I set my mug down, avoiding their gazes. “He asked for a lap dance.”
“What!?” Rhiannon shrieks.
“…And so, I gave him one… and, um, then he fingered me. Tocompletion.”
Rhiannon leans back into the couch. “I fuckingknewit. You can’t be married to each other and not do something eventually.”
“It’s a marriage of convenience,” I protest, though even I can hear how weak that sounds. “It’s not a real one.”
Rhiannon shakes her head. “Laws of tension, babe. You're a lawyer, you know all about the law."
I snort because I’ve never studied any law called tension.
"And have youseenthe way he looks at you? Sheesh. Even I was turned on. It’s the same way Cain looks at me. One look and I’m practically pregnant again.”
“You’re pregnant?” I ask in surprise.
She shakes her head with a laugh. “No, but we just started trying. Cain is insatiable. Loves coming in me without any barrier, and I refuse to take birth control.”
Eden groans. “Oh my God, Rhia. That’s too much information!”
I laugh despite myself, shaking my head as Rhiannon raises her mimosa in a toast to oversharing. "To being open about sex so that women feel comfortable asking ‘hey!is this normal?’"
I clink my glass against hers. “Cheers. That's a lot more than I'd like to know about my brother, but I wish I was as open as you are about discussing... all this.”
She grins, her eyes alight with mischief. “You’ll get there. But enough about me—didheget off too?”
I nod, feeling my cheeks flush brighter. “In his pants.”
“Hot,” Eden says, her voice light and teasing, while Rhiannon nods approvingly.
“Guy’s obsessed,” Rhiannon says matter-of-factly, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
I groan. “He’s not… I mean, I don’t know! We just got caught up in the moment. This is a mess. It can’t happen again. If anyone found out, it could jeopardize my career. It could jeopardizehis career too. We only have two months left of pretending we just need to focus on the end goal.”
“I don’t see the harm as long as no one knows,” Rhiannon says with a shrug, ever the voice of mischief.
I give her a look. “Rhiannon, you’re married to mybrother. Do you really mean that?”
She shrugs again, completely unfazed. “Yeah. Just don’t tell Cain what happened.”
I let out a breath, leaning back into the couch.
“So… what do I do? Like, what do I even do when I get back to the city? He has court on Monday with Cain. It’s just the first appearance, but then there’s the settlement in a month.” Myvoice lowers a bit as if Cain's about to burst in and arrest me for dry humping his client.
"I mean welivetogether now. We can’t avoid discussing what happened forever, can we?"
“What do youwant to do?” Eden asks.
“I don’t know.” I drop my face into my hands. “Sex with him soundsamazing, but it’s also so complicated.”
“Just because of the divorce your law firm has orchestrated for you two in a few months or another reason?” Rhiannon presses.
“Yes! That, and my dad…”
“And aren’t you sick of letting your dad control everything in your life?” Rhiannon cuts in again, her voice firm. “This is theonerelationship that he hasn’t sabotaged because it’s tied tohiscareer too and he doesn’t believe it’s real. He wants to break into sports, right? Why not lean into that for once? Have some fun. Take advantage of the benefits you get from having a husband.”
I bite my lip, her words sinking in. Maybe she’s right. Maybe I could have a little fun with Boone while we’re playing pretend.
