I’m not a particularly religious man, but some divine entity must be looking out for me to make me crave pizza today. Otherwise, I would’ve never heard the true intentions from her own lips, and I wouldn’t have caught this…display.
I couldn’t love you more.
But you know how things have been for me and how much I need money.
Of course. How is she going to go back to budgeting and give up the joy of burning through twenty-five grand a month?
I’ve definitely been played. All because she looked at me with innocent eyes, and she and I had some amazing sex.When did I start letting my dick dictate my decisions?Disgust at myselfflows through my veins like acid, followed by fury. She must’ve been laughing at me the entire time. She had to have been thrilled when she found out she was pregnant, so I couldn’t just dump her without looking like a callous asshole.
If only Emma hadn’t come to the dinner…
Even her presence there now feels like a part of a plot to put me in checkmate.
“You’re her fiancé?” Adam looks me up and down with a small sneer on his face. He’s trying to hide it, but resentment and jealousy seethe in his insolent gaze.
“Yes. Reach for her again, and you’ll lose your hand.”
“Huxley, he’s a friend,” Grace says.
Her attempt at clarification only fuels my temper. Just because they have some history doesn’t mean I have to put up with him panting after my woman. Or her declaring her love for him. “Really? Do friends look at friends like they want to fuck their brains out?”
Adam turns bright red, looking flustered and embarrassed. Guess he never had the guts to tell her how he felt. Loser.
“What are you? A medieval thug?” he demands.
I shoot him a soulless smile. “Just a man keeping a stray off his property.”
Grace gasps. “I’m not your property!” The guy gets redder.
“Grace, when a rich man acquires a pretty young wife, he’s buying an exclusive property, not to be shared with anybody else. If you don’t understand that, I can take other measures.”
“Like what? Calling it off?”
Frankly, I wish that were an option. But I’m not going to disappoint and upset Emma because of Grace’s machinations. Plus, if I must marry a Webber, Grace is the more tolerable evil. Vivienne would be worse—just as insufferable, stupid on top of it, unable to control herself even in public. Somebody like herwould behave like a wild animal in private. “Like a spanking and a chastity belt.”
Grace’s jaw drops.
Adam jumps to his feet. “You asshole!” He pulls his arm back.
Anticipation and adrenaline pump through me.Go ahead. Throw the first punch.
Grace leaps between us. “Stop it!What’swrongwith you?Bothof you?”
“He can’t talk to you like that!” The volume of Adam’s voice attracts attention.
“But you can turn this conversation into a public spectacle,” I sneer.
He notices the eyes on us and compresses his lips. “Sorry,” he says to Grace.
“It’s okay, Adam.”
Her soft forgiveness stirs the dark beast of temper inside me. “My fiancéeand I are going to have a private conversation.”
“I don’t have much time,” she says. “My lunch break’s going to end soon.”
“It won’t take long if you’ll just do as I tell you without arguing.” I grind out the words. Defiance flickers in her face, and I put a finger on her mouth. “Or we can just do it here in front of everyone. Your choice.”
She pushes the finger away. “We can go now.”
