Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
S loan’s eyes welled up with tears, and she sniffled. Fuck me. Not only was my baby sister crying, but I was the cause of it. And that was completely unacceptable.
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how to fix this. And so, I kept my mouth shut.
“I’m sorry, Lily.” Sloan met her eyes, swiping away a tear. “I’m sure you’re lovely. And if Graham has fallen for you, I know the rest of us will too. I just…” Sloan’s breath hitched, and her attention swung back to me. “I can’t believe you didn’t invite me to your wedding. I know how excited you were to be a part of Jackson’s and my celebration. Don’t you think I’d want to be there for you?”
My heart dropped. Shit. When she put it that way…
Jasper crossed his arms over his chest, and even Jackson seemed pissed. Fucking hell.
My throat was thick with emotion, and I felt paralyzed. Liliana glanced up at me, panic in her eyes. But before I could say anything, Sloan was turning into Jackson, seeking comfort as she buried her face in his chest.
He soothed her, whispering words of comfort as he rubbed her back, his attention focused solely on her. Meanwhile, Jasper glared at me, and I couldn’t help feeling like I’d fucked everything up, when I had just been trying to fix it.
“I hate that you’re upset,” Liliana said, dipping her head. “And I’m sure it feels like it happened quickly. But honestly, it was a bit of a whirlwind romance for us too.” She patted my chest.
Damn. She was good. She’d jumped right in. Trying to smooth things over while still making me look good.
“And I hope that once you get to know me, you’ll be happy for Graham. Because we’re happy.” She smiled, and it was bright and forced, even if I was the only one who could tell.
How dare my family make Lily feel like she’d done something wrong. They should be thanking her for saving the company—not that they knew about that. I gnashed my teeth.
Someone mumbled that they were happy for me. But for the moment, I ignored my family and turned to face Lily, brushing her hair away from her cheek. She’d agreed to be my wife, but she didn’t deserve this.
“Lil, you don’t have to apologize.”
“I know.” She chewed on her bottom lip, and I could see the worry in her eyes. “I do, but I wanted to explain.”
“He’s right,” Jasper said. “And I’m sorry we aren’t giving off the best impression right now. This has nothing to do with you and everything to do with Graham.”
“Family is important,” Knox said. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize you were dating someone, let alone that it was serious.”
“None of us did,” Jasper chimed in, a bite to his tone. “When I saw them together at Azul, it certainly seemed like a date. But still…”
“I get that we’re all busy,” Nate said to me. “But you can come to us. We’re here for you. Good or bad, we’re here.”
Now I really felt like an ass.
“Did you not want to tell us because Lily used to be your assistant?” Jasper asked me.
“You know we’d never judge you, right?” Knox chimed in.
There was a pang in my chest, and panic raced through my veins. They were my family. My everything. I needed to fix this. I would fix this.
Liliana gave me a reassuring squeeze. “I would never want to come between you, but I asked Graham to keep our relationship a secret since I used to be his assistant, and now, I run a successful luxury-travel blog. Until I was able to transition out of that space, I didn’t want anyone to think I was biased.”
I supposed I should be thankful we were getting this all out of the way right now. Liliana’s blog. Her role as my former assistant. Our marriage.
“Is that why you wrote the less-than-stellar reviews about the Huxley brand?” Jasper asked. “So Gilded Lily wouldn’t seem biased?”
“Wait…” Sloan furrowed her brow. “What?” Her eyes widened. “ You’re Gilded Lily?”
“Yeah.” Lily cringed. “Guilty. And I’m sorry about the reviews. But I had to be honest.”
“I don’t care about the reviews—not like Graham does. Did? ” Sloan furrowed her brows. “I mean, do I wish they were raving reviews? Of course. But I value honesty.”
Lily relaxed, and Sloan turned to me, confusion marring her features. “I thought you didn’t know who was behind the blog.”
I was surprised Jackson hadn’t told Sloan about my discovering Liliana was behind Gilded Lily . It only raised him in my esteem.
Realizing that Sloan was looking at me expectantly, I said, “I didn’t. At least not at first.” I hoped she’d leave it at that.
“So, she told you about it…after you were dating?” Sloan asked, unwilling to drop the matter.
Before I could formulate a response, Jasper chimed in. “They couldn’t have been dating. Not for long.” He frowned. “He referred to her as ‘annoying,’ the bane of his existence.”
Fuck. Had it been too much to hope he’d forget about that conversation? Sloan hadn’t been there—it had been a guys’ poker night. But Nate, Knox, Jasper, and Jackson had all witnessed my frustration toward Lily. This was exactly what I’d been worried about with our timeline.
Lily’s smile was tight. Shit.
“No. No.” Jasper wagged a finger. “They must have started seeing each other after he hacked her blog and discovered her identity.” Jesus, Jasper. Thanks.
I stilled, Liliana’s attention whipping to me. Oh shit. That was one secret I’d hoped to keep.
Yes, we’d promised each other no more secrets, but I’d tried to tell myself that didn’t apply retroactively. I was a fool. And thanks to my big-mouthed little brother, I was going to have to figure out how to spin this.
“You hacked my blog?” Lily ground out.
I didn’t want to have this conversation in front of my family. Especially not with the way their attention kept whipping between us like cats at a tennis match.
“I was just looking for information—trying to find out who was behind it, mon petit poisson .”
She narrowed her eyes at me. I silently begged her to drop it. Finally, she arched a brow, and I took that as her acquiescence. I knew this conversation wasn’t over, but I was grateful we’d tabled the issue until we no longer had an audience.
“His little fish ?” Jasper whispered to Sloan, who merely shrugged. Oh god, I was never going to hear the end of it.
“I’m grateful to your blog for bringing us together,” I said, silently begging Lily to play along.
“So you reconnected, and then what?” Sloan was like a lioness—focused, determined, going in for the kill.
I needed to get my family off the subject of our relationship timeline. I’d anticipated it would be an issue, but I hadn’t expected them to interrogate us like this.
“Since I was traveling and living abroad, we started emailing and talking. Getting to know each other again,” Liliana said.
“Graham? Talking ?” Jasper chortled, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Right?” Liliana joined in, though it sounded forced. I didn’t think my family would notice, but I did. “I think having a long-distance relationship gave us time to really get to know each other on a deeper level. Though I guess I should’ve said that I did most of the talking. But Graham’s an incredible listener.” She slid her hand down my arm, sending sparks skittering in its wake.
Sloan’s expression softened. “He is.”
“It’s one of the things I love about Graham,” Lily said. “He’s observant and insightful and patient.”
Did she truly feel that way? Or was she saying it all for the sake of my family? I wanted to believe it was the truth, but… I pushed away the thought. This was an act. She was playing the part.
Everyone seemed to relax a little, and I hoped that maybe, just maybe, they were beginning to buy it.
“And Graham, what is it that you love about Lily?” Jasper asked, grabbing the champagne bottle and refilling his glass before offering Lily some, then Sloan. Sloan refused, and my mind snagged on that.
Nate elbowed him and muttered, “Don’t put him on the spot like that.”
I turned to Lily, trying to focus on her and block out my family. I stared into her eyes, thinking about all the things I appreciated about her. Her loyalty. Her resilience. Her determination.
I lifted my hand to cup her cheek, pleased when she leaned into my touch. “I’m not sure I could name just one.”
Unable to resist, I closed the distance between us, brushing my lips against hers in a silent apology. If Lily was surprised by my actions, she didn’t show it. Instead, she melted into the kiss, even as brief—too brief—as it was. For the first time since we’d boarded Knox’s yacht, I felt as if I could breathe again.
When I turned my attention back to Jasper, I realized that everyone had grown quiet. They’d been too busy watching Liliana and me. They were stunned.
I should’ve been pleased that my family seemed to be buying our love story, but I couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss. The taste of sunshine and champagne on her lips, the scent of her floral perfume curling through the air, winding itself around me like a protective cocoon.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Lily. She was all I could see. All I wanted to see.
Nate cleared his throat, and she finally glanced away.
“You mentioned you were doing the long-distance thing,” Nate said. “So now that you’re married, I assume you’ll be moving to LA.” His question was directed at Lily.
“Well…” She tucked her hair behind her ear, and I decided to field this one.
“We’re actually going to be splitting our time between France and LA,” I said.
“Splitting your time?” Jasper gaped at me. “And you didn’t think to talk to us about this first?”
“Nothing will change. I will still attend all meetings. And I’ll work with Carson to shift my schedule during the times that I’m in France.”
Sloan held a hand to her stomach. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
I knew it couldn’t be motion sickness. Sloan was a keen sailor. Hell, she and Jackson had spent nearly two months exploring the Caribbean earlier this year. I often thought she was more at home on her sailboat than on land.
I frowned. Was she truly that upset?
She dashed to the nearest trash can and hurled into it. Jackson was at her side, offering her a towel and water.
“You okay?” Nate asked when she returned.
She nodded, but she was still pale.
“Should we turn back?” Knox asked. “Take you to a doctor?”
“No. No.” Sloan shook her head. “It will pass.”
“But you never get motion sickness,” I said, unwilling to let it go.
She peered up at Jackson, her face full of such love and devotion. She placed her hand on his cheek, and the way the two of them looked at each other spoke of their deep affection. They silently communicated something.
“We weren’t going to tell everyone yet since it’s still early,” Sloan said. “And not to steal the spotlight from Graham and Lily?—”
“Steal away,” I said. Please. Anything to divert everyone’s attention from Lily and me.
“It’s not motion sickness,” Sloan continued. “It’s morning sickness. I’m pregnant.”
Nate’s eyes widened, a tentative smile forming on his lips. “Really?”
Sloan nodded, biting back a smile of her own. My heart felt full to bursting. I was thrilled for her.
Jasper set down his glass and immediately gathered her into a hug. “I’m so happy for you.”
I shook Jackson’s hand, unable to keep the smile from my face. This was good news, the best news. “Congratulations.”
I opened my arms, and Sloan stepped into them. I gave her a long hug, beyond happy for her. “You’re going to be the best mom,” I said, quiet enough for only her to hear.
“Thank you.” Her throat was clogged with emotion, and I knew what she was thinking even if she wouldn’t say it. She wished Gran and Pops could be here to see this.
It had been years since they’d passed, but with every milestone, every marriage or birth they missed, the loss felt fresh. I knew no one lived forever, but that didn’t lessen the pain of missing them.
“How are you feeling?” I asked, concerned for her well-being. It didn’t matter how old she was or the fact that she was married to an incredible man; Sloan would always be my baby sister. It was my job to look out for her.
“Good. I’m about ten weeks along, and the doctor says everything looks really good.”
“I’m glad you’re feeling well,” Jasper chimed in. “But you’ll tell us if you need anything, right? Shorter days. Less travel. Whatever. We’ll make it happen.”
“Thanks.” Sloan leaned into him. “I will. But for now, I’m good.”
I glanced to Jackson for confirmation. He gave a curt lift of his chin, indicating what she said was true. I had no doubts he’d take good care of my sister and their child.
“Are you going to find out if you’re having a boy or a girl?” Lily asked, probably as relieved as I was to have everyone’s attention off us.
After everything my family had said, Lily’s attempt to engage with my siblings and celebrate Sloan’s news showed me how gracious she truly was.
Sloan’s news also helped me reframe and understand my sister’s earlier response. Yes, she was understandably upset about my secret wedding. But I could see now that her pregnancy hormones might have caused her tears. It was a relief to think that maybe I hadn’t fucked up as badly as I’d feared.
“We’re going to wait until the birth.”
“Wow.” Lily shook her head. “I don’t think I could do that.”
Sloan laughed, and it was nice to see her making an effort to interact with Lily. I tried to have faith that, given time, she would welcome Lily with open arms.
“Graham definitely couldn’t, so I guess you’re a good match on that. I mean, assuming you want children. Sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed…” Sloan trailed off.
“I mean, yeah, maybe someday.” Lily gulped down the rest of her champagne.
Jasper clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Oh, I can’t wait for that. Graham as a father. That will be the day.”
“Why do you say that?” Lily asked, frowning.
Jasper scrunched up his face. “He’s so particular. I don’t think he could handle the unpredictability that comes with raising a child.”
“And you could?” I shot back.
Jasper said nothing, but he looked almost pained. “Hey.” I nudged him. “I’m sorry. I know how good you are with Brooklyn. And how you were with Jude when he was little.”
“And with me,” Sloan said, smiling.
“Thanks,” Jasper said, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d upset him somehow. Not just with the wedding announcement and the secrets, but with my comment about being a parent.
“Looks like we have several things to celebrate,” Knox said, his arm draped over Nate’s shoulder. He was the peacemaker of the group, always smoothing things over. “Lily, welcome to the family. As you can see, we’re a little crazy. Now, does anyone else have anything they want to share?”
Nate chuckled. “Don’t you think we’ve had enough excitement for one evening?” But as he said that, the boat slowed and then came to an unexpected stop.