A happily ever after required work, commitment, and love.
When the time was right and her heart was ready, Hadley would find a man who wanted the same as her.
Another announcement sounded.
“They’re boarding my flight,” Hadley said. “I need to listen to the names called off the standby list. I’ll let you know.”
“I’m here if you need me.”
Her sister was the best. “Thanks.”
“Your heartwillstop hurting so bad.”
Hadley sighed. She only wished it would stop hurting now.
* * *
Somehow, Blaise survived the panel. He barely remembered a word he’d said or a question he’d answered, but he’d received nothing but praise about the session. Someone had taped it, and he could confirm whether or not he’d made a lovesick fool out of himself.
Not lovesick.
A fool with a capital F.
Which was why he now sat alone in the VIP area of the hottest new club in Las Vegas. He didn’t drink much, but tonight he would get blackout drunk. Maybe then he could stop hurting.
He admired the bottle sitting on the table: 23 Year Old Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. An empty glass was within arm’s reach. His bodyguards hovered with concerned expressions on their faces, but Lex and Rizzo knew to leave Blaise alone.
He poured two fingers of the amber red liquid and downed the contents. The bourbon burned, but that didn’t keep him from refilling the glass and doing the same thing until he lost track of how many drinks he’d had. He filled the glass once again, only this time to the top and drank as much as he could in one gulp.
“Drinking alone?” Wes stood next to the table, towering over Blaise. “Or strategizing with yourself on who I could marry so you can win the bet?”
The words hit Blaise like a sucker punch. A million and one thoughts collided in his brain. Most of them bad. A nice buzz was on the way, and he didn’t want it to stop. He refilled his glass before placing the bottle on the table.
Playing dumb wasn’t his usual MO, but in this case, he had nothing else to try. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Wes half laughed, though no humor flashed in his eyes. “The video of you firing Hadley has gone viral.”
“What video?”
Wes pulled out his phone, touched the screen, and shoved his cell phone at Blaise. “I had no idea you wanted to win this badly.”
Words sat on the tip of Blaise’s tongue, ready to jump out in his defense. But he pressed his lips together, took the phone from Wes, and hitplay.
Whoever held the camera stood behind a potted plant. The sound quality was poor, but the filming showed him kissing Hadley. Blaise hadn’t noticed anyone with a camera, but he hadn’t been paying attention to the people around them.
As he watched, a knot in his stomach grew. Not all their words could be heard, but enough to imply what was happening.
Blaise swore under his breath. He’d gotten sloppy. Let down his guard. All because of his wanting to be with Hadley.
She was radiant. Her smile lit up her face with pure happiness and joy. Only that disappeared the longer they spoke. When he fired her—everything he’d said then was clear in the video—Hadley paled as if she might collapse. Her expression turned to a portrait of pain and sadness.
He drank more.
“So it’s true.” Hard lines formed around Wes’s mouth. “You hired Hadley to find Dash and me wives. You pretended to date her so she could get to know us. You set us up.”
Even though Wes wasn’t asking questions, Blaise nodded once to acknowledge the truth.
Except one thing had been true—his feelings for her were real. He might have told her they were pretending, but if they had been, he wouldn’t be feeling so miserable and wanting to numb the pain.
