She shrugs. “Mimosas.” She doesn’t wait for a response before turning on her heel and flouncing toward the kitchen. Wine from Stephanie means an expensive bottle, but I don’t stop her. I kick off my shoes and head into the living room. She joins me a few minutes later, oversized wineglasses in hand, filled to the rim with OJ and French champagne.
“Okay.” She grins as she makes herself comfortable on a bright pink arm chair. “Spill.”
And, I do. I tell hereverything. Having sex with Liam. The first time. Being called to the O’Tooles’. My investment fund. Liam’s lie. Our quickie wedding. The dinner. Our new place. Our bedroom and what happened there. All of it. I don’t leave out any of yesterday’s events. It feels cathartic to tell someone.
Finally, after an hour of making humming noises and occasional gasps, Stephanie asks the important question: “You haven’t said how you feel about all this. You really like him, don’t you?”
It’s an astute observation. While I’ve recounted the details, I didn’t get into the emotions. So many emotions. “Yeah. I do. I like him. That’s not the issue.”
“So, whatisthe issue?” She looks as if she’s trying to reach into my soul as she studies my face. “You’re married now.”
I take a large gulp of my drink. “This is good.”
“Uh-huh. You were saying?” She’s not going to allow me to avoid this conversation. It’s so odd. So much is changing. Not only with Liam but also with the heiress seated across from me. Only a month ago, I would have told you Steph was a great roommate, and if pressed, I guess I would have called her a friend. Now, I confide in her like a sister. Hell, I tell her more than I tell my sisters. When did I start opening up like this?
I sigh. “It’s all so fast. And, in the back of my mind, I remember that I was forced into this. I mean, what if this is temporary insanity or something? Like, what if the real Liam isn’t this great guy all the time? What if he really is like every other guy in the clan? Maybe once we get to Chicago, he’ll change. What if he starts ordering me around? He has this weird violent side that pops up occasionally. It hasn’tbotheredme exactly, but I mean, what if I’m being blinded by the great sex?”
Stephanie tries and fails to suppress a laugh. “Your honor, I plead temporary insanity due to an extremely thorough dicking.”
I smile and shrug. It seems like a reasonable defense.
“Look. In all seriousness, I totally understand not knowing if you should trust someone. But, I believe people show you who they are if you’re paying attention. Sometimes, it’s easy to overlook things if you really want to. But, I think the opposite is true here, Tare. Youwantto find something wrong, but instead, he’s proving to be more than you could have hoped for. He’s showing you who he is, and he’s a great guy. So what if he gets a little rough around the edges when other guys talk shit about you? So what if he tried to run over your ex with his car? He could have done nothing. He could have ignored Sam. He could have left you hanging out to dry when your investment went south. He could have let your whole family go down. He didn’t, and I’m sure that cost him.”
I stare at her.
“You’re scared,” she continues. “And that makes sense. In a perfect world, you would have had more time to figure out your relationship with Liam. But, from what you’ve told me, you guys have a pretty solid foundation on which to build something real.”
“Did you say he tried to run over Sam with his car?” My voice is high.
Stephanie winces. “Maybe you should ask him about that one. Happened yesterday afternoon.Oncampus. I thought beating the shit out of him on our front lawn would have sufficed.” She shrugs. “But now that I know about how he funneled your money to the Greeks, the car thing makes more sense.”
Oh my God. I can’t even process that. He tried to run someone over? I was actually referring to him nearly choking a guy to death right before our wedding when I mentioned Liam’s violent streak. Jesus.
Everything is so different now. I’m a wife. Amobwife. I suppose it makes sense that my husband tries to kill people on a regular basis.
“I wish there weren’t all these expectations,” I mutter. I think about Liam’s father and his questions about children.
“Let’s pretend there aren’t,” Stephanie advocates, and I raise my eyebrows. “I know—but listen. If you hadn’t been forced to marry Liam, and had time to get to know him better—given everything you’ve learned over these last couple weeks—would youwantto be with him? Continue the relationship? Is he someone you would have continued to date?”
“I—I don’t know. Maybe? Probably?” I can’t separate it like that in my head. “I was pretty set on getting away.” Although I do like Liam. A lot. More than I am comfortable with.
“Yeah, you’re a planner like that. It’s just that sometimes plans change.”
“What do you mean?” I don’t think I’m exceptionally rigid. Am I?
“You’re always leaving these lists lying around, and you have pretty firm ideas about what’s supposed to happen and when. Life doesn’t always work out that way, ya know?”
Given what Steph has been through with Cole, I guess she understands better than anyone that things don’t always work out as planned. I’m about to respond when she pushes her hair over her shoulder and takes a sip of her drink. Holy shit.
“Do you have a hickey?” I squeal the words. Yes. That is definitely a love bite on her neck.
She slaps her hand to cover the incriminating red mark like she’s swatting a mosquito. “No. I mean, maybe. I don’t know.” Her face has turned beet red. “It’s nothing.”
It’s definitely not nothing. “Did you and Cole get back together?” I try to sound nonchalant. I hate him, but I want to be supportive, even if she did invite that two-timing pantywaste back into her bed.
“What? No!” She covers her neck again with her hair. Squirms. “I, um, hooked up with someone else. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I just told you everything!”
