"She didn't give me a number.Just said 'intimate,' which in their world means?—"
"A hundred minimum."He stops pacing.“Weddings that big don’t just come together overnight,” he says.
He’s confirming my own thoughts.Thoughts I really wish were aboutanothercouple.
“They must have been planning a wedding for weeks,” I say.
He winces.“Whatever is going on, whatever the reason they wanted a big cartel wedding this weekend, there’s still time to make your exit.”
I start to shake my head, but he silences me with a look.“I’ll contact your boss.He can pull you out."
"They’ll kill you," I say."I’m not leaving."
He crosses toward me, stops just short of touching.Like he's not sure if he's allowed.
"Adena… if you stay, you’ll wind up married to me."
I square my shoulders.“I am aware of that.”
He pulls back, eyes searching mine like he’s afraid of what I’ll say next.
“I’ve done things,” he says, voice rough.“Bad things.You don’t want to hitch your wagon to me.”
I draw a breath.This matters too much to get wrong—but more than that, it matters too much not to try.
“So have I.Worse than you know.That’s the point.We’reallguilty,” I say.“Every one of us.I don’t get a pass.Neither do you.And Jesus took what we couldn’t carry ourselves.”
His eyes close for a moment, jaw tight.“Not really the time for a Bible lesson.”
“It’s theperfecttime for one; right now, realizing you need saving is the only way out of this mess!”I say.
A single eyebrow hitches.“You really believe all that?That God came down from heaven, took on human form, and died on a cross?”
I was prepared for pushback.I know I did when I first heard the gospel.It defies all human reasoning, and that’s exactly why it’s so astonishing.
“I know God is real, and I know He cares about you, Jagger.”
His eyes shift from my face to the ring sitting heavy on my finger.“That’s a lot to take in, Tiger.Marriage.God…” He meets my gaze, a faint, teasing smile ghosting across his lips.“Is this the part where you tell me you’re marrying me to save my soul?”
My breath locks in my chest.My heart pounds too hard against my ribs.
It would be easy to get lost in him, in what this could mean.But this isn’t about declarations or promises.This is about whether my faith holds when it costs something.
I lift my chin.“This is the part I tell you that Jesus changed me.And he can change you too, if you want Him to.”
He doesn’t mock me.
I didn’t expect him to.
He just opens the vault and pulls out a stack of cash and starts counting it out, effectively ending the conversation before it can really begin.
Twenty-Two
Jagger
Something's wrong with me tonight.
Adena's at Cirque du Soleil with Valentina and a security detail I didn't pick, watching acrobats fly through the air while I'm stuck here watching a woman in a corset simulate taking off clothes she's barely wearing to begin with.
