Autumn: I’m fine. I’m in another room, and I’ll be taking a different flight home.
I didn’t bother with the specifics. More pressing concerns dominated my attention.
I dragged my suitcase into the bathroom. I washed up, scrubbed my face, and threw on a pair of black leggings with an oversized Copper Summit hoodie. For a casino named Silver, I was decked out in copper. My hair wouldn’t be tamed. I pulled it back into a ponytail and looped it so it wouldn’t get tangled in the hood.
Okay. I was ready to find my husband.
The butterflies in my stomach woke up.
My family was going to be irate. They wouldn’tbelieve this marriage. I didn’t believe this marriage. But Gideon had been on board, so between the two of us, we had to be a united front.
I didn’t find him in the living room, or in the kitchen that looked like it should have a private chef making caviar pancakes or whatever people with personal chefs ate.
Was he still in the apartment? Had he even slept? It was barely after nine. Was he a five a.m. guy?
I was about to go back down the hallway and knock on closed doors to find my husband when the elevator doors swung open to reveal the leggy blond I’d seen walk freely into the club.
She was digging in a bag that was likely as expensive as her glittery tank top looked. Shiny aviator shades were pushed into her blond tresses and she had as much long leg showing under her wrap skirt as she’d had last night. She stepped out of the elevator, still rustling in her bag. “How was the VIP bullshit from last night? I bet it was an investor. They can be such idiots thinking we have nothing better to do on a Friday?—”
She saw me. Her mouth dropped open. Then she drew back, disdain taking over her expression. “You can go now.”
Why was she here? The answer was obvious, but my confusion remained. Anger was quickly coalescing in its place. I’d been married to the man for less than twelve hours, and he already had another woman in his place. “I’m the one who can go?”
Her crystal-blue eyes narrowed. “Of course you can. I have important business with him and you’re just a?—”
“Taya,” Gideon snapped, and I jumped. That was how I’d expected him to sound last night when we’d firstmet. Like a furious destroyer. “Don’t talk to my guest like that.”
She shut her mouth. Her back was ramrod straight, and she didn’t look sorry for almost insulting me. “I should’ve called first.” She sniffed, lifting her chin in the air.
“Autumn, this is Taya. She’s the chief financial officer for Silver.”
Gorgeous, smart, and powerful. And she worked with Gideon. Fucking perfect. I didn’t greet her, just did the small-town nod.
Taya looked like she could command a meeting and then run a marathon without being out of breath. Who had legs like that?
She also seethed with rage, ready to bash out the windows, using me as the battering ram. Then all the tension drained away and she smiled sweetly at Gideon. “We were going to discuss the renovations today. Remember?”
I did not like the way she spoke to him.
“Our talk will have to wait.” He came to a stop next to me. I didn’t stare. I couldn’t look gobsmacked in front of this intruder, but Gideon was wearing jeans and a forest-green polo. Nothing like the jeans and polos guys wore around home. Bourbon Canyon didn’t sell jeans or shirts that didn’t have a Western style. How could a polo look expensive?
Taya tipped her head, her gaze jumping from me to Gideon, down to the fluffy socks I’d put on instead of my sandals, then back to Gideon. “Are you sure?”
She wasn’t asking about the delay. She was asking about me. These two had clearly done more than run numbers together. The image I’d had of Gideon in theshower with a model flashed through my head. I wanted to vomit.
I did not belong here. Not with Gideon. Not in Vegas. And not in this penthouse, facing off with Taya, locked into some unknown competition neither of us had signed up for.
Gideon’s big, warm hand landed on the small of my back. “I’m sure. I’ll be out of the office for a while.”
She blinked. His announcement was news to me too. He had said he was going to Bourbon Canyon, but not for how long or when. We still had to work through the logistics of how this marriage and baby-making would work. I couldn’t think about the last part right now.
“How long will you be gone?” Her question was brittle. This woman did not like Gideon acting out of character, and even I knew taking time off was not normal for him.
“At least a month,” he replied casually. “I need to go out of town. Family emergency.”
“What family?” she snapped.
I waited for him to declare that I was his wife, but he didn’t. Taya wasn’t looking at my hand and his ring finger was behind my back. For whatever reason, he wasn’t announcing the happy news. I knew the significance of a month. That was when the land deal was scheduled to close.
