He sighed. “Jordan Stone is Angela Stone’s father.”
“Who the fuck is Angela Stone?”
“Your future wife, if you play your cards right,” he said, sounding like his patience was running out. “Angela would look great on your arm at the gala, and I think she’d make a decent wife.”
I blinked too slowly, even my eyelids struggling to keep up. “Are you serious?”
“Of course, I’m serious,” he snapped and it occurred to me then, even through the haze of the hangover, that he wasn’timpatient withmetoday after all. Alex was stressed, even more so than usual. “I need to get this done, Jesse.”
Irritation curled from deep inside, cutting through the fog lingering from last night. I knew I’d removed myself from the family. I’d admitted that multiple times at this point. I’d made so many mistakes that evenIhad lost count, but I was here now and I’d had enough.
An idea hit me like a bolt of lightning as I opened my mouth. Love didn’t matter. It could happen. I’d seen it happen, but it wasn’t a prerequisite for marriage in our world like it was to most others. If anything, love was actually a liability.
So why not choose someone who didn’t even believe in love?
“I’ve chosen someone already,” I said. “Tell the Stones that we’re sorry, but the decision has been made.”
Alex was so distracted that he barely seemed to be listening anymore. “Oh, great. Fine. Bring her to the Radley dinner on Thursday with the investors. Their wives will be there. I’ll deal with the reservation tonight. I’ll just cancel.”
I frowned.“Wait, you actually trust me with this decision?” I asked before I could help myself.
If there was ever a moment to watch Alex squirm, this was it. I knew for a fact that he was going to have things to say about me choosing her of all people. He wouldn’t like the way it was potentially going to land with the public. And me? Well, I’d never given a shit what the public thinks of anything.
A fake proposal was all Alex needed from me right now. Something very public to redirect the press so the spotlight was on me instead of Zach. Jacqueline was perfect for the role.
She was fun, smart, and not boring at all. She liked to talk, laugh, argue, and travel. She didn’t look at me like I was a project, a paycheck, or a headline. Just that set her apart from the women I was used to dating, and the fact that she wasn’t stuck-up either? That was gold.
Best of all, she didn’t believe in love either. I didn’t remember much of our drunken night together but that fact had cemented itself in my mind—because I also thought love was for suckers. The thrill of the chase was temporary, fleeting, and everyone got bored of their partners eventually. The smartest way to approach this was to keep the relationship fake and without emotions getting involved. That meant Jacqueline was the perfect woman for me.
There was only the one small but glaring issue, which was that she detested the Westwood family as a whole.
I could make this work somehow. For my brother. Even if a part of me just wanted an excuse to see her again. To find a way to get to know her better.
Alex suddenly spoke again. Or maybe he’d been talking all along and I just hadn’t heard him. “Don’t screw this up, Jesse.”
I smiled. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
He hung up without even really ending the call, just suddenly gone like he’d never been on the other end of the line at all. I stared at my phone for a second to make sure he really wasn’t there anymore, then dropped it on the bed beside me and lay back.
The first hiccup was that I didn’t have her number. I hadn’t asked for it—or maybe I had and I just didn’t remember, but either way, I knew where to find her. I just wasn’t going to go looking today.
Today, I was going to survive. Maybe find the painkillers.
Come Monday, however, once I was no longer on the verge of system collapse, I’d find her and be an engaged man before close of business.
A slow grin spread on my face as I thought about it, because if nothing else, this was definitely going to be interesting.
CHAPTER 12
JACQUELINE
“He did what?” I squealed with laughter as Miranda recounted her terrible dating experience from this past weekend.
She made a face. “I kid you not. He told me that I had to meet his mother before he could agree to a second date.”
I laughed again, generally in a good space this morning. The hangover was finally gone, I was getting the hang of the complicated espresso machine we had in the break room instead of just a normal coffee pot, and it really felt like Miranda was becoming a friend.
She shook her head as our laughter subsided, cocking a hip against the counter with her fingers wrapped around her own tiny cup of caffeine and her eyes curious on mine. “What didyouget up to this weekend?”
