She’s never given me a true smile. And she’s never hugged me like I meant anything, even thoughI’m her fiancé.
I don’t know why the situation infuriated me so much. But it did.
Jason’s eyes glinted with a cool male challenge, and it was all I could do to not kick him down the stairs.
I should’ve never suggested a civil ceremony. I certainly shouldn’t have decided to have Dad attend. Or allowed Luce to select the venue.
I should’ve dictated a lavish wedding, away from San Francisco. Preferably away from Dad and Joey as well.
Most importantly, we should’ve never had some snotty Bay Area judge officiate. I could’ve asked the mayor of Los Angeles, and he would’ve been more than thrilled.
There’s no bridal bouquet, and that monstrosity Dad brought isn’t going to work. So Lucienne doesn’t have anything to hold in front of her. Then Dad had to suggest that we hold hands, because wouldn’t that be romantic?
And I agreed to it before he made anyreallyoutlandish suggestions, like having Joey lick rose petals and stick them onto our clasped hands to “seal our love.” You never know with my father.
So Luce and I end up holding hands through the short wedding. Her bare skin against my palm is warm and soft.
I tighten my hold, shooting Jason a hard stare.You can call her Lucie all you want, but at the end of the day, she’smyfiancée, soon to bemywife.
Her fingers will be gliding up my arms, my shoulders—my body. They’ll wrap around my neck for a kiss while our tongues tangle.
Jason drones on, and my senses are hyperaware—like a million needle tips are touching my skin, not enough to hurt but enough to make their presence known. Although my eyes are trained ahead, my focus is entirely on her. Every inhalation, every tiny movement of her pink lips…
Jason has said something and is looking at me expectantly. So I give the obligatory “I do.”
The bastard turns to Lucienne, his expression brighter. I didn’t like him when I first laid eyes on him, and I like him even less now. Herfriend, indeed.
Luce takes her vows and becomes the newly minted Mrs. Sebastian Lasker. Jason smiles beatifically, like a respectable pillar of our judicial system, but I know the pervert is stripping her out of her modest white dress in his head.
The dress really is stunning, making her look tall and regal. It shows off the lovely lines of her straight shoulders, long, elegant arms and perfect breasts. The dip of her waist and the firm curve of her ass. The dress covers her from the neck down, its long sleeves reaching below her wrists to hide half the backs of her hands. She looks like the most beautiful gift, and as her husband, I’m the one—theonlyone—who gets to unwrap her.
I take out the rings and slide one onto her finger. The sight of the wedding band against her skin sends something satisfying unfurling in my gut. The weight of Jason’s gaze rests on me, and I shoot him a hard smile.
Look all you want. She’s mine now.
“You may now kiss,” Jason says.
I cradle her cheek, turning her toward me. Her skin is warm and smooth against my palm. My pulse accelerates. Our eyes meet, and her lips part. Her lashes flutter—not in a calculated move to seduce but in a nervous gesture. I can’t decide how I feel about her anxiety. I want her to suffer, but at the same time, I want to shield her. The contradictory desires are annoying.
Whatever.I dip my head and claim her mouth in our first kiss as husband and wife. My tongue slips between her lips, delving into the sweet heat. Although there’s a ring on her finger, the need to stamp her as mine rears its head, and—
“Way to go, son! I’m so proud of you!”
I flinch. Luce turns away, breaking the contact.
God damn it.I give my father a glare scorching enough to melt metal, but he just grins like some cocaine-addled idiot.
And Luce still hasn’t given me the smile she did Jason, even as I sign the document declaring her in charge of her own finances and legal affairs, as specified in the contract between our families. When she finally beams, it’s at herself, for her newly won freedom.
I might as well have been an inanimate prop.
Still, I’m happy that I’ve helped her achieve true independence. You can’t fully exercise your agency if somebody else controls your money. And I have a particular distaste for a system that’s set up to restrict people based on an immutable characteristic like gender.
We go to a steakhouse because Dad insists that we have dinner together.
“It’s the least I can do for you and your lovely new wife. Lucy.” He looks at her like she’s his next Oscar-winning masterpiece.And she nods, as if she’d like nothing better than to spend more time with him.
I’m going to throw up.
