It was the first time I got to have a glimpse into Gray’s life. Carter and Harry were surprisingly approachable. I found it hard to believe that Harry and Gray were even brothers. When they asked me to come to dinner with them, I didn’t know what to say. Gray was being cold and distant toward me after what we’d done.

“Hey, River, can you give me a hand with the boxes?” Harry asked from the bed of the truck.

“Sure,” I said.

Somehow, I just went from being spanked in Gray’s basement to helping his brother move in.

I went over and helped him carry some boxes from the truck to the house. Gray was on the phone in the kitchen. When I passed him to bring the box into the guesthouse, he avoided my eyes. I couldn’t help but notice the stains of dried come that were left on the side of his pants. It was definitely noticeable to me, but Harry and Carter didn’t seem to have seen it.

I went through the backyard to get to the guesthouse. It was the first time I was back there, and I hadn’t even noticed there was an entire house back there. Gray called it the guesthouse, but it looked pretty big, and when I stepped inside, I saw it was even bigger than it looked.

Carter was in there, stacking the boxes against the wall to make room for everything.

“Where should I put this?” I asked.

Carter looked up and pointed to the corner of the room. “Over there is fine.”

I wiped some of the sweat from my forehead, and when I did, I noticed that my hand still smelled of Gray. I couldn’t help but bring my hand close to my nose for a moment to take in the scent of Gray’s cock and his come.

I noticed that a lot of the boxes had baby toys in them.

“You have a baby?” I asked Carter.

When I mentioned the baby, Carter smiled from ear to ear. “We do. His name is Pollock, and he’s almost one. It wasn’t planned really.”

I raised a brow, trying to understand how Carter and Harry could accidentally have a baby. “Wait, the baby is yours and Harry’s, right?”

Carter nodded. “Pollock was my best friend’s baby. But he died in a mining accident, so Harry and I decided to adopt him.”

Carter dug into one of the boxes and pulled out a photo of the three of them standing in front of an apple orchard. In the photo, the baby looked a lot younger. I could tell they were so happy from how big their smiles were in the photo.

“That’s adorable,” I said.

Before that moment, I’d never even thought about if I wanted a family. But seeing Carter and Harry look so happy together, I wondered if I would ever find someone who’d love me for who I am. And after Gray’s reaction to what we just did, I knew I could never have that with him.

He was a straight guy.

I should’ve known better than to do anything with a straight guy. Fuck, maybe it was a bad idea to have this contract with him in the first place because we were now so deep into it. I never expected it to be this complicated. But as I was helping his brother move into the guesthouse, I realized that this was way more than I’d bargained for.

Harry walked in.

“I don’t understand how Gray can live in such an empty house,” Harry said, breathing heavily as he set a box down.

Carter laughed. “We have more stuff in here than he has in that whole house.”

I smiled. “I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks it’s weird.”

“That’s Gray for you though. Nothing he does is conventional. He always has to be so over the top with everything. But I guess that’s how he became that rich and successful in the first place.

Harry went over to Carter and wrapped his arms around him, and they kissed each other.

“This is ours,” Carter said to Harry quietly as he looked around the room.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Harry said.

“Much nicer than the apartment we were in.” Carter smiled.

“We even have a room in here for Pollock to have his own space,” Harry said.

I saw Gray standing near the back door of the main house. He finished his phone call and came into the guesthouse.

“Need a hand?” Gray said.

Harry rolled his eyes. “We’re done already.”

Gray scratched his head. “Really? That fast?”

Carter laughed. “Yeah, thanks to River, we were able to move everything pretty quickly.”

I could still feel Gray being distant toward me, and I wanted to talk to him about it. But with Harry and Carter there, I couldn’t really pull him aside. My heart still raced when I saw him. Even though he was being rude and ignoring me, I couldn’t help but steal glances at him.

“I’m starving,” Harry said. “When did Blue want us to go to the restaurant?”

“I have it down for seven in my calendar. So we should get going soon,” Gray said.

“How are we getting there?” Carter asked.

“We can drive my truck,” Harry said. “Gray and River are going to have to squish in the backseat because of Pollock’s car seat, though.”

I shrugged. “I’m okay with that.”

Gray remained quiet.

I felt like I was intruding. Maybe Gray didn’t want me there at all. I wanted to talk to him about it, but I didn’t know how to with Harry and Carter there. I didn’t want it to be any more awkward than it already was.

Gray and I sat in the back of the truck. Every time I moved, my ass still ached, and it was a reminder of what we had done earlier.

I was sandwiched between Gray and the car seat. He was wearing a cologne I couldn’t stop breathing in. I wished I was wearing nicer clothes since I was meeting new people. Gray was wearing a suit and a white button-down. He looked so put together, sitting next to me.

When we arrived, I was surprised that it was the same restaurant Gray had taken me to. I guess this family really liked this restaurant.

We parked on the street and went inside. Though it was a weekday evening, the front door was locked, and we had to wait for someone to let us in.

A tall gentleman who was wearing a suit that looked just as expensive as Gray’s unlocked it.

“You’re here,” the man said in a deep voice.

He hugged everyone and then stopped when he saw me. “You must be Gray’s fake date. Blue already told me the story,” he said. “I’m Hunter, the guy getting married.”

I shook his hand, and I was glad that I didn’t have to explain the situation. We stepped inside the restaurant, and Blue came right up to us with glasses of champagne. It was the first time I met Blue. I was surprised by how young he was. He had blond hair just like mine.

“Drink up. You guys need to catch up,” Blue said with a smile.

Blue turned to me and handed me a glass of champagne. “You must be Gray’s date. I’m Blue.”

I gave him a hug. I noticed that we were around the same height.

“Congrats on getting married,” I said. “I hope it’s all right that I’m here. I don’t want to feel like I’m crashing your rehearsal dinner or anything.”

“Nonsense,” Blue said. “The more, the merrier.”

We clinked our glasses , and I took a sip of the champagne.

“Let me take your jacket,” Blue said.

I took off my jacket and handed it to him. The restaurant was dimly lit and warm. I was feeling welcomed, even though it was my first time meeting everyone.

“Did you guys close down the restaurant for the evening to host us?” I asked.

“They’re usually closed tonight anyway,” Blue said. “This restaurant has kind of become our spot, so I thought it’d be fitting to have the dinner here tonight.”

I gravitated toward Blue because we were the closest in age, and Blue was pretty nice, introducing me to some of their friends. At one point, Gray walked up to Blue and me.

“Is my brother trying to corrupt you already?” Gray said.

Blue shot him a dirty look. “If anything, you’re the one who’s corrupting him. I don’t know how you found someone as sweet as River to bring to my wedding.”

Gray smirked. “Whatever. Just be glad that I’m here at all.”

The owner of the restaurant came out of the kitchen with the first round of food. Everyone took a seat at the table. There were actually many tables pushed together to accommodate everyone. Gray and Hunter sat at the heads of the table, and I sat next to Gray.

Hunter stood up to make a toast, and everyone stopped their conversations to turn their attention to him. The way Hunter commanded attention was no different than when Gray walked into a room.

“I’d like to thank everyone for coming tonight. Everyone here tonight is very special to Blue and me, and we want this to be like a small celebration before the wedding. So please drink up.”

As soon as Hunter sat down, Gray stood up. “I want to make a small toast as well,” Gray said, stealing the spotlight away from Hunter.

Everyone turned to face Gray.

“I just want to say how proud I am of my little brother and Hunter for tying the knot. I know how special tonight is for Blue, and I’m glad that I’m finally home to get to share it with you.”

He raised his glass, and everyone did the same.

I couldn’t help but notice the look on Hunter’s face. He looked a bit annoyed at Gray for making a toast after him. And it was like Gray was trying to bring the attention back to him. Even when we’d first arrived at the restaurant, they’d seemed a bit distant toward each other. Maybe it was because they didn’t know each other that well. But I had a feeling that they had some kind of rivalry going on. They were definitely the best dressed in the restaurant.

The first course came, and I was excited to eat. I hadn’t eaten all day, and I was starving after Gray’s spanking and helping his brother move.

Gray looked completely comfortable to declare me as his date. Even though his brothers knew the true story, it was like what had happened between us earlier never even had happened.

I was starting to feel like I was some kind of prop in a play he was putting on, and I wasn’t sure why he even wanted me there in the first place.

He seemed like someone who was used to attending events solo. But I couldn’t forget how much he was willing to pay me to do this, and I couldn’t refuse it. The money would help me so much with all the debt I had from school, and I wouldn’t have to worry about bills for the next little while. But was that what I wanted from Gray? Had it been someone else, I would’ve gladly accepted the money and not think much of it. But with Gray, I wanted more. Especially after meeting his family. I wanted this thing between us to be real.