrangement.”

Keri settled back in her chair. “Do tell.”

“Okay.” Liv glanced around the small space, making sure there were no Voretti spies sipping Chianti and plotting to take her down. “But you have to swear not to say a word to anyone. Well, maybe Sean, but only if he promises not to gossip to Ty.”

“I promise,” Keri said, looking almost mollified.

“You know the tattoo?”

“The one I’m not allowed to talk about because if your parents find out they’re going to disown you?”

“Exactly. Well, at the party you ditched, Bridezilla commanded me to be one of her bridesmaids. Who are all going to be wearing strapless dresses.”

“Oh,” Keri said. Then, “
Oh
.”

“Yeah. She ripped off my shirt, trying to force me to try one of those monstrosities on. You should have seen it—lace and ruffles and frills in completely random places. It was like they blindfolded the designer and had her throw them on. There was no
balance
.”

“Seriously? You’re talking to me about design principles right now?”

Liv got back to the point before Keri decided to shake it out of her. “Anyway, Caleb rescued me before Ella saw the tattoo, and I convinced him to be my boyfriend for the wedding. That way, when my parents see the tattoo, they’ll think it’s Caleb’s name instead of CJ’s and they won’t freak out and pull my loan.”
 

Keri set her wine glass down and concentrated the full power of her are-you-kidding-me eyebrow raise on Liv. “That’s never going to work.”

“Why not? The whole family already thinks Caleb and I are hooking up.”

“No. They’re all talking about the bedroom incident, but the jury is still out on what it means. Rafe thinks you were playing some kind of game, trying to compromise Caleb’s virtue.”

Liv sighed. “Of course he does.”

“So this is only about your loan?”

“Exactly.”

“And not at all about you wanting to hook up with Captain Hottie?”

“Of course not.”

Keri’s lips curved into a smug smile. “Then why are you on your third glass of wine?”

Liv froze, which only emphasized the fact that she was in the middle of pouring her third glass. “Because I’m thirsty.” She finished as quickly as she could and set the bottle down.

“Oh my God.” Keri leaned across the small table, scrutinizing Liv like Liv was a patient on her exam table. “You
like
him.”

“No I don’t.” Liv crossed her arms over her chest, feeling strangely exposed even though the halter dress she was wearing was one of her more modest designs. “I mean, he’s a good guy, but he’s not my type. At all.”

“I never thought I’d see the day when you’d be too afraid to go for a guy you were into. You propositioned my fiancé before you even knew his name!”

“For the fifty-seventh time, I didn’t know he was yours!”

“You know,” Keri got a calculating look on her face, “I could be convinced to forget all about that little incident if you would put on your big-girl panties, fight the fear, and go for Caleb.”

“I’m not
afraid
.”

“You’re terrified. Because Caleb isn’t one of your disposable boyfriends like CJ, who you can relax and have fun with because you know it’s not going to last. He’s someone you could actually make a life with. But that means you’ll actually have to make a commitment.”

Liv gulped some wine, but it didn’t help. There wasn’t enough wine left in the bottle for this conversation. “I’m starting a business. That’s a commitment.”

“I know, hon. That’s my point. You’re finally ready for this. And you deserve a guy like Caleb. Someone who will treat you right and be there when you need him.”

Liv shook off the image that was forming in her head—the one where she and Caleb were sitting down to dinner at an intimate table for two. “I don’t have time for a relationship. Not with everything I have to do to get
Designs by Olivia
off the ground.”

“At least admit that you could see yourself with a guy like Caleb under different circumstances.”

Liv narrowed her eyes at Keri, trying to figure out where her friend was going with this, but it was hard to see much given the dim lighting. “I guess it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to date a guy who’s punctual,” she allowed. “And who would pick up the check some of the time. And who knows how to listen when other people are talking.”

“You see? That wasn’t so hard.”

“I meant what I said before. I’m not looking for a boyfriend.”

“Of course you aren’t,” Keri said, like she didn’t believe it for a second.

“You know, this friendship thing was a lot easier when I was giving you advice about how to give a blow job.”

Keri grinned. “Maybe next time I can give you some tips. I’ve gotten a lot of experience in the past four months.”

“Oh yeah?” Finally, a conversational topic that didn’t make Liv want to hurl. “I want details.”

“Liv!”

“What? Were you expecting that to be too much information for me? You know me better than that.”

Now it was Keri’s turn to suck down some wine. “Okay. You called my bluff. You’re the number one authority on blow jobs.”

“You’re damn right I am.”

The couple at the next table looked over, wide-eyed. Keri and Liv burst into giggles.

Their audience’s astonishment changed to disapproval, but Liv didn’t care. She had her best friend, a glass of wine, and a solid plan for the future. Life was good.

*

In the following days, Liv kept her head down. She worked on her collection, which was finally coming together, and put in her hours at Hannigan’s. She was usually so preoccupied with colors and trims and hemlines that it was all she could do to remember what kind of beer her customers had ordered, but the week before the stag and doe weekend, as she was cleaning a dirty table, she heard Caleb’s name.

She moved closer, on the pretext of wiping down the bar, and found Matt and Alex at the far end. She’d been so deep in her own world that she hadn’t noticed her brothers come in. But now, all she could hear was their conversation. Something about a barbecue Caleb was having tomorrow.

No. That didn’t make sense. If Caleb was having a barbecue, he would’ve mentioned it to her.

Alex took a tiny sip of his beer and made a face, because he didn’t like anything but single-malt scotch. “Don’t be late this time.”
 

“I told you,” Matt grumbled. “I had a flat tire.”

“Well this time your truck better be in working order. Two PM. Caleb’s place. Don’t make me come after you.”

Matt took a long draught of his IPA. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
 

Liv scrubbed the spotless surface of the bar like it was harboring the deadly strain of drug-resistant bacteria Keri had been going on about. Why hadn’t Caleb mentioned the barbecue to her? How were her brothers supposed to believe they were having a relationship when Caleb didn’t even bother inviting her to his parties?

One of the bartenders dropped a glass. It hit the floor, cutting off the first part of Alex’s sentence. “…Caleb finally asked her out.”

What? If Caleb had already told her family about their “relationship,” then she definitely needed to make an appearance at the barbecue. She moved closer. She’d say hello, then throw out a smooth line about seeing them tomorrow. They’d never know that Caleb had forgotten to invite his own girlfriend to the party.

“Caleb and Joslyn?” Matt snorted. “No way is that gonna work out.”

Liv froze, squeezing the rag in her hand.

“Just because you can’t handle a relationship that lasts longer than a night doesn’t mean everyone is a commitment-phobe,” Alex said.
 

Caleb had asked Joslyn out? No way. He’d made a commitment to Liv. Well, a pretend commitment. But still.

“Livvy?” Matt’s voice jarred her out of her daze. “What are you doing?”

“Cleaning.” She resumed scrubbing the nonexistent mess.
 

He grinned. “If you want the dirt on Caleb’s new fuck buddy, all you have to do is say so.”
 

She slammed her rag onto the bar.
Unbelievable
. She got caught alone with Caleb, half dressed, and her family dismissed it as some kind of joke, while Joslyn was all of a sudden Caleb’s fuck buddy?
 

“What’d that bar ever do to you?”
 

“I have absolutely no interest in Caleb’s love life. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.” She stomped off to take an order at the very back booth, but she couldn’t get Matt’s words out of her head. If she didn’t do some serious damage control, her family was never going to buy that she and Caleb were in a relationship.