Chapter 37
Harper
He saw us.
Daniel saw us.
As we make our way back to the main room, I keep insisting to Asher, quietly enough that Jaylen won’t hear, that Daniel for sure saw us coming out of the stockroom. Even if he didn’t, he saw Ash’s unzipped pants, and the look on my face. Ash insists I don’t need to worry.
“The door was already closed when he walked out,” he says. “He didn’t see anything.”
“Or, because he’s Daniel, he will assume he saw everything. That smirk on his face tells me that he is at least suspicious. It’s Daniel, it’s what he does,” I say. Luckily, the music is loud enough that Jaylen doesn’t hear anything we are saying.
“It’s midnight,” he says over the music and the crowd. “We need to head to the VIP room.”
On the other side of the speakeasy is a smaller, separate room made for private parties and events.
The door to it is actually one of those lever bookshelves, which is pretty cool.
We head through and find about a dozen people, all friends of Ash and Jaylen’s, sitting around small tables and on leather couches.
A waitress is walking around with a tray passing out flutes of champagne.
The moment the guys walk in, everyone stands and starts clapping.
Despite being worried about everything, I focus on them too.
So, I take a flute and smile in their direction.
“Thank you,” Ash says. “Wow. Thank you everyone. This has been a wild ride. It started as an impulsive endeavor that came about because we were having drinks one night and decided that running multiple restaurants and bars wasn’t enough to keep us crazy.
But looking around the room now, I’m grateful we took the leap. ”
“That’s what we do,” Jaylen says, and everyone claps again. “To the Gatsby Underground,” he lifts his glass, and everyone cheers. Then we all take a sip, but before we even have time to swallow, another voice takes the silent moment as an opportunity.
“Ah, yes. To the newlyweds.”
Everyone in the room, including Jaylen, turn to see Daniel standing in the doorway with a shit-eating grin on his face. It’s the same one as before, and his eyes zero in on us.
“Oh no,” I murmur softly.
Ash’s mouth goes slack, and his stare hardens. The room falls into silent confusion, and Jaylen looks back and forth between Ash and Daniel.
“What are you talking about?” he asks Daniel.
But Daniel only continues to smile, nodding his head in our direction. “You mean you don’t know?” he asks.
“Don’t know what?” Jaylen asks.
“Colby,” Ash warns him. I can’t breathe.
“What is he talking about?” Jaylen asks.
“Jay,” I start, but Daniel cuts me off.
“So, it was fake,” he says. “I had a feeling.”
“What was fake?” Jaylen is losing his temper at this point, and the rest of the room is just watching in silent discomfort.
“You’re going to love this, St. James. Your sister and your business partner here showed up to my wedding as a couple.”
“I know,” he says. “Ash told me about it beforehand.”
“As a married couple,” Daniel adds, and I really think I am going to be sick.
Jaylen turns to look at us, and I shake my head. “We aren’t,” I insist. “It was–”
“It was fake,” Daniel says again.
“Of course it was,” Ash says, losing his patience. “I wouldn’t marry her without my best friend knowing.”
“But you would sleep with her without him knowing.” Daniel says, and Ash’s eyes go dark. Jaylen huffs a laugh before looking at us again. Ash’s face is like stone, but the expression on my face reveals everything.
“This is not the time or place for this convers–” Ash starts, but Jaylen chops the sentence in half.
“So it’s true,” he says. Then he looks at me, and my chin quivers. Jaylen nods. “Got it. Awesome. Well, enjoy the rest of your night.” He lifts his glass, downs the rest of his champagne, and tosses the glass to the side while walking out of the room.