I’m shocked. His look tonight is in stark contrast to his usual ripped jeans and End Zone T-shirt he wears every day at the bar. Hell, he even wore his damn football jersey to prom, complete with a sequin bowtie. The guy has never looked like this before, and I find myself unable to tear my eyes away from his as he smiles, flashing his dimples and all. He oozes charisma as he weaves his way through the table maze.

Reaching us, Harley throws his arms around Nash, and I force myself to look away from him, my eyes flitting to Anna who is watching the boys’ exchange with an adoring smile, her perfectly straight white teeth glistening. Everything about her annoys me. I can barely contain an eye-roll. I force myself to turn away from her to stop the annoyance from consuming me from the inside out, and my gaze shifts to Harley once again. On closer inspection, I realize perhaps he isn’t as put-together as I had initially thought, the Men’s Warehouse tag poking out from the back of the starched collar of his shirt proves that, beneath the façade, the usual Harley is still there in all his glory, and I bite back a grin.

“Hey, Murph.” Harley offers me a smile.

“Hey,” I murmur in return, again forcing myself to look away from him. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Maybe I just need a drink. I begin searching for a waiter, craning my neck over the sea of country club diners as Nash and Harley continue talking with one another, but then I overhear Nash introducing him to Anna, and everything stops.

“Harley, this is Anna, the love of my life—”

At that, I snap my head back to look at them, my jaw gaping at his words. The love of my life? As if his words aren’t bad enough, I’m forced to watch on as he offers her the most adoring look, and it’s heartbreakingly obvious just how enamored he is of her. My hands ball into fists by my sides and something unexpected comes over me, something I hadn’t been prepared to deal with tonight. As I watch Nash slap Harley’s shoulder, introducing him, the words are like hot lava as they burn their way up the back of my throat. I couldn’t even stop them if I tried.

“Anna, babe, this is Harley Shaw, he’s—”

“My boyfriend.” I find myself stepping forward without missing a beat, surprising not only myself with my completely fabricated and obviously blatant lie, but Harley and Nash as well, each of them gaping at me as an awkward silence settles between us. But, I don’t stop there. I reach up and touch Harley’s arm, trailing my hand down to his, intertwining our fingers together as I smile at Anna.

“Wait … What?” Nash gapes incredulously, looking from me to Harley and back again.

I swallow hard, trying desperately to keep my cool, but I can feel Harley tense up beside me. I look up and meet his eyes. His jaw clenches beneath his lightly stubbled skin and he flashes me a warning look, his green eyes glaring.