“Stay out of this,” Karl snarls, sizing Noah up. He doesn’t like what he sees. Noah’s also tall and broad, albeit trimmer than Sebastian. But that still makes Noah the kind of guy you don’t want to pick a fight with. “This is a family thing.”
“Then I should stay.” Noah smiles. “By the way, Lucie, I just wanted to tell you you’re gorgeous, and my brother was lucky to marry you. I still haven’t forgivenhimfor not inviting me to the wedding”—Sebastian sighs—“butyou’re all good. I could never get upset with my sister-in-law.” His eyes sparkle with good humor.
“Thank you.” I’m grateful he’s here, because Karl’s backing down, at least for the moment. He’s still burning with unresolved anger at Sebastian for standing between me and him.
I make a mental note to instruct security at our headquarters to blacklist him and Vonnie not only in our offices but from all our retail locations. I don’t trust him to behave. He’ll escalate, whether he does it himself or through Vonnie. Roderick will stay out of it, since he considers himself above his “children’s conflicts.”
“I can’t believe you only have one photographer for this event,” Noah says to Sebastian.
“I didn’t think it was that important.” I’d prefer to havenophotographer. Every time somebody points a camera at me, my chest clenches with dread. If it wasn’t for the publicity angle for the Sebastian Peery collaboration, I wouldn’t have bothered. But our marketing team thought it’d be great to release some of the photos from the event to the Korean media to publicize our marriage—and talk up the wedding jewelry we’re going to be launching in the country.
“We only had a couple of lousy shots from Joey for the main ceremony, so we should have a few good ones from today,” Noah says. “I’m a wildlife photographer, but don’t worry. I’m pretty decent with people, too.” He grins.
“You didn’t bring your camera,” Sebastian says dryly.
“But I have my phone.” Holding it in front of him, Noah crouches down. “Say cheese.”
I step closer to Sebastian and smile. He pulls me close and presses his lips to my temple, surprising me. But I remember to keep on smiling because that’s one thing I’m good at.
“See? Wasn’t that hard.” He flips the screen and shows me the picture he just took. Sebastian’s the definition of an adoring husband, and I’m the happy new wife who’s just a tad shy about the public display of affection. We look like a regular, normal couple who fell in love and got married.
Relief sweeps through me.
“Hey, there’s Huxley. And Nicholas and Griffin,” Noah says suddenly, pointing at a trio of men coming toward us. “Is Griff shielding his wife? My God, we’re at a party, not a war zone.”
Sure enough, one of the men has a woman mostly hidden from view. Wonder why he’s doing that? Did Noah or Sebastian warn them about a possible scene?
I flick my eyes in Karl’s direction. Roderick is whispering something to him, one hand on his shoulder. Karl is listening, but his blazing eyes say,Fuck you, this isn’t over,before he casually walks to the buffet table.
I hope that whatever they put in their mouths is contaminated and they get epic cases of diarrhea that force them to leave early. But of course I won’t be that lucky.
Soon Emmett and Grant arrive with their wives. I’m glad I already looked everyone up, because I would’ve been overwhelmed otherwise. They’re all tall and large, and it isn’t every day I’m surrounded by men who make me feel…almost dainty and girlish. On top of that, their presence is formidable. They know they’re intelligent, wealthy and powerful, and they wield their influence like spears.
Although those spears aren’t pointed at me, they aren’t exactly pointed away, either. Unlike Noah’s, their greetings are restrained. They treat me with a neutral politeness reserved for strangers they don’t plan to associate with in the future. Grant and Griffin seem a bit surprised when Sebastian keeps his arm around me. I can’t decide if their attitude is due to my awful reputation or their knowing the story behind our marriage. He never told me he shared the true situation, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t. Also, they seem close, so they probably suspect something’s off even if Sebastian’s kept quiet.
At least the wives aren’t aloof. Amy is a pretty blonde with even features. She smiles easily, but her sharp eyes miss nothing. She gives me a hug. “Welcome to the family.”
The redhead who came in with Grant wraps her arms around me and hugs me hard. “Yes. Welcome to the family. I’m Aspen.”
Sierra is next. “I’m so glad we have another woman for our girl time.” Mischief sparks in her voice. “Please tell me you like romance novels!”
“You haven’t even read the ones we bought last time,” Amy says.
“Doesn’t mean we shouldn’t buy more,” Sierra says.
“You can never have enough romance novels on your shelves,” Aspen says. “Don’t you agree, Lucie?”
I look for signs of judgment. But the women just smile like they’ve never seen a headline about me. Just like Yuna, they’re open to getting to know me and forming their own opinions. My insides stop twisting into knots and relax. I haven’t been lucky with making new friends or creating the best first impressions, and I’m grateful I’m getting an opportunity with these ladies.
“Absolutely,” I say. “And I’ll be honored to be part of girl timeandbuy all the romance novels we need for it. And Sierra, Iloveyour company’s products.” She’s the CEO of Silicone Dream, a popular sex toy company.
She smiles. “Thank you! Clearly you have excellent taste and a fun personality.” Everyone laughs, and the ice is broken.
More and more guests arrive to congratulate us on our marriage. Sebastian’s family on the Comtois side is late. Still, the party is in full swing and everyone’s having a great time. Roderick and Karl seem to have disappeared. Maybe they left, since they aren’t going to get what they came here for—to get me to cough up money—without making a scene.
And for once there isn’t going to be anything embarrassing happening or leaking to the press. Although Roderick and Karl were able to sneak past security, I haven’t spotted a single paparazzo. The guests aren’t just friends, but business associates. They wouldn’t upload anything on social media that could damage their relationship with me or Sebastian.
I should be relieved. Grateful, even. But my head throbs from hours of tension squeezing my skull, and my cheeks feel like rubber from smiling for so long.
