Chapter 10
Warning – when four best friends corner you in a room. May involve the loss of eyebrows if unheeded.
Lucas
I open the door to Chloe’s house and—
“Surprise!”
I rear back at the loud cheers. Chloe rushes to me – a strained smile on her face.
“I thought we were meeting to discuss the wedding arrangements.”
“These bozos decided we needed a party to celebrate our engagement.” She grasps my hand to pull me outside. She shuts the door behind us and leans against it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know they planned this.”
I rub a hand down my beard. “Don’t your friends know the marriage isn’t real?”
She blows out a breath. “They do. But nothing can stop a Smuggler from throwing a party.”
“We’re having a wedding and a reception in a week.”
She sighs. “I know. It—”
“How would it look at the wedding if you don’t know your bride’s best friends?” a woman asks as she walks around the house toward us.
Chloe glares at her. “Did you sneak out the back door to spy on us?”
“It’s not spying when the whole purpose of the party is for us to get to know Lucas,” she says.
Three women follow her. I recognize them as Chloe’s friends from the Moonshine and Merriment Festival.
One is wearing glasses and slides them up her nose. “She does have a point. It would be unusual for a groom not to know his bride’s four best friends.”
Chloe sighs. “Fine. Lucas, these are my friends.” She points to the first woman. “This is Sophia.” She motions to the woman with the glasses. “And Paisley. The one smiling at you is Nova and the other one hiding behind Nova is Maya.”
Maya waves from where she is indeed hiding behind the others. “Hi.”
“I’m Lucas Fellows,” I greet them. “Chloe’s fiancé.”
“Can we go inside now?” Chloe asks. “Mrs. Agatha is peeking through her curtains at us. Before you know it, she’ll have spread rumors about us having an orgy with Lucas on my front lawn.”
Paisley clears her throat. “Did you know orgies originally began in Roman times to honor Bacchus?”
Chloe opens the door. “You can tell us all about it inside.”
“Well, that’s disappointing,” a woman says as we enter. “I thought the future bride and groom were getting a little nookie time.”
“Lily,” Chloe scolds. “Lucas and I aren’t involved as you very well know.”
Lily grins. “I can hope, can’t I?”
“You are a bad influence.” Chloe clears her throat. “Lucas, this is Lily.”
I shake her hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Lily rakes her gaze up and down me. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
“Sweet flower,” a man grumbles before placing a possessive arm around her waist and hauling her close. “Stop ogling the boy.”
I’m thirty-five. I’m hardly a boy. But I don’t contradict the man.
I hold out my hand. “Lucas.”
“Jack.” He squeezes my hand to the point of pain, but I’m not sure what message he’s trying to send.
“Jack and Lily are Sophia and Weston’s parents,” Chloe explains. “You know Weston, of course.”
Weston strolls over to us. “Hey, partner.” He claps me on the back. “I’ll be your best man.”
“I didn’t ask you to be my best man.”
He grins. “Who else are you going to ask? Sophia’s boyfriend?”
“I don’t know Sophia’s boyfriend.”
“Exactly.” He winks. “I’m proud to accept the role of your best man.”
“I still didn’t ask you.”
“I already ordered my tux.”
I scratch my beard. “Your tux?”
He motions to Chloe. “This one wants a formal wedding. Didn’t she tell you?”
Chloe glares at him. “We’re getting married on the beach.”
“But the ladies love it when I wear a tux.” He waggles his eyebrows.
“Man whore,” she mutters under her breath.
I don’t contradict her since she’s not wrong. “Maybe I don’t want a best man,” I say instead.
“Chloe has four maids of honor. You need at least one person on your side of the aisle.”
“What about your family?” Lily asks. “Perhaps your brother could stand with you.”
“I’m an only child.” It’s a good thing, too. Since I don’t plan on telling my parents about the wedding. Hopefully, Chloe and I will be happily divorced before they realize Holly’s trying to steal their grandchild.
I glance down at Chloe. My future wife. The idea of divorcing her makes my stomach cramp and my cock protest. But it’s for the best. I need to concentrate on my daughter. Natalia needs all of my attention now.
“This wedding is a charade,” I remind Weston. Chloe jerks at my words, but when I look at her, she gives me a thumbs up. “I don’t need anyone on my side of the aisle.”
“Flynn can be on your side,” she suggests.
“Who’s Flynn?”
“Sophia’s boyfriend and Weston’s best friend.”
“Come on, I’ll introduce you.” Weston tries to steer me away but I hold my ground. Chloe was ambushed by this party as much as I was. I’m not going to abandon her if she’s uncomfortable.
I lift an eyebrow at her. She shoos me away. “Go on. I’m fine.”
The strain around her eyes tells a different story, but I don’t know her well enough to understand why she’s stressed. And I can’t ask her in front of all her friends. I don’t know much about her but I know she values her privacy.
I look forward to figuring out why. I force those thoughts away. I’m not getting to know Chloe better. This is a business arrangement and nothing more.
“This is Flynn,” Weston introduces and I force my thoughts back to the moment.
“Nice to finally meet you. Sophia hasn’t stopped talking about you in days. A bit annoying when your woman is obsessed with another man. I had to punish her.” He winks.
Weston groans. “No talking about my sister and sex.”
“I have to listen to your sexual experiences.”
Weston smirks. “I prefer the word escapades.”
“Hey, pirate men.” Sophia sidles up to her man. “Can we steal Lucas for a minute?”
Weston frowns at her. “No shaving his eyebrows. Or painting his fingernails. Or cutting his hair.”
Sophia rolls her eyes. “I wouldn’t do any of those things.”
“Do I need to remind you of the time you shaved my legs and painted my toenails?”
“Do I need to remind you of why I did those things?”
Flynn chuckles before kissing Sophia’s forehead. “Go on.”
She shackles my wrist and tries to drag me away. I plant my feet. I’m not fired up to spend any time with someone who readily admits to shaving her brother’s legs.
Weston elbows me. “Go. They won’t hurt you when the sun’s up.”
I allow her to drag me down the hallway. She shoves me into a room where the rest of Chloe’s friends are waiting.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s not a big deal,” Nova says with a big smile on her face.
Sophia shuts the door behind her and blocks it. My brow wrinkles.
“What’s going on?”
“This is the part where we warn you that if you hurt Chloe, we’ll come for you,” Sophia says.
“I’m not going to hurt Chloe. This is a business arrangement.”
“Nevertheless. You will not toy with her feelings,” Paisley says.
“She’s been hurt enough,” Nova adds.
“She’s not as strong as she portrays herself to be,” Maya whispers.
“What happened to her?” I ask.
Sophia shakes her head. “We’re not saying anything happened to her. We’re just warning you to be gentle with her.”
I scowl. “I’m not an asshole.”
“Sophia Milton,” Chloe yells from the hallway. “Open the door this instant or I’ll tell Flynn about the time you told his high school girlfriend he had herpes.”
Sophia yanks the door open. “You wouldn’t!”
Chloe crosses her arms over her chest. “Try me.”
“Some best friend you are.”
Chloe motions to the women in the room. “I’m not the best friend who’s warning my fiancé off.”
“But—”
“Nope. I’m not listening to whatever reasoning you’ve come up with in your crazy mind.”
“Ahem.” Nova clears her throat. “We all agreed.”
Chloe rolls her eyes. “Please. I know Sophia roped all of you into doing this.” She motions to the hallway. “Off you go.”
Sophia stomps away. Paisley and Nova follow her. Maya trails behind. “Sorry,” she mutters as she passes me.
“I apologize on their behalf,” Chloe says once we’re alone.
“No need to apologize. They care about you.”
She rolls her eyes. “They have a funny way of showing it. Trying to convince you not to marry me.”
I start to correct her but stop myself. Chloe won’t appreciate knowing her friends are worried about her. She prides herself on being a strong woman.
There’s obviously more to her than the confident woman she portrays to the world. Consider me intrigued.
I want to reach for her. To pull her into my arms and comfort her. But I fist my hands to stop myself.
This is a business arrangement.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.