The same Keys money that had the once-big room now feeling claustrophobic. They might have been in Seven Roads, not exactly the prime spot for upscale socializing, but almost every suit and dress in attendance had made the trip without fuss.
And they weren’t there for the man in the tux Eve was walking toward.
No, they were there for the man at his side, movie-star smile warming an already-attractive face.
Scott Keys.
The White Knight.
Always wrapped in philanthropist glory, something designer and charm.
Everyone wanted him; some wanted to be him.
Eve wanted to destroy him.
And so did the man standing next to the altar.
Eve smiled at Mitchell as the wedding march ended. He met her at the one step up in the room, holding his arm out. Hewasn’t unattractive, but it was hard to see what made him shine while constantly being in his brother’s shadow.
He had blue eyes that looked nice with his tan and obediently straight brown hair, while his fashion sense felt more natural than showy. When they had first met he had been wearing earrings in both ears and a bomber jacket that had felt extremely stylish. But that had felt like a lifetime ago.
Now, even at his own wedding, he wore a tuxedo that visibly paled in comparison to his brother’s.
His eyes, though, they were kind as they took her in.
“You look beautiful, Evelyn,” he whispered. She took his arm as she nodded to the compliment.
“You’re pretty snazzy too,” she returned.
A smile flashed across his face, not at all the same one he’d been wearing a moment ago. A genuine one of appreciation.
Not romantic love.
Because, even though they were both there of their own accord, neither one of them had actually planned on getting this far. Their plan had only included the ruse of dating, of getting engaged, not wedding bells and library chapels.
That had been Scott’s idea.
“Family is the most important thing in this world,” he’d told them, holding out his mother’s ring to Mitchell. “It’s the greatest wealth you can attain, so why not go ahead and become wealthier?”
Mitchell had had no choice to propose then—another part of his life taken over by his brother.
Six months later, and the memory still made Eve’s blood start to boil.
Scott Keys was a man standing on a pedestal of his own making.
And she desperately wanted to knock him off it.
Mitchell’s smile tightened as they stopped at their designated spots across from the man who had been ordained, hired and picked by Scott. He squeezed her arm once before letting go.
Eve understood that quick grip.
He wanted to know if they were really going to go through with the wedding. If she had managed to find the solution to their problem. If wherever she had snuck out to and gone that afternoon had borne any fruit, so to speak.
The man between them asked them to face one another.
Eve used the time to glance back down the aisle and at the double doors she had just walked through.
She didn’t want divine intervention to stop their sham marriage.
