“Secondly, you wanted press for the bar, and all that nonsense is going to get you a lot of it. Which is why we agreed to this arrangement in the first place. Press. And the party? That was to help you out. Your ex, the same one you didn’t bother to tell me about, which, thanks, given where we were eating lunch, just— Well, she just had a tone, and I didn’t really like it.”

Sloane had been surprised at just how much she’d disliked the way Felicity had talked to Brady about the bar. It had almost sounded frustrated. Like it was an old feeling between them. An old fight. One that, judging by what Ruby had revealed, Brady had lost.

So Sloane had said the first thing that came to her mind to defend him.

The same thing that was now making him angry with her.

“Felicity always has a tone,” he said, still staring out the windshield with a soggy expression. “Especially when it comes to the bar.”

“Well, how the hell was I supposed to know that? I’ve never actually met her before. If I had known we were going to be dining with your ex, I might have asked for some fun facts.” A thought popped into Sloane’s head that made her inhale. “Or wait, did you know that Felicity would be there? I mean, did you know that she was Marcus’s fiancée before today?”

Had Brady been just as surprised at seeing her as Sloane had been at finding out that they had dated?

“Yeah, I knew.” He shrugged, nonplussed. “I found out last night, right after he showed up at the bar.”

There Sloane was, almost feeling sorry for the guy, and then the truth finally came out.

“That’s why you wanted to pretend to date!” she exclaimed. “It wasn’t just for the bar; it was to make her jealous? What, are you trying to win her back? Steal her from Marcus? Because if so, I don’t want to be a part of that.”

Brady turned long enough to roll his eyes at her. “Calm down there, sweet cakes. I’m doing this for the bar.”

Sloane wasn’t buying it. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared.

He sighed. “Proving to my ex that I don’t need a trust fund to be worthwhile, yeah, fine, that’s an unforeseen added bonus, but that’s all I want when it comes to her. I’ve already been there, and I’ve already done that. And I don’t want to do any of it again. No thanks.”

Sloane narrowed her eyes. “I don’t know you well enough to know if you’re lying or not.”