"To Clara and Nash," Zoey added."Who deserve all the happiness."
“To my baby boy and his beautiful bride,” Teri went on, her voice hoarse with emotion.“May you be happier than your wildest dreams.”
That one got me.Tears leaked out of my eyes as we clinked glasses.I felt split down the middle.My tears and emotions were all genuine, but I could also see how it played perfectly for the ruse.Authentic and faking it all at once.
The push-pull of these halves was driving me crazy.Which meant the only thing left to do was eat lots of food, get drunk, and figure it out another day.
The food was incredible—handmade pasta, perfectly seasoned osso buco, a tiramisu that made Zoey's eyes go wide.And buttered noodles for Mia.Nash kept his hand on my knee under the table, his thumb tracing absent patterns that made it hard to focus on conversation.
“Where are you guys going for the honeymoon?”Zoey asked after our plates were cleared and we were finishing drinks.
“We’re going wherever Clara wants,” Nash said, looking down at me warmly.“I don’t care where it is, as long as she’s there.”
The tableaww’d and it felt like time for another kiss.Nash dipped down, pressing his lips to mine as I fought to contain my cheek-splitting smile.
We chatted for a while longer, finally ready to leave by the late afternoon.We said goodbye to Archer, Teri, and Zoey outside the restaurant, Mia giving them all enthusiastic hugs before I loaded her into the car seat.
"So," Nash said once we were in the back of the SUV."What should our honeymoon destination be?"
"I don't know," I said, my head spinning."Somewhere warm?With a beach?"
Nash's eyes lit up with that mischievous gleam I was starting to recognize."I have an idea."He pulled out his phone and started typing rapidly."The private jet can be ready tomorrow morning.We'll go to—"
His phone buzzed with a notification.Then another.And another.
"What the hell?"He frowned at the screen, his expression darkening with each passing second.
"What is it?"
He shook his head.“I don’t want you to see this.We’ve had an amazing day, let’s not ruin it.”
That made my stomach clench.“Well if that was supposed to deter me, you failed.Now I only want to see it more.”
He looked at me with seriousness etched into his features.“Haley Reeves posted her deep dive.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but nothing came out at first.“I take it it’s not good.”
He sighed heavily, and I held out my hand.“I need to see it.If you don’t give it to me now, I’ll just look it up on my own phone.”
Nash handed me his phone.The headline made my stomach drop: "BILLIONAIRE'S BRIDE'S SECRET PAST: From Catering Server to Mrs.Cinderella"
Below it was a photo of me in a catering uniform from years ago, juxtaposed with a shot from today at City Hall as we came down the front steps.The article laid out my entire history in excruciating detail.My modest upbringing.My job with the city.My failed relationship with Preston.My pregnancy.My struggle to make ends meet.
“How did she get all this information about me?”I mused as I read.
"Sources close to the couple reveal that Clara Whitehall worked as a catering server at events Nash Nightingale hosted.Some are questioning whether this whirlwind romance is genuine, or if the struggling single mother saw an opportunity to secure her financial future..."
"Oh my God," I breathed.
"That fucking—" Nash caught himself, glancing at Mia who was obliviously playing with her flowers.In a lower voice, he said, "Haley Reeves is going to regret this."
But I barely heard him.I was too busy reading the comments that had already started flooding in.
"Gold digger much?"
"She baby-trapped the wrong guy lol"
"He could have had any woman and he chose HER?"
