46. Chapter Forty-Four

Chapter Forty-Four

Devon

I hate having to pretend I hate Tate in front of my brother. Being next to him and not being able to touch him is the worst kind of torture. And to think, I so badly wanted nothing to do with him the night of the auction, yet look how things have turned out? Now and then I still wonder if this is all some big trick, if I’m an idiot for trusting him. He broke my heart once, he can easily do it again. Especially when he keeps giving excuses about why we can’t officially be together and why we can’t tell my brother. The problem is they make sense.

But none of this should matter. Everything for my house went through. It’s final. I’m an official home owner. All I need to do now is figure out when I’m leaving.

“Dev, make sure you stick by my side tonight, okay?” Dane says as the limo pulls into the drop off line. He hasn’t moved more than a foot from me since I showed up at home to get ready. I had to scream at him to leave me alone so I could get dressed because I wasn’t doing it in front of him.

“I’m not five, Dane, and this isn’t a prison block. I’ll be fine.” I roll my eyes.

“I don’t like the idea of all these guys with egos the size of Canada being on the loose.”

“Perhaps you should have suggested I take a date with me, then?” I say, and I swear I hear Tatum growl.

“You bring a date?” Dane says. “That’s funny.”

I scoff, bringing my attention to my phone. I’ve wanted to text Summer for days. We haven’t talked, and it’s killing me. But I’m not ready to talk to her. She and Dane seemed to work things out—according to him. I haven’t asked what they decided because I can’t talk about any of that yet. That’s their business, and I’ll ask about it later. I’m still hurt by Summer lying to me and feeling like she doesn’t know me like I thought she did.

Tate is the first one out of the limo. He steps to the side, fixing his jacket as Dane gets out and offers me his hand. I get out and am immediately dizzied by the bright flashes from the cameras. This event is a huge charity event that anyone and everyone with money in the area attends. Dad will be around here somewhere with whatever date he found for the night. Likely one of his models.

Dane and I walk first, people shouting questions at us and snapping photos. I hear comments about the new fashion line, the issue with the model stealing stuff, and other things that I have no clue about and ignore. I so badly want to turn around as we reach the end to watch Tate walk. I get a glimpse of him and regret it when I see the way the women are drooling over him .

My blood boils.

Is this why he doesn’t want to go official?

Tate did go from partying and sleeping around to just me . He was at an auction for Christ’s sake, and I expect him to stop all of that just for me?

It’s obvious this was too good to be true, and as well as Tate and I have been getting along, it’s all behind rose-colored glasses. Nothing serious will work with us, and though I’ve tried thinking otherwise, it’s best I let it go. We had our time. We had our fun. Now it’s getting time for me to go, and this needs to be the end of it. It has to be, right? I bought a house. I’m moving.

We’re escorted to our table by a man in a sharp tuxedo. We aren’t too far off from the bar, which is a relief. There are eight people to a table, and we’re the only ones at ours so far. Hopefully we aren’t sitting with a bunch of pretentious asses. There’s plenty of them at events like this.

“I’m going to get a drink,” Tate says.

Dane looks at me, then at Tate who is walking away. “Stay here.”

He hurries after Tate, and I roll my eyes. I’m so tired of this. I feel like a damn dog who’s been trained to stay without a leash. Though I bet if it were socially acceptable, Dane would have one on me.

I’m just about to take my seat when someone calls my name.

“Devon?” I look around and lock eyes with the person who called me.

“Gunner, how are you?” I smile at him and lean in to kiss his cheek as he kisses mine .

“You look fantastic, Devon. It’s been too long.” He flashes me a bright smile. He’s always been a handsome guy. Too pretty for me, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t good looking.

“It has been a while. What have you been up to?” I ask. It’s been years since I last saw him. We ran into each other at a few parties over the years, but that’s it.

“Just enjoying time with my mother. Traveling.”

“That’s exciting. Are you sitting here?” I ask, gesturing to the table.

“Oh, no,” he says with a slight shake of his head. “I’m at the other end of the room, but I saw you walk in and needed to come say hello.”

From behind me, a low voice says, “And now that you have, I suggest you leave before I break each of your fingers.”

“Tate,” I hiss, frowning at him when he steps to my side.

He grits his teeth, his posture stiff. He looks like he’s about to attack. Gunner forces a smile. “It was so nice to see you, Devon. Maybe I can have a dance later?”

“Su—”

“Absolutely not,” Tate spits out.

Gunner sighs, giving another quick smile. “See you around.” He winks before turning on his heel and leaving.

“What is wrong with you, Tate?” I swat him in the chest.

“Are you fucking kidding?” he growls.

“Don’t tell me I can’t talk to him just because his mother cheated on your father.”

Tate makes a choked sound, his mouth flopping open and closed. “That’s what you think the problem is? ”

Dane returns with a drink for me, so I don’t bother answering Tate. The last thing Dane needs is to see me and Tate arguing. I take my drink and then my seat. Dane sits to my left and Tate at his. I wish he would have sat on the other side of me so it would be more difficult to see him. He’s right in my peripheral. At least when someone gets seated at the table, I won’t have to worry about talking to my brother or Tate, because there will be someone on my other side to chat with.

The room fills up with people quickly. I sip my drink and watch as newcomers get chaperoned to their tables. Everyone is dressed well, and seemingly happy to be here. We’re soon joined at the table by our father and his date, Margot. I should have known they’d sit us together. Why wouldn’t they?

My father hugs me, giving me a kiss on the head.

“Nice to see you boys,” my father says, patting Dane on the back and then Tate. He and Margot take their seats, with Margot on my side. The next people to sit at the table is a man my father knows, along with his wife.

As the guys talk business, I try making small talk with Margot, but she isn’t interested in talking to the daughter of Brent Kensington. Clearly, she only wants to talk about anything he wants to talk about. I’m so glad my father never remarried after my mother. There are too many people after him for his money and the position he holds. Same as my brother.

Feeling feisty and extremely annoyed, when I spot Gunner walking to the bar, I quickly get up.

“I’m going to get a drink.”

“I can get it for you,” Dane says as he pushes his chair back.

“No thanks. ”

I hurry off, hoping he doesn’t follow. I’m sure it won’t be long before one of them comes up to join me. I move in beside Gunner, trying to be as graceful as possible—and not obvious.

“Hiding?” he questions with a smirk, keeping his eyes on the bar and off me.

Or trying to make my non-official boyfriend jealous and my brother angry.

“Something like that.”

“What are you drinking?”

“Wine is good. Merlot, please.”

I have to say, one of the good things about being a woman is hardly having to buy your own drinks.

Gunner hands me the wine when he gets it, and we move to the side to keep talking. I’ve been up here for a while without being bothered, but I swear I feel eyes on me. Not sure who it is since I won’t look, but if I had to guess, I’d say it’s Tate.

“So, what’s going on at your table? Why does everyone seem so serious?” Gunner asks, sipping his whiskey.

“Because I’m here, and apparently I’m not allowed to have fun.”

He huffs out a laugh, eying me curiously. What he says next has me gasping. “I was at the auction, you know.”

I swallow, nearly choking. My cheeks burn, knowing he saw me in nothing but lingerie. “You were?”

“Yes,” he says, his eyes shining with humor. “I was outbid at the very last second.” Wow. Okay, that’s news. I can’t help but feel flattered by that. But also… if he was outbid at the very last second, that means he was willing to spend three million dollars on me. Holy crap, that’s insane. I can’t help but wonder if it’s because it’s me or if it’s because of what I said. “Who did you end up with?”

I take a sip of wine, not sure I want to tell him. But what does it matter? Gunner knows Tate and I have history, and he certainly isn’t going to tell my brother. And even if he did, it wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen.

“Tate.”

His eyes widen before he barks out a laugh.

“Well, that explains a lot.”

Is he referring to Tate growling at him earlier? Maybe.

Gunner smirks. “Dane was supposed to be there. He didn’t know you were?”

That’s news to me. And it’s a damn good thing he wasn’t.

“Ha! If my brother knew I was at that auction, he’d kill me.”

Gunner’s face falls, and it takes all of two seconds for me to realize why.

“ You were at the auction?”

Those words cut like sharp knives. My blood runs cold. I whirl around, and there’s Dane, absolutely furious. Shit. I hold his gaze but can’t form words to answer him.

“I… I, uh—”

“Devon Kensington, you better answer me right this second,” he growls, gripping my arm to pull me away. I yank my arm free, frowning but careful not to make a scene.

“What I do is none of your business, Dane,” I hiss.

“Everything you do is my business. You’re my little sister,” he grits out, stepping closer.

I back up, getting a view of Tate who is walking over, brow furrowed. Gunner takes a few steps back but looks concerned. Maybe he’s waiting around to make sure Dane doesn’t actually kill me.

“What is going on? You’re making a scene,” Tate says as calmly as he can, looking between me and Dane. He doesn’t even acknowledge Gunner, which is for the best. Does he know Gunner bid on me? I don’t want to risk finding out. He may kill him.

“You,” my brother seethes, turning his attention to Tate. And if I thought he looked mad before, he’s ten times as angry now. “You didn’t tell me.”

“Tell you what?” Tate asks, raising his brows and holding Dane’s attention.

Dane opens his mouth to answer but pauses. He looks back at me, then to Tate, then to me again. This time he holds my gaze, and it’s as if he’s trying to piece something together. I’m getting concerned now, because I’ve never seen my brother look this upset before. I see it the moment he figures out whatever it is he was trying to figure out.

“Hold on a minute,” he says with a disbelieving laugh. “Hold on just a fucking minute.”

He shakes his head, holding a hand up.

Tate says, “Dane, I’m really not in the mood for—”

“Is she the revenge girl?” my brother asks, jabbing a finger toward me but keeping his furious gaze on Tate.

“Excuse me?” Tate says in a low tone, shifting on his feet.

Dane looks back at me, huffing out another sound of disbelief. “I knew it was weird that you two weren’t down each other’s throats. That you were exceptionally quiet around one another. Now it all makes sense. ”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, but obviously I know exactly what he’s talking about. This is why I wanted to tell Dane in the first place. I wanted us to be the ones to tell him so he wouldn’t find out like this. So he wouldn’t think we were hiding it from him.

“Don’t stick up for him, Devon,” Dane spits out, looking at Tate. “He only bought you to get back at you.”

“What?” I nearly shout. “No.” My gaze goes to Tate as I shake my head. He’s got his poker face on, but when he looks at me, my stomach sinks. “What is he talking about?”

Dane moves to my side. “This asshole told me he bought a girl at the auction for revenge. ”

“Revenge?” I question. Tate is glaring at Dane. He looks like he’s ready to maul him. My stomach is in knots, and I think I’m going to be sick.

Tate blinks a few times, his face softening. He turns his attention to me.

“I can explain.”

“Oh, you can?” I say, my voice breaking.

“Yes, Devon, I can.” He moves towards me, but I hold up my hand.

“Guess I know why you didn’t want to tell my brother about us.”

I shove the wineglass at my brother, grateful when he takes it. I storm past Tate, stop at the table to grab my clutch, and then hurry for the door. Thankfully the table was empty of people, so I didn’t have to explain anything to my father .

“Devon!”

I’m not sure which one of them is coming after me, calling my name like that. Both, maybe. Though it’s likely my brother. Tate doesn’t like making scenes, so he wouldn’t be shouting my name in a crowded room like that. Dane doesn’t give a shit.

I move through the lobby, feeling like I can’t breathe. My chest is tight. My vision is blurry. When I push through the doors to the outside, I suck in the fresh night air and move as fast as I can down the sidewalk. I don’t know where I’m going, and I don’t care.

“Devon!”

“Leave me alone!” I shout, not bothering to look at who it is. Tears make it nearly impossible to see, but I keep going. I need to get away from here, away from all these people. They’re all terrible, nothing but liars! Every last one of them.

“Please stop.” Whoever was following me finally catches up to me. Their hand is around my arm, jerking me to a stop. The touch feels too familiar, and I hate it. I spin on him, raising my hand to slap him as hard as I can. People walking by gasp. Tate grits his teeth, sucking in a breath. “Please don’t run away from me,” he pleads.

I shake my head in disbelief. His cheek is already turning red from my hand.

“How could you?” I hiss.

“I’m sorry!” he says, the desperation in his voice clear. “I was so angry over what you did, and I—”

“What I did? When did I ever do anything to you, Tatum? I’ve been nothing but nice to you!”

“When we were younger, Devon,” he says firmly.

“I didn’t do anything to you!” I scream .

People slow down to listen to us, to get a glimpse of the drama unfolding. As if this doesn’t happen in Detroit all the damn time. I don’t care about them though. They can listen all they want. It’s about time Tate and I get this out of our systems. We should have done it sooner. Maybe things would be okay right now if we hadn’t danced around our issues for so long.

“I saw you that night at the party!” he grits out, his hands clenching to fists.

“Saw me do what? What party ?”

Tate looks out at the street as if he can’t believe what I’m saying. I can’t believe what he’s saying! What does he think I did to him?

“Typical, Tate,” I say with a scoff. “You want to blame me for your problems, when—”

“I saw you walk out of Gunner’s room at that party!” he barks.

My face scrunches into confusion. What is he talking about?

“When I—” But then I remember. My hand comes up to cover my mouth, and I take a stumbling step back. “You think… you thought I—” The number of emotions I feel this very moment is overwhelming. Hurt. Angry. Offended. I can only imagine what Tate thinks I did with Gunner in that room… when all I did was go in there to change because Summer was sick and threw up on me.

I scowl at Tate, shoving him hard in the chest. “You asshole,” I seethe. “All this time you’ve been mad at me because you think you know what happened in that room? ”

“I know what I saw,” he growls, stepping up to me, clearly ready to die on this hill he made because he’s out of his damn mind!

I shake my head, tears stinging my eyes as I take another step away from him. “I don’t know what hurts more, Tate. You thinking I could ever cheat on you or you not trusting me enough to talk about it.”