Homewrecker (Black Fox Security Doms)

Chapter 1

1

Ashley

What kind of man gets married the day after his divorce is finalized to the woman he cheated on his wife with?

What kind of man cheats on his wife with his daughter’s best friend?

Her dad was forty-nine, and Rebecca was twenty-six, a year younger than Ashley. So gross.

Jaw clenched, Ashley stared at her father, her stomach roiling with disgust as her Uncle Kellar straightened her dad’s bowtie. Just looking at her dad made her feel sick. Or like throwing things. If she could projectile vomit all over his tuxedo, maybe this travesty would come to an end.

Maybe she’d wake up, and it would all be a horrible nightmare.

Finding out that her dad had been cheating on her mom had been bad enough. Discovering he’d been cheating with her best friend, Rebecca, who Ashley had invited on a family trip two years ago had been… there wasn’t a word for it.

Devastated didn’t cover her emotions. Neither did enraged. Disgust was closer but still not all-encompassing enough.

“What do you think, honey?” Her dad turned to her and spread his arms out, a kind of desperate cheer on his face.

Ashley stared back at him.

“I think I’m going to throw up.” Jumping to her feet, she rushed from the room, ignoring her dad as he called after her, grateful to Uncle Kellar, who she heard stopping her dad from physically chasing her down. Probably reminding her dad he was lucky she was there in the first place.

I don’t want to be here.

Bile rose in the back of her throat, churning her stomach, and she hurried to the bathroom. Empty. Thankfully. Going into one of the stalls, she pulled her phone out of her purse and called her mom’s number. She couldn’t do this, and her mom was just going to have to accept that.

Her mom answered on the first ring, as though she’d been waiting for Ashley to call.

“Hey, baby.”

“Mom, I can’t do this.” Tears surged instead of bile, stinging her eyes, and she angrily swiped beneath her eyes. She didn’t want to ruin her makeup because she still had to walk out of the building, and who knew who she might see on the way? That or she could hide out here in the bathroom until everything was over. That didn’t sound so bad, either.

Basically, anything that didn’t involve having to watch her dad marry her former best friend the day after he’d divorced her mom.

There was a long moment of silence on the other end.

“If you really can’t, I understand.” Her mom sounded so sad, it tugged at the guilt in Ashley’s stomach. She was trying to make her mom’s life easier, not harder. “I just… I don’t want you to end your relationship with your dad over what he did to me. It’s probably selfish, but I feel so guilty?—”

“No, no, Mom, it’s fine.” Ashley choked back her tears. She wanted to shake her mom, tell her it wasn’t her fault and that she didn’t have anything to feel guilty about… but her mom had been through enough. Ashley’s dad had put her through enough. She wasn’t going to add to her mom’s issues by refusing to attend one freaking event. “I’m sorry. I think I just freaked out for a minute. I needed to hear your voice.”

“I appreciate that so much, honey. I never want to come between you and your dad.” The guilt infusing her mother’s voice at the very idea was even greater than the guilt wracking Ashley for being at her father’s wedding. This was what her mom wanted. She just had to keep reminding herself of that fact, and she’d be able to get through the day.

Today wasn’t about her. It wasn’t about her dad and her ex-bestie. It was about making her mom feel better.

Why her mom had chosen this as something she wanted, Ashley had no idea, but it didn’t really matter why, did it? It just mattered that Ashley got through it. Besides, no one said she couldn’t leave after taking the pictures. Though her dad would probably notice if she left before dinner.

At least he’d been smart enough not to ask her to make a toast. Slut-becca, as Ashley now thought of her, hadn’t bothered to ask Ashley to be in her wedding party, either. She’d been keeping her physical distance since Ashley had tried to pull the hair from her head when her father and Slut-becca had broken the news to her. Too bad Ashley hadn’t managed to get more of her hair. She still remembered the way Rebecca had screamed and the silky strands of hair that had clung to her palm. It had been one satisfying moment in the midst of a bunch of absolute shit.

“You’re too good for him, Mom. In every way.”

“I know you’d choose me if you had to, baby, but you should never have to choose between your parents.”

Not even if she wanted to, apparently. Ashley squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath.

“I love you, Mom.”

“I love you, too, baby. Try to have fun. For me.”

“Bye.” Ashley didn’t bother promising to do so. Being there was hard enough—having fun was asking way too much. Pulling her knees up to her chin, she sat on top of the toilet seat for a long moment, concentrating on her breathing and not letting herself think about anything else.

Focus on your breath.

Breathe in, two three four five, breathe out, two three four five.

The sound of the door opening made her jump.

“Shhh, Marshall, we have to be quiet.” The sultry whisper came from a vaguely familiar voice, and Ashley frowned. She shifted to the side, quietly, to peek through the crack between the door and the side of the stall.

The couple who had just crashed her solo pity party moved in front of her, the man pressing the woman up against the sink. The woman was wearing wedding colors… wait… holy fuck! That was Rebecca’s mom, but that was definitely not Rebecca’s dad kissing his way down her neck, unless her dad’s hair had changed color. Ashley had never met him in person, but she’d seen pictures, and Rebecca’s dad had black hair, just like her.

This man was almost platinum blond.

Wow. Apparently, like mother, like daughter. No wonder Rebecca didn’t respect the sanctity of marriage with a mother like this. Ashley’s hand tightened on her phone. Did she dare try to get a picture? Or, better yet, a video? Or would her phone be too loud in such a quiet space and give away that they had a witness?

“I can’t take this much longer, Janet.” The man groaned, thrusting his hips against the woman through their clothes. Ew. Ashley felt like gagging all over again. Not that Rebecca’s mom was bad looking. She was beautiful. But that didn’t mean that Ashley wanted to watch this.

On the other hand, it was kind of like watching a train wreck. Riveting in its own way, possibly because Ashley now knew Rebecca’s parents’ marriage was on the rocks, too, and knowledge was power. Rebecca had kept her ignorant of the fact that she was fucking Ashley’s dad, and now Ashley knew something Rebecca didn’t.

Which kept her silent, watching and listening to the two on the other side of the stall door.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry. I thought for sure Lincoln was cheating on me. We haven’t had sex in months. Not since you and I....” More frantic kissing.

Blegh.

Ashley made a face, but stayed silent. She was going to collect all the hot tea before finding the best moment to throw it over everyone. Maybe in the middle of the ceremony today. That could be fun.

“I almost have everything ready. If you can catch him cheating, even better, but you won’t need his money.”

“I deserve it, though. I’d barely get half of what I deserve, thanks to that stupid prenup… unless I can prove infidelity.” The exasperation in her voice was clear, as was the greed. “We’d be set up for life.”

Interesting. Mrs. Black was cheating on Mr. Black but needed to prove he was in order to get what she wanted out of the prenup. Ashley couldn’t help but wonder what Mrs. Black would get if it was discovered she was cheating. She’d known Rebecca’s family was wealthy—so was hers—they’d met while getting their master’s at the same elite school—but Ashley’s parents hadn’t had a prenup.

They’d married for love.

And look how that had turned out.

Supposedly, Ashley’s dad was marrying for love for a second time, but Ashley was becoming more and more convinced Rebecca was taking him for a ride. Especially after hearing Rebecca’s mom. How far did the apple fall from the tree?

“Come on, we have to get back before anyone notices us missing,” Mrs. Black said, and Marshall groaned.

Ashley wondered if that was his first name or his last name.

Surely, she could find out.

This wedding had just gotten a lot more interesting.