Chapter 20
When the elite of Melbourne threw a function, they headed to the Palladium at Crown Casino. Ruby had been to many balls there so it seemed fitting for a grand wedding reception.
People would be shocked by her secret wedding so she wanted to go the whole way and stun the judgemental blinkers off them. A hard task but one she had to try for Jax’s sake.
Jax hadn't bugged her for details. In fact, he'd barely spoken to her all week since she made the mistake of trying to bond with him on a deeper level. He'd pulled all-nighters at work, refusing her one-off offer for supper, and to her chagrin, she'd missed him.
Impossible, when she barely knew him. Though he'd only used the key she'd given him once, the night he'd backtracked, a small part of her kept hoping he'd ignore her stipulation and drop by unannounced.
How could an infuriating, obnoxious, hotshot inveigle his way into her life in such a short space of time?
She'd kept busy, designing settings for her precious pink diamonds, and organising the party of the year. Due to the lateness, every invitation had been delivered Express Post with strict RSVP instructions of twenty-four hours.
Opal had been a trooper handling those, while Ruby perpetuated the mystique, ignoring phone calls from curious acquaintances, deliberately hiding away in the workshop or apartment if they dropped by.
Thankfully, her social circle didn't need an excuse to party and they'd lapped up the mystery, attending in their droves tonight.
She had a feeling that the moment she unveiled the reason for the party—or walked in on Jax’s arm, more to the point—they'd be abuzz for weeks.
She had the monumentally tough job of publicly convincing people Jaxwas the love of her life.
What had she been thinking?
Her gaze fell on the delicate pearl and white gold bracelet clasping her wrist and she knew. She'd been thinking about Sapphire, about Seaborn, about her mother, and about herself being able to create many more gorgeous pieces like this one.
She could do this.
She had to.
If she failed and Jax walked away, taking his precious deal with him… no, it didn't bear contemplating.
"Ready to head downstairs?” Jax stepped from the penthouse villa's bathroom and her heart skittered, slid, and landed with an embarrassing thud against her chest wall.
One word sprung to mind as she stared at her husband.
Divine.
He'd slicked back his hair, bringing those mesmerising dark eyes into focus, the crisp whiteness of the dress shirt beneath his tux accentuating his tan. When he strutted into the ballroom in a few minutes, he'd have half the room convinced of his pedigree: the female half.
"Sure, let's do this," she said, smoothing down her indigo satin floor length Grecian dress, hoping her palms wouldn't leave streaks.
Yeah, she was sweating that much.
He stalked across the room towards her, the Melbourne skyline glittering in the background through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
But the sparkle of city lights and the sky-high view couldn't detract from the beauty of her husband pausing to snap a rose from a bunch in a vase and hand it to her with a flourish.
"Nice move." She raised it to her nose and inhaled, the sweet smell reminiscent of the damask rose perfume her mother had favoured.
In that moment, the enormity of what she was doing hit. She'd be lying to her mother’s friends, people who'd respected and revered her, people who trusted ruby to live up to her mother’s memory.
Hell.
"Hey." He tipped her chin up with a fingertip and she blinked before the tears burning the backs of her eyes fell. "I saw that in a movie once, and thought you'd go for that sort of thing, not cry over it."
"Why would I go for it? Because I have ovaries?"
He winced. "Because I think you're a closet romantic."
The great thing about his sweeping assumptions, they distracted her from the urge to bawl.
"Why would you think that?"
He released her chin and stepped back, waving at her gown. "You like fancy clothes and fancy jewellery."
He tapped the side of his nose, the first time she'd seen mischief in his eyes. "And I've seen your stash."
"Of?"
"Chick-flick DVDs.” He held his hand over his head. "This high. Which is weird, because nobody keeps old DVDs when you can stream everything these days.”
"When did you see my DVD collection?”
"That first night you invited me up to your apartment? You were too busy flaying me alive to notice I was doing reconnaissance."
She rolled her eyes. “Now you’re a second rate spy?”
He chuckled. "Hey, I'm not the one who can sit through that lot of sappy nonsense. You must be a romantic."
She laughed and it relieved the tension, the sadness draining out of her. Saph had promised Mum to keep the company alive. She would understand Ruby perpetuating a marriage myth for the greater good.
She snapped her fingers. "Ah, so that's what you've been doing at the office every night."
Confused, he raised an eyebrow.
She jabbed a finger at his chest. "You've been working your way through my collection via Netflix. Let me guess, your favourite's the one where they meet online and hook up—"
"Marriage hasn't changed my opinion." He snagged her hand and yanked her flush against him. "You still talk too much."
He stifled any further protests she might verbalise by crushing his mouth to hers and kissing her until she forgot where she was, who she was, or why she was here.
Several minutes later, with his bow tie askew and the satin bow on one of her shoulders under serious threat of unravelling, they broke apart.
Chests heaving, breathing ragged, bodies straining.
She touched a hand to her mouth and her ruined lipstick. "People are waiting downstairs."
"Screw them."
He backed her up against the door, slid a hand under her skirt, and proceeded to screw her.