A dinosaur?My head is a mess right now—which I hate. I keep my thoughtspristineandorganized. No smiling at a woman I’ve known for less than twenty-four hours, thinking she’s cute or adorable. And no reliving the kiss we had to share to escape. And most definitely no hoping we can kiss again.
Fuckin’ Harvey. Just what the hell did he feed me?
“You guys are super sweet!” Pippa says.
“Thank you!” Lareina beams.
“We hear that a lot,” I add on impulse.Shut up.
I shove the license into my pocket and escort Lareina out. The wind chills my face and hands as we make our way down the street. She shivers in the dress. I shrug out of my jacket and drape it over her shoulders.
She looks up at me. “What about you?” she says, even as her fingers curl around the lapel of the jacket. She really is adorable. And transparent.
“No problem.” Wonder what she’d say if I told her I wanted the jacket back. Would she pout? Or just hand it back with a sniff? Whichever way she responds, it’ll be cute. It’s hard to resist teasing her. “I’m a man. Men don’t get cold.”
The sound of her laughter rolls around me, sending a strange, tickling sensation to my heart. Absurdly enough, I want to just let go and join her mirth. The impulse is both exciting and sobering. I’m too much like my mother to relinquish control.
Perhaps I should give Lareina my credit card so she can find a place to stay. But Harvey’s people might be monitoring—
I wince as my head pounds. It’s like having a hangover.What the hell kind of drug is this?Hangover pain without any of the fun?
“Are you okay?” she asks.
“Yeah. Just…a headache.” I’m going to murder my uncle. Actually, I can’t kill him. If he goes, Mom will get a shot at taking over their “family business.” And my mother plus the power of the mafia would be too dangerous. My brothers and I are older and wiser, but so is she. She wouldn’t use a method as crude as kidnapping again, especially when it failed the first time.
She got herself some hot women to seduce me. Or at least that’s what it sounded like based on Harvey’s warning, but they could be after Bryce and Josh. I should warn them.
But first… I inhale and try to organize my mind. I need to get Lareina settled somewhere safe, then hide from Harvey until I’m a hundred percent back to normal. Afterward, I’ll deal with Soledad and Harvey for conspiring to fuck with me, and see which of my dates, scheduled for the next three days, will make a satisfying wife for The Fogeys. As for the marriage license in my pocket, I’ll get rid of it once I’m back in L.A.
Suddenly, Lareina stiffens and throws herself at me, burying her face in my chest. “Rupert,” she whispers. “And Doris. My step-cousin and aunt.”
She shudders. Not sure if it’s out of fear or revulsion. Could be both. Either way, I hate that she feels either of those things at all. I pull her tighter, shielding her from her enemies.
“You here to get married?” somebody says from behind me.
I turn and face a skinny, black-haired man sporting a used car salesman’s ingratiating smile. He looks like he’s eager to unload a shiny Mustang with a rusted-out engine.
Before I can say no, he continues, “I’m Jonny. You guys look so good together, standing there so affectionate, just had to ask. The couple that was booked to come in just canceled. Bride caught the groom getting a hummer from a hooker. Apparently, the bride sucks at it—pun absolutely intended!”
The man laughs uproariously, slapping his knee, weirdly sincere in his amusement. Lareina and I just watch. He finally straightens up without a trace of awkwardness.
“Since we’re free… What do you say? Dan-tatata. Dan-tatata!” He sings the opening to “Here Comes the Bride” then shifts his attention to Lareina, who’s raised the lapel of my jacket to hide as much of her face as possible. “Your girl here is already dressed. And you don’t look bad. It’ll be a wedding you’ll never forget. Guaranteed!”
My gut really likes the idea. Whywouldn’tI want to have a wedding I’ll never forget? But at the same time, my brain says,No, no, no! Lareina’s too wild and hot to make a good wife who can be respectful and indifferent.
I narrow my eyes and try to recall the women I’ve booked to check out in the next few days. A lawyer. An accountant. An aspiring model. An influencer. Other than their occupations, nothing comes to mind. Not even their age range or faces, even though their profiles featured both. Meeting them is going to be a chore that takes time out of my already tight schedule.
What if none of them works out? You gonna give up on being a junior partner?
I scowl, not wanting to face that possibility.
Lareina is right here. And you already have the marriage license. Marry her and you can be a junior partner.
But is she a wife respectable enough to satisfy Grandmother?another voice argues, although it’s growing increasingly faint.
I look at Lareina’s wrinkled and stained dress, recall her climbing across the hotel wall, then pulling my head down for a kiss. Compare the images to Grandmother’s cool, composed presentation.
Probably not.But does it matter that much? We can solve each other’s problems. A husband from a powerful legal dynasty will keep her greedy relatives away. And a wife means promotion. Lareina can just put on a designer dress and smile prettily.
