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Tomorrow it will all be cleaned up. The way it always is when I’m involved. Nobody will know a damn thing happened.

Especially not Hudson.

I’m not going to beat myself up over it. It was the right thing to do. The only thing. She got into trouble and I fixed it. End of story.

Her family doesn’t have to know. Nobody does.

I pull off my tie, unfasten the top button of my shirt, and take off the ring on my finger.

Assholes like me don’t get caught in fairytales. We burn them down and walk away before the clock strikes midnight. Because that way, we don’t get hurt.

five

EDEN

I wake up with a start, my eyes flying open as I take in the unfamiliar room, relief washing through me when I realize I’m not still in a jail cell.

And then I jolt again when I see West. He’s sitting in a chair in the corner, fully dressed, his legs stretched out, his thumb brushing his jaw, like he’s been waiting for me to wake up.

“What are you doing in here?” I ask, my voice groggy with sleep. I stretch my arms and something digs into my ribs. I’m still wearing that stupid dress. And the memory of last night comes flooding back.

Oh God.

He doesn’t blink. “I’m looking at my wife.”

I roll my eyes at him, because I’m almost certain he’s trying to be funny. “Take your time,” I tell him. “Because I won’t be your wife for long.”

He tips his head to the side, not reacting at all. It’s unnerving.

This is West, I remind myself. My brother’s easy going, laid back best friend. I’ve seen him joke around in the ocean, crackdumb jokes at family barbecues, fall asleep on our couch with a beer in his hand.

But that guy’s not in this room.

He leans forward, forearms resting on his thighs. “About that. There’s been a change of plan.”

My heart thumps once, loud and stupid. “What kind of change?” I give him a pointed look. “If you still want me to consummate the marriage, you’re way out of line, buddy.”

This time his mouth twitches. And for a second his gaze rakes over my body before he brings it firmly back to my face. “There’ll be no consummation. We’re just going to stay married for a few months.”

The way he says it – like it’s a done deal – makes my hackles rise. I shake my head. “No, that’s not what we agreed to. You said you’d fix this. Right away.”

He runs his thumb along his jaw. “Yes, well that was before one of my biggest investors found out I got married.” He says it slowly, like he’s still getting used to the idea himself.

“What? How? Who knows we got married?” My voice lifts an octave. I get onto my knees, crawl across the bed, because Jesus, if Hudson knows I need to hop the next flight out of the country. “Tell me.”

“Can you stop crawling toward me like something out ofThe Ring?” he asks.

I freeze mid-crawl.

“And nobody knows except Riva and his team. Plus his cousin. My investor. The big problem.”

Okay, this is getting above my pay grade. I sit back on my heels and give him a pointed look. “Who is Riva’s cousin?”

“It doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that he’s very happy I got married at his cousin’s casino and he’s verbally agreed to a huge cash boost for the resort.”

“What resort?” I ask him, because none of this is making sense.

“The one we’re building on Liberty.”