Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“I still can’t believe Graham is married.” Emerson shook her head. “Can you?” she asked Kendall.
We were sitting on the top deck of Knox’s yacht, drinking and talking on one of the outdoor sofas. Everyone else was scattered throughout the space, though Knox had gone to speak with the captain to try to discover the reason the boat had stopped. The engine had cut off, so we remained in place, bobbing on the water.
Kendall smiled apologetically at me. “ Emerson ,” she gritted out, “has a tendency to say whatever she thinks.”
“Sorry.” Emerson cringed. “I didn’t mean to be insensitive. I’m just surprised. I think we all are.”
“Knox swore he’d never marry again, and…” Kendall held up her hand, showcasing her ring. It was a huge emerald-cut diamond that shimmered and sparkled.
“True,” Emerson said, admiring her own wedding ring, a stunning red diamond. “I guess you never know. And with Graham, it’s hard to know.” She laughed. “I think the longest conversation I’ve ever had with him, apart from pitching the in-room exercise content, was about the Huxley Grand Abu Dhabi.”
“Oh, that location is amazing, isn’t it?” I asked, latching on to the change of subject. My anger was simmering beneath the surface. And every time they mentioned Graham, it flared again. I still couldn’t believe my husband had hacked my blog.
“It is. Have you stayed there?”
“Once with Graham. For work. He has the original key to the palace in his penthouse.”
“Don’t you mean your penthouse?” Emerson asked.
“Yes. Of course.” I rushed to course correct. “I’m still getting used to the fact that it’s my home too.”
“When you said that you and Graham stayed at the Huxley Grand Abu Dhabi, were you together then?”
I shook my head, reminding myself that they’d gone off with Brooklyn and missed that part of the conversation. “Our relationship was never anything but professional while I worked for him.” I wanted to make sure that distinction was made because it was important to me, but I knew it was even more so to Graham.
I clenched my fists so tight my nails dug into my palms. I might be pissed with him for hacking my blog. And keeping it a secret after we’d promised no more secrets. I sure as shit wasn’t going to let that go without more of an explanation. But I also wasn’t going to let my emotions stand in the way of twenty million dollars.
“So, when did things change?” Emerson asked, leaning in as if for a juicy morsel.
“Not until well after I stopped being his assistant.”
“Come on, Lily,” Emerson said. “You’ve gotta give us more than that. We just found out that Graham—a man who is locked up tighter than Fort Knox—is married. And has been in a secret relationship. I’m going to need to know more.”
“Em.” Kendall nudged her. “She didn’t come here for an interrogation.”
Emerson raised her hands in surrender. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I should know better. I’m just so surprised. Aren’t you?” She turned to Kendall.
“I’m just happy to have another fun new sister-in-law.” She gave me a warm smile.
“Thanks,” I said. I could imagine being friends with them, and it made me sad that this was only temporary. “Have either of you visited that location?”
The breeze toyed with Emerson’s blond ponytail. “I went to Abu Dhabi with Nate and Brooklyn when he was filming a movie there.”
“The new Meghan Hart adaptation?” I asked, eager to keep the conversation focused on her. When she nodded, I said, “I saw a preview for it recently. I can’t wait to watch it.”
“I’ll be sure to put you and Graham on the guest list for the screening.”
Oh, he’ll love that. But if he wanted us to convince his family we were a happy couple in love, then he’d need to put in the work. I smirked at the idea of forcing him to sit through a romantic movie. He’d hate it.
And he’d deserve it after what he’d done.
“Thanks. That sounds amazing. Hopefully the timing will work out with our schedule.”
“Yeah. Sounds like you two are going to be busy. I want to hear more about this French chateau you’re restoring,” Kendall said. “Does it have a winery? And when can we come visit?”
“No winery, but it’s set on twenty-three hectares of land and has the most incredible grand allée . And maybe someday you can come visit, but I’d recommend waiting, as it doesn’t have heating or air conditioning yet.”
“Wow.” Kendall’s eyes widened. “Yeah. Maybe I’ll wait.”
We all laughed.
“If you’re interested in the progress of the restoration, check out my YouStream channel.”
“Oh, I definitely will!” Kendall said.
“I know I promised no more questions, but can I just ask one more thing about Graham?” Emerson asked, unwilling to let the matter go. Part of me understood. I’d want more details if I were them too. Even so, I dreaded their questions and hoped I could keep my answers straight. “I have to know—” She glanced at Kendall and chewed on her lip. “Did you always have a crush on him?”
I let out a surprised laugh, both in relief and at the question itself. “I mean…not at first. Yes, he’s hot. But he can be a pain in the ass too.” There. Honesty. I was trying to stick to the truth as much as possible.
And apparently Graham thought of me as “annoying” and the bane of his existence. So, in my mind, calling him a pain in the ass was pretty generous.
Emerson smirked. “Apparently that’s a trait that runs in the male side of the family. Sloan is lovely.”
I nodded, completely in agreement. Sloan was a badass. She didn’t take shit from anyone—something I’d always respected about her.
Sloan may not have welcomed me with open arms, but she’d still been nice. And now that I knew she was pregnant, I gave her a pass. She’d just found out her brother had gotten married, and she was dealing with some serious hormones.
“Nate?” I asked, glancing over at him. The man had always seemed so charming. Hell, charisma radiated from him like a Hollywood spotlight.
“Total pain in the ass when I first started working for him as his daughter’s nanny.” Emerson’s smile was wistful. “He’s lucky I adore Brooklyn, because I almost quit several times.”
I tried to imagine it. “That bad, huh?”
“Oh yeah. He had all these rules.”
Rules, huh? Sounds like someone else I know.
“What changed?” I’d seen their images splashed on the tabloids and online blogs, but I’d never paid much attention. They might be celebrities, but I believed their private life should be private.
She smiled. “I always thought he was hot. But seeing the way he loved his daughter and would do anything for her…I was a goner.”
“Plus, he serenaded you with Taylor Swift.” Kendall nudged her. “And gave you your dream purse.”
“That certainly didn’t hurt.” Emerson dipped her head, her hair falling over her cheeks.
“ And he was your childhood celebrity crush.”
Emerson’s cheeks were rosy. “Okay. Enough about me.” She glared at Kendall, but it was all in good fun.
“What about you and Knox?” I asked Kendall.
She dragged a hand through her hair. “He was a great boss, but crazy overprotective. Still is.”
“He’s mellowed some,” Emerson said.
Kendall shot her a skeptical look. “Has he?”
I bit back a smile. “You two remind me of my best friend Josephine and me. You’re lucky that you get to be family officially.”
“Jasper’s single.” Emerson shrugged. “Maybe she and Jasper…”
“I’m not so sure about that,” I hedged, thinking about her fling or whatever she and Luc had going on.
Besides, I’d hate to get Jo wrapped up in this mess. I didn’t want to consider what would happen when it was over. I pushed away the thought. That was two years away. Two years of lying to Graham’s family.
Would it be two years of him lying to me? My expression soured.
Emerson leaned in, keeping her voice low. “Graham always seems so grumpy. Does he wake up that way?”
I laughed, mostly to hide my discomfort. I honestly had no idea how to answer. Graham and I had been married a week, but we’d barely spent any time together. And we definitely hadn’t slept together.
“Emerson!” Kendall chided. “Don’t ask her that.”
“Oh, come on. If she’s going to be part of this family, she’s going to have to get used to it.”
Part of this family.
Graham’s family had done more in a single evening to make me feel welcome and included than my husband had all week. I didn’t know what I’d expected, but I’d hoped we’d share the occasional meal. Maybe hang out. Have a conversation. If anything, he seemed determined to put as much distance between us as possible. How did he expect us to act like a couple if we continued to live separate lives?
Not that I wanted to be attached at the hip. Not by any means. But if we were going to be believable as a happily married couple, we should probably get to know each other.
Well, I knew a lot about him. So maybe I was put out that he didn’t seem willing to make an effort to know me. Hell, maybe he’d planned to just hack into everything else like he had my blog. And then he wouldn’t ever have to spend time with me. He could simply analyze the data and make decisions.
The more I thought about it, the more my anger reignited.
It was such a controlling billionaire thing to do. And while I’d always suspected that Graham would go to great lengths to protect his brand and his family, he’d crossed the line. I mean, Jesus. It wasn’t like one luxury-travel blogger was going to make or break an entire hotel empire. Did he truly feel that threatened by me?
I seethed. He’d invaded my privacy. He’d had no right to do that. I didn’t care what his reasons were; I couldn’t imagine anything justifying his actions.
“Well, gang,” Knox said, interrupting my thoughts. When I glanced up, I realized that everyone had joined us, including Graham. “Looks like we’re stuck here for the night. Something’s wrapped around the propeller, and it will not budge.”
Kendall got up to stand beside Knox, and he pressed a kiss to her forehead. He whispered something to her, but my eyes were on Graham. His jaw was clenched so tight, I thought it might crack.
“So, that’s it?” Nate asked. “We have to stay here until someone can tow us back to shore?”
“Pretty much,” Knox said, calm and collected. The opposite of how I felt.
“And how long will that be?” Jasper asked.
“Tomorrow morning. Maybe afternoon.”
Nate’s eyes widened. “We can’t take the smaller boat back to the marina?”
“We’re too far out to do so comfortably. Not to mention it would be a choppy ride, and I don’t like the idea of leaving the crew shorthanded.”
“This is crazy,” Emerson said, dragging a hand through her hair. We were all digesting the news that we’d be staying on the boat overnight. Something none of us had planned for.
“This is awesome!” Brooklyn said. “It’s like one big family sleepover! And it’s not even Christmas!”
I smiled. Leave it to the twelve-year-old to look on the bright side.
“Oh yeah,” she continued. “We could bring the beds out here and sleep all together.”
“Fun idea, kiddo. But I don’t think that’s happening.” Nate gave her shoulder a squeeze.
She pouted. “Then can I stay with Auntie Sloan in her cabin?”
Nate glanced to Sloan. “I’m not sure Auntie Sloan is feeling up to that.”
“Oh.” Brooklyn’s face fell.
“But we can absolutely hang out together in the morning,” Sloan said, stifling another yawn.
“What about a helicopter?” Emerson asked.
“Not enough room to land safely on the deck,” Jackson said.
If it had been my own family, I would’ve swum ashore. But Graham’s family was lovely, so maybe this wouldn’t be that terrible.
Emerson and Kendall had been the most welcoming. Apart from Brooklyn, who’d already asked if she could call me Auntie Lily. That had been a punch to the gut.
Lying to Graham’s family was bad enough, but lying to a child? To Brooklyn? I wasn’t sure I’d ever despised myself as much as I had in that moment.
I knew his family still had questions about our relationship, and I didn’t blame them. If I hadn’t been so mad at Graham, I would’ve been grateful he had so many people in his life who loved him.
Even so, this time with his family was making me realize how woefully unprepared we were to present ourselves as besotted newlyweds. And I wondered what it would take for them to accept our relationship. There was a lot riding on it.
Graham knew the stakes as well as I did. Here I was, working my butt off to ingratiate myself to his family, only to discover that he’d hacked my blog? Hacked. My. Blog.
No more secrets, my ass.
I was still trying to wrap my head around that. Not only the fact that he’d done it, but he’d tried to make light of it.
What had he been trying to accomplish? He’d said he wanted to discover my identity, but seriously?
“The good news is that we have plenty of food and water. And the weather is fair,” Jackson said, making me wonder just how much of the conversation I’d missed.
Sloan yawned again, and Kendall stood. “Why don’t I show everyone to their rooms. For anyone who’s not ready to go to bed yet, we’ll have games and drinks.”
Brooklyn shot up from her seat. “I want to stay up!”
“For a little bit,” Emerson said.
“Em.” Kendall chewed on her lip. “Why don’t you and Nate take a twin cabin since it has a queen bed and the bunks.”
Emerson stood. “Great. Thanks.”
“Jasper, you’ll have the other twin cabin.”
He sliced a hand through the air. “That’s fine.”
“Sloan and Jackson can take the double.”
“Come on, hayati,” Jackson said, standing and holding out his hand for her.
I wondered what the nickname meant. I wasn’t even sure I knew what language it was in, but it had to be better than mon petit poisson. I mean, seriously? The French had some interesting terms of endearment, but I didn’t want to be referred to as a little fish.
Did Graham think I smelled bad?
That my actions were fishy?
Why did he continue to insist on calling me that? And especially in front of his family? It was mortifying. Not to mention ironic in light of the things I’d discovered about him lately—lying, scamming, fraud, secrets, hacking. I’d worked closely with the man for a year, but I was beginning to wonder if I knew my husband at all.
Sloan smiled and stood. “Good night.” Everyone wished them goodnight, and she gave Brooklyn a hug before heading downstairs.
“And that leaves Lily and Graham. Come on.” Kendall looped her arm through mine. “I’ll take you to your cabin.”
I followed her down the stairs. This whole excursion would’ve provided perfect material for my blog. My blog that had been hacked by my fake husband. I bit the inside of my cheek, desperate to hold back all the thoughts waiting to burst forth about my blog and Graham and everything else.
“And here you two are,” Kendall said, opening the door to a guest room.
The cabin was beautiful and luxurious. My eyes scanned the wall of large windows, the small built-in desk and chair, the backlit headboard, finally landing on the bed. And then it registered—there was only one bed.
Merde.