Chapter Nine
I didn’t know why I thought Jaxon was going to be more receptive to helping me than he actually was.
The more time we spent together, the more he proved that he wanted this marriage as much as I did.
Was I that na?ve to think he willingly went along with his brother’s plan to marry us?
As punishment for refusing to help me find an event organizer, and not picking a single item for the house, I went on a shopping spree with the card he graciously gave me. I took the day off from work with my next article pretty much ready to be sent to my editor.
I loved my job, and as much as Laurence used to call it a hobby, not a real job, journalism and writing was my passion.
One day, I hoped to start my own publishing firm.
During my shopping spree, not a single price tag was looked at. No doubt he was going to have a heart attack when he saw how much I spent on satin bed linen, cashmere pillows, and cotton towels alone, but fuck him.
If he wasn’t going to play nice, neither would I.
It wasn’t until I was standing outside one of the jewelry shops that my father’s business supplied to, with several new shopping bags in my hand including three oversized bags from my favorite lingerie boutique, that my phone vibrated.
JAXON: Are you planning on decorating the whole house with jewelry?
ME: A diamond floor would look good in the hall.
ME: Oh and I ordered some ruby encrusted curtains.
ME: And don’t forget the emerald rugs.
JAXON: Funny.
I could picture his scowl, and it delighted me to no end.
JAXON: I gave you the card to buy furniture.
ME: I think you’ll find you said whatever I WANT or NEED.
JAXON: And what is it that you need, Evelyn? That’s what you truly desire?
I hated the rush of heat blasting my cheeks. The sudden thought of tattooed hands exploring and teasing while whispered demands tickled my flesh came crashing into my mind.
No—not a good idea. A very bad and stupid idea.
My three-month dry spell was getting the better of me.
ME: You do realize we belong to two of the biggest diamond suppliers in the world?
JAXON: I’m aware.
ME: …
JAXON: Your point?
ME: I’m wearing a plain white-gold wedding band. No engagement ring, nothing.
ME: No one will believe it. They’ll think you’re a cheap asshole who doesn’t give a shit about his new wife.
ME: They’d be half right.
JAXON: You bought yourself an engagement ring?
ME: Someone had too.
I didn’t bother waiting on a reply.
Instead, I dropped my bags off with Saunders and headed to Violet’s latest art gallery. She sent the address through, along with strict instructions to bring red velvet cupcakes from her favorite bakery as payment for securing the venue for the upcoming party. Turning up without them wasn’t an option. Violet on an empty stomach and lack of sugar was like a bull seeing a red flag.
Violet had truly outdone herself with her newest gallery venture. Nirvana Gallery was smack bang in the heart of the city. The photographers, artists, and sculptors she had secured to showcase their work came from all over the world. Most, if not all of them, I knew nothing about. But there was no doubt they were among the elite in their field.
Violet didn’t do anything by half-measures when it came to her work.
No wonder her name was creating a buzz.
She deserved it. She worked her ass off to get where she was, and dammit if I wasn’t proud of her.
My attention was instantly captured by one of the paintings on display. Contrasts of light and dark merging into one twisted around the bodies of the two faceless people. Right in the center of the piece was a beat of bleeding red, dripping through the darkness into the light.
The whole piece was breathtaking.
“I wasn’t sure about that piece.” Violet emerged from the depths of the gallery. “The painter is pretty new to the art world. I promised myself that I wouldn’t take any bets with this place, only stick to established artists. Only the people I know will attract buyers with deep pockets. This venue is too precious to me to take any risks with.”
“Then why did you agree to showcase this one?”
“Still undecided,” she laughed. “The artist, a young Italian girl, must have caught me on a good day. She convinced me to take a chance on her over a couple glasses of Shiraz. You know me and red wine. I’m pretty much anyone’s after one glass.”
Violet took her coffee and dived on the Sweet Cravings box like a woman starved. “These cupcakes, I swear they put drugs in them.”
“Thanks again for letting us use this place for the party,” I said. “Now all I have to do is find an event organizer who is willing to try and sort out a party in such short notice. That shouldn’t be difficult.” I groaned. “I wonder if everyone would be happy with burgers and chips from one of the fast-food restaurants nearby.”
Violet nearly choked on her cupcake. “You aren’t bringing that greasy stuff in here. Over my dead body, Evelyn Reynolds.”
“Are you dying? Because if you are, I have just bought the cutest black dress I can wear to your funeral,” Lola announced, walking through the door. “I was planning on wearing it to your wedding party, Evie. A way to commemorate your single life and freedom now you’ve tied yourself down to a man.”
Rushing across the gallery, I threw my arms around her, Violet’s arms appearing around mine as we embraced our friend. Having them both here, together at the same time, was like witnessing a solar eclipse.
For a brief moment in each other’s arms, all the other shit that was going on in my life melted away.
It’d been too long.
Lola buried her face into my neck. “I missed you both, too.”
Lola’s career as a professional ice figure skater took her all over the world, and unfortunately for us far away from her friends. Her skill and talent had finally been recognized a year ago, and it meant she spent very little time at home. She refused to give up her apartment in New York, even though she spent only a sliver of time there. She always wanted a base to call home.
Plus, she gave me and Violet a copy of the keys offering it as a safe space if we ever needed.
We texted and called regularly, but it was never the same as having her here with me.
She was my oldest friend.
‘From diapers to dentures’, as Lola always said.
“When did you get back?” I kept my arms firmly around her. “Why didn’t you tell us that you were coming back? Last time we talked, you said it wouldn’t be for another two months.”
“That’s the benefit of having your sister as your manager.” Lola grinned. “I get to boss her around and not feel bad about it. When I heard that one of my best friends had for some bizarre reason decided to get married without anyone there, to some random dude who none of us have even met, I told Lilly that I was heading straight to New York the second I could.”
“I’m sure Lilly is close to killing you at this point.” Violet broke away first. “Between the latest news about your fuck buddy, and now you fleeing back to New York, let’s just say you’re lucky I’m not your manager.” Violet went straight back to her sugar-filled cupcakes. “Don’t you have a competition next month?”
Lola waved her off, snatching the remains of the cupcake from her and devouring it in a single bite. “You have no idea how good sugar and carbs taste when you’ve been denied them for so long.” She hummed in delight, licking the frosting from the corner of her mouth. “Seriously, it’s better than good sex. Great sex, even.”
“Have you seriously ditched training because I got married when you have a competition next month?” I scolded.
“Sort of.” Lola’s smile faltered. “I know it’s irresponsible of me to come back when I should be getting ready.” She pointed a glare at Violet when she scoffed. “But I needed a break. You getting married, well, as fucked up as that is, it’s only the half-truth of why I came home.”
“What’s happened?” I reached for her arm. “Whatever is going on, you know you can tell us.”
“It’s like you said, Vi, all that shit in the press and those stupid fucking gossip magazines about me and Mickey,” Lola snarled. “I know you guys don’t like him. Hell, most of the time I don’t like him either, but I always fall for his bullshit that sucks me right back in.”
Mickey was her on-again-off-again, and then on-again boyfriend.
Perhaps boyfriend was too generous of a word, more like intense and open sex buddy. He was an ice hockey player, a pretty good one, and had recently signed with the Icelandic Giants. The pair met before their great jumps to success, having trained with the same coaches.
Mickey’s sudden leap into the ice hockey stardom was turning him into a bigger dickhead than he already was.
He was pictured constantly leaving clubs with various women and had been on everyone’s lips the day one of the women he slept with published a ‘tell-all’ about his fetishes and the fact he enjoyed being choked and degraded by his sexual partners.
Not that it mattered. Kink-shaming was something I never tolerated.
However, not everyone felt the same way.
“What happened this time?” I dared to ask.
Lola’s bottom lip disappeared between her teeth. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that everyone wants me to stay away from him. Lilly, and my head of PR, are worried what being associated with him will do to my image, especially being this close to qualifying for the next Olympics.”
“But you don’t want to do that?”
“I don’t know what to do,” she sighed. “It’s not like I’m in love with him, but I care for him so much. He’s a massive douchebag, but he is my massive douchebag. If I finally do it, finally stop myself going back to him, then what?” Lola ran her hands down her face. “It’s stupid. I’m stupid. He just… he gets me like no one else.”
She may have fooled herself into believing she wasn’t in love with Mickey, but I saw through it.
It was easier to deny her true feelings, to keep pretending that they were never going to be anything else. When the truth was, Lola fell in love with him the second she met him. He, however, did not feel the same. Hell, he cared for her—a lot, but that wasn’t the same as being in love.
“So, what’s the plan?” Violet popped a piece of a cupcake into her mouth. “Hide out in New York?”
Lola nodded. “I’m going to do all my training here, hide out until the competition and hope by that time I will be able to pull my head out of my ass and tell Mickey it’s over.” She turned to me. “Plus, now I am here, I can help you with the whole fucking up your life by marrying a stranger thing.”
“I haven’t fucked up my life.” I swallowed the bitter taste of my lie. “Marrying for love was a fool’s dream, especially with Dad being so sick. He isn’t going to see the end of the year, I know that.” Pressure pushed behind my eyes until tears blurred my sight. “I’m going to be expected to run his company all by myself.”
“Flynn…”
I shook my head, cutting Lola off. “He deserves the chance to finish his degree, even if he would prefer to spend all his time partying.”
Violet frowned. “He’ll find his way soon.”
“I don’t know how to run the company, not without my dad there to hold my hand.” I swallowed the lump making itself right at home in my throat. “I don’t have a freaking clue how to be a CEO. Jaxon will help me run the company and stop me running it into the ground.”
“I understand.” Violet smiled, though her eyes told a different story.
“But you don’t know him.” Lola ignored Violet. “You don’t love him. You basically sold yourself off like cattle to him, and for what? Business?”
“My dad has given me everything.” I tried to keep my voice level. “He paid for my education. He promised to let me do whatever I wanted in life. Until he got sick, he didn’t expect me to ever step into the role of CEO because he knew it wasn’t what I wanted. My dad is a great man, he worked his life to find the balance between being a successful businessman and being a fantastic dad.” A couple of tears escaped—traitors. “I will do whatever it takes to make him proud. Even in his death, I will do whatever to ensure his legacy is protected.”
“I hear what you’re saying. We both do,” Lola said. “We’re just worried about you, that’s all. This whole getting married in secret, telling no one until it was too late, it’s just not like you.”
“I appreciate your concern, and I get it doesn’t make sense to you, but it’s only for a year,” I steeled my voice. “All I ask is from here on out, I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I hope you both will respect what I needed to do.”
“Of course we will, Evie,” Violet said. “You know we have your back no matter what.”
Lola’s eyes softened. “From diapers to dentures, you know you have me forever. As long as you know you can turn to us, no matter what happens. We’ll be there, day and night.”
A small weight lifted from my chest. The air in my lungs flowed that bit easier.
Having Lola and Violet at my side, cheering me on though they may not have agreed with me, was all that mattered.
I meant what I said. I’d do whatever it took to ensure my father’s business, his legacy, and his very name was safe in my hands.
After all, it was the least I could do for the man who gave me my life.
Even if it meant dancing with the devil himself.
A very handsome and annoyingly stubborn French devil.
“Now.” Violet clapped her hands together. “Let’s talk about color themes for the party, because you know yellow washes me out and I’ll never forgive you if you make me wear it.”