Chapter 13
Brooks
“L ady in red, huh?” Jared quips, slapping my shoulder as he passes by.
As if I haven’t spent the better half of my day trying to shove her out of my mind, people won’t stop talking about her. He drops onto the maroon leather club chair across from me, sporting a smug grin plastered on his face.
I’m surprised Anabel allowed him out of the house, considering he said I do only three days ago. The exclusive cigar club is our sanctuary. Our monthly meeting where we can escape the scrutinizing stares of the people who work for us, women, and drama. Just cigars, whiskey, and a few hours to shoot the shit.
“Go on your honeymoon, already,” I mutter, paying more attention to the cigar between my fingers.
He laughs. “Trust me, I’d love to, but someone had to make sure that deal was finalized.”
I roll my eyes, biting back a retort. He knows damn well that I was capable. But I get it, he’s been working on this deal for almost eight months. It’s his baby. The deal was nearly finished, but whatever helps him sleep at night.
He leans back, taking a sip of his whiskey. “Anabel and I couldn’t figure out who she was. Was she someone’s plus one?”
And here we go.
Our friends and other top executives around the city turn their attention to me with sparked interest. Chase flicks his cigar against the edge of the ashtray. “Wasn’t that the girl from Vegas?” he asks, looking straight at me.
Shit. I was afraid of this. I hoped he was too intoxicated to remember meeting her. He’s the only one who met her.
I keep my face neutral, my fingers steady as I roll the cigar between them. “Who?” I shoot for ignorance.
“The girl who showed up at the bar. The one you left with.”
Laughing, I reply, “I barely remember anything that happened that night.” I lie. “Wasn’t that girl’s hair dark blond?” I toss in, hoping to throw him off.
Chase shakes his head. “No, bro. It was brown.” I underestimated Chase’s memory. “But I guess it wasn’t her.”
Thank you, now let’s move on . “The girl from the wedding is nobody to be concerned about,” I say smoothly, pulling in a long draw of the cigar. The earthy notes coat my tongue. It gives me something to focus on rather than sit here and continue to make shit up.
“You looked pretty close on that dance floor. She’s definitely a somebody ,” Jared presses.
I stare up at the ceiling, exhaling a slow breath of smoke. “She was her brother’s plus one. We had a quick hookup. End of story.” What I don’t say, what I won’t say , is that she crashed his wedding to serve me annulment papers, and then I begged her to stay so I could have one last taste of her.
Devon leans forward, pointing his cigar at me. “The old Brooks, pre-Presley , that would be a typical response. But this guy”—he points his cigar at me—“doesn’t have hookups.”
Correct. I just marry them now.
“Are you guys afraid you won’t be invited to the wedding? Fuck, let it go.” I bring the cigar to my mouth again. I’m done with this conversation. “She doesn’t even live here.”
“Where’s she from?” Jared asks, pushing his luck.
“I didn’t ask. I didn’t care.” There’s a finality in my tone, and I hope it’ll shut them up.
The server appears with another tray of drinks, and I’m thankful for the interruption because the guys revert their attention to her. The conversation shifts to the stock market, and their words fade away as my mind drifts back. Back to her. My hands on every part of her wicked body. Her breathy moans. The way she clawed at my back, desperate for more.
I let out a long, satisfied sigh.
Sunday was a good day .
“Handley,” Jenson snaps, drawing my attention back to the present.
I blink, shaking the memory loose, only to find all of them staring at me with matching smug grins. Then the chuckles start, low and knowing.
“You guys are assholes.”
* * *
“Are we going to talk about why you disappeared early from the reception?”
I pause, biting into my tuna sandwich, glancing up at Jade. Here we go again. She pops a french fry in her amused mouth. I continue to sink my teeth into the sandwich and chew slowly. She waits, but I take another large bite.
“Oh, come on.” She laughs, leaning forward. “Does it have anything to do with the stunning brunette in the red dress? I think you said her name was Gray?”
I search my memories, wondering when I let her name slip. That’s right. It was right after the wedding when I caught Gracyn talking to Presley. “Someone said they saw you carrying her out the door. Apparently, she looked as if she’d passed out.”
How many freaking people saw me? I swallow the bite and take a drink to wash it down. “Someone drugged her.”
Her eyes widen. “What? At the wedding? Who?”
“Cooper Rossman.” No reason to beat around the bush.
She slams her hand on the table with a look of disgust. “That bastard. It doesn’t surprise me, though, he’s a douchebag. Thank God you were there. Please tell me you got it on video to give as evidence to the cops.”
I crack my neck, knowing she won’t like the answer. “She didn’t want to go to the cops.”
Her head snaps back. “Why?”
“She isn’t from here. And it’s … complicated,” I add, hoping it’s enough. It won’t be.
She studies me for a few moments. Her mouth opens and closes, the questions piling up behind her lips. Instead, she ends with a huff, crossing her arms. “You’re being super ominous with her. Is everything okay? Because honestly, this is giving me Jessie vibes.”
My jaw tightens at the comparison. I glance around the packed deli, debating if I should tell her. Usually, I share everything with Jade.
Jared, Anabel, Jade, and I have been friends since freshman year of college. Everyone assumed Jade and I would end up together after Jared and Anabel became a couple. But when Presley’s mom dropped into my life like a hurricane and left me with a child to raise, Jade didn’t want any part of that. And I couldn’t blame her. We never clicked in that way, anyway. The occasional hookup, but that’s as far as it went. She loves Presley like a niece. She just never wanted to be a mom.
Yet, I can’t bring myself to admit the most reckless thing I’ve ever done to any of my best friends. And technically, Gracyn is my wife, and until she’s not, I have to do whatever I can to protect her. Which means I have to keep our secret from everyone, including Jade.
“She’s nothing like Jessie.” I might have added a little too much protest, and Jade’s brow quirks in amusement.
My phone vibrates on the table, and I glance over at the text.
Jared: My office. NOW.
Jade notices the text. “Think he heard about someone being drugged?”
“He found out something ,” I mutter, pushing my chair back and grabbing my phone. He’s supposed to be working from home.
Jade stands with me, her hand gripping my arm as she levels me with a steady gaze. “What are you planning to do about Cooper?”
I lift a pointed brow. I can’t say out loud what I’d like to do to him.
She leans in, her voice laced with concern. “Brooks, don’t do something stupid. I know you have connections, but he’s not worth jeopardizing your future.”
I take her hand in mine and squeeze, leaning down so only she can hear me. “Nothing would be linked to me. Only a few people are familiar with my real father.” Jade is one of them. I never asked for anything from him. But this is different. Seeing Gracyn drugged and knowing what could’ve happened if I hadn’t been there? It’s tempting.
I hold up my phone, showing her the second text I received from Jared. “I have to go.” Whatever it is, it’s urgent. I pause and look back at her. “By the way, take down the picture.”
She snickers, shaking her head. “No. It’s a great picture.” I can’t argue because it is. “Tell me, how many times have you stared at it?”
Countless. Too many to confess, not enough to deny. It figures she would take a picture of Gracyn in my arms on the dance floor. A moment she conspired with my daughter to make happen and then shared it to her Instagram page with all the other wedding snapshots she had taken.
I almost texted it back to Gracyn when she sent me a message about her new job, but then thought otherwise. No matter how perfect we look together, it doesn’t change a damn thing. We live separate lives.
I get a strange sense the second I step into the lobby. People are staring, and their expressions are off. Something is going on. It’s the whispers that set off warning bells in my head. For God’s sake, does everyone think I drugged Gracyn?
My phone buzzes in my pocket, but I ignore it and make a beeline for Jared’s office. It goes off again as I reach for the doorknob, but I hit the side button in my pocket, ending the call, without looking at who it is. It can wait. Jared will know how to fix this. Considering it happened at his wedding.
As soon as I walk into his office and shut the door, he stands and exclaims, “You’re married?”
Fuck me sideways.
Not what I was expecting.
I sigh, raking my hand through my hair. “How’d you find out?”
“Seriously? That’s your reply?” His voice rises, and I can feel the heat behind it. “How about sorry I didn’t tell you? Damn it, Handley, this could blow up in our faces. Remember, we own a business together. A multi-million dollar business . And you’ve just put it at risk. Did you even have her sign a prenup? Our attorney has already called me demanding answers. I felt like a complete fool when I told her I didn’t have a clue!”
Well, that explains the whispers, the strange looks, and nonstop calls. Everyone knows. I drop into one of the two chairs across from his desk, my head falling into my hands. I don’t have a good explanation. How I’m acting doesn’t make sense to me either.
I lift my gaze to find his. “Don’t worry, the only thing she wants from me is an annulment.”
He scoffs. “The problem is, I don’t think that’s all you want from her .”
He swivels his computer screen to face me, revealing Page Six ’s website with images of us together. One in front of the church by the road where a taxi is waiting, the reception picture from Instagram, and a picture of me helping her on my boat. In each image, I’m staring at her with a goofy grin plastered on my face. The headline reads, “ Secret Marriage: Is the Forever Bachelor of New York Finally Settling Down?”
I groan inwardly.
“What the hell did you expect was going to happen?” The disappointment in his voice grates on my already rattled nerves. “You’ve been hanging out with this woman, and people are so goddamn nosy. You had to know they would figure it out.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, aware I screwed up and bracing for the storm that’s coming. It had taken substantial bribes to keep Presley’s name out of the headlines all these years, not to mention the considerable amount of money to bury any stories that somehow slipped through the cracks. They’re there if you search hard enough, but they’re not the first stories you find when searching my name.
“I haven’t been under the tabloids’ radar in years. How the hell was I to know they’d take an interest in me all of a sudden?”
Jared leans back, folding his arms across his chest with an almost bemused expression. “That’s what happens when you show up married out of the blue. And when the hell did you get married?”