“Just text him and tell him you had time to think about it,” Grace said.
“No!” Sophie interjected. “You need to text him a sexy picture and tell him you want to be the future Mrs. Harrington. You want to give him no opportunity to question your commitment.”
“Commitment,” I said, looking at my empty plate, hoping more food would show up. The thought of committing to Evan was making me anxious—and sort of excited.
“You can’t be single forever,” Amy said. “Give him a shot!”
“Give what a shot?” Brea said, coming up to our table with a humongous wedding dress flowing behind her. “Is Evan still fulfilling his duties as a living sex toy?” she asked brightly, causing Elsie to almost choke on her food.
“Having never had a, you know, actual guy stay over at my place,” she said, whispering conspiratorially, “what do you do with him after you’re, you know, done? Like, do you feed him? Tell him to go stand in a corner? Do you have to clean him off, or does he do it himself? Also, where are the pictures?”
“I’m not taking pictures of him,” I said, finishing the last of my drink then wiping my hands.
“Take this dress over to Evan,” Brea said, pouring herself a drink from the pitcher of mimosas. “After adding the additional lace that Imogen wanted, removing it, then adding it again so she could quote ‘show up that bitch Kaitlyn,’ I’m going to strangle her if I have to see her.”
“I don’t know if I can deal with him right now. I haven’t had enough fried food today.”
“Ooh!” Brea said. “But guess what? I had some extra lace, so I made you some bridal lingerie as a little surprise for him when you take off your clothes. I’m thinking of branching out into wedding-night foreplay.” She beamed at me and held up the skimpy little garment. “Look! I even embroidered little penises on it!”
43
Evan
Last night, the issue of selling her home had crept in and destroyed my evening with Ivy.
You were doing that all by yourself.
Had I come on too strong? Maybe she didn’t want me like I wanted her. I had originally promised no-strings-attached fun and pleasure. But Ivy was friendly, selfless, caring, and perfect, and I had fallen for her. Hard. And now I was going to ruin the best thing in my life if I allowed the Svenssons to kick her out of her home.
Carl Svensson had texted me last night to tell me they were about to go forward with the eviction. It would take a few days for all the paperwork to move through the system. But the clock was ticking. The money wasn’t the issue. I had hundreds of millions I could wire over immediately. But Sutherland wasn’t going to give me the substitute property without my marrying Camilla. Could I do it? Could I go through with at least a fake engagement to her?
It would probably ruin things with Ivy, but then, it hadn’t seem like she cared to actually date me or have a relationship with me. It was clear to me, though, that I had fallen for her. Even if it ruined my own happiness, I should sacrifice that to save Ivy. Wasn’t that what you did when you loved someone?
“Evan!” a nasal feminine voice brayed from my office doorway. “How’s my future hubby?” Camilla said, skipping over to me then sprawling onto my lap.
“I’ve been planning our new wedding,” she told me, trailing her fingers around the edge of my hairline. “I think we should have a destination wedding. We could go to Ireland. You can buy me a castle, and we can host the wedding there.”
My mouth was a thin line, and I realized there was no way in hell I could even pretend to be in a relationship with Camilla.
My ex-fiancée must have interpreted my silence as agreement, because she continued, “I told Daddy about how you’ve been carrying on with that wedding planner who ruined our wedding. You have to stop seeing the little hussy immediately. That means you have to cut her off right now. Fire her from Imogen’s wedding. She can’t be in the bridal party. She can’t come over to your house, and I want to watch you call her and tell her you were just using her.”
I laughed in Camilla’s face. It came out rough and harsh, and I roughly pushed her off of me, causing her to shriek as I stood up.
“You think you’re going to sit here and threaten me?” I said to her coldly. “Ivy is better than you—she’s prettier than you, nicer than you, more ambitious than you, smarter than you, a better friend, a better lover, a better partner. I fully intend to make her my wife. I, of course, don’t want you at our wedding, but Ivy’s much classier than me, so I’m sure you’ll receive an invitation. Now I want that engagement ring back.” I held my hand out to her.
“This was a gift!” she exclaimed, jerking her hand back.
“It was a conditional gift, assuming we were going to get married. You entered that contract under false pretenses. Therefore, you forfeit the right to the jewelry. I want it back, and I want you out of my condo. If you do not vacate, you will be thrown out. You’ve already been served an eviction notice. I’m sure your father won’t appreciate it if a scene is made. If I’m not mistaken, the fact that you can no longer raid my bank accounts means that you are completely dependent on him.”
Camilla’s face twisted up into a scowl. “I hate you!” she screeched and twisted her ring off and threw it at me. It bounced off the glass behind me and clattered to the floor. “You can’t do this to me. We’re getting back together, one way or the other. I’m telling Daddy about this!”
She stormed out the door, and for the first time since I’d proposed to Camilla, I finally felt the burden of her lift off of me.
My phone beeped, and I grinned when I saw Ivy’s name pop up.
Ivy:I’m at your sister’s with the wedding dress.
Ivy:The concierge let me into your penthouse. Mika’s not answering my texts, but I need someone to confirm that they have received the dresses.
