The Wedding Pact Box Set - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,175

hem of her shirt. Neil stood behind her, his own hair disheveled, with a shocked look on his face.

“Garrett.” The word carried a mixture of horror and surprise. “What are you doing here?”

The woman tried to get past Garrett, but he continued to block the doorway. “Getting more answers to my questions than I expected.”

“Layla,” Neil said after sucking in a deep breath. “Thank you for bringing those lab reports.”

“My pleasure.” But her voice suggested she was close to sobbing.

Garrett considered keeping her here, but his beef was with his cousin, not with the nervous woman in front of him. He stepped to the side, and she bolted past him.

“She’s a nurse on one of the floors I work on,” Neil said.

Garrett fought every instinct within him and went into attorney mode. No emotion. No reaction. Just let him spill his guts.

“She was bringing me some lab results.”

Garrett remained still.

“How long were you outside the door?”

“Long enough.”

“I know it looks bad, but we were discussing a patient.” When Garrett didn’t respond, he asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Catching you cheating on Blair.” He was surprised he sounded so calm. So rational.

Neil tried to look indignant, but did a very poor job of it. “How could you think that?”

“Don’t insult me, Neil.” His words carried the first note of disgust he’d betrayed.

“I don’t know what—”

“Cut the shit.” He looked over his shoulder at the hospital personnel hurrying down the hall, then back at his cousin. “Would you like to have this conversation out here, or in your office with the door closed? What would happen to your sterling reputation if word got out that you plan to get married on Saturday and keep your girlfriend?”

Two nurses lifted their eyebrows and glanced at them as they passed.

Neil swallowed, his face turning pale. “Let’s go inside and close the door.” But fear filled his eyes as he ducked into his office. Neil was scared of him . . . or maybe scared of what the others would think of him if they knew the truth.

Good. He should be.

Garrett walked in and shut the door. Neil backed up, moving behind his desk without ever turning away from his cousin. “What difference does it make to you what I do?”

“I couldn’t give a flying fuck what you do, but this affects Blair.”

“Blair? Why would you care about Blair? You have no reason to care about her.” Neil bumped into the bookshelf behind him and jumped with fright.

Garrett clenched and unclenched his fists at his sides. “Wrong. Blair and I dated in law school.” God, what had he done? He was so caught up in the horror of the moment that he’d played his one ace in the hole.

Neil’s mouth tipped into a satisfied grin. “You’re the asshole that dumped her and then slept with half of law school.”

Garrett didn’t answer.

Neil’s shoulders relaxed. “What are you so pissed about? You did the exact same thing.”

“Not even close, you dickhead,” Garrett seethed, moving closer. “I never cheated on her.”

“You think breaking up with her to become the law school slut was any better? Between you and her father, she’s messed up in the head. But she’s such a cold fish in the bedroom, I can’t say I blame you. Why do you think I’m sleeping with Layla?”

Cold fish? God, he really knew nothing about her at all. But his anger quickly turned to guilt and horror. He knew how much her father’s philandering had affected her ability to trust men, but could he really have played a part in her unhappiness?

Encouraged by Garrett’s silence, Neil continued, “I’ve convinced Blair that I need to keep my condo so I can be close to the hospital when I’m on call.”

“So you can screw your girlfriend.”

“Hell, Blair’s at the office so long most nights, she’ll barely notice that I’m not around.”

“Why in God’s name are you marrying her?” he asked in dismay.

Neil looked at him like he was insane. “The prestige. The stability. The money.”

“The money? You’re a doctor!”

Neil shook his head. “I’m an infectious disease physician. I’m employed by the hospital. By the time I’ve paid my bills and my student loans each month, I barely have anything left. But Blair’s a hotshot lawyer on the rise. Do you have any idea how much money she’ll make off those cases once she makes partner?” He grinned and sat on the edge of the desk, then waved his hand at Garrett. “You know. You do what she does.”

Garrett stared at